Stopping bf 1yo dd, but she doesn't like cow's milk - what do I do?

[ThePetiteMummy]

Dd has just turned 1, and for the past 2 months I have just been breastfeeding her morning and evening. I had no inclination to stop until recently, when I started to get my head around it emotionally.

I would quite like to stop the morning feed, as I find this quite tough to get up extra early for on the days I work (and I have to wake dd early too for this). The evening feed I'm happy to continue for the moment, but would probably like to stop this too in the next couple of months. But my problem is she just hates cow's milk! I've tried numerous times, but as soon as she realises it's not water in her sippy cup, she spits it straight out. I've also tried a couple of different brands of 'toddler milk', which I know aren't necessary, but I thought she might prefer the taste.

Do I just persevere, and keep trying with the cow's milk? As a child I didn't like milk as a drink (although was bf until 15 months), and neither did my mum, so I guess maybe dd is the same. If so, do I just drop the feeds and leave it at that? I feel a bit cruel thinking about doing this to her. She's not the type to clamber at my boobs or anything, but she does seem to enjoy feeding. She's pretty tiny, 9th centile, but has tracked a steady line on her chart. She eats ok, but won't eat cereal, so no milk at breakfast (she has toast & banana). Dairy-wise, she usually has one yoghurt & one fromage frais (no added sugar in either) per day. She doesn't like cheese, but will eat foods with mild cheese sauce. I do find the evening feed useful for settling her, so I worry it might be difficult to get to her to sleep if I don't substitute it with something.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

Haven't really got any advice. We are 10 months on from stopping bfing at its still a daily struggle to get her to drink milk or take enough dairy in her diet. Will be watching with interest.

My DD1 was the same. I know that some people will be very disapproving, but the way I got her onto cow's milk was to add a small amount of sugar to the milk and warm it up a bit, as someone told me that breastmilk is warmer and sweeter than cow's milk. After a couple of days, I started to reduce the sugar and in ten days or so she was drinking normal milk quite willingly. Obviously not the most healthy option when you are adding the sugar but I figured it was worth it for a short period if she would then drink milk as a toddler.

You don't NEED cow's milk so if she doesn't like it don't give it to her. You can get oat milk that has calcium in it if you are very concerned but there are other sources of calcium that you can try to include in her diet that aren't dairy. Neither of my DSs drink milk at all (ages 5 and 2)

I had a similar thing with my DS before i stopped BFing... he was only having a BF morning and bedtime (and during the night but once we knocked that on the head everything was easier!) he had drunk milk a few times from his cup but usually refused it when he realised what it was... however, once i stopped BFing (at 19m so little bit older than yours but not sure if that would make a difference..) i found that he just started drinking cows milk - and now guzzles it and usually demands more. I don't know if his instincts just told him he needed some form of milk and if he wasn't getting it from me anymore then the milk in his cup was the next best thing! He is still quite particular about the temperature... doesn't like it too hot or too cold and has no qualms about sending it back if its not to his liking - guess who rules the roost in this house!
so i guess i'm saying it may be worth persevering as you might find she starts drinking more as you go along...

ps also... does she like porridge? i find you use more milk in porridge than with other breakfast cereal but its not too 'milky' when its cooked - especially if you mix fruit in with it... might be worth a try...
yoghurt is also full of calcium so my DS usually gets fruit and yoghurt for pudding - he loves it...

you could try warming cow's milk just a little, my DD2 will only drink it is it's warm....
and you could just try dropping the morning feed bit by bit - sometimes i don't get around to feeding DD2 before i go to work, and bit by bit we're reducing her feeds... (and her appetite is increasing....) so if it's a pain to get up and feed her before work....don't!

You don't need dairy to have a healthy diet.

DS never took to milk of any kind after I weaned him off BF at 15 months - he used to throw his sippy cup across the room if it even looked like it had anything milky in it, and yes, I did try chocolate milk, strawberry milk, soya milk etc etc. He did for a while drink yoghurt drinks, but went off those by the time he was three or four as well. He won't have cereal with milk, and for a long time didn't like any obviously creamy/milky things like cheese sauce either. So I just gave up and let him drink water and occasional juice. He did have calcium from other sources (cheese, fish, tofu etc).

It doesn't seem to have done him any harm not drinking milk: he is now 12 and 5'8".

You might find this useful :) It shows how much calcium is in different foods and how much children need.

Thanks for the link bubbly, will try not to worry too much about my DD.

Thanks so much everyone, I didn't expect so many replies!

That's interesting Elsja, I must admit I did once try a bit of my ebm and was surprised at the taste, more like sugary water than a milky taste. Cow's milk really is quite different in comparison.

I had wondered about this jobnockey, I must admit I haven't actually tried swapping a feed for cow's milk yet, only offering at snack times. I might get dh to try, as maybe she would be more likely to accept it from someone other than me. That made me laugh about your ds sending the unacceptable milk back to the kitchen! Might be worth trying porridge again, she has eaten it in the past when I did one with apricots & pear a la Anabel Karmel.

Thanks Mummyelk, maybe I'll try cutting out the feed before work then, I must admit it does seem wrong to wake her up for it when she's fast asleep!

Sounds like your ds did just fine then exexpat!

Thanks for the link bubbley, it's interesting to see how well rice & oat milks compare to ordinary milk.

I guess the consensus is that if I can get her to drink it, great, if not, she should be fine with other dairy. I didn't want to deprive her of the bf if it was still an important part of her nutritional intake, and whilst I accept there are benefits to carrying on bf, it would seem she'll be ok without.