How to wean breastfed 1 year old who hates cows milk

[germanshepforever]

Just that really. My baby is over one now and I am trying to wean her off breast milk as I am back at work soon and want to try for baby number two, she also bites me and has on more than one occasion drew blood and bruised me, I want to end our breastfeeding journey with happy memories not ones of being in pain and generally not enjoying it anymore so I know now is the right time to wean. I planned on replacing the dropped feed for cows milk however she hates it and she spits it back out. I was hoping anyone could give me any advice or suggestions :) thanks in advance!

Have you tried toddler formula?

I think your reasons for stopping are easily overcome.

Sorry are you giving her spout or teat for drinking does she have water with meals or is it just BM she drinks?

If OP wants to stop, that’s all that matters.

I had one that refused, health visitor said just offer water in a cup and made sure has milk/dairy in other forms. I just looked at the guidelines and planned my menu around that. Dc is an adult now and no issues, and still doesn't drink milk.
I was advised against using toddler formula because I'd then have to wean them off that to.

We used goats’ milk. Worth a try?

I agree if she wants to stop her reasons are absolutely valid.

We just ensured food met the dietary needs and didn’t ever bother with cows’ milk as a drink.

Ah fair about the toddler formula, I agree about the other dairy and not worry about drinking milk.

Absolutely no need for her to have cow’s milk at this point. Neither of mine were really interested in Cow’s Milk until BFing had stopped completely.

If you do want to stop, I would night wean first.

Lots of Mums drop the day feeds first but it’s those feeds in the early hours that are likely to suppress your fertility.

Also have a read of this from Kellymom on fertility. It’s useful as your fertility can return before your AF, looking at you DC2.

If LO is biting, try feeding lying down as it can be more difficult for them to bite in this position.

As always though, the best people to help you with a plan to stop BFing and stop the biting in the interim are the BFCs on the BFing Helplines.

Oh and if you do want her to try milk, could you blitz some with a bit of banana for thickness and a few berries for flavour?

She needs 350 mg of calcium a day. This can be from cheese, yoghurt, custard and oat milk.

These are great sources, also look at things like tinned salmon with bones, these can be made into things like fishcakes, sardines or green leafy vegetables, think Green Mac’n Cheese.

Dried figs also contain calcium. These can be chopped into Ready Brek which is fortified.

Almonds are another good source. So maybe try some smooth almond butter on toast?

I swapped breast with a sachet of yoghurt given by Dad. One of those sucky ones.

I wouldn’t bother switching to another milk. As long as they have dairy in their diet it’s fine.

They don't need milk, it's just an easy source of calcium and a convenient snack.

My kid is allergic to dairy, he's fine. He has a veggie milk with his cereal in the morning but that's it.

They just need a balanced diet, like us.

Eh? She doesn’t need a reason - and that’s fine!

Congratulations on breastfeeding for a year, that's amazing ☺️

It's perfectly OK for you to want to stop breastfeeding, it's your choice and wanting to stop on a positive is a good idea. Just a few tips, is she teething again at all? Maybe try a bit of teething gel before a feed to see if it helps you as you're weaning her. Have you thought about expressing and giving her that in a bottle first then slowly introduce cows milk?

Hope things go well OP 😊

Thankyou all for your replies you’ve been really helpful and gave me a lot to try and think about ☺️