Givng My 10 Month Old Whole Milk.

Updated on August 13, 2012
B.D. asks from Savage, MN
18 answers

I was wondering if i am able to start giving my 10 month old son whole milk to try and wean him off formula and his bottle? I was thinking i could do half and half. Half formula and half whole milk. Would that be okay to do or would it hurt my baby? I ask some family and friends and they said it would be okay but i just wanna get some more peoples advice.

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So What Happened?

Thank you everyone for you advice i did starting putting a little whole milk in his formula i am taking it one day at a time little by little. I did call his doctor and she said it was okay for me to start mixing it with his formula. He seems to like it to so far no problems yet.

Jill- He still does he solids and other foods, i do give him milk at mealtimes its not just straight milk either its half milk half formula. Also he does drink out of a sippy he drinks out of a sippy during the day he only uses a bottle right before bed time at night cuz i am trying to get him off the bottle as soon as possible.

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J.P.

answers from Chicago on

I was waiting with my second till about 11 months. When I gave her the first cup of whole milk, she drank the entire thing, and I was so impressed until my son told me that he'd been sharing his sippy of milk with her for a long time. He then proceeded to show me how he "plugged" his sippy in her mouth. It certainly looked like something they had been doing for a few months!

2 moms found this helpful

L.A.

answers from Austin on

Ha! I tried it once when I had run out of formula.. Yikes, It went through her so fast,. Diarrhea all over the high chair and onto the kitchen floor! i felt so bad..

Ask the doctor..
Or just ive it a try, but be prepared for whatever may happen.

1 mom found this helpful

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B..

answers from Dallas on

We are not physicians, this is a question better answered by your pediatirian.

In MY opinion...there is no good reason not to wait until the recommended time.

4 moms found this helpful

C.O.

answers from Washington DC on

B.:

Welcome to mamapedia!!!

The best person to ask is your pediatrician.

Our pediatrician strongly suggested that we NOT give whole milk until 12 months to allow your child's digestive track and immune system build up.

You need to talk to your pediatrician who has examined and knows your child.

GOOD LUCK!

3 moms found this helpful
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L.F.

answers from San Francisco on

No. Don't give whole milk until age one. Your baby still needs all of the nutrients in formula/breastmilk. Milk alone doesn't have everything he needs.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.☯.

answers from Springfield on

I did get my boys used to milk by mixing it little by little. But I did actually wait until they were 12 months old. It's what is usually recommended, and I didn't really have a reason not to wait.

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P.S.

answers from Chicago on

my son refufused his bottle and formula at 10 months old so i just started milk and he was fine never had issues i didnt mix it or anything... his choice tho not mine i would have kept him on formula till 12 months but he just didnt want it period so his dr said go ahead and give him milk cause i couldn't force him lol... so it's your call and what you feel inside... your "mom" YOU know best so i say do whatever you feel is right and it most certainly WILL NOT hurt your baby... good luck and enjoy time flies after one!

1 mom found this helpful
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M.P.

answers from Raleigh on

It's fine and it won't hurt your baby. Just do a little half/half bottles like you mentioned, and see how he tolerates it.
My son refused formula altogether at 10 mos and it was fine. 12 mos is recommended, but in now was is it required or does it state it will hurt your baby. It's just a basic guideline. Just use your best judgement.

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

No. It is done by some but your child needs to vitamins and nutrients in the formula so much especially right now when they are growing and developing so rapidly.

In a month or month and a half he will be plenty ready to go to straight table food and milk in a bottle. I stared out the transition with 2 oz of regular whole milk, Vitamin D, and 6 oz. of formula. This lasts a week or so. If he has any problems with this stop the milk and go total formula until you figure out what is going on.

Then after the week you can go half formula and half whole Vitamin D milk. This is a tough stage since it really does taste different.

After they are used to the flavor and are drinking this very well, maybe another week to a week and a half you can go 6 oz. of regular milk mixed with 2 oz. Formula. This is the big one, they either take to it or they don't. If they don't like it this step may last weeks. They need to work through this stage though, you may have to go back to half and half though. Then start the next stage again.

It gets their tummy adjusted to milk by doing it this slow.

I cannot tel you how rancid and disgusting the pooh coming out of babies that go to too much milk in the mix right off. The ones that go cold turkey to milk have pooh and will gag even the most staunch diaper changer. I never changed one where the parent insisted we do the formula by just doing whole milk all of a sudden without having a trash can beside me to puke in. And diapers don't bother me as a general rule.

Their tummies will eventually adjust but why put them through the discomfort and nasty pooh.

1 mom found this helpful

M.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

I'd ask your doctor as well, just to get a little peice if mind from a professional. I started my youngest on milk at 11 months with the green light from her pediatrician. She was only breastfed and my supply dropped. She's very strong willed and would not drink formula of any brand. Also she also refused any bottle I attempted to give her, even with breast milk. I had been feeding her cheese and yogurt without any issues. So at 11 months I supplemented with organic whole milk in the sippy cups with a straw. She's now 13 months and doing fantastic.

1 mom found this helpful

X.O.

answers from Chicago on

I'd ask his doctor. Mine gave me the go-ahead at 10 mos to start the transitition to whole milk.

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J.M.

answers from Chattanooga on

Unless he is rejecting the formula, I would try to stick with it. It's only 2 more months after all... Their bodies change so much so fast, that in what seems like a short time to us they make HUGE physical developments... including the maturing of their digestive system.

Formula is MADE for baby humans... It is designed to give them the nutrients their rapidly growing little bodies need. Cow's milk is made for baby cows... while it IS healthy, it just isn't designed for humans, and won't have the same benefits as the formula.

Plenty of people have legitimate reasons for weaning their children early, and that is perfectly fine. Will it do your child harm in the long (or short) run? Most likely not... BUT it won't do the same amount of good that the formula does. If you are just sick of the bottle, you might try giving him the formula in a regular or sippy cup.

IF you are set on weaning him from formula, then I would do the half and half mix first for a couple weeks, just to see how he handles it. Some kids stomachs can't really handle dairy too well until their digestive system matures a bit more (which is why several pediatricians recommend weaning from formula around one year... Some kids can handle it, some kids can't. It really is an individualized development...) Dairy can be quite the shock on little stomachs!

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E.T.

answers from Rochester on

Whole milk is much harder for little tummies to digest and can cause tummy discomfort. Most peds say to wait until one year for that reason. With both of our kids we started mixing whole milk and breast milk between 11-12 months. Neither of my kids liked the taste at first so to start I was adding whole milk by the tablespoon and slowly adding a little more each day. Take it slow.

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A.H.

answers from Canton on

I was pretty much forced to do that with my oldest. She broke her last nipple for her bottle at about 9 1/2mths and wouldn't take a new one. She also wouldn't drink formula out of a sippy cup (not sure why) but she would drink whole milk out of the sippy cup. She never had problems with it.

B.M.

answers from Pocatello on

I did when my babies hit 10 months. I just wanted to start weaning them from breastfeeding so I started giving them 1 sippy a day with whole milk. So give it a try. My kids all did fine with it. But if you notice something weird like diarrhea etc then back off and try again in a month. The say not to switch to all whole milk until a year but you can start giving him some here and there and he should do fine.

C.A.

answers from New York on

My son is 10 months and I give him 1 oz of whole milk with his breakfast. I did the same with my daughter. This way his tummy is used to the milk when he turns a year and the dr takes him off formula. He had loose stools at first but now its getting better. He loves his milk with breakfast. Our DR was actually happy that we did that with our daughter so I am doing the same with our son. When he turns 11 months I will give him the same amount with breakfast and dinner.

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A.M.

answers from New York on

I would wait a little longer. My son's pediatrician recommended no whole milk until he was a year old. I started introducing it at 11 months though...very little. I started with 1/4 whole milk; 3/4 formula for a week. Then 1/2 whole milk; 1/2 formula for a week. Then 3/4 whole milk; 1/4 formula for a week...and then by the time he was a year old...he was on all whole milk! The transition was very smooth for us! During this time I also pushed the sippy cup and he was done with a bottle completely at 13 months. I used one that had handles and the mouth piece was silicon; like a nipple. Just a suggestions.

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J.K.

answers from Wausau on

Formula is food, milk is a beverage. Formula is replaced with solid foods.

Milk is not an adequate substitute, it is just one component of an overall diet. You don't want to do an ounce-for-ounce substitution because he will get too full on milk to eat solids. Save the milk for mealtimes, and I strongly recommend switching to a sippy cup at that time rather than giving it in a bottle.

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