From breastmilk in a bottle to ????

[Mama Lo]

Need advice mama's.....

DD (15mo) is with my parents 3 days a week when I work, she currently takes two 4oz bottles with them, one before morning nap and one before what used to be an afternoon nap.
I have to pump two times while away to try to get 8 oz, I've been struggling for a few weeks to get that much pumping anymore. We nurse the rest of the week when we're together. She is really good with solids, loves to eat.
I want to relieve some pressure on myself to HAVE to get 8oz when I pump. Yesterday I left 6oz with my mom, she got 4oz the first bottle and went down for nap. Later she got the remaining 2oz and cried when the bottle was gone. She wanted more but there wasn't any.
I'm not ready to give her cow's milk as a drink yet, what can I give her to supplement the breastmilk? And should she start taking it out of a cup vs a bottle?
I intend to keep supplying her with the 4oz bm before naptime, and we have no plans of weaning anytime....help, what's the best thing to give her?!?!

[Ruthla]

At 15mo, I'd be comfortable giving whole cow's or goat's milk if I couldn't pump enough.

I'd suggest that you continue pumping as much as possible, but top off the bottles with another kind if milk if you're not able to pump the full 8oz that day. Alternatively, you can prepare bottles of either breastmilk OR another milk (not mix them) and if you pump 6oz, save the other 2oz for your next workday. You can decide whether you want to mix up the bottles yourself, or leave a package of powdered goat's milk at their house for them to mix up as needed.

I woudln't switch from bottles to sippy cups, for a few reasons. One, the transition from bottle to sippy sometimes results in "taking away snuggle time" as drinking goes from "sucking on a bottle in loving arms" to "drinking out of a cup in the high chair."

Secondly, if you're going to use the sippy cup like a bottle (snuggling in arms while feeding it) then why switch to cups at all? All the "problems" with bottles (causing dental caries, possible ear infections from drinking in a prone position) are NOT solved by sippy cups. I'm firmly convinced that sippy cups are nothing more than glorified bottles; an attempt to get people (who already have enough bottles and bottle supplies) to go out and spend more money setting up the house with sippy cups and supplies.

[Mama Lo]

Anybody else? ideas? suggestions? comments?

[caro113]

DD loves milk. I give her organic rice milk. (She also can't have cows milk or soy milk so we don't have much of a choice.) You don't have to do cows milk.

What about trying some juice? DD drinks different juices throughout the day in addition to her milk and water, because she insists on drinking what I'm drinking, or what anyone around her is drinking.

[craft_media_hero]

I would say keep the nap bottle and switch the second one to more of a "snack time" thing, where she can have a sippy and snacks. Let your parents know that you still want her to get the snuggle time of the bottle feeding (unless maybe she's self-feeding the bottle anyways?). Maybe with a story in the rocker after snack?

At 15 mo, don't feel guilty about not being able to squeeze out that extra two oz when she's away from you! It's okay for both of you, I think, if you cut out one of the pumping sessions.

I also want to second rice or soy milk as a second choice. My dd never got cows milk! She just had mama milk or plant milk.

ETA-if you're anti-sippy, then skip it and have your parents give her tiny drinks in a little "training" cup. Shot glasses are perfect. Adults refill as desired. A lot of people skip the sippy and bottle and just go straight to the little baby cup.

[PatioGardener]

Just remember that rice 'milk' is not suitable for a breastmilk substitute because of the low protein content - better to think of it as rice 'juice'. Great as a thirst quencher but not a breastmilk substitute.

[Mama Lo]

Originally Posted by craft_media_hero

I would say keep the nap bottle and switch the second one to more of a "snack time" thing, where she can have a sippy and snacks. Let your parents know that you still want her to get the snuggle time of the bottle feeding (unless maybe she's self-feeding the bottle anyways?). Maybe with a story in the rocker after snack?

I like the idea of skipping the 2nd bottle but still having some kind of 'special' time. She used to go down for a nap after both bottles but has phased out her afternoon nap. DD does take the bottle with grandma holding and cuddling her. Her comfort "nursing" away from mama.

[Mama Lo]

Originally Posted by PatioGardener

Just remember that rice 'milk' is not suitable for a breastmilk substitute because of the low protein content - better to think of it as rice 'juice'. Great as a thirst quencher but not a breastmilk substitute.

Good to know, I did not know that. I drink cows milk, and I get non-homogenized milk from grass-fed cows. I just have a stigma against giving her a bottle of cows milk yet, I can't really tell you why.