Milk after 1

[ohmygolli]

Ok please don’t pass judgement. I just want advice here. Stuff that works

EBF 1 year old. Won’t drink milk, won’t have a bottle, never had formula (won’t have it)
now baby is over 1.. how can I introduce whole milk so baby actually has it?! I’ve tried so much but BF’ing alllll the time is draining me now. I don’t want to stop all together, just stop the frequency.
baby does eat and has yoghurt etc. but still wants the boob!

please give me practical solutions.

It's doesn't have to be just milk. Dairy in general will get the calcium etc in.

Ways to give milk - cereal, porridge (normal not baby), custard, bananas mashed in milk, homemade milkshakes - we put fruit in the blender with milk.

Your baby is taking yogurts you can also give fromage frais, frozen frubes are great when teething, and cheese.

Oh and I reduced bf to on waking and bedtime at about that age.

Our dd went straight on to liquids from an open cup. Water in that and milk in food?

Do you want to wean him off you? I’m not sure my older DS would have been happy with cows milk instead of boob tbh. Perhaps try it warmed slightly? When I first stopped feeding DS he barely drank a thing. Id make sure he’d have cereal with milk and fruit to keep his dairy and water up. I also found the sucky yoghurts helpful as it satisfied his desire to suck.

And agree with PP, we used an open cup.

It sounds as though the issue is not so much needing to introduce more cows milk as wanting to reduce the frequency of breastfeeding? It's likely your baby is breastfeeding more for comfort than nutrition. I've always found the best way to get an older baby/young toddler to breastfeed less is to keep them really busy and interested. So lots of time outside of the house, as little time sitting on the floor with them as you can. Wear a top that makes getting to your boobs a little bit harder. If the problem is frequent feeds at night that's a different story!

Hey Momma,
this must be stressful for you!
Some toddlers never really drink milk. I was one of them! And if I were you I wouldnt try to force it. Because the most important thing is that they're getting the nutrients that milk provides, calcium and protein. And it seems like your toddler is getting this from other sources. You breastfed for a year (not sure if you're planning to or have already weaned him off) and therefore provided him with all the nutrients his growing body needs.! so do not stress.
If you want to give it a go now and then I would try lukewarm milk and maybe try to make things as interesting as possible for your toddler. Buying him a nice sippy cup with his favorite cartoon on it and rewarding him for drinking milk. I have a toddler and whenever I struggle to give him something I reward him for at least trying a bit.
Hope this helps a bit.
-Maliha
For more tips on baby and toddler-related topics check out my blog page.
www.nurturingnewbies.com