There's extended breastfeeding...what about extended bottle feeding?

[kamom]

If your still reading this..

 

One of the main reasons I like to let mine have bottles until 2, is that they still comfort suck when they're not feeling good. So you have a great way of getting them some nutrition when they're sick.

 

I faced the same situation with my 11 month old. I didn't want to give him milk either. So now I'm mixing formula with almond milk.

 

We both love our cuddling bottle times and he also doesn't take his bottle to bed.

 

I say go ahead and have your bottle cuddle times. Enjoy! She'll be grown up soon enough, don't rush it!

[distancia]

A few more details to add in...

It's interesting what was mentioned about formula being a scam and toddlers getting their nutrition from food and cow's milk...my brother is a licensed nutritionist and he says cow's milk is one of the worst things a human can put in their body (and there is no organic milk here...in fact most Malaysians drink powdered milk...I can get non-powdered milk but it is brutally expensive).

 

 

I am sure part of me is not ready for her to give it up (nor does she seem inclined to) and I feel the same pressure from some people to yank the bottle out of her mouth as other moms feel to stop breast feeding when neither the baby or the mom want to stop.

 

Is it a bottle issue? Should I put the toddler formula in a sippy cup instead?

 

OR

 

Is it a formula issue? Should I give her cow's milk (regular store-bought, not organic) even though so many things I read say it is bad for us? If it is a formula issue, should I put cow's milk in her bottle instead?

 

I'm FOR the bottle. Let her have it as comfort in quiet times. It is absolutely no different than sucking a thumb. During awake and/or active times have her use the sippy cup. It will not confuse her, she will associate each with a different activity.

 

I agree with your bro about milk--non-organic cows' milk, that is--being inappropriate for a child. In the "olden days" when children were given milk, it was mixed with orange juice. The (acidic) OJ would curdle the milk and break it down to be more easily digested by tender tummies. This is something we folks in the modern world have never learned from our great-grandparents. However, your daughter has to have some kind of calcium intake. Let me make a couple of suggestions, since you are in Malaysia, and it is a Muslim country.

 

You may be able to find goat's milk available. Although pastuerized, goats milk is always organic.

 

The second suggestion I have is actually feasible and healthy: kefir. Keffir is a liquid-type yogurt which is fermented at room temperature and requires no refrigeration for 48 hours. It was started in the Caucus regions and spread--fascinating story--through the MiddleEast, Russia, and the Slavic countries. It's an ancient food source. It contains far more probiotics than yogurt and is easy to make. The proteins are broken down during fermentation and it is highly digestible, even for the lactose intolerant and newborns. It has a slightly sour taste--like plain yogurt--but

you can add a bit of fruit juice with the finished product and sweeten to taste. We usually add mango or tangerine or pineapple, sometimes a touch of honey. Swirl in glass like you would chocolate milk. It is fantastic for the immune system--ask your bro about this.

 

The best part is you can make your own kefir very easily, it takes all of 3 minutes a day. When my husband travels on his sailboat (no refrigeration) I send him off with a kefir live grain starter and a box of dried milk. He mixes and cultivates his own kefir for his long trips.

 

You should be able to find live kefir grains available in Malaysia. There are several people in Malaysia selling kefir http://mykefirworld.com/#/products/4542786192 If not, Google " kefir" and "malaysia" and some hits will come up. If you still are at a dead end, contact me via PM. I will send you some grains internationally. They will take a couple of weeks to "bring back to life", but once they start, they continue to grow, and grow, and grow.

Edited February 26, 2011 by distancia

[Heather in Neverland]

Thank you all for your input. I've been reading the replies to dh and I think for now we are going to try to take her down to 2 bottles a day...on waking and before bed...for now but continue using the toddler formula as she was a preemie and is small for her age and could use the nutrition (the birthmom had NO prenatal care at all). In the meantime we are going to look for options for milk (organic, almond, rice, raw, etc.). In a few months we will take her down to just one bottle at night, etc. and try to have her completely weaned from the bottle by age 2. This will give us more time to keep up that type of bonding too for a little while longer.

 

At least that is the plan. But you know what they say about plans.... :D

 

Thanks again!

[Rosie_0801]

Green leafies just don't fuel bonding in the same way, do they?

 

:D

Rosie

[Heather in Neverland]

Green leafies just don't fuel bonding in the same way, do they?

 

:D

Rosie

 

Nope. Especially when dh tries to make them into a juice. Blech. :tongue_smilie:

[jewellsmommy]

Nope. Especially when dh tries to make them into a juice. Blech. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

What? there is nothing like a fresh bottle of spinach juice in the morning! :tongue_smilie:

[MyLittleWonders]

Can you get coconut milk for her? It has all kinds of really good stuff in it (the full fat kind) and might be something that you could wean her to that would be health-boosting.

[Melissa in Australia]

I will admit, without feeling guilty that ALL of my children had a bedtime bottle until age 3.

I breast fed exclusively until about 12 months, then they got a bedtime bottle.they didn't have a bottle during the day, unless there was a dire need for comfort, like dropping a brick on foot, or gaming a finger in door. then there was nothing like a bottle to sooth them. We never used pacifiers ( called dummies here in AUS) at all.

 

We used raw cows milk in the bottles, from our house cow.

[Storm Bay]

Thank you all for your input. I've been reading the replies to dh and I think for now we are going to try to take her down to 2 bottles a day...on waking and before bed...for now but continue using the toddler formula as she was a preemie and is small for her age and could use the nutrition (the birthmom had NO prenatal care at all). In the meantime we are going to look for options for milk (organic, almond, rice, raw, etc.). In a few months we will take her down to just one bottle at night, etc. and try to have her completely weaned from the bottle by age 2. This will give us more time to keep up that type of bonding too for a little while longer.

 

At least that is the plan. But you know what they say about plans.... :D

 

Thanks again!

 

Can you get healthy goat milk? That is usually better than cow. I think this is a good choice. I personally would AVOID nut milk as dc are not able to digest nut protein until they are 3. I learned this from my sister, a conventional MD whose eldest has a life-threatening peanut allergy. Even at 3, I'd avoid eating the same nut every day. I recently became allergic to almonds, and once allergic to them, the chances of developing allergies to pit fruits such as peaches, plums, apricots & nectarines goes up (I'm not allergic to the lot).

 

As for rice milk, it's not a substitute for anything with protein and would have to be fortified with Calcium and with things that help increase calcium absorption.

[Terabith]

Big confession time: My seven year old still has a bottle at bedtime. She was very attached to it for a long time. It's not a real attachment at this time, but it is a nice way to drink while lying down. She likes to drink milk while lying down listening to stories. She brushes her teeth afterwards. She's sick right now, and I can give her a bottle of water that she can drink lying down. It's easier to keep her hydrated than it would be without them.

 

My 5 yr old, who was breast fed till 3.5 and never in her life took a bottle, has decided recently that it's a good way to drink her ovaltine at bedtime also.

 

I feel embarassed (much like I do about my almost 6 yr old's pacifier addiction), but I don't feel guilty. It's just a way to drink. If it offers comfort, that's a bonus.

[justLisa]

Big confession time: My seven year old still has a bottle at bedtime. She was very attached to it for a long time. It's not a real attachment at this time, but it is a nice way to drink while lying down. She likes to drink milk while lying down listening to stories. She brushes her teeth afterwards. She's sick right now, and I can give her a bottle of water that she can drink lying down. It's easier to keep her hydrated than it would be without them.

 

My 5 yr old, who was breast fed till 3.5 and never in her life took a bottle, has decided recently that it's a good way to drink her ovaltine at bedtime also.

 

I feel embarassed (much like I do about my almost 6 yr old's pacifier addiction), but I don't feel guilty. It's just a way to drink. If it offers comfort, that's a bonus.

 

Mine is 6 and still does, and I am not embarrased nor do I feel bad. She does not like people knowing, and does not need it for sleepovers and the like. I just don't care. It's just drinking milk out of a different container. She is very responsible and mature, she just likes it for bedtime. DS BF for 3 years and never had a bottle.

[8circles]

I haven't read past the first page.

 

But I think the issue is more the sucking from a bottle - its similar to a pacifier & can interfere with proper speech development. Don't give up the cuddles & the formula doesn't sound like a problem. But I would ditch the bottles as soon as possible, albeit gently.

[Lisa in Jax]

Haven't read all the replies, but I'd keep the bottle and put whatever you wish in it -- formula or milk (or water, for that matter), b/c the action of sucking triggers oxytocin, the bonding hormone, in Natalie. By holding her close and feeding a bottle (requiring sucking -- which a sippy cup does not), you're strengthening the bonding/attachment of your daughter.

 

It might not be right for all children, but IMHO, for an adopted child, some extra time bonding and reinforcing your love at this age will pay huge dividends for her entire life. I *so* wish I'd been able to have "bottle" (or breast) time with my adopted son.

 

Lisa

[tricia]

Being an extended nursing mother to many, many children, baby wearing and co-sleeping I say whatever the baby is happiest with. And mama too. THAT is what is the important question here. Mama and baby are the best to judge.

 

good luck

Tricia

[8circles]

Haven't read all the replies, but I'd keep the bottle and put whatever you wish in it -- formula or milk (or water, for that matter), b/c the action of sucking triggers oxytocin, the bonding hormone, in Natalie. By holding her close and feeding a bottle (requiring sucking -- which a sippy cup does not), you're strengthening the bonding/attachment of your daughter.

 

It might not be right for all children, but IMHO, for an adopted child, some extra time bonding and reinforcing your love at this age will pay huge dividends for her entire life. I *so* wish I'd been able to have "bottle" (or breast) time with my adopted son.

 

Lisa

 

I didn't think about this. I think I'll change my opinion to this.

[3peasinWa]

I say keep bottle feeding her while trying to slowly ween her at the same time. It could take several months.

[AdventureMoms]

My boys are 19mo and definitely still get bottles. Bedtime, morning, naptime, and sometimes in the middle of the night too. We have switched to milk, but I think that formula is probably healthier. We switched because the docs all said the milk would be enough. They are huge and eat a pretty good solids diet. They drink water from a sippy with no problem. We do milk largely because it is nutritionally adequate at this point and a lot cheaper (they go through nearly a gallon a day). If milk is terribly expensive where you are, I'd just keep on with the formula. She's used to it, it has more nutrients than regular milk, and she is still very, very little.

 

Honestly, i'm not that worried about it. The mechanism is different, but I still allow my 4yo to comfort nurse, so I have a hard time taking away the "comfort bottle" from my babies, kwim? I'm planning to swtich to a sippy for the morning one soon, then maybe tackle the nap, but we're not especially in a hurry. Ideally I'd like them done by 2, but that's mostly because I'm ready to not have to deal with bottles, not because I think it would be terrible for them to still have bottles after that.

Edited June 18, 2012 by AdventureMoms

[Mrs Mungo]

This thread is 18 months old. So, I'm pretty sure Heather has come to terms with her decision, one way or the other. ;)

[MomatHWTK]

Sigh again with the old threads catching me.

[jennsmile]

nm..

[AdventureMoms]

This thread is 18 months old. So, I'm pretty sure Heather has come to terms with her decision, one way or the other. ;)

 

lol. I hadn't noticed that. I had noticed that Heather's child in her siggy seemed older than the child mentioned in the thread...

[SKL]

I was also told that with adopted kids (older infants / toddlers), it's best to extend bottle feeding as a form of bonding and nurturing. The baby's teeth won't fall out any faster if it's a bottle vs. a breast that she's drinking from while you hold her.

 

My dds were 12mos and 9mos when they came home. I weaned them both from the bottles about 3-4 months later. (They used cups part-time also.) It worked for us, but if they'd been very attached to their bottles, that would not have been a battle I'd choose while still building attachment.

 

Nobody asked me about getting my kids off the bottle. Those close to me were educated about why I was not weaning them, and to everyone else, they looked young enough for a bottle. If they were 3, I could see it being an issue.

 

We attended a 2nd birthday party when my kids were 2, and the birthday girl drank only from a bottle, with no apparent thought of giving it up. She was not adopted (and she still has all her teeth). I think they recommend weaning at age 1 because it's easier to do it before the kids form an emotional attachment. But with adopted kids, the whole emotional attachment thing is just different.

 

Don't worry what others think. Tell them that when they have adopted an older infant and done everything perfectly, you'll be happy to learn from their experience.

[SKL]

This thread is 18 months old. So, I'm pretty sure Heather has come to terms with her decision, one way or the other. ;)

 

Ha ha! I thought I should have checked the last page before I posted . . . .

[tex-mex]

This thread is 18 months old. So, I'm pretty sure Heather has come to terms with her decision, one way or the other. ;)

:lol::lol::lol:

 

It always amazes me when these old threads get resurrected. I now check the OP's first post and the DATE. But Mrs. Mungo's reply was hilarious. So, I posted. LOL :D

[ondreeuh]

My youngest self-weaned from nursing when he was 15 months. I gave him an organic toddler formula in a cup until he was 2. Cows milk is for cows, and i didnt think it was good enough for my toddler. I wanted assurance that his nutritional needs were covered if his consumption of solid foods wasnt giving him everything he needed (like many toddlers, he preferred fruits, veggies, and grains, but not a lot of protein). I bought it on amazon or diapers.com, and it was easier than keeping whole milk in stock and not much more expensive. I've always been surprised at the rush to switch to cows milk at 12 months. It's rather like the rush to turn the cars seat forward facing at 12 mos. That birthday doesn't change them from babies to children overnight.