OT- Introducing Milk to my 1 yo

[alyssa810]

I'm trying to introduce whole milk to my DS who just turned one and I've heard all different things about cutting him off his formula for a day before starting to mixing it with his formula...any suggestions or comments on how I should start? I did buy milk today but it was after supper so I didn't give him any because I'm still nursing him before bed...
TIA for any advice!

 

[dislal]

When my kids were one I just slowly started mixing real milk with their formula a little at a time. If I remember right it took about a month for each of them.

 

[princess&her4princes]

I always introduced it to my sons during the day in a straw cup for a change with their meals and didn't mix it with breastmilk/formula. The only thing some kids don't like is the temperature of the milk since it's cold and most of the time breastmilk/formula is warm. Just as an fyi, nursing before bed was the last feeding I stopped doing with my kids and that was when they took their sippy all day long. I would start tomorrow at some point and see how he does. They usually take it better than we think they will and make the transition smoother than expected, like most things with kids. Good luck!

 

[brymolmom]

We always gave milk in a sippy cup and only formula in the bottle. They got a few sips of milk here and there before they turned 1..but when they turned 1 we took away the bottle and then there was only sippy cup milk from then on.

 

[ddm118]

We just did this last month! Start by gradually mixing the whole milk in with the formula. Add two ounces for a few days then add another until you get to all milk. It should take a week or two.
Good Luck!

 

[MyKidsMom1820]

I just gave my kids milk one day, it wasn't really a big deal. I put it in their "cuppie", and honestly I don't think they noticed.

I remember being worried about it tho, at least with my oldest, and then she didnt care at all so.... GL!

 

[Dannielle_1]

I only nursed my son, so I never had formula to mix regular milk into. His first introduction to whole milk was just before he turned one.

We had been running errands all day and the last stop was the grocery store. Bad mommy alert ... I realized I hadn't fed him in a while and I could tell he was hungry (probably trying to lift my shirt I'm sure ). I didn't have time to stop and feed him. I had a cup in the car so I figured we'd give it a try. I picked up a single serve of whole milk, poured it in the cup and he drunk it right down while we shopped, no problems. He was happy as a clam.

And yes, he drank the milk before we paid for it ... the horrors.


ETA: I think his actual first drink of "milk" was sharing a milkshake with me a month prior.

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

We just put rice milk in a sippy every now and then. My kids dont drink milk, nor do they drink rice milk daily

 

[drivencrazy]

I just put it in a cup... no need to mix it.

My babies nursed and they didn't take a bottle at all. Just whole milk in a cup when it was time

 

[Maggie'sMom]

DD never had formula, but I did express BM since I work full-time. I introduced the cup with EBM starting around 7 months, and she was off the bottle before she turned 1. About 2 weeks before her birthday, I started mixing whole milk with the EBM in her cup. I started off with 1oz whole milk/5oz EBM, and slowly increased the portion that was whole milk. By her birthday, she was drinking straight whole milk. And I was thrilled to not have to pump anymore. I loved nursing, but pumping was a PITA.

 

[Willow25]

We just started replacing bottles with sippy cups of whole milk and within one week she was completely off bottles and on whole mile. There were never any issues.

 

[mjkacmom]

I mixed them, gradually adding more milk. It was a great way to get rid of the rest of the formula!

 

[Princess Roo]

We just started replacing bottles with sippy cups of whole milk and within one week she was completely off bottles and on whole milk. There were never any issues.

This is what we did, too, but it took longer than a week for DS to get used to drinking that much from a sippy cup instead of just an ounce or two here or there (and I still nursed last thing at night and first thing in the morning for a while). It was convenient for us to wean from bottle AND formula/EBM at the same time. I'd suggest to try what feels most convenient to YOU first, and then if that doesn't work, try some of the other suggestions. Some kids love the taste of milk right from the start (compared to formula it SHOULD taste good...have you tasted formula? )and others need to be mixed with formula for a while.

 

[laughinplace199]

With DD, I mixed the milk in with formula, gradually, until she was just drinking milk. It took a few weeks and worked perfectly. I also stopped warming formula (or warmed it less than before) a few weeks before this so that she was used to a cold drink.

With DS, I just switched him to milk cold turkey. Bad idea for us. He got extremely constipated from the milk. I had to put him back on formula and get his system back to normal before trying milk again. Then, I went with the gradual plan that worked for DD.

When my youngest was ready to try milk, I went with the gradual approach again since I didn't want to repeat what happened to my other DS.

Good luck! If you're really not sure what to do, you can always call your ped office and ask what they recommend.

 

[poohguys]

DS had been getting water in a sippy cup for a few months before so he was used to drinking out of the cup. So when he turned 1 I just stopped giving him formula in the bottle and swithched to milk in a sippy cup. We never had a problem.

 

[imthatgirl]

all my kids started using a sippy around 9mo for various drinks. so when i was ready, between 11-12 months, i just stopped giving them a bottle. none of them ever cared.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

We went cold turkey right at the 12 month mark. Child number 3 was the only one to complain. Someone told me to warm it so I did. He liked it then. I gradually warmed it less and less so after a couple of weeks, he was drinking it straight from the fridge into his sippy.

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

We're actually doing this right now with Jake! Just started yesterday

I started by mixing 1oz of milk with 5oz of formula. (6oz bottle)

Every 3 days, add another ounce of milk. So after tomorrow, I'll be doing 2oz of milk, 3oz of formula. So on and so on...until he's completely on the milk.

This way, it lets him get used to the taste and time for his stomach to adjut.

I tried giving him a full thing of milk and he wouldn't take it. I wish he just would've. Definately much easier! LOL!

 

[SLK1]

All four of mine changed over right on their first birthday (I was so relieved to not have to buy formula anymore!). There were absolutely no problems whatsoever going cold turkey like that. The only obstacle for the last one wasn't that it was milk versus formula, but she just wanted a bottle and no cup. It took a little longer with her than the others, but I'm happy to say she adjusted just fine and we are all cups now. I never heard of mixing or anything like that - and I would think they would welcome the change because formula is so nasty!

 

[puffkin]

I also gradually mixed it in with the formula, but that was mainly to use up the last of the formula so we didn't waste it. I NEVER gave him milk in a bottle though, he only got it in sippy cups. Really no big deal for him.

I never (even from birth) warmed his bottles (he was formula fed). He always got formula room tempture or cool. I usually premade bottles and kept them in the fridge and then popped them in the microwave just long enough to take the chill off but not to warm them. Travelling with him was so easy since he took everything cool or room temperature. So that also wasn't a big transition for him with the milk.

I think the biggest thing is to make sure your kid is used to drinking other things throughout the day like water/juice. They really shouldn't get more than 2 cups of milk or so a day so they will need to drink other stuff too throughout the day. We do our milk breakfast and dinner and he gets water (with a splash of apple juice) all other times.