Questions - after a year!

[xteepeex]

Hi all

I haven't posted on here for so long, as I'm at a happy place with bf, and my baby girl in general.

She turns 1 in 2 weeks (honestly can't believe it!) and I had planned to stop bf at 6m, then at a year, and now I'm nearly there I.... don't want to stop! My daughter adores booby time. But I am having a few minor issues, and I wondered if anyone could help.

Firstly, I only feed from my right. Whist there was nothing wrong with my left I used to get extremely painful refill (sorry i don't know if theres a better term!) and I just decided to only use my right. For this reason I can no longer express. So, as I want my daughter to have more cereals etc, can she have cows milk in her breakfasts without it damaging the goodness of the BM? I was told cows milk ruins BM so there is no point her having both?

Secondly, how many times a day should a 1 year old be bf? She usually has up to 5 feeds a day (that includes an early morning feed, between 5.30&8, after which she goes straight back to sleep). I don't think she actually takes a lot at the middle 2 or 3 feeds, but is more of a comfort to her.

Thirdly, if I do decide to only feed morning and night is there a specified amount of cows milk/formula she should be having during the day?

I hope none of my questions have offended anyone in any way, I'm a FTM who has very few mummy-friends, none of whom have bf past 6m.

 

[Emz1982_in_uk]

Well done for BF so long. Basically food is your babies main nutrition now but BM is always a great thing to give her. So no set amount of times to BF. Also there isn't any reason why she can't have cows and human milk. I'm not sure where that info comes from but after a year baby's gut is usually strong enough to handle cows milk and a child will always reap benefits from BM, cows milk won't stop that.

I work 5 times a week but we still BF in the morning, when I get home and at bedtime. On a weekend I let her have as much as she likes whilst at home. I do not give her cows milk because it would be just a drink so I prefer her to have booby milk. She still has yoghurts and cheese made from cows milk though. We use almond milk in cereals etc. BM has a higher fat content than cows milk so you could give her the morning and evening feeds and dairy in a different form during the day.

But if you want to give cows milk there's no set amount she needs as far as I'm aware as it's now just a drink. Cows milk originally was a good way of getting fat and calcium into children so don't worry too much about how much she's having. There isn't any need for follow on formulas if you're baby eats a balanced diet, as she will get everything she needs from her food and your milk. Hope this helps

 

[cat_reversing]

wss^^
no need to stop if you don't want to, world health organisation and unicef both recommend bf into the second year and beyond.
We feed at wake up, before nap, in the afternoon and before bed. we've recently stopped feeding at night although I will offer if she's particularly unsettled.
And don't be put off by others constantly asking when baby will be on cow's milk, it's irritating but is ultimately your decision.