What difference does 3 weeks make? Can I give him whole-milk now?

Question

I've been nursing for 11 months due to my son's allergic reaction to formula. I'm hanging in there, just bearly...My son has 4 teeth on top, and 2 on the bottom, and has been nawing me, now both nipples are cut raw, pumping hurts, & it's excruciating to nurse him. I think the sippy cup he chews on encouraged him to naw me. I pop his leg, and tell him no, no, I've even tried to stop nursing as soon as he chomps down, but it only infurriates my poor baby. The wailing is too much for me to stand. I've used peroxide and Lansinoh to heal them up. I've almost weaned him, he only nurses for breakfast-time comfort, nap times, and bed-time. He eats Gerber stage 3 for lunch, snacks & dinner. What is the harm in giving my son whole milk now? What difference does 3 weeks make? Would it be ok to give it to him an 8 ounce bottle of whole-milk ONLY once a day to wean him slowly off of breastmilk? I'm waiting till I get a reply from his Pediatrician since Fri., today is Sun...

Answer 1

I think it should be fine. We started gradually adding whole milk when my son turned 11 months. Although he was formula-fed instead of breastfed, we began mixing in the whole milk in ever-increasing amounts with the formula until he was totally on whole milk by age 1. My pediatrician said this was fine. BTW, my son was also totally on table foods by this time and was getting alot of nutrition from healthy foods, so he was fine nutritionally with the switch.

Answer 2

The whole thing with milk is allergies. The right thing for me to say is suggest you should wait to hear from your pediatrician and find out what your next steps should be...especially since your son had a reaction to formula, which is milk based. If you hadn't mentioned the allergies thing, I would have said go for it. My second and third kids got a taste of milk before they were 1. Lots of times it was just them getting ahold of the other kid's sippy cup. My second kid was gnawing on me too. I weaned him at 9 months and around 11 months I started to run out of formula and didn't want to buy another can. I did the part milk/formula thing and then just milk a couple weeks before he turned 1. Good luck!!!

Answer 3

You can start giving babies whole milk at 9 months, I just don't know if it's OK to give him only that. I think it's good for babies to stay on breast milk or formula until about 2 years.
If it really hurts maybe your doctor can suggest a good cream for your nipples. Remember when you first started nursing it really hurt too I bet, but you made it. Maybe you can get through it again, and then it'll be easy breezing. After all he only nurses a couple of times a day. But it is still really good for him, and you also.
Of course if you're exhausted an don't wanna do it anymore by any means you shouldn't torture yourself. Ask your doc if you can give him soy if he's allergic to milk, but always try a little bit before giving a whole bottle, to avoid any allergic reaction.
Applying heat also helps a lot to sooth sore nipples...
I hope I said something that helps. My baby has teeth now too, and yes they do hurt... I feel for you. Good luck.

Answer 4

you may want to try just giving him one once of formula first to make sure there is no allrergic reaction if tyou say he has allergies- you wouldn't want him to gulp down 8 oz and then find out he's allergic to it( could get very messy!) . he may not even be keen to take it( i hope you have been trying him with bottles before now, or you could be in for a big fight,! or else you could give it in the sippy cup). If he doesn't seem to take to it, you could add one oz of formula to a bottle of breast milk then gradually increase the amount of formula till he's used to it, good luck. well done for keeping it up for nearly a year.

Answer 5

Whole milk now is not going to hurt him. However make sure watch him closely the first few times to see if there is not an allergic reaction.

Answer 6

You can start weaning him, but don't give him a bottle filled with only cow's milk. He won't drink it and just end up with both of you angry.

As annoying as it is, you're better off pumping a bit and mixing the cows' milk half and half with yours for every feeding instead of nursing at all. Once he gets used to the taste, you can decrease the amount of your milk and increase the amount of cows' milk. This way, it'll be easier on both of you.

Answer 7

i'm not so sure. if he is allergic to formula and that's the reason you've been so diligent about breastfeeding, it may be more likely he'll be allergic to milk as well. i think after a year, it's less likely that they'll be allergic to milk. it sounds like he may be more likely than most ot be allergic. 3 weeks is certainly not a long time but, in his life, 3 weeks is much longer than for adults!! I'm not saying it would be harmful but, it may make the whole allergic thing more likely to cause a problem in the future.

Answer 8

Yes...it will be fine to go ahead and give him milk now. My neice has started milk because she wont take formula anymore and she is only 9 months old...and her doctor says its fine. If you are supposed to start it in 3 weeks anyways, its NOT going to make a difference, just let your pediatrician know that you started him on milk...there should be absolutely no problem with it. My mother started me and my sister on milk at 6 months....and we were just fine, so with it being so close, give it a try....he should be just fine with it!

Answer 9

I always thought that breastffeeding had to hurt once they got teeth!! wow..
I'm not a doctor, but my advice is to go ahead and give him regular milk.. I switched both of my kids when they were 10 months.. They are fine!! Good luck to you ..

Answer 10

I would give him just a little to see what happens then hopefully you can start giving it to him all the time. Nursing a baby with teeth doesn't sound like fun. Good luck!