Supplementing with whole milk at 10+ months?

[@llli*anna.vanna]

Once again, thank you all ladies for sharing your experiences and opinions. It looks like my main misconception was that in order to wrap up pumping soon after LO's first birthday I have to gradually pump less and less. But from what you are telling me it seems that I would be able to stop pumping pretty quickly once she is one, so for now I'll go down to 3 nursing sessions at work (since 4 are just driving me nuts) and see how it goes.

Thank you all again!

[@llli*mommy2lilah]

I was able to pump wean pretty fast with my second baby. I did a more gradual thing like you are talking about with Lilah starting at 10 months, but it as because I was pumping way more than she was drinking. I think I may have even just quit cold turkey with Beatrix. It's been less than a year since I stopped pumping for her, but I can't remember. Anyway, you could probably pump wean over the span of two weeks or less.

[@llli*lidarln]

I still think you are missing Jenna's point. No one here doesn't understand wanting an end game for the pump. And what she is saying is even if you aren't worried about the tummy issues that your baby could get by not actually being ready to digest cow's milk at this point, even if that doesn't concerning, cutting out pumping session this early COULD VERY WELL affect your ablity to breastfeed period. So THAT needs to be considered. Whereas if you just wait until the year point your supply will be stable enough that you will be able to pump wean completely AT a year and not have it affect anything. Weaning from a pump is not like weaning for a child. And your plans to do it gradually over the course of the next two months COULD in fact DAMAGE your supply. Because you are talking about giving up signals to make milk. Whereas once you get to the year point you are talking about dropping one session a week. So if you are willing to roll the dice with her digestion AND your supply than by all means have at it. But IMO it's a terrible idea. Right now or next month you will likely hit a wall. Most pumpers do between 9&10 months. And nothing they do to increase supply helps. Dropping a session when all that is going on seems like the worst idea possible in terms of supply. I would keep doing what you are doing and if you don't hit a wall at 11 months start doing what you are talking about doing.

THIS... ALL OF IT

[@llli*still.here]

Once again, thank you all ladies for sharing your experiences and opinions. It looks like my main misconception was that in order to wrap up pumping soon after LO's first birthday I have to gradually pump less and less. But from what you are telling me it seems that I would be able to stop pumping pretty quickly once she is one, so for now I'll go down to 3 nursing sessions at work (since 4 are just driving me nuts) and see how it goes.

Thank you all again!

Wow, that is a lot of pumping and you have done a great job by keeping that up this long! By 10 months I think I was down to 2 sessions per day. BUT I supplemented with formula until she was one (and had been supplementing with formula all along). Then at about 12.5 mos I stopped pumping cold-turkey.

Shelly is right, a lot of mamas hit a supply wall right around 9-10 mos and have trouble keeping up pump production so keep that in mind as well in your decision-making process.

[@llli*phi]

I think if you drop that 4th pump (and I totally get why you would want to do that), you might be able to offer to nurse a couple extra times at home (perhaps squeeze in a dream feed before you go to sleep and/or just as you wake up) and not worry too much about a supplement. Maybe just make sure she gets some full fat yoghurt or cheese at lunch, or something like that - the culturing process makes those foods easier on the tummy than uncultured milk. Nursing maintains your supply better than pumping anyway, so that might help keep your supply up despite the dropped pumping session. I don't know - maybe there are drawbacks that I'm not seeing that others here might be able to shed some light on, but it seems at least worth a try to me. My son generally wants to nurse more on the days I work just to reconnect, so it might not be too difficult to fit in a little more nursing.

Personally, dropping just one pumping session was very liberating for me and helped me keep going a little longer. You might find that it's much easier to finish off the rest of the year after lightening the load by just that one session. Then, as others have mentioned, you should be able to pump wean entirely fairly quickly. That year mark is really close (even if it doesn't seem like it now), so hang in there. Try to make your pumping breaks actual breaks and listen to some music or read or watch a video or something that you enjoy.

I just want to add that pumping 4x a day for 9.5 months is really quite an accomplishment. Pumping is such a drag, and you should be proud of yourself for pushing on as you have.

[@llli*littleturtlelove]

aprilsmagic: I never said whole milk was bad. Everyone has to do what works for them. I was only stating what the AAP says. I also agree not all of what they say about things is entirely true, but giving whole milk in replacement of breastmilk before 1 is a scientific based fact that it is not a good subsitute for a baby until they are 1. I know some countries do it differently and everyone is entitled to their opinion of what will and will not work. I pump weaned when my son was 11 mo, did I give cows milk? No... Did I give formula before he was one? No... I gave him coconut milk until he turned one while I was at work part time. I am not trying to talk out of both sides of my mouth, but as far as professional advice I have to say scientifically even though as a friend I would say different.
Good luck with the pump weaning! Take it slow! It is much easier on you!

[@llli*lllkaren]

I'm going to chime in with my 2 cents here, though I'm pretty much just reiterating what others have already said...

Cow's milk as a replacement for breastmilk before 1 year is not recommended, because it doesn't have the right levels and proportions of nutrients for human babies (not enough iron, too much protein, sodium, and potassium).

Small amounts of cow's milk in addition to breastmilk before 1 year may or may not be an issue; I expect that some babies could tolerate it better than others. But since cow's milk can be hard for babies to digest, can interfere with iron absorption, and is high in sodium, it's probably better to use formula if you need to supplement with something.

[@llli*anna.vanna]

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread. I've decided to pump x3 times a day until DD is one year old (or until I cannot bear to do it anymore, whichever comes first).

If necessary I'll supplement with my sizable freezer stash (assuming supplementation of 1-2 ounces, I have more than enough to make to one year old) and I've also discovered that DD LOVES yogurt, so I'll make sure she gets some at least a few times a week. Hopefully she'll continue increasing her solids intake and I can pump-wean soon after she turns one.

Thanks again!

[@llli*phi]

I think that sounds like a good plan. Good luck!

[@llli*sch.mommy]

I think that sounds like a good plan. Good luck!