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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Has anyone stopped breastfeeding before 1yr old but just gone straight to cow's milk?

31 replies

bramblina · 10/05/2006 13:48

I already know a couple of people who did but just wonder what percentage of others did this. It's not my plan at all, I aim to get to 1 yr. Any experiences or thoughts please.

OP posts:
moondog · 10/05/2006 13:50

My children were b/fed,but had cows' milk on cereal and so on (never as a drink,prob. as I'm not into milk) from about 6/7 mths.

I think (may be mistaken) that Tiktok stated that she would be happier giving cows' milk than formula to babies.
Don't quote me on that though!

Tinker · 10/05/2006 13:53

My mum did with me. I wouldn't take formula and my mum was advised to just give cow's milk with A nd D drops. I was 6 months old.

Original poster
bramblina · 10/05/2006 13:54

He has cows milk as you said but I am meaning as a main drink. I would also prefer giving him cow's to formula but one girl said to me one day that really cow's milk is made for feeding baby cowS And it really got me thinking. We buy organic so only 2% mucus compared to 30% in non organic but still...am against formula.
Do you rmemeber why tikrok said this? Did she give it before 1yr as a mian drink? TIA

OP posts:
Tinker · 10/05/2006 13:55

But formula is just modified cow's milk.

moondog · 10/05/2006 13:56

I agree re the milk being for baby cows but at least it is an unprocessed product,unlike formula.

I think Tiktok was talking hypothetically,can't imagine she did anything other than b/feed her own.....

It was (if I recall correctly) on one of the many b/feeding threads but can't recall which.
Keep an eye out for her and ask direct.

How old is your baby btw?
Do you want/need to stop b/feeding?

tiktok · 10/05/2006 13:56

I probably did say that at some point - not very young babies, but older ones.

It's just common sense really.

Why is cows milk not recommended to babies under a year? Because before that age, they are less likely to be taking a large variety of solid food, and giving cows milk as a drink to a baby who is using it to 'fill up' might mean he would go short of a few things, mainly iron.

But if your baby is taking a variety of solids, inc some with iron in, then it's not really an issue....the guidance of a year is a reasonable one, I think, but it's not a disaster if you give it earlier. Cows milk is a less processed product than formula, which has all sorts in it, and it is rather cheaper, so all that is probably why I think what I do :)

moondog · 10/05/2006 13:58

Speaking of the devil.....Smile

Original poster
bramblina · 10/05/2006 13:58

Yes, modified, and synthetically fortified imo. I try to give ds as best a balanced healthy diet from his solids so don't want to have the opinion like my friend that just because "it has lists of vitamins on the packet it's the best!" It has a shelf life of more than anything I would care to eat! Thanks anyway, just after opinions. I take it you have no intestinal problems?

OP posts:
Tipex · 10/05/2006 14:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Tinker · 10/05/2006 14:05

Was that to me bramblina? No, no problems. Sorry, thought your opposition was to cow's milk in general, not just formula.

PiccadillyCircus · 10/05/2006 14:06

I haven't, but one of my friends has for her first child and I think will do the same for her second.

moondog · 10/05/2006 14:06

Hi Tipex! Smile
Yes i did thanks.
My computer was bust for nigh on two weeks.
Very traumatic.

Tinker · 10/05/2006 14:09

Think I might now. Just realised that I'm waiting for a further 11 days before I can start when baby will be 12 months!

Original poster
bramblina · 10/05/2006 14:25

No, it's the formula that I'm against. Don't know why really, I just see it as unnnatural, esp compared to breastmilk. However my friend's opinion of cow's milk really got me thinking.
Ds has liver once a week, lentils sometimes twice, all fresh fruit & veg in cooking, and good quality meat from the butcher so I think it would be ok. I'm not planning to stop yet but as he grows develops and changes I do see it happening sooner than planned. We're off to Canada for 3 wks when he's 13 months and I'm trying to decide if it's a good idea to still be feeding him when we're there, for a variety of reasons, or to have stopped for another variety of reasons, and cannot make my mind up. What pros and cons can everybody see, please?!

OP posts:
fennel · 10/05/2006 14:29

two of mine had cow's milk when i stopped bf them at 10 months. i couldn't really see why not at that age with a varied diet anyway. like you i don't really like the formula companies making too much money.

moondog · 10/05/2006 14:30

Bramblina,still unsure of age of your child.
My children have never drunk cows' milk.
They don't need milk at all tbh after a certain age.It is baby food.
Mine are fine on water and juice and eat a lot of cheese and yoghurt.

Main advantage of b/feeding when going somewhere new is undoubtedly that it will save your sanity on long flights,of which I have done plenty.
Alsdo the comfort and security is reassuring when all else is new.

One of mine s/weaned at 30 mths,the other at 11 mths.

Tinker · 10/05/2006 14:34

\link{http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article362967.ece\This was in the Indy yesterday all about milk}

Twiglett · 10/05/2006 14:37

I stopped at 10.5 months and she went straight onto cow's milk

Original poster
bramblina · 10/05/2006 21:24

Moondog, he's 9 months just now. If I don't stop in the next 2 or 3 months then I'll just carry on till after the holiday. Thanks for all your advice everyone and fab link.
He has a feed first thing, mid morning, mid afternoon, and bed time. The two in the day are more of a bother to him I think, I have to remind myself to offer it and he does take a little but he's on the go so much, I think he can't be bothered waiting for my letdown, as is easily distracted! Ie lots of popping off and so I question should I continue these feeds. First and last feeds are fine. I also express on a morning and he has that after his last feed, will take it even if he has fallen asleep, and therefore I know I'm getting as much in to him as I can. I mention this to say he is happy taking it from a bottle so I have no worries about what will happen when we do stop. While you're on this thread can I ask you about reducing the feeds- we reduced them significantly as he stepped up from 1 to 2 to 3 meals a day, but the quantity of feeds hasn't really changed since 6/7 months- should we be reducing them again at the 9 month mark and go for more food?

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Annner · 10/05/2006 22:07

My DD weaned herself at 10 months, and I was devasated, having wanted to go to at least a year.

However, I gave her a mixture of cows milk and ebm: I expressed twice a day (getting about 120 ml in all) and mixed it with the doorstep stuff. I stopped expressing when she about 14 months, and had got over her MMR (and I was upduffed again anyway)

She never liked formula (I had tried her on it desparation when she was on strike) and I didn't want to give ANY of my hard earned cash to formula companies anyway. And as her favourite foods at the time were spag bol, moussaka, shephards pie and lentils with spinach, I wasn't too concerned about her iron levels!

Go for it: she won't grow horns!

Original poster
bramblina · 10/05/2006 22:14

When you say she weaned herself do you mean she refused the breast totally? How many times did you offer again? And Shock pg too! The expressing is such a faff- I do it as he feeds so get let down easier but if I do it on its own ooooh it hurts till l.d. comes. We'll see how it goes for now and as you all say I won't worry about his iron.

OP posts:
Annner · 10/05/2006 22:32

She went on a nursing strike at 9.5 months, which lasted about three days. I managed to get her back on again by lots of co-bathing, walking around with my boobs hanging out, skin to skin, blah, blah. Then she did it again about a month later, but this time it was difficult to do the whole contact thang, as I had just gone back to work (great timing!), dh was working away... I kept offering, but she just didn't want it any more (and that is another whole can of emotional worms!!!!).

Anyway, we were really glad at that point that we had been training her to use the Doidy cup, because it meant that we could still get some fluids into her. For a short while it was a bit worrying, but we just upped the fluid content of her cereal and other foods until she worked out that she needed to have more than the odd sip.

I was already used to expressing, as I had to do it from very early one, due to tongue tie and she was cup fed for three weeks. I got used to switching the pump on while I ate my breakfast or listened to the Archers. I then just diluted it with cows milk.

Original poster
bramblina · 11/05/2006 07:56

Shock gosh! It's a lot of effort, isn't it, but it's quite amazingwhat we'll do for them, for the best. We had thought about buying a doidy cup- was it only due to the tongue tying that you bought it or was it a good idea anyway?

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Annner · 11/05/2006 14:29

... Back from work now!

I think that they're a brilliant idea anyway: after all, the "final" drinking objective is an open cup, and it seemed to make sense to introduce one from as early as possible in case it was needed. DD found the Avent/Anywayup etc style cups rather difficult because she had never used a bottle, and just didn't get it.

However, we were already very keen on using a cup having used the dinky newborn cups to feed her EBM before her tongue tie was snipped. Contrary to popular belief, most newborns can be trained to cupfeed (usually people think that only premmies can manage it). They just need to be carefully trussed up, and held in the right position! They then lap the milk like kittens. It took her a while to work out that the technique was slightly different for the Doidy when she was older, but we'll definitely introduce one to No2 at around the same age, regardless of whether they need to cupfeed at an earlier stage.

Original poster
bramblina · 12/05/2006 20:05

Thanks for that, I'm going to order one tomorrow.

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