1 Year Old Milk Transitioning

If she's kind of small for her age, she wouldn't need as much milk (or anything else), proportionately. I'm 'Mom' to 4 adults and 'Mom-Mom' to 3 little ones, so maybe I've mellowed out TOO much, but I say as long as kids eat, drink, pee, poop, play, sleep, and aren't lethargic, hyper, or sick, don't sweat it! Imagine all the (healthy) kids in all the world and think: "Do THEY live by such rigid rules and schedules as we do here in America?" It's almost silly how paranoid we are, when you think about it.

I wouldn't worry at all about this. It's much better to get their calories from good foods anyway, and so many kids would prefer to just fill up on milk. Juice isn't very good for small kids. It's straight sugar - no better than fortified koolaid or punch. Fruit has all the original nutrients and hasn't been processed. Many kids have intolerances to milk (mine had bloody diapers, diarrhea and constant ear infections).

If she is eating other dairy products like cheese, yogurt, etc. then I would not be too concerned. Also be sure she is in sunlight for 15 minutes ady for natural absorbtion of vitamin d.

: )

P

I have a 4 & 2 y.o. daughter and I remember both of them drinking less milk & eating more food around a year old. If she's eating good, I wouldn't worry too much. I'd be more worried if she was drinking a lot and not eating as much (I feel it's better to get more calories from food than milk alone). Do what YOU feel is best though. Hope this reassured you a little =)

ps... Congrats on graduation! What a great Christmas present!

Hi Karrissa
Don't worry about the amount of milk she drinks. Just worry about how much liquid she takes in. Yes it is true that the serving size for milk is what you posted, however, not all kids will be milk drinkers. Milk tastes very different from formula/breastmilk. Sometimes milk can be bothersome to kids stomachs because they are use to the BM/formula. You may have to do the half formula/ half milk for a while. My little one just started drinking more amounts of milk lately and he's 19 months old. He seemed to like it before but wasn't drinking the recommended amount.
One thing to make sure is that she gets her calcium in the foods she eats. You can serve her tofu, broccoli, cheese and other dairy products along with the milk she will actually drink to get her recommended intake of calcium for the day. Try not to stress about the whole milk thing. Some kids won't drink it at all. Even if she drinks some, that's great. Supplement the rest of her diet with other dairy products. Try websites for food ideas at www.wholesometoddlerfood.com and that should help get other dairy food ideas.

Good luck, P.

I wouldn't worry about it. My oldest stopped drinking milk altogether at 18 months and has not touched it since. The doctor said that was fine as long as he is getting calcium from other sources...which he is...cheese, yougurt, brocolli, and his vitamins. He is 28 months old now and doing just fine. Congrats on graduating!

Take it from an old mom I have an 18 year old and an 11 year old when they start eating table food the desire for milk decreases, they get full and the desire for milk isn't as high and think about it full milk fills them up also so don't worry she's getting enough but if you're still worried try a little flavoring to the milk not alot just enough to add a little different flavoring but honestely I think she is fine if she's only loosing 4 ozs she's making it up in table food esspecially if you are fixing things that have calcium in them.God Bless!

Being a mother myself and having this same situation I would say what is happening with your daughter is completely normal. If she is eating more table food and drinking more juice and water than she is fine and is meeting her needs. Once my daughter went to full milk and could "decide" what and when she wanted it, there was no way she got 24 oz each day. Just like us, kids can alter what they eat and drink. Unless your child seems to be going down hill then I wouldn't worry about it.
What I DID do however is give my daughter Organic Milk instead of the standard milk. This way I KNEW she was getting all the nutrition she needed from her milk no matter how much or less she drank. I know organic milk can be expensive, but if there is ONE thing you can change to Organic in your child's diet that should be it. Organic milk even tastes sweeter and better, maybe that would encourage her to drink more if you are still worried about the amount she drinks.
But other than that, your child sounds just fine :) Sometimes we ALL get too busy with play and other activities to stop and drink something.

Hi Karrissa,
I'd say that if you are getting 20 oz of milk in your daughter per day, that is fantastic!! When my son started drinking milk, he was drinking no milk to 1 ounce per day and gradually built up to maybe 16 oz over the course of 4 months. It was a process. I don't think he ever drank the full 24 oz the pediatrician recommended, but he is still healthy and thriving (he's almost 2)! Don't worry about it!
Cyndi

I am sure she is getting enough. Just keep your doctor informed. My twins started drinking less milk as well, but they were eating more solid foods and drinking water and juice as well. Their doctor has said that they are fine. They are 17mos. and are drinking three (sometimes four) sippy cups of milk a day now. 1) first thing 2)lunch or snack time 3)before bed

Hi Karrissa! Don't stress! She's not going to need as much milk as formula now that she's eating more. They have little bellies and are filling up on food instead of formula. Best advice...don't measure it! You'll make yourself crazy! If she's growing, healthy and her doctor is happy she's fine. :)

my now 16 year old son absolutely refused to drink white milk after switching from formula. We'd offer it to him, he'd take a sip and push it away. We finally had to start adding a little bit of chocolate syrup to it (not much, just enough to change the flavor). He will not drink white milk to this day unless it's in cereal. Some kids just don't like milk without flavoring. If you do have to resort to this just put a tiny amount of flavoring because of the added calories and sugar.

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Karissa,
You might try giving her less water as the milk is more important for her at this age.

Hey!
oh I had the same questions with my 1 year old girl...she"s almost two now.... what your baby is doing seems perfectly normal...my daughter was doing the same...she's getting new solid foods, and new juices etc....sounds like she's getting plenty!!

A little about me!
Wife and mom of three...9 yr, 6 yr, 20 months !
married 13 years...wow I sound old!

Don't worry too much. Children do NOT 'need' ANY milk. 24 oz is the most she should have. Most of what she needs from the milk is fat (which is why doctors recommend whole milk). As long as she gets some calcium and protein and fat from other sources whe'll be fine. If she is getting 20oz sometimes, that's okay. She will definitely drink less as she eats more becasue she is changing her food source. Hopefully she drinks lots if water!

This is all normal...some babies do well transitioning, some don't. What you all did with slowly getting her use to the idea of milk vs formula is good. Some people like to mix formula and whole milk and slowly increase the milk and decrease the formula and that works. What we did with my daughter, who was on formula, was slowly decrease the temperature of formula so it wasn't as warm, we eventually gave her room temperature formula and she drank it as usual. No problems! This way, when she turned one we slowly gave her cold milk. Increasing the amount of milk to the recommended ounces. But I never gave my kids anything in a bottle except breast milk or formula, milk ALWAYS came in a cup or sippy cup. This way there was no problems getting rid of the bottle. You should also transition her off the bottle and onto sippy cups or straw cups as well. They say no more bottles after a year old. But you see babies all the time with bottles but then some babies are on formula or breastmilk for much longer, which I support breast feeding as long as you can, but that's another subject!

In my opinion I think she is getting to much milk during the day, but if your Pediatrician recommended 24 ounces then ok. I try to limit my kids to 16 oz, but then again, I am bad about that too. I rather they have milk then juice even it's watered down. The lack of nutritional value in juice vs milk says it all. But 20 oz sounds good as long as she is eating a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables as well.

My daughter was GREAT at transitioning to milk, my son not so good. But what we did was just incorporate other dairy products into his diet, cheese, yogurt etc... You should always offer healthy snack options and give milk over juice. What I found myself doing is allowing the kids to have their breakfast with milk to drink, I'll let them have some juice at lunch, but usually water and then milk with their dinner. However, I know my son won't necessarily drink an entire 8 oz of milk at breakfast, so he usually gets milk for lunch too and milk at his afternoon snack time. Table foods are good and should continue to be introduced into her diet, but be careful of chocking hazards and foods that should still be avoided if there are any family allergies or just in general (peanut butter etc...)

In my opinion, once my kids hit 1 year of age, it was game on with all kinds of foods, textures, and levels of spiciness and such. Stuff I don't like my kids do! But this way I know they are getting a semi-round diet of good foods with an occasional sweet treat in there as well. But we also have our bad days and even weeks of eating nothing but noodles, bread, bananas and crackers. But then again we're 2 1/2 so we're always testing life and what is thrown at it!!

Take care and good luck, let me know if there is anything else you have a question about!

A. B

You can supplement w/ extra dairy cheese, cottage cheese yogurt etc. My son is going through the same thing right now.

This is totally normal. My little boy did the same thing when we went to whole milk. He actually drinks about 16oz a day, but our doctor said that was perfectly fine. Also, don't forget that other sources of dairy, such as cheese and yogurt, count towards the daily milk intake.

Karissa, of course I would ask your doctor about it, but I have a 5 year old and a 3 year old and it sounds very normal to me. It sounds like she is getting enough of what she needs through table food and the amount of milk that she is drinking. I have always let my kids tell me when they have had enough, since they do know. Remember that formula and milk do taste much different and if you are able to get her to drink any amount of whole milk you should feel great!!

Both of my girls stopped drinking as much milk once they turned a year old. If you are concerned you could make sure she gets those extra ounces of calcium in other foods since she is eating table food fairly well.

haven't read the other responses, but with my first he LOVED his formula, and did the same thing and was a picky eater. I started adding chocolate Ovaltine to his sippy cup of milk every morning, and warming it a little in the microwave (be careful about shaking it up well afterwards though - distributing the heat thru the milk is important so there are no "hot spots") - he LOVED his milk this way and would drink it straight down. I think whole milk is just a lot less sweet than formula or breastmilk so none of mine really took to it well, but the others were never (and still aren't 8 years later) big milk drinkers. Ovaltine has vitamins and stuff added - not just adding sugar and flavor like syrup would.

good luck!