Most of you know I'm working on getting whole milk into Zac's diet. He's been taking 3-4 oz. every day for a few weeks now w/no issues (other than a bit firmer stools). Most of you also know that my GOAL is to cut the nursing down to only once in the a.m. and once in the evening. I just dont know how to go about cutting the two afternoon snacks. Not because of any issue w/zac...he takes the whole milk fine. I'm wondering if I am supposed to just cut both of them, cold turkey...or cut out one first, then another??? Is there any issue regarding my milk supply that I need to be aware of if I cut both at the same time? Also, if he only nurses am and pm....would one bottle of milk during the day suffice? How much??? :dontknow: I also offer him 3 parts water/one part juice throughout the day. I did email my ped regarding this also...shall see what she says but I wanted your input, too.
TIA

I don't know much about weaning down nursing to only two times a day, but I do know that with bottle feeding, the average is 24 ozs. of milk every 24 hours. Cady gets three 8 oz. bottles of milk per day. Before then, we were doing four 6-oz. bottles. You don't have a great way to guage how much Zac is getting the two times that he does nurse, but I'm guessing it would be between 6-8 ozs. You might be okay doing two 6 oz. bottles during the day or even doing just one 8 oz. bottle. Did I just confuse you even more? If I did, I'm sorry. Hopefully, nursing moms have some better advice. I think, though, if I was nursing, Sara, I'd probably wean out one nursing at a time to prevent a sudden drop in milk supply. I'm sure you'll figure out a great solution!

Thanks Judy. I have been doing three times a day the past two days...its just that we were like CLOCKWORK w/the four nursings...now things are a bit confusing in the afternoons until he and I figure out a good schedule. You didn't confuse me, it made sense ;)
I AM confused because I also heard 16 oz. a day for a one year old :dontknow:

I think it depends on the doctor you talk to. Both the GI and Cady's ped. concurred that 24 ozs. was good for her. She is on 2%, rather than whole, so I don't know if that has any impact on their decision. See...I did confuse you. I think a good majority of doctors say 16 oz., well Cady's ped. and GI, I think are a minority here with this.

I know you've told me in the past, but why is she on 2% again??? Sorry :oops: I forgot

Cady is on 2%, because she absolutely refuses to drink whole milk, much like her big sister. Cady is also really big, 25 lbs, and does not need extra calories or fat. The GI believes that Cady's reflux could be aggravated by the high fat content in whole milk. I don't think that's true, however. She needs milk and I'd rather have her on a lower-fat milk that she will drink, rather than trying to force whole milk down her that she hates.

Kaylin hated whole and 2% and was put on skim at the age of 15 months. She was big, but not as big as Cady, but the ped. said if that's all she'll drink, then there's nothing we can do about it.

Makes sense ;) Thanks.

Hi Sara,

I am curious what your doc says, but I would guess that you would be fine eventually offering BF in a.m. and p.m., and a milk bottle (or sippy) in the middle of the day. Both peds we have seen say 16 oz is fine for toddlers between 1-2 yrs old, and all the main websites (like Baby Center) have a guideline of 16 - 24 oz a day. So I would think you are right on!

Also, maybe it would be better to cut out just one of the afternoon BFs at a time so that you don't have supply issues.

Let us know what your ped says! :D

I'll preface this by saying that I"m just a nursing mom, totally NOT an expert! (I am neither an expert, nor do I play one on TV...*lol*)

I have been wondering the same thing...Bethy nurses before both naps and before bed for a total of 3 times per day (plus little nips here and there for comfort sometimes and her one or two sessions in the middle of the night). She gets the cup at mealtimes and throughout the day (she won't drink from it, but that's another story entirely).

My feeding specialist told me that since Bethy strongly associates b'feeding with going to sleep, it will be next to impossible for me to cut out one or two sessions without cutting out all of them--she'll likely get confused as to why she can't nurse before daytime sleepy, but can before nighttime sleepy.
I don't know how accurate this info is, but worth throwing out there.

I would take one snack away first, probably am and then in a couple of weeks take the other away. I did that with Cooper and it worked fine with 3 feeds, if you take both away too soon it will play havoc on your supply, saying that most people (me included's) milk supply doesn't last long on 2 feeds. As soon as I was on 2 feeds we had weaned 2 weeks later. But then again some people have so much milk that 2 is fine, unfortunatley it is wait and see!

Mary,
Fortunately for me...NONE of Zac's nursings are for sleepy time. They are actually after he wakes in the morning, after his morning nap and after his afternoon nap...then once after dinner. THankfully that part wont be an issue.
Rachel...that's scarey because I'd die if i lost my supply for him...as I want to be 100% certain he is good w/the whole milk before I cut out the breast milk...which may take a month or so.

Then I would definatley only drop one feed for a little while, till your supply gets used to it, i may be wrong I know some mums who can just feed once a day- I always had supply problems- also Cooper was over 1 so I think he was just as ready to wean as I was.

OK...here was the ped's response to my email:

"I'm glad to hear that Zac is doing well with milk and that he is eating everything. He will not have any problem with the weaning of the breast either. If you want you can stop the afternoon feedings as you wish and offer him the whole milk as a snack if he still wants it. He needs now 16 to 24 oz of milk or milk products (if he nurses twice a day it will be difficult to know how much he takes, but if you see him drinking at least 2 cups or eating some cheese or yogurt he will be fine). He can eat his birthday cake too (after the year the intestine is thicker and allergens don't go through it that easily.

If when you skip a breastfeeding session your breast feels lumpy or painful, you can take Tylenol or Motrin, put a cold compress to decrease the blood flow towards the breast or if you are too uncomfortable pump, and offer that milk to him. The pump won't make you produce as much milk as Zac will, so your breast will dry the production slowly."