Transitioning to WCM

[jammersc]

We can use this thread for all WCM discussion, but here's my specific question ...

For those who have started the transition, was there any kind of physical adjustment that your LO went through? I've been topping off LO's dinner sippy of breast milk with some WCM for the last two nights and she has slept like crap both nights. Like uncharacteristically bad nights. Now this morning she has a hoarse voice too. Could it be the WCM? Does her body just need to get used to it or could it be a mild intolerance? I know you're not doctors, just curious if anyone has experienced something similar with WCM and if so, how long it lasted. I'm going to do all breast milk today and see if there's a difference tonight, but what say you F14?

[carissalynp]

I expected constipation but we actually had the opposite problem for a few days, unless it was a coincidence. Right now he gets half BM and half WCM in all his bottles, so it may be too soon to tell. Bad sleep wouldn't really surprise me if it was tummy related?

[bepandnick]

We didn't really have any issues when we switched. We made sure to up his water to help with any constipation issues. He's been 100% WCM for a week and doing well.

[bepandnick]

Jan 16, 2015 10:10:06 GMT -5 carissalynp said:

I expected constipation but we actually had the opposite problem for a few days, unless it was a coincidence. Right now he gets half BM and half WCM in all his bottles, so it may be too soon to tell. Bad sleep wouldn't really surprise me if it was tummy related?

Diarrhea can be a sign of a milk allergy. That is how my nephew first started displaying his. But that was around 8 months and he ended up switching from BM to soy formula.

[hashtagrainbow]

We transitioned over a week period between Christmas and NYE. She has been on 100% WCM for about 2 weeks now, and we've had some constipation and diarrhea issues. Her GI doc isn't considered about this and actually graduated her so we don't have to go back for any regular follow ups! I do try to make sure she gets water regularly and she's eating plenty of greens and such. Diaper rash has been kind of bad from the diarrhea this week though...

[jammersc]

I guess I'm on high alert because DD2 had a milk protein intolerance as a baby. So I'm not sure whether LO's extreme fussiness/sleeplessness is WCM related or JBBB. Blah. I was so excited to start switching to WCM at dinner and break up with my pump (still BFing several times a day, but the pump needs to go). Not sure what to do now.

[rachaelmary]

I've started mixing one bottle a day with bm and cows milk. Her diapers have been much looser since, so I'm not sure if that's normal or an intolerance thing. I was going to ask at her 1 year appt.

[carissalynp]

Jan 16, 2015 11:18:45 GMT -5 rachaelmary said:

I've started mixing one bottle a day with bm and cows milk. Her diapers have been much looser since, so I'm not sure if that's normal or an intolerance thing. I was going to ask at her 1 year appt.

^ This is us. It's not actual diarrhea at all, but they were definitely looser for the first week or so, and they still are a little but not as much. He got a killer diaper rash at first too, but it's finally going away. If it continues or gets worse as we add more WCM we'l talk to the pedi, I'm hoping it's just an adjustment. But we were always considering doing almond milk (but figured WCM is an easier transition since unsweetened almond milk is a big change) so it wouldn't be a huge deal to switch. But he's never had a reaction to dairy before when either he eats it or I do.

[hashtagrainbow]

Jan 16, 2015 10:44:26 GMT -5 jammersc said:

I guess I'm on high alert because DD2 had a milk protein intolerance as a baby. So I'm not sure whether LO's extreme fussiness/sleeplessness is WCM related or JBBB. Blah. I was so excited to start switching to WCM at dinner and break up with my pump (still BFing several times a day, but the pump needs to go). Not sure what to do now.

I probably should have added that L had a milk protein allergy until she was about 9 months. We transitioned to conventional formula then and it was smooth, so we took the plunge at 11.5 months with wcm. From her GI's reaction, I would guess that most are hesitant and on high alert like you jammersc because he was shocked when I asked Puh-leeeeaaaase when can we transition? His answer made sense: there's no way to know until you do it, so just keep the high alert up and watch for signs of intolerance and make the transition gradual. 

[ellewills618]

Jan 16, 2015 13:17:14 GMT -5 Dreaming said:

What are the signs of WCM intolerance?

This.  My family is allergy prone but I kinda want my boobs back.

[danaadell]

Jan 16, 2015 11:18:45 GMT -5 rachaelmary said:

I've started mixing one bottle a day with bm and cows milk. Her diapers have been much looser since, so I'm not sure if that's normal or an intolerance thing. I was going to ask at her 1 year appt.

This is where we are as well.  I have about 30 bags of BM too so I am going 1/2 and 1/2 for right now. 

[hashtagrainbow]

Jan 16, 2015 13:17:14 GMT -5 Dreaming said:

What are the signs of WCM intolerance?

L had GERD and her GI told me I should look for signs of relapse: reflux, vomiting, gassiness, fussiness/irritability, extreme and prolonged change in poop (lasting for more than a day or 2). IDK if that applies to all normal, healthy babies, but those are the guidelines I followed.

[hashtagrainbow]

Jan 16, 2015 14:02:32 GMT -5 kookiemonster said:

DD is one of the younger babies on the board (3/3/14) so I still have 2 months before we transition - per pedi, but I have a stupid question.

When we do get to that point and she's taking full amounts of WCM, how much and how often does this happen? DD is getting between 6 and 8 oz of BM 3X/day at daycare. Does the WCM just replace this?

25-30 oz a day of wcm is about normal based on our GI and pedi. More than that can cause constipation even after successful transition.

[hashtagrainbow]

Rettaboo I've heard of reflux completely disappearing to where meds aren't needed anymore after transitioning. It's more common than you'd think.

[jammersc]

Jan 16, 2015 15:11:29 GMT -5 @disneypeanut said:

I feel completely lost on how to transition K away from formula, and away from bottle. I can't remember how I did it with DD.
Right now he gets water in either a sippy or open cup (with my help) at every meal, and formula in a bottle before every sleep period. Should I just switch a bottle of formula to a bottle of WCM before a nap? Give him WCM with a snack?

Also, and sorry if this isn't the right place (and it's probably been answered before), but how do I stop giving him bottles before naps? He rarely ever falls asleep on me, 99% of the time I put him down awake (and the majority of it is completely awake, not even drowsy, for naps).

@disneypeanut, I would pick a bottle and make it 3/4 formula, 1/4 WCM to start with. Then lower the ratios until it's all WCM. Which bottle you choose is up to you. For us, I'm BFing all but one bottle/sippy so obviously, we started the transition there.

As for how to stop giving bottles before naps, I would recommend creating a sleep routine that can replace the bottle. What I did was add a story & songs to our bed/nap routine ... so I used to just BF, but now I BF, read a book, sing two songs. Then you can drop the bottle and just do the rest of the routine so they still get the cue that it's nap time. This method worked really well with my big kids.

[danaadell]

Jan 16, 2015 15:11:29 GMT -5 @disneypeanut said:

I feel completely lost on how to transition K away from formula, and away from bottle. I can't remember how I did it with DD.
Right now he gets water in either a sippy or open cup (with my help) at every meal, and formula in a bottle before every sleep period. Should I just switch a bottle of formula to a bottle of WCM before a nap? Give him WCM with a snack?

Also, and sorry if this isn't the right place (and it's probably been answered before), but how do I stop giving him bottles before naps? He rarely ever falls asleep on me, 99% of the time I put him down awake (and the majority of it is completely awake, not even drowsy, for naps).

Here is what I am doing: 

Wake up: Bottle/boob

B-fast with water

Sippy with snack before nap

Wake up from nap: boob or sippy 

Lunch with water

Snack with sippy

Dinner with water

Bedtime bottle (no boob since he prefers a bottle at bedtime)

-------

Next week we are dropping the wake up bottle and changing to sippy

Then when he turns 1 the bedtime bottle is out.  

That my magic plan. This kid however thinks me trying to plan is hilarious.  

 

[hashtagrainbow]

Jan 16, 2015 15:17:25 GMT -5 jammersc said:

Jan 16, 2015 15:11:29 GMT -5 @disneypeanut said:

I feel completely lost on how to transition K away from formula, and away from bottle. I can't remember how I did it with DD.
Right now he gets water in either a sippy or open cup (with my help) at every meal, and formula in a bottle before every sleep period. Should I just switch a bottle of formula to a bottle of WCM before a nap? Give him WCM with a snack?

Also, and sorry if this isn't the right place (and it's probably been answered before), but how do I stop giving him bottles before naps? He rarely ever falls asleep on me, 99% of the time I put him down awake (and the majority of it is completely awake, not even drowsy, for naps).

@disneypeanut, I would pick a bottle and make it 3/4 formula, 1/4 WCM to start with. Then lower the ratios until it's all WCM. Which bottle you choose is up to you. For us, I'm BFing all but one bottle/sippy so obviously, we started the transition there.

As for how to stop giving bottles before naps, I would recommend creating a sleep routine that can replace the bottle. What I did was add a story & songs to our bed/nap routine ... so I used to just BF, but now I BF, read a book, sing two songs. Then you can drop the bottle and just do the rest of the routine so they still get the cue that it's nap time. This method worked really well with my big kids.

I did the same with L. Instead of playtime, bath, story, milk, then bed, we do bath, milk, playtime, story, then bed. 

[blondemum]

Jan 16, 2015 15:17:25 GMT -5 jammersc said:

Jan 16, 2015 15:11:29 GMT -5 @disneypeanut said:

I feel completely lost on how to transition K away from formula, and away from bottle. I can't remember how I did it with DD.
Right now he gets water in either a sippy or open cup (with my help) at every meal, and formula in a bottle before every sleep period. Should I just switch a bottle of formula to a bottle of WCM before a nap? Give him WCM with a snack?

Also, and sorry if this isn't the right place (and it's probably been answered before), but how do I stop giving him bottles before naps? He rarely ever falls asleep on me, 99% of the time I put him down awake (and the majority of it is completely awake, not even drowsy, for naps).

@disneypeanut, I would pick a bottle and make it 3/4 formula, 1/4 WCM to start with. Then lower the ratios until it's all WCM. Which bottle you choose is up to you. For us, I'm BFing all but one bottle/sippy so obviously, we started the transition there.

As for how to stop giving bottles before naps, I would recommend creating a sleep routine that can replace the bottle. What I did was add a story & songs to our bed/nap routine ... so I used to just BF, but now I BF, read a book, sing two songs. Then you can drop the bottle and just do the rest of the routine so they still get the cue that it's nap time. This method worked really well with my big kids.

Thank you for this! I BM him before sleep for naps (on weekends b/c daycare during the week) and at night and I've been stressing about how to cue him for sleep when we ween. I'm going to give this a try. 

[jammersc]

Jan 16, 2015 16:21:37 GMT -5 blondemum said:

Jan 16, 2015 15:17:25 GMT -5 jammersc said:

@disneypeanut, I would pick a bottle and make it 3/4 formula, 1/4 WCM to start with. Then lower the ratios until it's all WCM. Which bottle you choose is up to you. For us, I'm BFing all but one bottle/sippy so obviously, we started the transition there.

As for how to stop giving bottles before naps, I would recommend creating a sleep routine that can replace the bottle. What I did was add a story & songs to our bed/nap routine ... so I used to just BF, but now I BF, read a book, sing two songs. Then you can drop the bottle and just do the rest of the routine so they still get the cue that it's nap time. This method worked really well with my big kids.

Thank you for this! I BM him before sleep for naps (on weekends b/c daycare during the week) and at night and I've been stressing about how to cue him for sleep when we ween. I'm going to give this a try. 

No problem. I hope it works for you.

[ivedonethisb4]

We're fully transitioned to WCM for 2 weeks (but still using a bottle most times) she really transitioned herself and refused the formula after we introduced WCM so it was just like today it's formula and tomorrow it's WCM...

I think she hated the formula since she would never drink more than 4oz and she drinks 6 average per bottle with the WCM. I feel terrible as a mom because she never increased her intake until the switch. She was on Nutramigen though for constipation issues she'd had around 3-4 months so I never switched her to try another formula since that's what the pedi put her on.

[bribbon]

I introduced WCM, saw no GI problems, but noticed uncharacteristic fussiness too. We went back to breast milk or coconut water; she was back to normal. So now I'm holding off on WCM for another couple of months. Weird.

[jammersc]

Well, a tooth popped today, so what I thought was fussiness from WCM appears to have been from the tooth. So back to the WCM transition we go. We'll see.

[beachgrl0127]

This might be a little off topic but for those who have allergy concerns what are you going to use as an alternative? I am trying to decide between goat milk and coconut milk, our pedi recommends goat for the protein.

[hashtagrainbow]

Dun dun dunnnnn... I'm having flashbacks to the goat milk lady. Who else remembers her??? @elf828?

[bepandnick]

Jan 17, 2015 17:45:41 GMT -5 hashtagrainbow said:

Dun dun dunnnnn... I'm having flashbacks to the goat milk lady. Who else remembers her??? @elf828?

FlyingToast?

[bepandnick]

Jan 17, 2015 17:27:32 GMT -5 beachgrl0127 said:

This might be a little off topic but for those who have allergy concerns what are you going to use as an alternative? I am trying to decide between goat milk and coconut milk, our pedi recommends goat for the protein.

My nephew has a dairy allergy and he's been on soy with no problems.

[starfisher]

FYI for those asking -LO has milk soy protein intolerance, but has outgrown the soy. Her main symptoms were bloody stools, fussy behavior, gas and eczema. We have done a dairy trial recently and she seems to have outgrown the GI issues but still gets very cranky and her eczema flares up.

[tenniscourt]

Jan 17, 2015 17:45:41 GMT -5 hashtagrainbow said:

Dun dun dunnnnn... I'm having flashbacks to the goat milk lady. Who else remembers her??? @elf828?

I remember her. It wasn't Flyingtoast either. I can't remember her sn though. 

[beachgrl0127]

Goat milk lady? I guess I was lurking during that time. The research I have done is that goats milk still has casin just like cows milk but alot less and it is supposedly easier to digest. DD just has a sensitivity cows milk not a full blown allergy so that is why my pedi recommended it. She also said that we should add in a good mulit vitamin, anybody have a recommendation for that?

[kimmerz424]

My pedi specifically said no whole milk until one year, like no discussions on how to transition or what to expect, just a flat out no. He's pretty laissez-faire(to use his words not mine) about everything else. I was going to wait until the one year appointment to create a plan with him, is that a bad idea? Sounds like most of you aren't waiting.