cows milk for 8 1/2 month old?????

Hi everyone, my DD is slowly dropping a BF. She normally has 4 but sometimes only 3 BF's a day. She has 3 solid meals 7ish breaky, 12ish lunch & 5pm dinner. She drinks water out of a cup throughout the day also. I went to see my CHN the other day & mentioned that i had tried to give DD formula out of the cup just to see if she would drink it, as when she does cut back to 3 BF's i could make myself available to work if needed & DD could have the lunchtime feed out of her cup.
Anyway she would drink it but then spit it back out & screw up her face.
I thought maybe she doesn't like the formula....i don't know much about it but it smells horrible.
I haven't tried expressing any of my own milk yet to see if it makes any difference but it would take me forever!!
Anyway my CHN told me not to bother with the formula anyway as my DD is old enough to have cows milk if diluted 1/2 milk 1/2 water.
I would like to get some more opinions on this as it kind of confused me as i thought at 8months they could only have cows milk if mixed in cereal like Farex or Wheetbix???????
Any help or suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks heaps

This is old advice. I've had a weekend of being told that DS should have had half cow milk half water since I started him on solids (which would have been 6w if I listened to this advice) and it's all my fault he won't drink cow milk now, only mummy milk. He has yoghurt and cheese, so he has dairy, just doesn't like milk. Then again, this person's advice would have had me stopped feeding at 7-8m because it wasn't necessary, in her opinion.

Current advice is you shouldn't water down milk and it should be a drink after one year.

Jo Jo, I agree with Rosehip Fairy. I wouldn't be giving her cows milk to drink yet, but I wouldn't be worrying about formula either. Try and keep up with 4 bfs a day for now as the bm is still the most important part of your DDs diet. But if you do want the flexibility to work, I would give expressing a day. You wouldn't need much EBM to cover one feed a day, and your DD is eating solids and drinking water so you really could get by without expressing but maybe make an extra feed up elsewhere. Closer to 12 months, 3 bfs a day is probably ok anyway, and from 12 months definitely it's ok, both my boys stopped taking more than 2 -3 feeds a day not long after 12 months. GL. I have returned to work after each of my boys was about the age of your DD and I never gave any formula (or cows' milk before 12 months).

RF - Wow, you really do get some bad advice hun don't you!! Neither of my boys drank cows milk before 12 months, both were bf until at least 14 months and both love thier cows' milk now (not that that's necessarily a good thing, I have my doubts about how good it is for them). Good on you for putting up with it all!

Thanks for the replies ladies.
I'm still trying to give her 4 BF's but she hasn't been very interested in her second feed so iv? just been offering it to her a bit later.
I will try & express some milk for her cup & see how she goes, it's not like she's starving anyway she's a very chubby bubby. lol
It's hard when your given conflicting advice by people such as CHN when you think you can trust them to know what they're talking about & give you the right information & advice especially when your a first time mum so you don't really know any different.

I agree Jo Jo, the conflicting advice is very hard. I

Hi Jojo,

Sorry to hijack your thread, but I have a similar issue. DD is nine months old and is just starting daycare two days per week because I am about to go back to work. She has always been BF and now has about 4 feeds a day, but like you, seems to be dropping a feed. I have always been able to express in the past but now am totally unable to get ANYTHING when I express. I had planned to send her to daycare with EBM in a cup, but am now having serious doubts as to whether I am going to be able to get any milk for her! I have tried all the tips for getting a letdown, but no luck. I think it has now become a psychological thing because I am stressing about it!
Anyway, bottom line is, and this is where I might be of help to you, I rang the ABA and they said that at nine months old, and having three solid meals a day and plenty of water, realistically, for two days per week DD could go without BF during the day, and just have the morning and evening ones, and then I would BF as normal for the rest of the week.
Sounds like you could do this too, esp if DD is not so interested in the second feed anyway??

I am really worried about DD not getting enough milk like this, but I also don't want to have to start formula now when we are so close to 12 months and can move straight to cows milk.

Sorry to hijack :redface:, but does anyone disagree with the ABA on this one? Will DD be ok on just two feeds on the two days I work? Should I try formula, just to see if she'll take it? I don't want to be denying bubs nutrition just because I don't want to give her formula, but I am really struggling with expressing. :confused:,

Thanks for listening!

Linds, I would probably go with the ABA advice on this one, but for my own peace of mind I think I'd try to sneak a few extra feeds in over the rest of the week. Just like us, if we have a day or two where we eat or drink less then we might have an extra snack or two the day after because our bodies tell us to.

BTW water is good, but around that age (9 months) I started giving DD1 rice milk. We delayed the intro of all dairy (ie no jar baby foods, yoghurts, custards) until after 12 months due to family allergy history, but rice milk was a good substitute because I could use it in cooking and to make up little custards, etc without cows milk. We were seeing a dietician and this is what she recommended. DD1 was in FDC two afternoons a week and she had a small cup of rice milk if she was thirsty in that time. It is sweet-tasting like EBM.

Thanks Marydean, that's a good idea. Where can I buy rice milk from? I've never seen it before, but then I've never looked for it either!

Just my experience.

DD basically walked away from bf at 8 months and refused to take a bottle (she is still strong willed to this day!). I gave her cows milk in a cup, along with a varied diet and she had no adverse effects from that but we don't have any history of lactose intolerance etc in our family.

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It's hard when your given conflicting advice by people such as CHN when you think you can trust them to know what they're talking about & give you the right information & advice especially when your a first time mum so you don't really know any different.

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JoJo, my CHN didn't know what rice cereal was made out of (WTF???), or why it was recommended as a first food over wheaten cereals! Eeeep.

Linds, it's sold in the supermarket where the soy milk is, near the longlife cows milk, usually on the top shelf. Read the label to make sure there's nothing in it you wouldn't want to give (it's a long time since I looked and I can't remember if some brands have additives like flavoring). Good luck, I'll be doing it all again in a couple of months time too :)!

I think the advice from the ABA sounds good. It is similar to what my boys also. I would go with that.

Thanks for all the info,
The rice milk is a good idea, i hadn't heard that.

Linds - i was also told that my dd could go without the other BF if she was having the 3 solids & water also, but my dd really loves the booby, i don't know how i'll ever wean her! She uses it for comfort sometimes too. I don't really need to go back to work i just thought if they were desperate they could give me a call. I think i would be too worried about her going without the BF so i'm thinking i might just put it off untill she's a bit older.

Suse - i feel like i get better advice from this site than CHN, she is lovely but sometimes i just have to go with my instincts.

Jo jo, it is possible to return to work and still bf. I have done it twice and it didn't interfere with bfing. But if you don't feel ready, extra time at home could be nice too. I am sure that whatever decision you make will be the right one and either way you can continue a rewarding bfing journey.

Thanks MantaRay, i know i could still keep the BF & work if i had to. I don't really need to return yet as my position is still available to me for a while yet & we are doing fine on one wage atm. I just thought it might be nice to have a day to socialise & a bit of mind stimulation, though i do have a pamper nite on Sunday's with my sisters & i do dancing one nite a week & have started to have a massage every month or so, so i'm doing ok!!
I might enjoy time at home with her a little bit longer while i can, & if they are desperate for a fill in at work every now & then i guess i can just worry about it when the time comes.