Switching from Formula to Milk!

L.,
When I switched my now 3 year old daughter, I started doing it in her bottle then moved to a cup full time. I had a hard time because she had it in her little head that milk came in a bottle, juice and water in a cup. It took me a day of caving in, then I tossed the bottles. She would not drink much milk for 2 days, but then took it like a champ. I freaked a bit because she was not taking it, but realized that she was still drinking water and having wet diapers and was fine.
My only suggestion is to mix the formula with the milk in smaller and smaller increments(an oz or 2) until it is nothing but milk. This is just so her little tummy has time to adjust to the change.
Good Luck!

If she likes milk already, get rid of the bottles and give her a Nuby sippy cup. They have a soft spout like a bottle so kids take to them right away!

Hello L., well I also have a 11 1/2 month old daughter and I have a 2 year old son. When my son was turning 1 we did the same thing. We threw away the bottles in front of him. I told him that he was not going to drink from them anymore and they were going into the garbage. I started to give him his milk in the sippy cups and he made a big deal out of it for the first two days, but then after that he forgot about the bottles, especially since he never saw them around in the house. I will admit it was a hard two days but it worked for us. In two days that is what is going to happen to our dauther. Good luck!

I haven't had a chance to read the other posts so forgive me if I repeat, but when my son started milk, the rule was you can still have your formula/milk mix (or maybe just milk by then? I don't remember) in a bottle at bedtime (he'd already given up nap bottles on his own) but you only get a sippy cup with milk at meals. I'd introduced the cup at 6 mos. so he was good at it by then. One day, he didn't finish his dinner milk so I stuck the cup in the fridge (I know about bacteria - whatever). At bedtime, I prepared his bottle like normal, but I also brought the leftover milk in the cup up to his room. While we cuddled, I offered him the cup first and he finished it, then I offered him the bottle and he pushed it away. That was the last time he saw a bottle. It was really easy, so hopefully your daughter will be a cinch too, but that's just one way to do it. Congrats on making it a year!

I would hate to say the same things that everyone else has, but as you know it depends on your child. My first who is now 5 gave up her bottle and her crib the same day as her 1st birthday. She didnt care at all. BUT I was bad and let her take the sippy cup to bed. Well when it came time to potty train and dentist visits, i had to break the in bed sippy. It wasn't to hard but my bad for starting it. Now daughter number two. Just turned two march 7. And boy are things fun having a one up on her. Things are totally different but i feel like she never gets the surprise on me with things the way daughter one did. At 1 she wasnt ready to give up the bottle or her bed. So she got 3 extra months out of both of them. Well then she was fine, we didnt do the toddler bed thing with her, just went right into a twin bed thats low to the ground. She knows what the rules are for her sister, as in no cups any place but the kitchen, so she has always followed that rule. At two she drinks from a cup (not a sippy because big sister doesnt) and is fully potty trained even at night. Just remember when its their time they will do it, but you can never go back!! dont throw them (the bottles) away and then go get the one you hid for the night you just really needed some sleep. Stick to any rules you put in place. Good luck, and I love the idea of mixing just a little milk in till the baby is used to it! youll be fine and do great! Really no one knows your baby better then you :) youll know just what to do. A.

Does she drink the bottle at regular times? My son was VERY attached to the bottle, so what we did for him to make it not so traumatic was offer a sippy of milk at each meal and then allow him the bottle, but decrease the number of ounces gradually and then slowly eliminated the bottle and he was fine with it after a couple weeks of lowering ounces. After he'd finish the bottle sometimes he's shake it kind of as if to say "that's it??", but then would just put it down and go on to play. That's what worked for us to ease the transition.

Hi L.,
I have done this with 3 kids now. I breastfed all of them, but they still took the bottle because I used to work and had to pump. I took the bottle away at 1 too, and it was so easy. I just said you are a big boy/girl now, and no more bottle and gave the milk in a sippy cup. Having them help you throw it away is a good thing to do too. I did this with one of my kids and they loved feeling all grown up. Good luck.

S. Bailey CLD
Aurora
www.tendermomentsdoula.com

My daughter just turned one last month and we have also made the transition from formula to milk. For the past couple of months, I would only give her formula in the bottle; milk and water were in her sippy cup at meal and snack time.

After her first birthday, I limited her formula bottles to one in the morning, one at nap time (at the sitter) and one before bed. I cut out the morning bottle and then a couple of days later we ended the nap time and night time bottle. She does use a pacifier, and gets that at naptime and night time. Surprisingly, I never had any issues with the transition.

As someone else mentioned, I also used the Nuby cubs and they have worked out great. You might want to consider keeping her on formula for a couple more days/weeks using the bottle only when she gets formula and everything else is in a cup.

I feel very fortunate that she transitioned so easily. I’m expecting my second baby in July and can only hope this baby is half as easy as my daughter.

Good Luck

L.:

Cows milk is not a necessary part of a human being diet... If your daughter will drink water that is all she needs. She need good food for nutrition.

Be gentle with the transition from bottle to cup as it is something new and may be more difficult when she is tired...

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com

Why don't you have a "ceremony" saying "bye-bye" to the bottle? I did that with my first son when he turned 1 to take is binkie away and it worked well.

My son actually like milk but doesn't drink it enough where he was getting the calories and nutrients. Our peds told us to switch him to Next Step Enfamil since he still needs to gain weight. He is 21 months old now and we are still trying to get the bottle away from him at nighttime. Good luck with the bottle-we are starting to decrease the amount of formula and do more water. I hope it works for you

It is easier than you think. Your choice is to give her MILK. It provides important nutrients to her body and bones/teeth. Water should ALSO be given. If you wish Slowly get her used to the sippy cup with milk and water only in it. Like another mother suggested the nap and nightime bottles with formula. That seems to me just about right.

My son is breastfed, but gets pumped milk in a bottle. Our policy is that pumped milk goes in a bottle and any other liquids go into a cup. You might consider the same thing with your girl.

Hi L.,

You might want to consider making one change at a time...first change to sippy, then from formula to milk or vice versa, just so everything does not change at one time. My son (now 2) was initially resistant to the full changeover to the sippee for a day or two, even though he liked using sometimes. So, we had to go cold turkey to eliminate the bottle. He drank a little less for a couple of days, but by day three he was fine with the sippee and never asked for the bottle again.

Good luck!

Hi L.!

I had the same plan as you when my son turned 1 (2 months ago). He had been drinking water from a sippy cup for many months so I thought it wouldn't be a big deal for him to lose the bottle. Boy, was I wrong. He loves milk, but he loves his bottle more. I had no idea how attached he was to the bottle. At first I would try to get him to drink milk from cups, I tried every kind of sippy cup on the market and cups with straws. But he would scream until I poured the milk into a bottle. Finally I gave up and haven't even tried to give him milk in a cup in a month. I know I have to try again one of these days, but he just isn't ready yet so what's the rush. My mom's advice to me was "They never walk down the aisle in diapers or with a bottle. Eventually he'll be ready, what's the rush?" I have enough things to stress out about so I liked that advice.

Good luck!
L.

L.,

I think that the transition from bottle to cup and formula to milk totally depends on the child. Ask 10 different Moms and you may get 10 different answers. And it's even different for siblings. For us, the transition was really easy (the 1st easy thing we ever encountered with our colicky little guy...lol). If I remember, we just started mixing the formula with milk in the bottle to get him used to the taste. Then, we cut out his bottles during the day and offered a non-spill sippy cup with formula/milk instead, and eventually just milk. He was still taking a bottle at night and wanted one in the AM in order to get back to sleep (he'd wake up at about 4AM and want one). That was the last one to go. One day, he got up and we didn't offer him a bottle. I just held him and he went back to sleep. I think it took us about 2 weeks to get him 100% off the bottle and he hasn't looked back since. :)

I would try to give her the sippy cup at first and see how she does and how much she drinks. If she takes to it and likes it, I think your transition will be relatively easy. If she's eating full, balanced meals with baby food/people food, then the milk is just an added way to get calcium/fat/dairy that's needed. So, don't expect that at every meal she will drink 6-8 ounces of milk like she was with bottles.

Good luck.

T.