What’s The Best Way To Change From Breast Milk To Baby Formula Feeding?
Saturday, November 21st, 2009 at
4:01 pm
My newborn daughter is now 10 months old and we want a second child, but to do that my wife has to stop breast feeding. Currently my daughter refuses to drink any kind of baby formula and we have tried a couple of types from Similac. Could it be the type of nipple on the bottle. I think there are two types, but I do not remeber which kind we tried using. Do you think it’s the bottle or the taste of the forumla she’s rejecting?
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Your wife does NOT need to stop nursing to get pregnant! She may not be menstrating, but that does not mean she’s not fertile. You should definately discuss this with your family doctor.
In the meantime, if your wife wants to wean she should start weaning her to a sippy cup, not a bottle. At 10 months a sippy cup should be introduced and then you won’t have a bottle habit to break later.
Just do one feeding at a time and you have to remain consistant. You can not give in and give her the breast when she refuses the cup, because she’ll associate the refusal to getting what she wants.
It’s best if someone other than mom tries the first few attempts. Don’t expect immediate results, it takes a few days … baby’s are stubborn and they know how to manipulate. Hold strong and just keep offering the cup. But don’t do it all at once .. it took me about 1.5 months to wean both my daughters, it can be pretty tramatic for both baby and mommy so you need to be patient and move very slowly.
Well if her period has returned, then she doesn’t need to stop breastfeeding. If it hasn’t then she would need to stop in order to get her to ovulate again. I guess you would express milk and mix it with formula, slowly fading out the breastmilk. You could skip a bottle, since after 12 months you dont want your baby on a bottle anyways, and just go straight to a sippy cup. Does you daughter takes water in a sippy yet? Try different cups. Good luck on the next baby.
I bet it’s the taste of the formula. Breastmilk has a sweet taste to it and tastes a lot better. Is it possible for your wife to stick out breastfeeding for a couple more months? Then she could wean on to cowmilk or even soy milk (which is supposed to taste closer to breastmilk). I started offering a little cow milk in my daughter’s sippy around 11 or 12 months.
Your wife doesn’t really have to stop breastfeeding to get pregnant. If it’s an issue with not having her period back yet, she could try cutting out some feedings or spacing them a little farther apart. It is ok to be pregnant and still nurse too. Also, she’s old enough to skip bottles altogether and go to a sippy. This isn’t meant to be anti-formula, but to let you know you guys have some other options. Good luck!
she doesn’t have to stop breastfeeding, just space the feedings apart more. While the baby drinks from one, pump the other. Then when she is hungry again feed her the breastmilk bottle. Your wifes body will notice a skip and might start her period back up if the gaps continue.
have your wife mix half breastmilk and have formula in a bottle and slowly start putting less breastmilk
Try mixing expressed breast milk with the formula. Very very gradually at first. Formula and Breast milk do taste very different. You didnt say if your baby was breast or bottle feeding so it could be the bottle too. You can buy bottles that are nipple shaped but think of it from your daughters point of view? A nice warm breast that smells like mummy to a plastic chewy teat!!! Give her time, she will get there with understanding and time x
http://kellymom.com/bf/normal/fertility.…
Do I need to wean to get pregnant?
Probably not. If you are still transitioning to full fertility (as discussed above), breastfeeding may affect the success of implantation. Once implantation is successful, breastfeeding should not affect a healthy pregnancy (see A New Look at the Safety of Breastfeeding During Pregnancy for more information). If your periods have come back and settled into a regular pattern, it is likely that breastfeeding is no longer affecting your fertility.
Many moms can conceive without deliberately changing their toddler’s nursing patterns. There is no “magic” threshold of breastfeeding that will allow you to conceive — every mother is different. Some moms need to stretch out nursing frequency and/or shorten nursing sessions to make it easier to conceive — babies naturally do this themselves as they get older, so one of your options is simply to wait a bit.
Changes that are more abrupt tend to bring fertility back faster (e.g., cutting out one nursing session abruptly, rather than gradually decreasing nursing time at that session) –even if you continue to breastfeed a great deal– this is why many mothers experience the return of fertility when their child sleeps through the night or starts solid foods. If you decide to make changes to your nursing pattern, the time of day that you make the change (e.g., cutting out or shortening a nighttime nursing session as opposed to a daytime nursing session) should not make that much of a difference. Current research indicates that nursing frequency and total amount of time at the breast per 24 hours are the most important factors, rather than the time of day that the suckling occurs.
A few moms do find it impossible to conceive while nursing, but this is not at all common.
Many mothers wonder whether breastfeeding will affect the reliability of pregnancy tests. It does not — pregnancy tests measure the amount of the hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) in blood or urine, and hCG levels are not affected by breastfeeding. The developing placenta begins releasing hCG upon implantation; a pregnancy can generally be detected with a pregnancy test within 7-14 days after implantation.http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/resou…
Getting Pregnant While Breastfeeding
PDF version (great for printing)
By Hilary Flower, author of
Adventures in Tandem Nursing: Breastfeeding During Pregnancy and Beyond, published by La Leche League International
So you’re breastfeeding and dreaming of a new baby? Good news! Lots of moms are able to conceive a new baby without having to wean their current nursling. Let’s look at seven of the most common questions.
1. Do I have to wean in order to get pregnant?
Probably not. It is true that breastfeeding can delay the return of fertility, especially while frequency and duration of breastfeeding sessions remain high. But most women can become fully fertile while still breastfeeding.1
2. Is there a way to bring my fertility back sooner?
Try tinkering with your breastfeeding pattern. Each pair is different. There is no magic or typical threshold of breastfeeding intensity which predicts the return of fertility. Abrupt changes generally bring back fertility more rapidly and at a higher threshold of breastfeeding frequency than gradual changes.1
Of course, you and your child would have to be ready for a radical change. And bear in mind, your body may be trying to space your children more so as to prolong the special status your current nursling is enjoying!
2. My menstrual cycle has returned; am I fertile yet?
If you are experiencing regular menstrual cycles, and if you were normally fertile before, chances are you have returned to normal fertility. Long, short, or irregular cycles can be a sign that your cycles are not yet fertile. Sometimes it’s just the way your body works; it helps if you have a record of your cycles from before you were breastfeeding.1
2. How can I tell if I am fertile?
If you wish to know more about your fertility status, you can gain remarkable insights using simple family planning methods. Toni Weschler, MPH, includes a section on charting during breastfeeding in her wonderful guide Taking Charge of Your Fertility.
2. Can I get pregnant before my first period?
Yes! Some lucky and patient moms manage to “catch the first egg.” While you are still amenorrhoeic you can monitor your returning fertility on a family planning chart. Patience is the key, because the amenorrheic period when changes are occurring can involve weeks or months of wet cervical fluid. Weschler’s Taking Charge of Your Fertility has great information on this.
2. I have had problems with infertility in the past; should I wean before treatments?
If you’re eager to become pregnant first steps may include charting some cycles or reducing breastfeeding to evaluate your fertility status. If you are not ready to try to conceive, though, you may do well to take precautions since fertility reversals do occur.
Although there is no direct research, there is no obvious reason to believe that fertility treatments would harm the breast milk. To find out the latest on how a particular drug affects breastfeeding, turn to Thomas Hale, MD’s Medications and Mothers’ Milk. Clinical observations suggest that Clomid (Clomiphene) is compatible with breastfeeding.2 And there is no reason to expect that breastfeeding would affect your fertility treatment because the drugs will control your cycle.3
2. Is it safe to continue breastfeeding while pregnant?
Breastfeeding is believed to be compatible with healthy pregnancies. Many moms go on to nurse throughout pregnancy and nurse both newborn and toddler together, an arrangement known as tandem nursing. For the latest in research related to breastfeeding and such concerns as preterm labor, miscarriage, and the nutrition of the unborn child, see my book Adventures in Tandem Nursing: Breastfeeding during Pregnancy and Beyond.
Um, you don’t need to stop nursing that baby for your wife to get pregnant. I’ve gotten pregnant while nursing and so have millions of other women. Just let her nurse, she’s rejecting not having her mom!