My daughter is 11 months old today and already walking so I think its a good time to start the transition away from bottles of formula (she only takes 2 a day anyway) onto sippy cups of milk. Any suggestions on the best way to do this? I tried the cold turkey approach and she seemed to hate the milk- spit it right back out then threw the cup. Just not sure how to proceed with this change!
I think I didn't explain correctly that my daughter has gotten HERSELF down to two bottles a day; it was not my doing. She literally refuses all but her morning wake-up bottle and her going-to-bed bottle. During the day, she won't touch the stuff! Thanks for all your suggestions. I think i'll wait until her birthday then transition her by doing some formula mixed with regular milk. She is great with a sippy cup already so no problem there at all. Thanks again!
My son was allergic to cow's milk and weaned himself from the breast at 9 months. I just fed him regular stuff and no milk at all. His pediatrician did prescribe him vitamin drops. All of my kids are allergic to milk so they never had it and they are all healthy now. I just substituted other foods etc. for their calcium... good luck!
I would carefully consider any soy products for your child:
http://www.westonaprice.org/Soy-Alert/
http://wholesoystory.com/
You can mix them for a while if you need to. There's no hurry; milk has less nutrition than formula, which is fine til age 2. And check with your pediatrician on the recommended amount per day - I remember it as being more than 2 bottles/cups unless those are really big 8-10oz servings. Also try sippy cups with straws, sometimes those work better.
Talk to your pediatrician, but she should be drinking more than 2 servings of milk (formula or cow's) a day. My DD started weaning herself (from the breast) at 10 months and from the bottle at 11. By 1 year, she was totally off both! If you're concerned about sensitivity to cow's milk, you CAN put formula in a sippy cup. Has she been introduced to the sippy cup already? If not, START NOW! My girl decided that she really preferred the sippy cup anyways (we introduced her to it at ~8 months). If the transition to sippy cup starts out rough, you could put the med-flow nips on the bottle and she will realize that she gets more liquid (faster) from the cup! As far as introducing cow's milk, just start out by replacing 1 serving of formula with cow's milk. Keep a close eye for upset tummy (gas, diarrhea, constipation, spitting up, etc). Our pediatrician suggested starting out with only 2 oz servings at a time. There is nothing wrong with chocolate milk (in my opinion)--if it gets them to drink milk--just limit it to once a day.
Good luck!
I tend to agree with the other moms that 11 months is a little too early. Other than the expense, is there a reason not to wait the extra month? The fat of formula is really critical to baby's brain development.
It sounds like you might need to start mixing (90/10 formula milk, 80/20 formula/milk, etc. over the next few weeks so she gets accustomed to the taste.
I'd also ask your pediatrician what their recommendations are. Ours (with 3 young boys himself) was 100% cool with whole milk until 2 and then any kind of milk after that.
Good luck and enjoy this age.....it gets so much more fun (and then they become 3 year-olds)
Well I think 11 months may be a little early to transition but If I was you I would first start out with a soy based milk just to make sure that her stomach can handle the change. You can try it in different flavors they have a chocolate one that is delicious even to me! Then try the cows milk. Good Luck to you and your little one!
In regards to your previous reply, I read recently that soy milk has been found to be a potential health risk so you might want to do your own research on that before giving it to your child.
As for good old cow's milk, my kids both did great with that and I transitioned at about the same time. The trick is to do it slowly. If your daughter is used to warm (or room-temp) bottles of formula, start by warming the milk slightly and then offering her colder and colder milk over a period of a few weeks until she's used to the new temp.
The taste issue is taken care of in a similar way by mixing the powdered formula into the milk (just as if it were water) and slowly reducing the amount you mix in over a few weeks until she's drinking plain milk.
Trust me, slow and steady wins this race. :-)
Good luck!
I would also wait a bit, until she's at least a year. But when you do, just try mixing them, gradually increasing the milk and decreasing the formula.
I think the best way to do it is to use a sippy with part formula part milk. Slowly decrease the amount of formula and increase the amount of milk until you're using all milk. Try not to give into the bottle. It's better to make that transition at the same time. When she's thirsty she will drink it. Hope this helps.
Its normal for them to do that with the change of different milk. I work for a daycare and when the infants come to the 1yr old room they have a hard time transitioning without a bottle on to a sippy cup, we have this one little boy his mommy still gave him a bottle because she couldnt stand to hear him cry like he did, he would cry alot during naptime but now hes gotten better, it will take awhile for them to get used to no bottle good luck.
