Weaning from breastfeeding at 15 months

[iamhopeful]

My DD has been breastfed since birth and has been allergic to dairy also. I am now at the point of feeling ready to stop bf but she also needs the calcium/nutrition from milk still as she is not getting it from many other areas in her diet. The consultant has suggested 2 bottles of formula or equivalent. We were hoping that by this time she would be ready for cows milk but that is not the case. She is having one morning feed (currently when she wakes) and one before bed. We are thinking about trying to substitute the morning feed first but were after any advice on how to go about it with a child of her age, all the information online is for younger babies.

We have currently thought about getting up and making a cup of milk for her and just offering that instead? Any ideas would be amazing, thanks in advance for your help.

Same age baby here, also allergic to milk, and just stopped a couple of weeks ago. We were down to one (really long) morning feed when I stopped. I'd suggest cut down one feed every 1/2 weeks, so if you are starting off with the morning one you could quickly get her up, out of bed and try her with the alternative milk, or failing that, breakfast. Then work on the night time feed later. Is your girl able to have soya? We were recommended the soya+1 as it contains all the added vitamins they need.

To be honest, I found my boy refused any alternative form of milk until I stopped completely, I think when I cut down to one feed he just fed for longer for that feed. The day after I stopped breastfeeding he downed a big tumbler of the soya milk, but previous to that he'd just have sips. Now, two weeks later, he usually has the soya milk, but some days he won't have it at all, so I give him a calcium vitamin supplement www.seven-seas.com/products/Kid-Vitamin-D-Calcium-Softies

Do you have a dietician you can speak to? Maybe even over the phone if there is a wait for appointments. My strategy has been to gently encourage him having the soya +1 but when he won't, give a supplement.

Oh, and I wouldn't bother with bottles, most advice is to get rid of them at 1 year so no point in introducing one now (if I've read your OP correctly). If she won't take a beaker she might prefer an open cup.

Thanks Kippy, it is nice to know there are others in a similar position.

We definitely don't want to go to a bottle and have beakers and cups at the ready, we are going to give it a go tomorrow morning so will see how it goes. We have prescription formula but will look out for the soya milk too as it might taste better than the current one.

We don't have a dietician, we have been very much left to our own devices which is fine until we need some advice and the GP is not very supportive unfortunately, hence me asking on here, thanks for your reply, I will see how we go tomorrow morning.

Good luck for tomorrow! That's a shame you have had no specialist support from a dietician or paediatrician, is that something you could request? Either from your GP making a referral or your health visitor? We got to see an allergy specialist and a dietician which is where I got my advice from, but obviously better for you to hear it properly from someone medically trained and who knows your daughters history.

The soya milk we were recommended is this one, found in the long life milk aisle (often near the cereals)

here

The dietician recommended the vitamins because he wasn't getting 2 thirds of a pint of the soya milk a day (recommended). He wouldn't take the liquid form so we went for the sweet style ones which do say over 3 years, but this is only because of the choking hazard.

I actually found the night time feed surprisingly easy to cut out, considering I'd always fed him to sleep. I just gave him a banana or cereal before bed so I was confident he wasn't hungry, and he did cry a bit when I put him in his cot initially, but it was a lot easier than I'd thought. I got him a special nightlite with music which has helped the transition. Just saying as if you struggle with cutting the morning feed you could always try the evening one first.

Best of luck!

Hi

Thanks, I will look out the milk you suggest. We tried this morning and she was fine (not drinking the milk as it was too hot) until I had to come down so my husband could get ready for work. She cried and kept trying to feed, so I gave in. However she did drink over half the cup over breakfast which makes me wonder how much she is getting from me. I don't know how to get her or I over the hump of the emotional draw for her feeding.

Maybe we should try the night feed as you say. Maybe we will give this a go for the week and then if it is not improving we will give the night feed a go.