1 yo - how many bfs and introducing cow's milk

[AllMiceMustDie]

DS has recently turned 1. He stopped daytime bf (with the odd exception) a month or so ago so now has a bedtime feed, plus 1-2 night feeds and some grazing when we co-sleep from around 5am. For his bedtime feed he tends to have just one side, his night feeds are sometimes full feeds (can hear him gulping away) and other times they are comfort sucks (he drops off before he actually drinks any milk).

I'd like to nightwean him at some point in the next few months, though I'm keen to carry on bf until we decide to ttc or get pregnant (period still not returned so may need to give up to ttc...).

I'm a bit unsure about how many feeds he needs at a year, and don't want to nightwean him too soon. I know it's a hard question to answer about bf, but how much milk should he be having? I'd like to get to a situation where he has a big bedtime and big morning feed. Is that enough for a 1yo?

He has taken to solids well - we did blw and he is certainly no stranger to eating, and has plenty of yogurt, cheese etc. We've offered him cow's milk over the last couple of weeks to get him used to the taste, thinking that he'd need to be drinking cow's milk before I contemplated giving up bf. He takes the odd sip but isn't that interested (prefers to gulp water). Any tips on introducing cow's milk to a bf baby?

And what if he just refuses to drink it? I personally can't stand the taste of cow's milk as a drink on it's own and so will understand if he feels the same way. Is it possible for children to get enough of the nutrients from cow's milk from the food they eat rather than drinking it?

TIA

No one needs cows' milk or goats' milk, yaks' milk or horses' milk for that matter. Ideally all children would be bf to 2y+ but as that's not always feasible then a good balanced diet rich in fat, calcium and with access to sunlight with no sunscreen (for Vit D) is enough (not ideal but adequate).

The WHO has guidance for developed countries in this document here (pg 18 is the relevant page). But basically 12-23m old toddlers in developed countries need 894kcals per day, with 313kcals coming from breast milk (approx 420mls of BM).

Thats not massively helpful unless you're expressing though...
Have you tried warming the milk?

Thats not massively helpful unless you're expressing though...
Have you tried warming the milk?

No but it does give you the rough idea that one or two feeds may not be all that's needed as some HVs like to push from about 6m

How much is an average feed then? I would have absolutely no idea since I've never expressed.

BF babies between 1-6m take an average of 25oz a day (so ~1oz an hour) which usually works out at about 2-4oz a feed though obv. some babies can take much more.

Also, as BM composition changes rather than volume increasing bf infants tend to take similar amounts while they are bfing so 420mls might equate to 4-6 feeds though toddlers are 'notorious' for having a little comfort nurse here and there too which may only be a mouthful or two of milk rather than an actual 'feed'.

Mind you expressing wouldn't tell you how much baby is taking unless you meant exc. bottle feeding expressed milk?

Thanks - interesting to know that BM should be such a large proportion of daily kcals but impossible to know just how much DS takes from each feed/each day. I'd happily continue feeding until he's 2 but definitely want to ttc this year and don't think I can face night feeds for too much longer. Maybe I should reintroduce a day feed to be sure he's getting enough... Any thoughts?

Will try warming the milk to see if he likes it. He seems more interested when it comes from other babies/toddlers cups!

Good luck OP, hope you can find a nice compromise :)

This is all anecdotal as I'm a mum with a 15mo. DD is now fed at wake up and at bedtime only. I've night weaned her over the past weeks, doing Dr Jay Gordon's method. But instead of 3 days, I took a week for each change. She took it very well, and she didn't even take the water I offered at night. Just cuddle up to me, sob a little and falls asleep again.

I started with the cow's milk in a cup around 11mo. It takes a while for her to get used to it. I use a different beaker than her water cup or beaker. (It's the Tommee Tippee first beaker fyi). It's offered mid morning as her morning snack. At first she doesn't drink much of it. But now she drinks about 70ml in one go, which is the same amount she'll take in formula. She goes to nursery though, so she's offered the milk at the same time as the other children, so that might have helped. The cow's milk is offered fridge cold.

You definitely don't always need to wean to get pg (though occasionally there are women that do find they are effectively infertile until bfing ceases). I am bfing through DD4's pg and I bf through DD2 and DD3's pgs as well (I am nursing DD2 and DD3 who are 4 1/2y & 2 1/2y) so I have not stopped bfing for over 6y but have conceived 3 times since then - two of them while tandem nursing (and DD4 was a surprise on contraception too!).

I night weaned DD1 at 12m so I could get pg but I was already pg before we started (just didn't know it), I didn't bother with DD2 or with DD3 to night wean they did it all in their own time. Though I can see how sleep deprivation does get to you after a while

Good luck with the TTC. There was a bfing while TTC thread knocking about a while ago so it might be worth a hunt of the archives to find it.