Milk or formula?

[puffkin]

Honestly, why pay for formula longer than you have too? I would switch now. Especially if you child is eating a lot of table foods now, they don't really need the milk/formula anyway. And why deal with bottles on a trip if you don't need too? Sippy cups are MUCH MUCH easier!

When we switched we took one bottle away at a time replaced with a sippy cup (the bedtime bottle was last to go). I mixed the formula and milk 1/2 and 1/2 for about a week to 10 days. DS ALWAYS took formula room temperature so it wasn't a huge deal for him to drink cooler milk.

We ONLY gave DS milk at breakfast and dinner (about 6 oz each no more than 16 oz a day). He got diluted juice at lunch and water the rest of the day. Kids DO NOT need much milk at all (unless there are low weight issues), especially if they are getting other dairy sources like cheese/yogurt etc. We also did 2% milk. Most babies don't need whole milk. My niece is a "milk baby" and she has a lot of nutrional/growth issues now that she is older due to the excessive amounts of milk her parents let her drink when she was a baby (she would drink 1/2 gallon a day at least and not eat then but they thought babies needed all that milk).

FOr take off a sippy with water works just as well as a bottle. If you were leaving this week I would say hold off. But if you have until April I would make the switch now. In most instances, it really should be a non issue for the transitions. I think we as mom's tend to stress out on this stuff WAY more than necessary

ETA: AS soon as we got to straight milk, the bottle was gone and only sippy cup. We never used the bottle for anything other than formula. That might be your hardest transition, finding the type of sippy your child likes. Mine like the Nuby straw cups, but every kid is different, so buy a few to try out!

 

[mjkacmom]

With those, do you carry one bottle, several liners, and several nipples with you to the parks? Or do you do some washing as you go?

Any other tips for dealing with bottles during a day at the parks?

By the time a child is one, maybe 4 bottles a day at most? Morning bottle, before lunch bottle, afternoon bottle, and nightime. So you'd need 2 at the most, and if you took an afternoon break, just one.

 

[here757]

i would wait til after...
milk spoils in the sun.
powder formula is easier to carry around..

whatever decision u make good luck
happy disney!!

 

[AudreysMom]

Thank you everyone! Here's what I am leaning toward now. We still have about 11 weeks until the trip so we're going to try to make the switch to cups. I'm hoping DD will coooperate on a gradual change so I can wean her off the bottle for meals but keep the bedtime bottle until after we get back. I'll start with a 25/75 milk formula mix soon and keep an eye out for any trouble. If DD has any problems at all, we'll hold off on milk until we get back. I've been giving her cold formula at mealtimes for a couple of weeks.

She has a little cooler I'll use for her food/milk/juice for travel days. We'll probably just buy milk at the parks rather than try to keep it cool while we're out and about. We're staying at OKW so I have a fridge/freezer and dishwasher available. My parents live much closer to the World and they are driving (and act as our personal grocery service. Hooray for grandparents!)

 

[starsweeper]

I would start transitioning her now. My kids are 2.5 months apart, so DS (older) did things a little late and DD (younger) did things a little early. DS was 13.5 months and DD was 11 months when we began transitioning to whole milk and sippy cups. It didn't take long at all for them to take to the milk, but sippys took longer (DS was about 15 months).

BTW, some people suggest mixing 3/4 formula with 1/4 milk and changing that ratio to favor milk over a couple weeks. I know it worked well for some of my friends, but we had to use straight milk before they would transition.

 

[AudreysMom]

I would start transitioning her now. My kids are 2.5 months apart, so DS (older) did things a little late and DD (younger) did things a little early. DS was 13.5 months and DD was 11 months when we began transitioning to whole milk and sippy cups. It didn't take long at all for them to take to the milk, but sippys took longer (DS was about 15 months).

BTW, some people suggest mixing 3/4 formula with 1/4 milk and changing that ratio to favor milk over a couple weeks. I know it worked well for some of my friends, but we had to use straight milk before they would transition.

I am worried about her taking a sippy. We've been letting her try various ones with water or juice/water for a while, but she's not crazy about them. She's just started feeding herself from the bottle at meals so I hope that's a sign that she's ready to be more in control of the process. It's funny that you said you had to go to straight milk before it worked. She seems to really like the milk on the couple of occasions when she's had a few sips. I may end up putting straight milk in the sippy but leaving formula in the bottles so over the course of the day it's still more formula at first and drop formula in favor of milk as we drop bottles in favor of cups.

Thanks everyone for helping me overthink things as I try to do what's best for my child!

 

[princessmom29]

I had to transition DD from bottle to sippy at 9 months due to chronic ear infections. She wouldn't take any of the hard spout cups but did just fine on the Nuby cups with the rubbery spouts. I got the for like $2 at walmart. We used those until she was 1 and then tried a hard spout cup. Mabye they will help?
I never mixed milk with formula. At DD's daycare when they move into a different room at 1 they begin providing whole milk in a sippy for all the kids. There are no more bottles in the toddler room unless someone has developmental or nutrition issues requiring it. That is what we did and it worked just fine. Just staretd giving her the cup at meals and when she wanted a drink and cut out bottles alltogether.

 

[pinmobile]

I wouldn't make any big changes before the trip. Cows milk tends to upset some babies stomachs. I would stick with the formula and keep the bottles until you get home.

 

[djp0630]

Something to think about...milk was not available on my flight (US Airways). DS got BM for 11 months, and we supplemented with formula between 11 months-12 months. At a year we switched him to whole milk. We took DS when he was 13 months old to WDW. I thought on the flight, I would just ask for warm water at the plane and mix formula. He didn't want the formula. And they didn't have milk on the plane, so he screamed for his bottle!

Whole milk is available at the park. We were able to get it for DS's bottle at the park.

 

[DrMomof3]

We went last May right after my son's 1st birthday. We stayed at Saratoga Springs and had a full kitchen. It was 95+ every day! He had milk in the hotel room but I brought bottles filled with water to the parks. I had some powdered formula pre-measured in a container and just mixed it when needed. It was hot enough that he drank some bottles of plain water. We had plenty of adult water bottles to refill his bottles when needed. It worked really well for us. I really liked that we didn't have to look around for a place to buy milk when he got fussy.

Amanda

 

[two-foxes]

I actually used the disruption in a normal schedule to transition our DS from the bottle/formula to sippy/milk. He turned 1 a few days before a trip we took. Since the nightime routine was changing due to the vacation, I took that opportunity to stop the last two bottle feedings (am and bedtime) while on vacation. He used sippy cups at meals before that, so he got whole milk with meals and snack time and water the rest of the time once we transitioned. It worked perfectly for us, but I see I am in a minority.

We had him at WDW at 14 months and at 20 months and never had a shortage of whole milk in the parks (although not all TS have it, but once in a while, the 2% didn't hurt). But then again, he only has milk with meals and snacks, so it was never an issue of finding milk quickly because he was fussy.

 

[vettechick99]

DD transitioned to whole milk very easily. She'd been drinking formula out of a sippy cup for some time, so we just slowly changed her over to milk. Not a single problem.

I would try the transition early and see how it goes. Milk is so much easier than formula.

 

[AudreysMom]

I got the Nuby cups without handles and these finally seem to be ones DD likes (fingers crossed!) She had milk in one for dinner the last two nights and it went ok. By the end of the meal, I think she was realizing she hadn't had a bottle and grumped a bit, but I am hoping that is short-lived. The current plan is to change one meal per week over to milk and see how it goes. She'll also be moving to cups at the same time except for the bedtime bottle. We'll take care of that one once we get back home. My DH and I have a dinner at Jiko planned to celebrate our anniversary and it will be easier for my parents to get DD to sleep with a bottle. She doesn't see them much so she'll need the familiarity of the bottle (I think.) Thanks again!

 

[AudreysMom]

Shortly after I wrote my last post, I got a call from a friend's mom and my friend's husband had died. So my transition plan went out the window as I prepared to travel to be with her 4 states away. It was definitely a reminder of what is important. We're finally back home and I am trying to transition DD at lunch to cups and milk but am A-OK if she prefers to wait.

Hug those you love.

Glad to be a part of such a great community!

 

[AudreysMom]

It's me again. Well, I tried to gradually transition DD to milk and cups. She has no problem with the milk but is not digging the cups. My intention had been to change one meal at a time to the sippy, thinking this would be less traumatic than the cold turkey method my doctor recommended. After two weeks of fighting with her one or two meals a day, we're going back to bottles full time and we'll make the switch cold turkey a couple of weeks after we get back from vacation.

Gotta go look in to the drop ins bottles again....

 

[vettechick99]

It's me again. Well, I tried to gradually transition DD to milk and cups. She has no problem with the milk but is not digging the cups. My intention had been to change one meal at a time to the sippy, thinking this would be less traumatic than the cold turkey method my doctor recommended. After two weeks of fighting with her one or two meals a day, we're going back to bottles full time and we'll make the switch cold turkey a couple of weeks after we get back from vacation.

Gotta go look in to the drop ins bottles again....

Don't give up on cups! You just have to find the right one. Have you tried the kind that are rubbery like nipples? I think we went though a half dozen before she got the hang of it.

 

[AudreysMom]

We've tried lots of different ones, including the Nuby cups with the silicone spout. DD can use them but she gets mad at me if I want her to use a cup instead of a bottle. I'm sticking with her bottles until after vacation. She also gets a sippy of water with each meal to practice with the cups. We'll make the switch cold turkey after we get back home and settled. I could make the switch now since we still have a month to go, but I want her as comfortable as possible and I want her grandparents to be able to take the bedtime shift so my husband and I can go to dinner at least once.

 

[BLAZEY]

My daughter is turning 1 next week. I have been doing the gradual transition to milk for about a month now. She will take the milk fine (I am using up my formula and not buying any more) in a bottle, but won't touch the sippy cups. I have tried about 5 different models, to no avail. Maybe the daycare lady will have better luck. I hope she starts to tak a cup/ or sippy before August when we travel to Portland, OR. It will be so much easier than bottles.

Yike's I need to update my siggy.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

In general, I think you should wait to change a routine until after a vacation. If your DD has been on formula this long, I think it would be more stable for her while at WDW to keep the formula.

Either that, or if you have a few weeks before hand, switch now. But don't wait for Disney.

 

[Dannielle_1]

Have you tried using a straw yet? My DS was never one for the sippy cup, but liked cups with straws. He learned at 10 months to use a straw, with a milkshake in one sitting. The "reward" was great for getting it through the straw. (A thinner milkshake is best, not McDonalds triple thick - he still can't get that through the straw at 4 years.)

I've heard, sometimes kids have a hard time getting the right sucking motion with the sippy cup to actually get enough liquid out. Or at least not quick enough for what they want. The other option is to try to take the valve out of the sippy cup. They are leak proof at that point, but it's not a big deal if you are just using at meals.

If you can get your daughter to use a straw that is even easier at meals at Disney. Just use what they bring the milk in!!!