Baby Place

BabyBain · Joined: 21 Oct 2004 Posts: 9 Location: Ontario

Hello to everyone!!

I am a mother of 3. I nursed my first child until 4 months because I had to return to work, my second until 10 months even after returning to work because he wouldn't talk a bottle at first. And, my youngest is 10 mos and I have weaned her from daytime feedings. She will not drink milk and/or from a bottle. So therefore, she drinks juice from a sippy cup all day and in the evening i nurse her. I don't want to nurse her anymore because she is biting, so I am not sure what to do.

Also, she slept well when she first came home and ever since she has been on solid foods, she gets up more in the night to feed. Now, she is getting up every couple of hours to feed. And, because she won't take a bottle and won't drink milk, I am not sure what to do. I want to let her cry, but you can tell she is hungry cause she sucks her thumb like crazy. I have tried putting fruit in her milk, I have tried flavoured soy and I have put vanilla extract in her milk. I can't figure out what to do. Does anyone out there have any suggestions?

I am anxious to hear anything!!

Baby Bain Confused

Nikki · Joined: 30 Mar 2004 Posts: 407 Location: Toronto

Hi,

I can't really help you with the weaning because I did not breastfeed.
Will she not drink breastmilk from a bottle? You mentioned she will not drink milk .......do you mean whole cow's milk which she shouldn't really have until about 12 months of age, but like I said you could offer her breastmilk in a bottle, soy milk or formula (check with her ped.).

Drinking juice from a sippy cup all day may fill her up so that she is not getting the proper nutrients she needs from solids/and breastmilk or formula. She is probably so used to the sweet taste of the juice that milk is just not appealing to her.

I started my son on whole cow's milk at around 12 months and around 11 months offered him yogurt (Minigoes) which he loved.
Now at 2 yrs old he loves milk because I never made juice an option, only for a treat once in a while and when I did it was unsweetened and mixed with water. In between meals I only give him water so he does not fill up and he eats his meals, and with meals he gets milk, and once in a while or for a snack before bed I offer him unwsweetened apple jc or orange jc fortified with calcium.

If your daughter is eating enough in the day, and breastfeeding right before bed she shouldn't really wake up hungry........maybe it's just a comfort thing for her and she really just wants you. You need your sleep to so maybe just try letting her cry for a few minutes before going to her.
I'm not sure what else to suggest.

Good luck Smile

BabyBain · Joined: 21 Oct 2004 Posts: 9 Location: Ontario

Hello Nikki and thank you for your response,

She will drink breastmilk from a bottle, if I practically force it and give her no other choice (as I did when I had surgery when she was 5 mos, which was the most difficult 24 hrs since she has been born). I have tried various bottles with no luck. And, I would rather not pump.

I have checked with public health and she can have cows milk after 9 mos with my own discretion. Its isn't highly recommended, but the rules change so much it's crazy. They recommended cows milk after 6 months for my 15 year old and 9 mos for my 9 year old, so I didn't think it was a big deal for a few ouces a day. Technically milk isn't really as good for our children as doctors lead us to believe. Naturalpathic professionals have said that we are the only species on earth that uses a cow for a serigent parent...lol

Anyway, about the fruit juice, she maybe drink 4 oz per day and 3/4 of it is actually water and the other 1/4 is real fruit juice with vitamine c added. Less sweeter than the fruits she eats at lunch. And, it is the only choice other than breast feeding, I don't want her to suffer from a lack of fluids. She does eats yogourt and cheese, so she is getting the nutrients she needs from those. I don't think she will ever aquire a taste for it, as I have tried to trick her several times by making it more appealing, etc.

Thank you heaps for the insight on the "comfort thing". I will try to let her cry a bit longer, perhaps when hubby goes hunting, it will be less stressful for me. There is nothing like a baby crying and your husband asking why she has to cry like that making you feel more guilty than you already do...lol

Thanks again,

I hope to talk again soon.

Baby Bain