Breastfeeding to Cows Milk or Formula then Cows Milk?

I am curious to know.

I am (again) debating on weaning DD. She only feeds to sleep now so down to 3-4 feeds in 24hrs.
I am keen to get my cycles regular so we can fall preggers again (whole other thread in this alone).

Dd will not take a dummy and has been known to scream through her nap times when I have tried to stop feeding her to sleep. there is no co operation from her end :lol:

I am debating introducing a bottle of sorts and getting DH to put her down so she still has a BF but then can comfort suck on something else warm and milky but not me.

Would it be better (and should I still do it anyway for nutritional benefits) to introduce her to formula?

I cannot express, I have no let down at a pump.

What have others done? just gone straight for cows milk or introduced formula and then gone to cows milk later? DD is 13 months old and has cows milk in her porridge.

Thanks
Nae x

We just went to cow's milk in a sippy cup. I warmed it slightly when he was first getting into it. It took about a month of trying sips before he enjoyed it and would drink a cup of it. Then I started replacing some breastfeeds.

Hi Hun

Ds is fed ebm and rice milk. I had always understood after 1 year cows milk was fine as the main milk drink? You could also try rice milk etc, although you'll have to be mindful of calcium. Ds didn't even flinch when we gave him the rice milk! It was like he was still drinking ebm!

Hth a bit

No need for formula at this age (I presume she's eating well?). Are you sure you want to introduce bottles (just something else to wean off later, is all)?
Food's the thing from this age, too, so you don't really have to replace every feed with a different milk.
As I cut back DS' feeds he just ate more - would never and still won't have any other kind of milk. He likes sucking on his water bottle though.

As the others have suggested, cows milk is fine, I to would suggest a sippy cup or drink bottle though as Marcellus said you will only have to wean her from the bottle then. Although I do understand why you would want to try a bottle. Maybe a cup like the 'magmag' cup that has a teat attachment plus a sippy attachment and straw so that when you want to wean the bottle it looks like/is the same cup but you can transition by changing the teat/sipper/straw.

I hope you find the solution that works for you soon xx

I'd just go straight to cows milk. Some people I know have watered it down to begin with but I never bothered. One thing to watch out for though is some bubs can have slight intolerance's on increased amounts, so just watch stools and behavior.

Make sure you get a bottle or cup that is leak proof, especially if you are going to be giving it to her in bed. At this age though, bottles might be to slow and frustrating for her. We used nuby sports sippers, DD1 would have them at 4am and go back to sleep, only thing is they don't sell replacement spouts so when she chewed them, we had to buy a whole new bottle which wasn't that often, maybe only twice.

we introduced a sippy cup around 14mths with just milk due to DS dropping his lunch feed. Then when we moved (15mths) he stopped his night feed. I was devastated, but got out a bottle, warmed up some milk, and he was happy. We slowly weaned him off the bottle, completely by 2yrs, 2mths (when we moved again).

We weaned from EBM to cows milk at 14 months. If you can do it gradually it will be a bit gentler on her tummy but I don't think there is a need for formula.

Maybe try dropping one feed at a time. She's still only little so it is a big adjustment to go from 3-4 to none. I found that when DD dropped her morning nap, not much older than your DD, then that bf was gone. I then cut out the other nap time one and was left with only two. Pick the bfs that she seems the least interested in, replace them with another activity (probably no need for a milk drink tbh, I'd choose something like a story, or a special cuddle with Daddy) and provide her with comfort until she drops off. Do one bf at a time, wait a week before dropping another.

HTH!

I'm with Jennifer and Marcellus on this. Reduce the feeds over a week or two, also to help you with your Breasts adjusting as well. I started to drop the during the day ones first as these seemed the easiest at the time. Then only had the night as she got up and had breakfast straight away.
With the during the day ones, distraction worked best or I would offer a snack of fruit and water. We were also out and about a fair bit of the time and she would fall asleep in the car not needing the feed to help her sleep.

A sippy cup with cows milk would be fine if she is eating well. DD doesn't particular likes cows milk, has a cup at creche only and here she has it on or in things. She just drinks water.

Good luck Nae.