Is it ok to add cocoa powder to (dairy free) formula (for 13mth old)?

[SquidgersMummy]

So my dd has been ebf until now - she is 13mths old and a bit of a booby monster. She has a boob at 5, goes back off till 6, has the other then gets up at 7. She likes to nap at 10 and 3 and if I'm home she feeds to sleep. If I'm at work she manages but has a top up when I get in. Feeds to sleep at night. She eats wells but just likes booby Sadly I have to stop feeding asap really - to have any chance of a sibling I need to get back to ivf asap. I was hoping she'd self-wean but it ain't going to happen. We have night weaned but my periods haven't returned which has just increased my anxieties and the medical advice to stop bf'ing to try to conceive. I dont think a pint worth of calcium is going in as she wont take cows milk. DD has eczema and though seems fine after eating cheese/yoghurt/ice-cream any skin it has touched because itchy with hives. Cows milk or normal formula quickly results in red blotches on the skin and she doesnt like it anyway. So we are waiting for an assessment re poss milk allergy. We see paediatrics next week. In the meantime my GP has given me a tin of nutramigen lipil 1 to try (ie hypo allergenic stage 1 formula). Now if we present this as 'milk' DD is going to know it bloody well isn't. I was wondering if from the start we add a little cocoa powder - or whizz with blueberries - and say its milkshake. Unfortunately she loves being fed to sleep and can only sleep otherwise in the buggy or car...(yes, I know)...I am totally dreading it. Fortunately DH is working fm home at the moment so I wonder if we present it as a new exciting thing with daddy?? I really can't see how it's ever going to work...she loves booby and I don't want to deny her. It's been really hard nightweaning but she has accepted it though has to lie tweaking my nipple instead. Please wise people tell me how to do this without tears, hers or mine. X

[NothingsLeft]

The nhs recommend milk until they are two, in order to meet their calcium and calorie needs. 300-500mls includes yogurts, cheese etc if they can tolerate them.

Leafy greens, apricots and other high sources of calcium are good but most toddlers won't eat enough to meet their needs. If they do, it can impact in their calorie intake as they are not calorific enough but will fill them up.

Oatly and other milks are fine but are the equivalent of semi-skimmed milk which isn't recommended until two. Goats milk & soy proteins are similar in structure to cows milk proteins so can cause reaction too.

It's a bit of a mine field really, hence why most health professionals recommend a hydrolysed formula. Getting an older baby to take it is another thing though!

[galwaygirl]

I have had to taste the nutramigen going through airports to show its not anything dodgy so I know how horrible it tastes

Definitely ask to speak to a dietician. I do think goats will probably be out as others have said but plant based stuff should be fine.

nickel sorry to be snappy - the IVF probably leapt out to me as a veteran!

[MrsSpencerReid]

Aptamil pepti is not quite as dairy free as nutramigen but tastes way better so might be worth a try, we mix DS' with anything and everything to get him to drink it!! Good luck with this a baby no2!

[pootlebug]

Both my elder two stopped breastfeeding of their own accord at 13 months. Neither drunk cows milk....they had a bit on cereal but that was it. I made sure they got other sources of calcium but didn't let it worry me too much. Plenty of people in the world don't have the must-have-a-ton-of-milk-for-calcium culture that we do and people seem just fine.

[Slavetominidictator]

I know nothing about allergies am afraid. However, I know nipple stimulation (like your dd does to get to sleep) can keep your prolactin levels high when that's what you're trying to lower by giving up breastfeeding so that you're in the best position to give your next ivf round a good chance of working. Just suggesting that if you're going to all this trouble, you might want to try and get her to tweak something else if at all possible. I know it's tough giving up bfing for the next (potential) baby. Very best of luck with stopping and with ivf.

[NothingsLeft]

Your right pootle lots of people live happily dairy free, which is much healthier IMO. Breastfeeding well into toddlerhood is the norm in lots of those cultures. So they are still chugging down milk, the the human kind.

Hope you're having some success with the formula Op.

[LatinForTelly]

When my DS was put on Neocate at 7 months old, his dietician told me to buy 'Crusha' to add to it. It's an artificial milkshake flavouring thingy.

I couldn't find it, so added glucose in the end. Neocate is revolting, but he did drink it. And it wasn't a problem nutritionally; he'd had desweetened glucose and emulsified oils added to another formula already as calorie supplements.

Hope you find something that works for you both.