Moving from Formula to Whole Milk

Just switch. She won't starve or go thirsty. Just make sure you don't increase juice to make up for not drinking milk. In fact, you might cut out all other beverages (except water) when you make the switch so she doesn't have an option. Eventually she'll drink it. It will seem hard in the short term, but the long term benefit is worth it!

I had the same problem with my twins. I started out half and half, then slowly put more milk than formula. It didn't take too long, maybe a month or so. I'm having the same problem with getting them to drink milk out of the sippy cup. The only i can think of is that they have associated that taste with a bottle. Sounds dumb, but that's all I could come up with. Hope this helps.

You should try just switching completely to whole milk and not giving her the other options for one week. If she is not allergic and doesnt seem to have any side effects from the whole milk; it may just be the idea that she knows Mom will give in and give her what tastes familiar.

Try giving her a special treat that will make her thirsty like a toddler cookie or graham cracker and have the whole milk sitting there for her as well. This helped my daughter transition.

If it makes you feel any better, my daughter was the same way. She's 18 months now and LOVES milk in her sippy cup. I did the same thing....mixing formula with milk and gradually decreasing the formula. I also experimented with temperature. Gradually making the formula colder or milk warmer. It was VERY frustrating.

With the milk in the sippy cup, I think it's purely b/c it's something new. I don't really think they can taste a difference (b/c formula tastes nasty). I just kept offering it to her. Eventually she was okay with it.
You just have to keep in mind that it's a phase (as is everything else).

I don't think it's good for their stomaches to combine the two, I have asked my Pedi that as well when my son was younger and he said absoutely not, It's too harsh for their tummies. I would warm his milk in a sippy cup, the one that has the straw that's by Nuby. It took about a week for him to get adjusted. My son didn't care for much milk in a sippy cup at first, all they need at a year is 12oz per day of dairy intake which includes milk, cheese, yogurt. Karson is now 18 months and LOVES his milk in a sippy cup.

Good Luck

Never could get my son to make the switch. Some kids aren;t milk drinkers. Ask your ped about leaving her on formula, like the step 2 ones maybe. My son is also allergic, so him not liking it was fine cause he can't have it anyway. But, he wouldn't even have formula out of a cup. I got him to take it sometimes using a real cup and straw-like the ones they give you (plastic) free w/kids meals a lot of places...

R.

Hi L.,

I'd just switch it straight up and not offer much of anything else. She'll get used to it very fast.

Good luck! C.

Hi L.,
I am a Pedi RN- I promise you your child will NOT die of thirst or malnutrition w/o milk. Just offer it at each meal- in a sippy cup- and move on from there. Not all kids are milk drinkers. At this stage the biggest thing milk has to offer is Calcium which can also be found in Orange Juice, Waffles, Cereal, Iron Kids bread.....
Don't stress- she'll be fine :-)

D.

Just switch. It will take a day or two at most. She'll get used to it. She knows how to use the sippy if she takes juice with it. You could try taking her to the store to pick out a fun "milk" cup. Make her feel grown up. You could even get one with a straw at this age, which might make getting the milk more fun. But either way, just switch to whole milk. If she totally refuses, don't give in at that meal, but make sure to serve a calcium rich alternative at the NEXT meal or snack (yogurt, orange juice with calcium, iron kids toast).

Be patient, it took my daughter many months to get her to drink milk. My son (b/g twins) took it immediately with no problem. It all just takes a little time. If you are concerned about her getting enough calcium, don't you can substitute. (cheese, orange juice with calcium) I don't drink milk, nor do most of the women in my family, so I thought she never would like it, but now 23 mths. she loves it. If you only offer her sippy cups, she will learn that this is the only way she is going to get it, and will soon give in. It's hard to do, but just like with anything else if you are consistant she'll soon give in. It's not going to hurt her in the mean time. Good luck!!!

About me:
Happy mother to 23 mth. old b/g twins, and 4 mth. old daughter.

Hi L.!

I had the same problem with my now 3 year old. Two things worked for me. I would either add drinkable "Yo Baby" yogurt in a great flavor or Ovaltine to the milk. My son really disliked milk until I started doing this. Then, you can gradually dilute the flavor until you end up with the whole milk alone. When you flavor the milk with these, only offer it to her in a sippy cup. I used to make a big fuss about it, saying that it was a special treat or shake. This is a really common problem. Good luck!

M.