I'm just wondering how you went about doing this.
I was given the go ahead to start trying whole milke w/Zac. I gave him one ounce after his lunch yesterday and one ounce today after his lunch. I was PLANNING on giving him one ounce tomorrow as well. After that (considering all is well) I was planning on upping it to two ounces after lunch for a few days. Is it safe to say he can handle it if he goes over a week w/ a few ounces a day? Or how do I do this?
I still plan to nurse him in the morning and evening. I'd like to give him a bottle of whole milk once in the afternoon for now though. I just don't know how to work it up to that point. Anyone who has already successfully done so, advice would be appreciated! :)
Also...what would you say is the longest amount of time that will go by...well put it this way...when is it safe for me to assume he will not have any reactions to the milk/ After how many days? (I dont suspect any as he's handled all foods in the past w/no issues).
TIA

Sara..When I switched Andrew, I just switched him, KWIM? there was no build up, or anything. His PED said if there were no food allergies in the family then more then likely he wouldn't react. So I just put milk in a bottle and gave it to him..He either finished or he didn't. Just go with you instincts and you will be fine. I don't think there is a right or wrong way to doing this:smt047

Good Luck...Let us know how Zac does, and PS your new PIC is too cute. Did you do that on Photoshop?

Thanks and Thanks! Yes, I added those clouds and hearts on photoshop ;)

Good questions Sara... as we have talked about this before. I've tried a bit of whole milk (KIM, dd is MSPI) and she didn't drink a whole lot of it. However, when she was about 5 mos. old, I just happened to give her an entire bottle and she drank it down right away.

Don't mean to hijack... ladies, do you think that I'd be doing wrong if I just started giving it to her? Some say if she's hungry enough, she'll drink it. Or should we work up to it like Sara? I'm thinking this is a better way to see if she'll have a reaction.

In other words, I have the same questions as Sara. Feel free to offer some advice.

LoL Sandy...
Yea I guess maybe I could just offer him a bottle of it. He really does suck it down ( I swear this kid has never turned away anything offered to him.) THE MAIN thing I'm concerned about is constipation issues. I know Nathan had some in the beginning and we SURE dont need that. So that's MY reasoning for starting out little bit at a time; to watch for stool issues.

O.K.
JMO
here's what I would do and have done with both my kids.
First off I don't put milk in the bottle, only in a cup, and I don't put breast milk or formula into a cup. The cup is for milk only. (I even use a different cup for juice and/or water)
This way they are in control of weaning themselves. as they take more milk from the cup they nurse or take fewer bottles. Things happen more gradually or I guess I should say naturally (because Eric went fast), and they can gauge better what they want or need in their diet.

I realize it's different for each baby/mother, but this way is what makes since to me, because it's so basic.

As far as reactions
I think it does matter how much they drank. Just little amounts may make symptoms to vague to read right away. This will help keep your baby more comfy if there is a problem, but you may not notice all the signs until they have been drinking more and for a longer stretch. Then you are risking their diet and nutrition again by having to take it away and replacing it with something else that is different nutritionally.

O.K. I just re-read and I'm not sure if I made any sense at all. LOL
Oh well, I tried

LoL A bit confusing but I think I get it. Problem is...Zac doesn't drink much out of the sippy cup. I only offer water at meal times in his sippy cup because he'll only take a few sips at a time. He drinks the most fluids with his bottles. He doesn't understand yet that he has to tip his sippy cup in order to get at it so I have to help him and even then, the fluid still comes out a bit fast for him. So he is currently getting his breast milk from the boob LoL and his juice/water combo. from the bottle and water from the sippy. I planned on giving milk in the bottle only because I can't get him to drink enough from sippy. Did THAT make sense? LOL

UGH! Eric was awful at the sippy cup at first. I thought he would never get it, so I understand your frustration.

When we first switched he was only drinking maybe 3 oz a day, but within a month to 6 weeks he was done with his bottles and drinking closer to 12 to 16oz of milk a day, but I don't offer water or juice while I'm weaning.

Now this isn't great for the average bear (intake wise), but for Eric it was more than he has ever drank in his life (minus a few good streaks here and there) Now he drinks the same amount of milk plus a pediasure a day.

Emilia took a lot longer to wean because she liked her booby and bottles. about 3 months

O.K.
I keep rambling today every time I answer a post.
I think I'm done for the day, because I'm having a hard time understanding myself. LOL
Take care!
Good luck with however you decide to do things!

Thanks minnie lol that was fine!
I plan on not offering juice or water once he's up to drinking more than just an ounce or two of the milk. Right now it's just a trial run. Once I know he's good on this, I will offer him only his milk instead of juice at those times. Or something like that anyway ! :doh: I'll figure it out :roll: LoL

Why does this have to be so hard?? lol... I had given Lauren the milk in her sippy. She didn't take to it, however, she'll drink water/juice combo from it without any problems.

So, should I only offer the milk in a sippy and continue on with bottles of formula? In a sense, I'm trying to wean off the bottle and onto milk at the same time. I just don't know which to do first. Oh, and off of meds. God help me. I want to be done with the bottles already!

Arggg - it IS confusing! BTDT. :D

What we did was for the first few days, we made the first bottle of the day milk, and the rest formula. After about a week, all bottles were milk. We did see poop problems for the first few weeks, but they have gone away for the most part.

And I SO relate to the sippy problems. Nathan will drink out of a sippy, but he takes the name literally - he would only drink a sip or two at a time. So it was going to be impossible for us to cut out bottles. Over time, he has started to drink a bit more at each meal, like maybe 1/2 - 1 oz. So we give him a bottle of milk in the morning and at night, a sippy of milk with all meals, and sippy cups of water or juice in between meals.

Good luck, you guys! Hope the transition is nice and smooooth. :D

" So, should I only offer the milk in a sippy and continue on with bottles of formula? In a sense, I'm trying to wean off the bottle and onto milk at the same time. I just don't know which to do first. Oh, and off of meds. God help me. I want to be done with the bottles already!"

Yes,
That's how I would do it. That way you ARE weaning off the bottle and on to milk at the same time.

I would hold off on weaning the meds though. Get through this first and that way if she does have a hard time or any reactions you won't second guess and think "maybe it's the lack of meds"

Good Luck

Okay, this is how I did.. I added 1oz of milk and 3oz of formula to the bottle.. I did that for each feed for 3 days. then I did half and half, after 2 days, I did 3oz milk and 1oz formula and then after aanother few dyas, made it totally milk. Prior to that, I had put normla milk in with their breakfast cereal.
They had a little pimply rash on their cheeks initially (like those pimples they have as newborns) but that was all... it went away after a couple of days.
We've been on milk for about 6 weeks now and all is just fine. We are now exploring other foods.. like eggs!!
Good luck!

Oh, forgot to add about the sippy.. the boys would NOT drink milk from a sippy.. so that is why I opted for a bottle. Once they had tranistioned to normal milk, I tried giving their night bottle in the sippy.. it was a BIG FAT waste of time! They spat it out night after night, so I've gone back to the bottle for the time being. They will drink a couple of ozs of water out of the sippy cup (actually it's a cup with a straw) during the day.. after meals and snacks.

that's my problem w/zac...he will drink from the sippy but only "SIPS"

For our switch, the GI said that a direct switch is the best way to go. I asked about gradually put her onto her 2% milk, but he prefers to just go right to the milk. So we went right to milk and stopped the formula. No issues whatsoever. But, in Zac's case, maybe only give him a few ounces a day, even if it's just one bottle, then by the time he's one, he'll be taking milk during the day for you and nursing as you want him to.

As for the cup, Cady has refused the cup for all milk, so both the GI and the ped. agree that she can stay on the bottle as long as she wants and let her have control over her own weaning off of it. She happily takes juice and water out of sippys, but milk out of her baba is what makes her happy and gives her comfort, we're just going to let her decide when to stop.

It IS technically the whole milk (vitamin D) that they should start w/ right????? Typically??? I hope so! Cause that's waht i've been giving him :oops:

You're right. Whole milk is what's recommended. Cady hated whole milk and she's big enough to be on 2%. You're giving him the right thing!

Whew! *whiping sweat from brow* I'm surprised he's taking to it so well. No issues at all so far! :) I guess I shouldn't be that surprised.

Glad to hear he has transitioned well... I didn't think we would have any problems becasue the boys had been eating cheese and yoghurt prior to the swtich and they were fine with these dairy foods... so Zacman is probably the same. *phew* We're lucky they don't have intolernaces aye?

Just wanted to say good luck to Zac on the transition! You're smart to look out for the signs of constipation and start slow. I hope he takes to it well!

Emma, on the other hand, will be on Alimentum until 18 months. :(

Tell Zac to chug down an icy cold bottle of real milk for Em! :iconbigg:

We're lucky they don't have intolernaces aye?
Indeed! Although he hasn't had MUCH yogurt or cheese, but it's definitely been in a lot of thigns he's aten. We should be fine. I'm just worried about the poops ;)

Just wanted to say that the ped emailed me today and said if Zac likes the milk, and is not reacting to it, to go ahead and give it to him with his meals. She said if I still feel up to nursing I could do so when i'm relaxed, and that "he will continue to receive my defenses and his gastrointestinal flora will continue being protected against infections." Whatever that means! Sounds fine to me. I still plan on nursing in the morning and before bed for a couple more months MAYBE. JUST incase I should have to turn away from the milk for whatever reason, i will still have some kind of supply to rebuild upon.

Sounds like a good plan, Sara! Oh, and I am so glad his gastrointestinal flora will be protected! :smt102:smt043

right?? lol