Should My Daughters Be Drinking More Milk?

They don't necessarily need more milk than 16 ozs - but you may want to change the way you give it to them. You are going to move away from a bottle at some point - and that is how they get the majority of milk. I would recommend that you move the milk to meal times in another cup so when you get rid of the bottle - you don't start 2 fights at once.

I have a 14.5 month old son and I offer him milk with breakfast. After I put out a sippy cup of water & a nuby(sippy cup) with milk on our coffee table this way he can drink whatever he wants. Usually he drinks more milk, but there are days when it is more water. I think he gets about 21 - 25 oz of milk a day. Usually fill up the milk cup 2 more times during the day. Good luck

P.,

Two cups of milk a day each is sufficient at their age. Especially since you said that their snacks are usually yogurt or cheese then they are getting enough calcium in their diets. It sounds like you are enjoying your little girls and are doing a great job. Good luck!!

Hi P.
Congrats on the twins. My twins are now 18 years old, but I remember well those early days of trying to feed them and accept their differences. OK so first what does the MD say. Mine told me not to give the girls water. End of discussion. My understanding is also that babies have a quart of milk daily, whether it be formula or whole milk(not skim or 2%unless MD advised because babies need fat) A quart being 32 oz. and from what I see if they drink every bit which most of mine never did I only see 24oz.
Why does she refuse milk? Are there allergies or intolerances to dairy in your family?
My twins were born at 38 weeks and weighed in at 5'11" and 6'8" and one stayed pretty small all her life.
Do I wish I had done more question asking when they were small? Yes!! So I am glad you are asking questions, but ask the MD as well. He may see things that we can't because we are not seeing the babies.
God bless you and your little ones.
K. SAHM married 38 years so old enough to be your mom, talk to her she may have lots of stories to tell. Adult children 37, coach; 32, lawyer, married and had our only grandbaby; and the twin girls 18(yes they do grow Up)who are both in college after homeschooling. One majoring in art, and the other in journalism.

If you go to MyPyramid.gov the link is below... you can type in age weight height and activity level and come up with the exact amounts your children should be eating.
http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx

There is alot of nutritional info there for age groups and like kids 6-11 and preschoolers.. to adults and everywhere in between...

It's been a few years since I had a one year old but from what I can remember the doctor said no more than 16 oz of milk a day. he said that more could keep them from eating other foods and cause anemia. I used it as a loose guideline. Somedays I gave a bit more and some less, depending on the day and what they wanted. I wouldn't worry, as long as they are eating a well balanced diet you should be fine. Sounds like you are doing great.

at 14 months i was told no more than 16oz of milk a day. they should eat more food and drink less milk. all milk provides is calcium and vitamin D which they also get from both yogurt and cheese. so i think you're fine. no need to add more milk, unless your pediatrician advises differently. i supplement with water throughout the day. no juice at all yet for my 17 month old. as they get older i believe the amount the milk they should drink decreases as well.

At their 15 month check up, our pediatrician told us our boys (now 16 m/o twins) should be drinking at minimum between 14 and 22 oz of whole milk a day-- not including yogurt, cheese, etc. I feed them milk with every meal, give water throughout the day and never give them juice. Afternoon snack time in our house is also cheese, but only after they've had their milk (about 9 oz). My boys never got bottles and drink the milk now from either sippy cups or straws (I only give water in regular cups to keep a handle on their messes!). If you're concerned you should really talk to your doctor and see what they recommend. My boys are tall and very active and eat A LOT throughout the day so I would assume our pediatrician took that into account with her milk recommendation.

I give milk with meals and most snacks, juice rarely and water in between meals. When my girl was that age she still had milk all day with little water. She did do soy milk so there was no limit to how much.

Hello,
My daughter would drink milk out of a bottle, but not out of any kind of cup. My doctor said to give her Orange juice with calcium, green vegetables and dairy snacks. Every now and then I can get her to drink strawberry milk out of a cup. She is growing strong and is very healthy so far. I hope that helps!

My 14 yo barely drinks 16 oz of milk a day. At his 12 month checkup his pediatrician said to aim for 16-24 oz per day and to make sure he gets yogurt/cheese/cottage cheese if he is not taking enough milk. Sounds like you are in good shape but I would recommend giving milk at each meal instead of water/juice and save those for snacks. I offer both milk & water at meals and this seems to work well. Enjoy your twins!

I'm curious...... why do you give them so much water? When my sons were babies, I was told that they get enough water from their baby food and from the milk/breastmilk as well. When they were in school, the did chose water over all other drinks that were offered most often, but not by my influence because as a kid I was handed a glass of water more often than any other drinks. I think because of finances. So if given a choice, I'd always choose any drink over water. If they enjoy the milk, I'd let them have it, esp. since they say to give whole milk only until the age of two and then use 2% milk. Good luck.
D.

They should be drinking 14 to 15 ounces of milk a day so you are more than fine!

At our recent doctors visit, my daughter's pediatrician said 12 to 16 ounces of milk plus yogurt and cheese. Milk is low in iron. Too much may lead to anemia because it fills them up causing them to eat less of the foods they need nutritionally. She suggested offering milk after meals.

My twin daughters are 3 1/2yrs old and like yours, one prefers milk the other not so much. My husband is constantly worrying about this. I worry more about the dental decay problem with the juice drinking than the nutrition aspect. They both are growing, happy and rarely sick. I would agree with the previous advice, check with their doctor. Good luck.