why do so many things change at one year old?

[hulagirl87]

DD turned one on Sunday and I feel like there are so many changes now. No more formula, no more bottles, solid foods (well, lots more table foods I guess I should say), using utensils, more snacks, etc. It freaks me out! I guess it's switching from formula to whole milk that makes me the most nervous. I don't like giving up the bottle. It makes me a little sad. I took DD to the dr. today for her one year appt and they said to stop cold turkey. To go from bottles and formula to sippys and milk. She does drink water from a sippy at meals now so I know that she is ok with that, but now it just makes me nervous to not get up in the morning and start her day with a bottle and end her day with a bottle before bed.

To moms of one year olds, or recent one year olds... how did you handle the switch? And I'm looking for suggestions for snacks too, to take the place of where her mid morning and mid afternoon bottle are now. Any help would be appreciated

 

[mickeyboat]

It was a while ago for me, and my DDs gave up their bottles voluntarily at an early age (DD10 was 8 months old when she started refusing it). I was pretty worried they would not get the nutrition they needed. But they survived.

I wonder if it's not just the nutrition, but the routine that you are missing. Start a new routine - read a book together during the times she would have otherwise have had a bottle.

Start moving her toward a more "normal" meal / snack schedule. It seemed by that age DDs were eating three meals a day and two snacks. And they almost never ate right when they got up and right before bed.

Good luck!

 

[deegack]

We didn't stop cold turkey. We took away the two middle of the day bottles first, then the morning (but she still got a big cup of milk) and finally the one at bed.
No need to cold turkey.

 

[tink1978]

My DD will be one next month and I have been transitioning her to the cup for about 4 months since the doctors say she should be off the bottle at 1yo. She gets the cup (with juice or water) at all snacks and meals and only has 2 bottles per day. The only reason for the bottle right now is that she absolutely refuses to drink her formula from a cup! I do try to give her formula in the cup, but she will not do it, but I will still offer it! I realize that it will take time for her to get used to it. Maybe she will drink milk from the cup at one since it tastes a little different?

 

[aaronella]

When my son (now 13) was 1, I followed all of the directions that the doctor gave me. I took his bottle away at 1 and replaced with a sippy cup which he suggested I water down juicy juice or any other kid friendly juice by half. Well he never went to bed with the bottle and ended up having issues with cavities and then issues with teeth crowding due to the sippy cup. My sister states that her son does not have a bottle but it resembles a sippy cup with a soft nipple that he can lay down with and drink. My daughter who is 3 still sneaks in a bottle and we went to the dentist last week and spoke about how good her teeth look and said how great a job we had done brushing. We didn't tell him she still has her bottle but I figure she is getting a lot more calcium then my son did with his juice. So I would say different strokes for different folks and do whatever you feel is good for your child.

 

[hulagirl87]

Thanks for your opinions

I like the bottle before bed. DD's doctor said to just do the same routine we do at night and just do the sippy in place of the bottle. I talked to one of my friends who has 2 younger children. She is another who said you don't need to do cold turkey and she cut out the 2 middle bottles first then the morning bottle and then finally the nighttime bottle. I know that it's all about change and finding a new routine, just nervous I guess. I know that she's good with a sippy since she will drink water out if it, just hoping that she will drink milk too.

 

[lady_bug_888]

First of all, listen to what your doctor says, consider it and then do what you think is best--you're the parent and this is not a life and death decision.

I too am going through this...DD will be one in 3 weeks! We have been introducing solids since 6 months and she barely drinks formula any more. She is down to less than 8 oz a day. I did not go cold turkey, nor did I encourage her to drink less...she just did it on her own and I went by what she wanted to do.

For the morning bottle: I replaced her morning bottle at about 10 months by giving her infant cereal. I mix about 1/2 jar of fruit with 4 T of baby cereal and she eats all of that and sometimes some more fruit. She is ravenous when she wakes up in the morning so I usually feed her before changing her diaper (unless it's soaked or poopy!) and then she is ready for the day.

We fill a 6 oz bottle after feeding her lunch (she always has 1/2 C full fat yogurt and then some fruit and juice/water in a sippy cup which has a soft spout that she can suck on like a bottle). We offer her the bottle but she only drinks about an ounce so we refrigerate it. Throughout the rest of the day we feed her first and then offer her the bottle. Before bed we feed her a snack and offer her the bottle...sometimes she drinks it, sometimes not.

I have a feeling that in another 4-6 weeks she will no longer be taking a bottle at all. I'm sure I will be replacing full fat milk in a sippy cup for her bottle. I'm going to just go with the flow and go at her pace regardless of what the doctor says. I just worry about her getting adequate nutrients because she's a pretty picky eater! She only eats: fruit, full-fat yogurt, custard, oatmeal, jell-o, baby cereal, and carrots (sometimes). She will not eat any type of meat or other veggies even though I try at least every other day but usually I try every day. It's hard too because she doesn't have any teeth yet so she is a bit limited with her choices.

Good luck with your transition. It is sad yet exciting at the same time to see them leave the baby stage. Mine is crawling around like no tomorrow and trying to stand and pull herself up! I feel like I'm running after her non-stop!

 

[SAHDad]

We did not do cold turkey either with either kid. We took away one bottle at a time (eg, mid-morning bottle went, but we kept the rest of them). I think for both kids the bedtime bottle was the last to go - I didn't like giving up giving them a bottle and reading a story at bedtime.

Regarding snacks - cheerios were always a big hit, and Gerber (I think) makes some freeze-dried fruit in small chunks that the kids enjoyed. (Heck, I ate them too - they were pretty good!) Just make sure that whatever you give them isn't too big for them (so really small bites, especially at first), and it's something that you don't mind cleaning up.

 

[castleview]

I didn't start cutting back on bottles until around 15 months with my two older ones - they were just starting to hold it on their own around a year. My youngest was quicker though. I gave a sippy cup in the morning instead of the bottle for a few months, and then took away the afternoon bottle and eventually the evening one. I really don't understand the cold turkey bottle disappearance as a first birthday present.

 

[bumbershoot]

We didn't have any of those changes. Why would you?

DS was still nursing like crazy at that age, and had only started tiny bits of fruit a month before. I figure if a 1 year old would still be nursing, why wouldn't a non-nursed baby still get formula that makes efforts to replicate breastmilk? I'd keep on going, personally. I certainly wouldn't switch to a liquid that is breastmilk for baby cows; that makes no sense to me at all. If you're going with milk, might as well continue with the formula IMO.

And since DS was still nursing in a very biological-need sort of way, I can't see why people dump bottles so early, either. There's still a bio-urge to suck for their nutrition needs, so let them do it.

Remember, doctors are NOT nutritionists, and even if they have an RD degree as well, the likelihood of them being especially certified in *infant* nutrition is REALLY low.

 

[POOHDRMR]

My son is 14 months.My dr had me start to switch over to milk at about 11 and a half months-started with 1 ounce of milk in with formula then increasing to 2 after 2 or 3 days and so on till it was all milk in the bottle.After his birthday I started giving him the milk in the cup during the day but was still giving him the morning bottle because he didn't drink that much at one time from the cup.after about 2-3 weeks I git rid of the bottle in the morning.He now wakes up and I get him a cup of milk which he sips on while I make breakfast.He drinks from it throughout the day and usually only takes 15-20 ounces of milk a day now because he eats alot more solid food.Dr said this is a good amount-I felt like he wasn't drinking alot compared to formula but he drinks water also.He now eats 3 full meals and at least 2 snacks a day.He likes to snack on fruit,yogurt,cheerios,cheese,crackers(he has a egg and nut allergy so he can't eat some things others may)Today he woke up had some milk and I made oatmeal for breakfast(the egg allergy limits breakfast choices)and he had some blueberries with it( his new favorite fruit)Then he had some puffs inbetween breakfast and lunch.He had a half of toasted cheese sandwich(I just lightly toast bread with a slice of cheese on it like a grilled cheese but no butter)with a mandarin orange fruit cup-he loves these too and they make them in their own juice now without sugar.He takes a long afternoon nap then wakes up and has yogurt and cherrios usually and then dinner around 6.Sometimes another little snack of puffs or something while he sees us eat later and goes to bed about 8.He eats good but is on the small side right now.My dd on the other hand was never a good eater and still at 9 is not-her brother eats more than her now!.I like to give him the yogurt because I feel like it gives him more calcium.

 

[LuvOrlando]

My DD was born when my DS was 14 months and I was STILL giving him bottles because he liked them, he's 13 now, big & strong and has a great GPA so it did no harm. He had food too and sippy cups and eventually stopped looking for the formula, they both did at their own pace.

I never understood the hoopla with deadlines and babies, some parents became absolutely frantic over potty training by 2 and I never understood that either. Benchmarks are approximations, guidelines but in practice people fall on either side of the mode... so what. Unless there are health issues wrapped up in the directions, like the baby won't eat food or is too heavy or thin it's just an opinion like everyone else's and up to preference. The world makes kids out to be perfect little reproductions of some imaginary ideal and it makes poor parents nutty.... do yourself a favor and make a mental note of what he said as a goal for the not too distant future and enjoy your baby

 

[Conservative Hippie]

We never did bottles - DD was breastfed until she was 2 1/2. At 12 months though, I did go by the rule 75% of nutrition from breastmilk, 25% from solid food, moving towards 50/50 by 18 months. She loved drinkable yogurt smoothies at that age, crackers and cheese, anything she could feed herself. I did cut out her middle of the night nursing at 12 months - have her go 8 hours from 8:00pm to 4:00am. Then we slowly went longer and longer to 8:00am by 18 months or so.

 

[Captain Hindsight]

We didn't have any of those changes. Why would you?

DS was still nursing like crazy at that age, and had only started tiny bits of fruit a month before. I figure if a 1 year old would still be nursing, why wouldn't a non-nursed baby still get formula that makes efforts to replicate breastmilk? I'd keep on going, personally. I certainly wouldn't switch to a liquid that is breastmilk for baby cows; that makes no sense to me at all. If you're going with milk, might as well continue with the formula IMO.

And since DS was still nursing in a very biological-need sort of way, I can't see why people dump bottles so early, either. There's still a bio-urge to suck for their nutrition needs, so let them do it.

Remember, doctors are NOT nutritionists, and even if they have an RD degree as well, the likelihood of them being especially certified in *infant* nutrition is REALLY low.

Please tell me you are not still nursing your 6 year old!


As far as changes go... the biggest change that happens around 1 is that they are mobile on 2 feet... Lock the doors... Batten down the hatches!

 

[malibuconlee]

When my DD turned one, same thing. Throw out the formula when you get home and go directly to 2%! Yeah, thing was she wouldn't drink it! So, we started cutting it. 3/4 formula and 1/4 milk. Then after a few days 1/2 and 1/2, then 1/4 formula dnd 3/4 milk. Eventually it was all milk.

Don't worry it will be OK.

 

[DMickey28]

My LO will be one on the 22nd. We just moved from Elecare (RX Amino Acid based formula for MSPI) to Alimentum. We are not stopping formula anytime soon here. After a good month or 6 weeks on Alimentum we will move our way to Nestle Good Start. If that goes well then by 18 months we can try whole milk.

My LO still drinks A TON of formula. He eats but not consistantly and still relys on the formula for his calories. No matter what I try he doesn't eat a ton. He also still wakes at night for a bottle.

My ODS was weaned around a year. We did it slowly and moved to whole organic milk. He did fine but he ate a lot more solids than my LO does at the same age.

My doctor is a family doctor and very laid back. He lets me lead when it comes to DS's care. I like that. He has answers when I have questions and he guides me but I have no problem telling him in a month that we are still on formula!

 

[mjkacmom]

I started combining formula and milk around 11 months, and dropped the bottles one by one, mid-morning and late afternoon first, then before bed, then morning (my kids enjoyed the morning ones). After that, they got milk in their cups in the morning and before bed (one of mine refused milk in the cup, so the pediatrician told me to offer no liquids except milk in a sippy, and it worked). Also, I had one toddler who didn't eat much, so I gave him 4 cups of milk each day. I explained to the pediatrician that I had to give him that much, because he didn't eat, and she explained to me that he wasn't eating, because he was so full of milk. She was right - I gave meals first, then the sippy.

 

[Maridw]

My GDD is 9 months and she is on a sippy cup. I bought her a transition bottle/sippy cup and when my DD brought her over the other day, she had a different sippy cup and has absolutely no problem with it.

I agree that you should listen to what your doctor says. Unfortunately I can't give you too much other advice since my DD is 24 and I don't really remember when we transitioned my DD from bottle to sippy cup.