Day care EBM bottle "weaning" advice or experience

[seekingsun]

My DD will be one (where has the time gone!) in a few weeks and I would like to wean her from getting expressed BM bottles at day care. Pumping is getting harder and harder for me and output is getting less all the time. 

She is in day care 3 days a week and with me the other days. She gets a 3oz EBM bottle mid morning and mid afternoon at day care only. I want to start phasing those out and wasn't sure if anyone had advice on the best method. Should I just start cutting back the amount of milk in each bottle, or just cold turkey cut out one of the bottles (morning or afternoon) and then a week or two later cut out the other one? Then she would nurse for "breakfast" before daycare, and as she likes once she is back home in the evening/overnight. I would assume I might want to keep this same schedule at home, and just offer solids during the daytime and not nursing? It might be confusing to her (and her tummy) to get EBM on the days she is home but not at day care.

I had to cut out dairy due to her sensitivity and tummy troubles to the dairy in my diet. I have been slowly trying to add it back in, and try some with her, but she still seems to get some stomach pains. So for now I wouldn't want to replace those EBM bottles with milk (or dairy formula). Unless I did a milk alternative (almond milk is what I drink). Otherwise she is great at feeding herself solids and is a really good eater.

Thanks!

[Greenlea]

I would just try going cold turkey on at least one of the bottles at daycare and see how she does. She may just be fine for it, unless its for her naps - then that could be harder. But you might be surprised at how easily she gives it up.  I stopped pumping for my son at daycare at 10 mths (it was just getting too much or me) and he went cold turkey himself. Refused a bottle of anything else and was fine on solids until I was with him.

[JudiAU]

Assuming that you are nursing her at home and not giving her bottles there is no need to change your at-home practices. You will probably find that your supply dips when you stop pumping though and she might stop being interested. I don't think there will be confusion with nursing at home with her mom and daycare bottle practices.

At one, I would urge you to consider a supplemental nutritious milk of some type if you aren't going to provide bm. Hemp, coconut, almond, organic soy, or soy toddler formula are all nutritious and although 6 oz a day isn't a whole lot, it still provides a lot of nutrition at that age.

[jewel1288]

Cold turkey means your supply will drop even lower (including days that you're home), which if she struggles with going turkey, will make your supply more difficult to regain or retain on off days. I'd suggest weaning from day care bottles in the same manner that you would if she were breastfeeding: slowly. If you're on the fence about weaning her while at day care, I would suggest fenugreek; it's a liquid supplement that tastes a little like maple syrup, but stronger and a tiny bit less sweet. Or lactation cookies, but those are a baking project. Fenugreek can be added to juice or water without altering juice flavor. Just a few drops a day will aid in keeping your supply up, should you choose to do so instead of weaning.

If you decide to replace your ebf, I'd suggest almond or coconut milk. Soy is a gmo, which is bad enough, but also greatly takes hormones out of natural balance, which can lead to many health concerns, like cancer, infertility, and the like. Soy just is not good at all,  so avoid it like the plague. Here are a few links about it.