Almost time to stop BF

[torontomamma]

I have decided that I will stop bf soon (like in the next month or so), as I am going back to work and with the travelling lo and I will have to do, it makes more sense to me to be able to give her milk instead.

I am down to 1bf in the morning and a 8+ oz bottle at night of soy formula.  I have also started giving her homo milk with snack in the afternoon about 3oz and she has been fine and loves it.

I have a few questions that I hope you can help with:

How much homo milk will she need in a day? 
If I do 3-4 oz in the am, and 3oz in the pm and the before bed bottle  of soy formula (which I plan to keep for a while)is that enough?
What should I do to help the boobs dry up?  I heard cabbage - does that really work?
Any suggestions on how to wean the am feed?  So far, I am trying to increase the time between wake up and feed, we are now at about 30 min.  Should I move breakfast earlier?  Should I start giving breakfast before the am feed?

Not really sure how to go about this, any help is much appreciated.

Thanks wonderful mods!  Don't know what I would do without you!

 :-*Jaime

[Samuel's mum]

Hey it's not just the mods who are wonderful - we all are . In fact this mod has no relevant personal experience to offer in this area but I can tell you a few things I do know.

The issue with cow's milk as a main drink below 12 months is dealt with differently from country to country. In the UK we're told to hold off giving it as the main milk until 12 months due to potential issues with the way protein is processed by little kidneys. The AAP in the US also recommend waiting until 12 months. There's also a tendency towards anemia in young cow's milk drinkers as it can interfere with the absorption of iron.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=1594357

From 9-12 months you're looking at a minimum of around 625ml per day of milk (20oz). Here's one clear source of info:
http://www.bchealthguide.org/healthfiles/hfile69c.pdf
This is a Canadian source and I note it also mentions whole milk should not be a bf substitute until 12 months but only small amounts should be offered in addition to regular bf or formula.

So 8oz + 4 + 3 would be a bit short. I think you're going to have to reconsider TBH. Either pumping longer than you were going to or using some kind of formula. If you feel strongly you want to use cow's milk I would certainly suggest you talk to your doctor and find out why the advice is the way it is.

As for 'drying up' - the first step is to gradually reduce the demand so slowly cutting back on feeds. I would try and reduce the length of time she feeds at the breast or offering the bottle first and then breast. Some people to be extra careful finish by pumping a very small amount and gradually pump less and less. Yes, I would make breakfast earlier if you think that would help. Just play around with the routine as you are doing so she doesn't expect the bf. I wouldn't bother too much with the cabbage to be honest - it's pretty horrid and reducing 'demand' from the breast is really the way to go.

HTH

[torontomamma]

Thanks for the advice Emma.  By the time we begin this adventure, Grace will be about 11-11.5 mos, so I can easily wait another couple of weeks before introducing the whole milk substitute.  I just thought as it was close so it might be OK, I will check with the ped at our next visit. 

I really just want to transition away from the boob before my first day back at work (her 1 yr birthday), so I may try offering formula in her cup and see how it goes.

As for the cabbage advice - it does sound pretty awful... I will start decreasing feed time - maybe over a week or so.

And yes, everyone is wonderful!

  Jaime

[Samuel's mum]

If you are talking a matter of a couple of weeks you'll probably be fine. I thought 9 months - she's talking about another month. 
You may just need to up the quantities a little bit though. 12 months + you're looking at 12-18oz.

First day back at work is her birthday - that sucks. She'll have to be like the queen and have an 'official' birthday another time.

[torontomamma]

Sorry, my fault.  I already think of Grace as being 10 mos, but not til Tuesday.

I am going to try to get her birthday as a vacation day, but haven't heard back yet.  That would suck, going back to work that day - the tears will be flowing for sure!

Thanks for the info on amounts - do lo's get the hang of cups eventually and start drinking more, or should I introduce an am bottle?

Jaime

[First Time Mom]

I would start a sippy cup if you haven't already. My lo is just over 12 mths and I went back to work this week. I had her practice with a sippy and now she takes it well, had no luck with a bottle and it's just as well. I asked my ped about the whole milk as I was curious why in Canada we're told it's ok to start earlier, she said it is because in Canada growth hormones are illegal in cows but not in other countries. Not sure if I believe that though.

How much travel do you do and for how long? I do some travel with my job (overnight stays) and I plan on still bfing. So far I'm finding my dd does fine with me adjusting bfing times- my days off she gets an extra 11am feed. My overnights will only be 1x each month so I'm hoping to continue with the feeds if possible.

Good luck with your return to work. I cried for the weeks leading up to my return but found on my actual first day back it wasn't bad at all, first week has been great compared to the time leading into my return.

[Samuel's mum]

Yeah - I wouldn't try and introduce a bottle now. We're told in the UK to begin weaning from them from 12 months!

Good Luck on getting the vacation day!

[torontomamma]

She drinks from the sippy cup for her pm snack (the kind with a straw) and likes it pretty good, I just wonder if she will be able to take enough from it without getting bored.

As for travel, I will be taking the subway with her morning and night for about 30 min each way, so I thought sippy cup would be better to help occupy her while we are on the train.

Thanks again for the advice, much appreciated
Jaime

[jbepko]

I am so envious of the time you have had with your LO and I thought I was lucky with 7 weeks of maternity leave... . I started a cow milk wean around 11.5 mo as I started decreased pumpinb b/c I was tired of pumping! If you gradually drop feeding/nursing/pumpings slowly you won't have a problem. I had 3 bouts of mas due to oversupply in the first 4 months and didn't have a single problem while weaning with the slow method. It was slow and nice for both of us.

[torontomamma]

Thanks Jeni, I hope the slow wean works as well for me!  I haven't had any engorgement problems even when weaning down to one bf per day, so I hope I will be okay when stopping all together.

As for Mat leave, we are so lucky here in Canada we get 12 mos paid by the government.  It is a lot less than your regular salary so it is a bit hard, but possible non the less.  I am looking forward to having some spending money however.

I have started increasing the amounts of cows milk I am giving her at lunch time, we are up to about 4-5 oz now and she loves it.  I will start the "official" weaning in January, and so far the morning delay strategy is working also.

Thanks for the encouragement,
Jaime