Weaning from breastfeeding

I haven recently dropped daytime nursing sessions apart from the very first one when my LG wakes up. She then nurses at nighttime. When at nursery she will accept at least a few oz of oat milk during the day (they’ve tried her with cows milk but she point blank refuses). At home she refuses to have cows milk or any other substitute even though at times I know she really wants to nurse. It can take hours of refusal before she will accept a bottle or cup of milk from me or my husband. I try to give her as much dairy in the way of food as possible to account for this as I really don’t want to force her or create a negative association with milk in case she comes round to the flavour in future. Has or is anyone else experiencing this refusal or heavy reluctance with your LO? How are you dealing with it? I don’t produce enough milk to pump breast milk and mix cows in anymore unfortunately!

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After 12 months they don't actually need 'milk' as long as they are getting good amounts of dairy in their solids. This is what my health visitor told me last week as I was getting some advice re stopping g breastfeeding as well. My LO refused cold cows milk at first but I started warming it and she took it. Keep offering and as long as you are offering dairy in her solids this is okay (my understanding) Good luck

That’s reassuring, thank you. I’ve been offering warm oat milk but I may try cows and see if we have any luck. Do you offer in a bottle or cup? Have you done any mixing with breast milk or have you just given your LG it straight?

I’d echo what Hayley has said. They don’t need milk after 12 months. Plenty of yogurt cheese etc is fine. Breastmilk has lots of benefits so continue with that for as long as you can/ want but oat milk/ cows milk doesn’t have the same immunity benefits etc and anything you get from it can be got from a varied diet. Lots of people choose to give milk as toddlers are often fussy so the varied diet can be hard to come by so it’s an easy way to pack things in x

So I had already introduced a bottle of formula at around 7months so I initially transitioned that one to cows milk then just did a straight switch to cows milk at the other milk times. I've been giving it in a bottle just because I didn't want it to be a massive change for her of which health visitor said is fine. I have bought though the munchkin transition cups which I believe are meant to be a good transition from bottle to cup. So my LO self weaned the first morning feed, she's currently still breastfed at lunch but I plan on dropping that this weekend as she starts nursery next week. She gets milk pre bed and then she's been weaned of breast at night. We try and resettle first overnight-if it doesn't work we offer warm cows milk in a bottle which was the plan that my health visitor gave us. She said some still wake overnight for a feed but she said as long as you try resettle first. So far it's working. Good luck

Thank you both so much for responding 🩷

Will just say from someone who has a little one allergic to cows milk - oat milks aren’t all the same. If you use it as a drink you just need to check it has iodine added. Though you should be fine if your little one is eating other dairy stuff

My little girl has never drunk milk from a bottle/cup and was ebf until 11m when I weaned her. She has porridge, yoghurt, cheese plenty of dairy and calcium.

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