Weaning off breastmilk

Has it come time to start the weaning process for your little one? Have you reached the one year mark? I was so excited on Monday for our little one to turn 1 years old. Its bittersweet... He's no longer a baby but emerging as a curious toddler on the go. With him entering into the toddler years, it's time for me to step out of the breastfeeding. I'm happy with my accomplishment of one full year! But whats NEXT? Now how do I get him to transition from the breast milk that he loves so much to cows milk? And more importantly how to get rid of that bottle and use a sippy cup instead?

First off we introduced a sippy cup at 10 months old. (not necessarily to drink from it, but to start the introduction process, and eventually graduate him to using it full time) It helps that his sister uses one at every meal as well. He takes more of an interest in his own to copy his sister.) Little by little he learns how to get the liquid out of it into his mouth, and then to swallow it rather than spit it out. Actually the learning process in the whole food arena is comical to me. But by one years old they are fully equip to handling water and then milk in there very own sippy cup. Don't get me wrong I still will use the bottle for his mid afternoon milk, but working towards a big boy status is always a good thing. I started the other day slowly introducing cows milk and mixing it into my own breast milk. I started by using 4oz breast milk and 2oz regular milk the first and second day. I wanted to see if my son's stomach did OK with the addition of the cow's milk. Ill be slowly changing him over to all cows milk over then next couple of weeks.

Know your stuff! Healthy People 2020 initiative

There has been a huge push for creating healthy individuals for the United States. The idea is if we start out a human from the first breath as a healthy person, this should carry over throughout there entire life! That's where the idea to promote breadfeeding to the public from many different professional started. There are many different benefits to both the baby and the mother when you choose to use breast milk as a source of nutrition for your child. The antibodies in breast milk help fight any virus, or bacteria that may enter into the babies body. By far babies who are breastfed have less illnesses, and are hospitalized less as well! How could you not consider this choice with all those benefits to your youngster. But It gets even better moms also have benefits associated with choosing to breastfeed. You return to your pre-pregnancy weight faster, along reducing the risk of osteoporosis, and studies have also shown that it decreases the chances of breast cancer. With all this good , what are the down falls to breast feeding and why do people choose not to do this? One may be the Time commitment! Its a lot.... of time and dedication. Here are a couple great links to refer to: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs73.pdf and http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/health/breastfeeding-state-laws.aspx

The ABC's about bottle feeding expressed milk

Baby Bottle Nipples

There are two things most nipples are made from. One is silicone the other is latex and they come in various shapes. They also have different "flow rates," which correspond to the size of the nipple's hole. The flow rate will correspond with your babies age and or the way he/she eats.

2. Make sure you sterilize all your bottles

When using your bottles for the first time, sterilize them in a pot of boiling water for 5- 10 minutes. washing bottle after that initial sterilization is easy.. you can soak the bottles and nipples with detergent and hot water, or in the dishwasher.

3. Breast Milk or Formula that's it!

Avoid water or juice in a bottle. Your baby really only needs pumped breast milk or formula. For folks who are intermixing formula with breastfeeding, make sure your reading the directions carefully.

4. Warming Expressed Milk

Remember never to put your breast-milk in the microwave... it'll kill all the nutrients! Rather take your frozen milk and place it in warm water and let it thaw that way.


5. Avoid overfeeding...

A few signs that your baby is done eating will be: They will turn away from the bottle, stop sucking, or may even refuse the bottle and push it away. Once the baby starts to give you these signs, he/she is most likely finished.


6.How Long Can You Store Breast Milk?
Here are some general guidelines from La Leche League
- at room temperature (66-78°F, 19-26°C) for 4 hours (ideal), up to 6 hours (acceptable)(Some sources use 8 hours)
- in a refrigerator (<39°F, <4°C) for 72 hours (ideal); up to 8 days (acceptable)
- in a freezer (-0.4 to -4°F, -18 to -20°C) for 6 months (ideal) up to 12 months (acceptable)