Should I introduce cow's milk?

[juniper_mama]

DS is 12 months old and still gets a significant portion of his calories from breast milk. Next week I'll be returning to work at two days per week and leaving him with a carer in my home. I've recently started expressing so that I have milk to leave for him but I'm worried I won't have enough to meet his needs for the time I'm away. Should I introduce cow's milk (or formula) so that there is a supplement if need be? He's never had a drop of formula and I don't really want to introduce it now if I don't have to. What would you do?

[Llyra]

I don't think I'd introduce it ahead of time, just in case you might need to use it later. I'd say there's plenty of time to introduce another milk, whether you go for formula or cow's milk, when it becomes necessary.

[PatioGardener]

I'd go with expressed milk, solids and water if he is thirsty, and expect that he may reverse cycle those days.

Good luck with your return to work!

[Spiralshell]

It really doesn't seem like there would be any need to introduce formula at all at this point with your babe already 12 months old.
Plenty of solids, water, whatever milk you are able to express, and then lots of nursing when you are back together should be great. I found with my own little one that cow's milk yogurt (Stoneyfield Farms makes an organic whole milk yogurt that's very yum!) was very satisfying to him. So if one of the grandmas who watch him while I'm working was out of breastmilk but he was hungry for more, they would give him yogurt and that would hold him until I got home.
If you do need to introduce some non-mother's milk while you are apart you could do cow's milk, or goat, but you might not need to yet.
After pumping 3X a day at work for 7.5 months, I stopped when my babe turned 1 year, and he now gets cows milk while I'm gone. He loves it, though I recognize that not all babies care for it or handle it without tummy troubles.

[juniper_mama]

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I won't try to push any supplemental milks just yet. DH just tried to give DS EBM in a sippy cup for the first time and he frowned and pushed it away - wouldn't have anything to do with it! Uh oh!