Milk alternative for breastfeeding 11mo.

[nanamar]

I am currently breastfeeding my 11mo with no intentions on weaning any time soon. She is actually a boobaholic with not much interest in solid food, so she nurses A LOT!!!! My situation is that I am in school for at least 6 hours a day and she is in daycare. I do not have a lot of time to pump between classes so the daycare have milk for her during the day. I do not feel comfortable giving her cows milk, but would like to introduce an alternative, easy to digest milk. It would only be used at daycare, to mix with cereal or for a sippy cup, so it will not replace breastmilk. But I am very close to stop pumping at school...
What do you recommend and why??

TIA...

[mamadelbosque]

My DS1 started getting raw cows milk around 15 months when I finally found a source for it (I'd held off on any sort of milk till then). Raw animal milk of some sort (whether cow or goat or sheep or whatever), would be my first choie for an under 2 yr old child. My DS2 is 8.5 nearly 9 months now and I've been debating in my head whether/when to introduce raw cows' milk in a sippy. I haven't done so yet, but will be sometime in the next couple of months. Good luck!!

[Rosehip]

My DS started refusing expressed milk @ 9 months. He drank only water while I was gone (full-time) and ate solids (great appetite for solids). He nursed when I was home, and during the night. I started giving him a bit of cow's milk @ a year, but never in any serious quantity. If she's nursing @ night, and eating a good variety of solids, I would be fine with a nearly 1 year old going 6 hours w/o milk. Lots of kids go for much longer stretches overnight. I realize the daycare may not go for this, and a lot of moms don't like the idea either, though.

Now, at age 3 & 5, my kids really like Kefir. I get a bottle of unsweetened & a bottle of fruit flavored & mix them so it's not quite so much sugar. As far as I know, it's a yogurt based drink, so I'd think you could give her some of that if you feel you need something other than water. My kids maybe drink 6 oz/day.

[inky leeuhhh]

sorry to steal the thread, but i was wondering if raw cows milk would be any kinder on the tummy than regular cows milk? i tried giving dd regular milk, but she can not tolerate it. she is drinking rice milk now during the day while i work. she nurses plenty at night, so im not as concerned about nutrients, but likes the comfort of a bottle during the day 2-3 times. she does well with the rice milk, but im not super thrilled with how processed it is.

[cristeen]

Just a warning that going 6+ hours without pumping may hurt your supply...

How much is she wanting to drink during the day while you're gone? How much solids is she eating? How often is she nursing the rest of the day on school days?

Typically, at 11 mos, I would be recommending formula before any other alternative milks. BM or formula is really what babies need for the first year. But for 6 hours, if she's eating a fair bit of solids and nursing well the rest of the day, then you may just want to go with water and see how that goes.

[nanamar]

How much is she wanting to drink during the day while you're gone? How much solids is she eating? How often is she nursing the rest of the day on school days?

She holds a sippy with bm for about an hour just taking sips randomly. She only eats what she can feed herself, which is not much, and she nurses every two hours at night but thats a different topic...

Thanks Mommas!

[SollysMom]

At 11 months, I would probably just encourage more solid consumption and just include water for drinking. Maybe you could gradually start sending less EBM so she can get used to getting more calories from solids? My DS1 is 2 1/2 (still nursing) and only drinks water from a cup, has never liked any other kind of milk. At 11 months, his appetite for solids wasn't great so I would have to pump if I was ever away from him for more than a few hours, but if I went to work or school and had to routinely be away from him for extended periods and didn't want to pump, I would have done whatever I could to encourage more solids. We did BLW so he's always fed himself.

[justKate]

We started giving DD raw goat's milk at 11/12 mos. We suspected a cow's milk protien sensitivity, and I was done pumping at work.

Reasons we went with raw goat's milk (and pasturized goat's milk from the grocery store when we run out):
1. DD HATES formula. And I don't blame her. At 11/12 mos. we didn't think it was necessary for her to drink something she didn't like.
2. Goat's milk is nutritionally similar to cow milk, but seems easier to digest.
3. Goat's milk is more nutritious than rice milk.
4. B/c of the suspected cow milk protein sensitivity, we didn't consider soy a good option.
5. DD was still BFing in the evenings and through the night, so she was getting what she needed anyway.
6. We have a good local source of raw goat milk.

Here's a link to www.kellymom.com's goat milk info. Some of the links in the additional info are pretty interesting.