DS won't drink milk from a sippy cup.....

[waltskids]

Our DS started using a sippy cup when he was about 9 months old for drinking water/juice (it's usually about 2 oz of juice with the rest as water). We kept giving him his bottles with formula b/c he wouldn't drink it out of a cup. I have since read that some babies have a problem drinking milk/formula from a cup if they are given something else in the cup beforehand. Well, anyway, he will be a year in less than two weeks and can drink anything out of a sippy cup or a cup with a straw but refuses the formula/milk. We have introduced milk just recently and he will drink it from a bottle if it's mixed with formula, but when it's just milk alone he won't even drink it from a bottle! In addition, we stopped the milk and went back to straight formula since he developed a diaper rash and had diarrhea(I know cow's milk is in formula so I'm not sure what's going on there). We also tried chocolate milk, which he did drink from a sippy but that is when the rash problem started so we stopped that as well. Does anyone have any advice for getting DS to drink formula/ milk from a cup? Has anyone else experienced diaper rash and/or diarrhea with their child when making the switch to milk? Thanks so much!

 

[bigbabyblues]

Have you tried different types of cups? There were a couple that my oldest didn't care for at all. It can get a little expensive at first, I just bought one of each type until we found one he liked. Our 2nd DS liked the Avent ones, I don't know if they reminded him of his (Avent) bottle or not, but that's what he liked. The spouts were a little softer too, I think.

With both our boys, we introduced them slowly to milk. I started with 2 oz of milk and 6 oz formula, probably for a week or so. Then upped the milk slowly until it was all milk. I gave it to them only in a cup though. The only bottle they got with regular milk was at bedtime, and they didn't get that for long. During the day, it was the cup. It's hard to give up the bottle, but we took their bottles right around their first birthday. DS1 didn't care at all, DS2 looked for his, but we made a show of getting rid of them and giving him a big-boy cup and he was ok with it after a couple of days. It's hard not to give in, but we reminded him the bottles were gone, and eventually he drank from the cup. I was a little paranoid about the bottle though, my younger brother had a bottle until he was 5 years old, and I was terrified my kids would be the same way if I didn't get it away from them.

I would call the ped office and ask about the rash. It could be related to the milk, it could be teeth, it could be anything. Neither of my kids had that, but that doesn't mean much either.

You might let him choose a cup to use. At that age, it probably won't work, but I don't remember. I think (it's been a few years, lol) that by the time they're on regular milk, they don't need nearly as much as they got in formula. Most of the nutrients and things come from their food.

I don't know if any of this will help or not, but it's what I can remember.

Good luck! Steph

 

[tinkandpan]

A great first transition cup is the NUBY one. It actually almost resembles a bottle and is a great slow transition. As for the rash, did you cold turkey to milk? That could have something to do with it. Good luck!

 

[Jajone]

My DD would not drink anything but juice out of a sippy cup and our MD said to give her nothing but milk/formula out of it and she will give in. I think its about wanting the bottle rather than the type of sippy cup you have. Maybe allowing him to drink it when you are holding him would work. My DD was stubborn and went 2 days almost without drinking anything, but MD said at that age they will drink when they are thirsty enough. They don't have the will power/sense to dehydrate themselves for that.

My DS had the loose stools and rash when we made the transition. We had been slowly changing over and when we went to all milk he had that problem. We thought he was allergic or lactose intolerant and switched to soy milk. The rash and loose stools went away. Problem was he still ate dairy products with no problems. After 2 months and some testing we switched him back with no problems. MD said it could have been slight intolerance with switching or just a bug at the time or teething.....

My suggestion would be to give formula in the sippy until that is resolved, then slowly transition over to regular milk and see how it goes. Good Luck!

 

[waltskids]

He is on Playtex bottles (Ventaire and Nursers) and we have tried many cups including Playtex, Nuby, First Years, Gerber, and straw cups. He likes them all when drinking water/juice, but wants nothing to do with them when there is milk/formula in them. We did introduce the milk slowly, starting with 2 oz milk and 6 oz formula and gradually added more milk. Since the rash we have went back to straight formula for now.

Jajone- Our sons sound alike when it comes to the milk. We will stick to the formula for now and re-introduce the milk when everything clears up. Thanks!

 

[Zeebs]

Cullen now 20 months won't touch milk as a drink since I gave up breastfeeding him at 14 months. He wouldn't take formula or a bottle for that matter before then either. We have been told if they won't take milk to make sure they get it in other ways, such as yoghurt, cheese and cheesey sauces, ice cream etc. Also by giving vegetables that are high in calcium like beans, brocolli. He also has milk on his cereal. He won't even drink flavoured milk.

Probably won't help you fretting but I hope it helps a little to know that not all kids take to milk.

Cheers Kirsten

 

[nessz79]

With my oldest, the only thing that worked for us was to go cold turkey. He just would NOT drink milk out of a sippy no matter what. Finally, knowing he could drink easily out of a sippy, we threw out the bottles. HOWEVER, he was well over 2 years old and was well overdue. We had started trying when he was a little over 1 so the battle had been going on for over a year before we got frustrated and just threw out all those bottles.

So depending on how old your child is (sounds relatively young), I'd wait and see. If all your efforts don't work, you might have to go cold turkey. There may be whining/crying for a couple days and then it'll be over.

 

[megan2346]

This might seem like a odd question but do you heat up the milk in the bottle? That is what I did and it took a while for my DS to get used to cold milk. He didn't like the sippy cup because the milk was cold. I gave him back the bottle and slowing stopped warming up his milk.

 

[Nienor]

My son never really liked sippy cups. Maybe you can try just a regular small cup or one with a straw.

 

[stacy6552]

Throw the bottles away.

 

[waltskids]

DS will be 1 in 12 days so we have some time but I do want him off the bottle before he gets too attached to it. We will be in WDW for his first birthday so we may wait until he gets home to "ditch" the bottles. Thanks for all of the advice!

 

[Mom2JPL]

My dd is a year (as of Oct 2nd!) and I stopped the bottle cold turkey. When that last can of formula was gone, I went straight to milk in a sippy cup. I never heated up the formula, it was always cool/room temp, so the cold milk didn't really make a difference to her. She was a little resistent at first (the first day or two) but now she drinks only from the sippy cup. I think she was off the bottle for about 4 days before we went to disney on october 3rd...and it was sooo much easier NOT to bring the bottles!

 

[adoptionmomma4]

It sounds to me like he may have an issue with the milk and not necessarily the type of cup.

My DD was the same way. She would drink water from a sippy, but nothing else (she didn’t really like juice). She would not drink milk from a bottle either. I tried for a few days since this is what I was told to do After a few days I put her on the stage two formula. She drank that from a bottle or a sippy. We ditched the bottle around 14 months (I think that was more my addiction than hers) and she took the formula until around 20 months. She did better with milk (skim) after that, but still prefers water. I think it is a texture thing for her. The milk is thicker than she prefers. We all drink skim milk and at 2.5 the pedi says that is fine.

Good luck!!!

 

[KristinU]

He is on Playtex bottles (Ventaire and Nursers) and we have tried many cups including Playtex, Nuby, First Years, Gerber, and straw cups. He likes them all when drinking water/juice, but wants nothing to do with them when there is milk/formula in them. We did introduce the milk slowly, starting with 2 oz milk and 6 oz formula and gradually added more milk. Since the rash we have went back to straight formula for now.

Jajone- Our sons sound alike when it comes to the milk. We will stick to the formula for now and re-introduce the milk when everything clears up. Thanks!

My dd is a year (as of Oct 2nd!) and I stopped the bottle cold turkey. When that last can of formula was gone, I went straight to milk in a sippy cup. I never heated up the formula, it was always cool/room temp, so the cold milk didn't really make a difference to her. She was a little resistent at first (the first day or two) but now she drinks only from the sippy cup. I think she was off the bottle for about 4 days before we went to disney on october 3rd...and it was sooo much easier NOT to bring the bottles!

Yep, along these same lines our pediatrician recommended that we transition to milk using a sippy cup and not go back to bottles at all - milk is in a cup and that is that. We didn't have a problem at all, but she did say that DS may have rejected it at first but stick with it, that she was fine with him missing a day or two of milk if he was going to be stubborn. I also feel like it was way easier tyo just be done with bottles right at a year rather than letting him get attached to them and battling with a 18 month, 2 year old, or older to stop using bottles.

But all that said, maybe you should check in with your pediatrician for ideas and guidance. I know ours was a huge help during all of these changes and milestones.

Best of luck!

 

[GoinToDisney]

I would use the straw sippy cups like the circo brand ones at Target or the Munchkin brand (spongebob maybe) that are spill proof. They are better than sippy cups anyway. Something to do with language development. I can't remember exactly. My dd is 3, so I only remember these things as long as I need to. My friend is an OT and was very impressed that my ped was on top of things enough to stress that straw cups are better than sippies. I think they are better for teeth too. Maybe it is the chocolate he is reacting to? Some kids do start having problems with straight milk even though they tolerated milk-based formula. We did enriched rice milk for a while with my dd. Just had to make sure she got the fat and protein from other sources.

 

[LisaNJ25]

He is not even 1 yet. I would not rush it.. There is not set rule they have to be on a sippy cup 100% of the time by age one. My toddlers still take milk in their bottles and juice/water in a cup.

 

[WDWBetsy]

I ran into this problem too. We went from formula to regular whole milk without any problems. She drank it fine in a bottle and didn't seem to notice the difference.

DD's pediatrician told me to throw out the bottles by her 15th month. Well, of course DD resisted - kept pushing the sippee cups back at me. We tried numerous brands. Her doctor said DD would eventually take to the sippee cup and wouldn't starve as long as she was eating solids & still drinking other liquids. She even told me to try putting chocolate (like Nesquik) in it - it was fine as long as she drank milk. She did not like that at all!

I kept at it and bought more of the Nuby cups in different styles. It worked! However, DD will only drink milk from the Nuby cups with the clear silicone spout. She will drink cold milk at dinner and then prefers it warmed in the morning and before bed. They're easy to wash too. She'll drink water and an occasional juice in other cups. She calls all drinks "ba ba" which is fine with me!

Hope your DS cooperates soon!!

 

[MazdaUK]

How about making a big thing about choosing a special cup for Disney? I agree the soft spouts went down better also warm milk, but that's going to be a bit difficult on holiday so you want to try to make things easy. How about milk from cartons? (which comes with straws) You can get those onsite in some of the hotel shops.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I am much more laid back about these things than a lot of people but I am not a fan of rushing away from the bottle. Unless you use a soft spout (nubby), the sippy cups can be worse on teeth than the bottle. As long as you put JUST milk or formula in the bottle and only allow your child to have the bottle in your arms ( no carring it around or taking to bed), you should be fine. Be sure to offer lots of good food choices and not over feed with milk or formula. Unless money is very tight, i would just stay with the formula for a while. Many one year olds simply do not eat enough to give up the bottles. Our DB was one on Saturday and we have tried some whole milk but it has given him some loose stools and diaper rash. We went back to formula. With DS we went to the toddler formula around 12 mo and stayed with it well into the 2nd year.

DS or DB's doctors never had issues with the bottles after one.

 

[Whosemom]

Sometimes an age is just a number. I think I'd do some experimenting to deterime if the rash and runs are milk related. You may need to hold off on that switch. As far as the utensil of delivery, I liked pp idea of watching the temp. Although you could as easily heat up whats going in the cup and slowly stop that as to cool off the bottle.