When to Start Milk

You should probably check with your pediatrician but I bet you can start weaning with part milk, part formula, but FYI once switched over to milk NEVER water down...your children needs all of it...NOT watered down

I would give the doctor a call. Most will agree to start with some milk at this age. As long is there is no family history of allergy to dairy. But I would use a sippy cup not a bottle. He is getting older and that way it will be a transition to the cup. Do not water it down and use whole milk.

S.,

You're not supposed to start whole milk until they are at least a year old. Talk with your pediatrician about what to do.

Hi, Stacy. Hon, please talk to the pediatrician before changing your son's diet. Your pedi will be able to tell you when or if it is OK to start your son on whole milk. Most recommend to stay off regular whole milk until at least 1 year old. However, there are transitional formulas like Good Start, but I would definitely check with the pedi before trying to decide what to do next.

Peace,
Syl

we were told at one year to start whole milk. call your pediatrician and ask if you can start sooner. if you little one is at low risk for allergies and at a good weight it might be time. we did not water down our milk either. it may be time to toss the bottles too!!

My best friend put her daughter on whole cows milk before her 1st birthday. I believe she was about 8 months and she turned out just fine. The reason for staying on formula until they are 12 months is because milk does NOT have all the necessary vitamins. Could you possibly try mixing half of the formula and half of milk? I would not dilute the milk. Milk already does not have many of the necessary vitamins and diluting it will only weaken the milk's potential. I would say 10 months is close enough to a year old and I would say it would be fine to switch to whole milk. It's your call. You must do what feels comfortable for you.

First I won't give you advise on when to make the change to regular milk because I think you should check with your pediatrician first. But most likely your boy is not doing the formula because he started drinking juice. If that is the case, you just need to keep being persistant becuase he is tasting his boundaries.

Most pediatricians don't recommend starting milk before they are a year old. With that said I think you could start adding milk to his formula to gradually wean him off formula to milk, this way his digestive system can adjust slowly to milk.

Good Luck
Karen

You should never introduce milk before a year old. It will increase their changes of having a milk allergy if you do. Also, do not water it down. They need the fat in whole milk until they are 2 yrs old. If you have questions ask your pediatrician they would tell you the exact same thing. Don't lisen to what you hear get it from the experts.

Usually they will tell you about a year - but at 10 months, there is no reason to transition him at this point. I would start by using 2 parts formula to one part milk. Make sure he can tolerate it, then slowly increase to 1/2 formula 1/2 milk - and so forth - use whole milk - not low fat or fat free or even 2%. Good luck!!

Doctors will usually tell you to start them on whole milk when they turn one. I started both my girls (ages 10 and 5) on whole milk around the age of 10 months. They loved it, and they were fine with it...Just make sure that their tummies agree to it and they have no problems going to the potty.

Well, it's always good to touch base with your doctor with any questions before deciding to do anything number one. I have always heard at about a year you can switch them off to regular milk but even now I think he's close enough and yes water it down little by little. Mix the milk with water reducing the water more and more until the baby's stomach gets used to the whole milk. That's the only reason you water it down just to get them used to it. I have two kids of my own and that's what I would do. I keep them on formula as long as I could but once you see they don't want it anymore by all means switch it. He'll be fine. Good luck!!

Hi S.,
My youngest (breast fed) began to self wean at around 10 months, and while I was already supplementing with formula, his pediatrician said it was fine to wean him to whole milk at that age. Most say wait until 12 months, but that is only a general guideline, usually a little earlier is fine, depending on the situation. Check with your pediatrician to be sure, but it sounds like it should be fine.

Do not water down the milk. He will need about 16 ounces of WHOLE milk per day until age two. Whole milk is important because it has the proper FAT ratio (as do breast milk and formula) that is essential for brain development at that age.

I see a lot of moms have recommended ditching the bottle, but don't feel bad if you decide not to. My son is 19 months and still has an 8 ounce bottle of milk after dinner every night, and I plan to keep that us until he turns two (I did that with my older son also). He takes milk with meals from a regular cup (no sippy), but I really want to make sure he's getting enough milk, and I know that extra eight ounces is worth it. When I offer it in a cup, he won't just sit and drink an entire 8 ounces of milk, but from a bottle he will. Maybe I am just paranoid, given the fact that my ped. has stressed that milk fat is so important for his brain development until age two (then we'll switch to 1% and I wont worry as much about the amount).

I would first try soy milk, then goats milk, and then fat free cow's milk. Add a little of it (or half bottle) to his formula, don't go totally away from the formula.

Have you thought about starting him on stage 1 food? In the same section of the store, there are juices like apple, grape, etc. I pour half in a bottle and fill the rest with water. This helps dillute the sugar. Also, there is kid yogurt in the yogurt section and my 9 month old LOVES them. Honestly, I haven't gone the milk route and not sure when that's ok, but hopefully you can find something new in these suggestions. Good luck~

If you've been using a special formula (like Soy), that's one thing, but if you used "regular" formula, it is dairy based anyway-- and chances are you've fed him dairy products like cheese and yogart. He's so close to a year old that I'm sure your pediatrician will be fine with you starting him on whole milk. Do NOT water it down!! Start with a little bit at a time to give his body time to adjust to digesting it.

By the way, I checked my baby book and my mom started feeding me SKIM MILK at 2 months old!! So funny how things were different before all these parenting books and the internet that we have now!

S.,
All 4 of my children were initally breast-fed and then at 9 months old, after they had their iron test from their pediatrician and it came back good, they were started on whole milk. I've never heard of watering it down. I'm not sure what the reason for that would even be. All of my kids are incredibally healthy, happy, well-adjusted children. So, as always, talk to your pediatrician first, but I never hesitated at 9 months putting them on whole milk.

Truly that is up to you. I breast fed my 4 boys for the first 6-9 months then supplemented with formula after that until they were 12 months old. Actually a little longer because at that time I was able to get WIC and I had a back supply. I did have to switch brands with my son. You may want to try that if you are on WIC. Developing allergies is why they say to keep the child on formula for up to a year. Same with foods, they say to introduce your cereals and veggies first and save the fruit for later. The baby once they taste the fruit will turn away from the veggies if not introduced to it early.
Remember the decision is yours, talk to your pediatrician, but if you choose to go with a milk., use a less fat milk.

Hi,

My son is 10 1/2 months, and he started refusing his bottle. I kept trying formula for a few weeks, but I finally put in a call to his pediatrician, and she told me that he was doing what we hope most 12 month old babies do.....get rid of formula in a bottle and want milk. My advice would be to first call your pediatrician, but mine suggested giving him milk in a sippy cup (not a bottle, because in a few months, he'll need to be off the bottle, then he might not drink the milk in a cup). Try the milk, then dilute it with water, if you need to. Use whole milk, of course and try it in a sippy cup. My son will drink milk, but it's not near as much as I would have imagined. He only gets 6-12 ounces a day, but the pediatrician said that was fine, because he gets Vitamin D from other foods and the sun. Good Luck and let me know what happens!

Right on time. Some people recomend feeding them a bottle of Pedyalite, sort of like cleaning the palate and then starting on regular milk. The way I did it was feeding on formula for his last before bedtime and starting on milk the next morning. Always worked fine.

I've read a lot of articles saying that you should wait until the 1st birthday. Talk to your Ped about it. It could be as easy as switching formula brand. My son like soy the best and it helped with his congestion because of allergies and asthma.

First--as you introduce solids, he should be eating less and less formula--so maybe it's not a dislike, but just that he's not hungry. As his solid meals grow--you should be dropping the bottle feedings--so that by one year--no bottles-just meals and snacks and sippies with whole milk. At 10 months a bottle in the morning and before bedtime should be fine--or even just the night time bottle.
The reason they don't want cow's milk introduced until 1 year is because of the added nutrition that formula provides and cow's milk is harder to digest and can cause some stomach issues. (cheese and yogurt proteins are much easier to digest).Formula is made from cow's milk but the proteins have been broken down and are easier to digest. There is also added iron and DHA and RHA, but he should be getting iron from the cereal you are feeding him and you can get yogurt with the added dha and rha (the yo baby yogurt and cereal has the DHA and RHA along with iron)--Also there is a milk that has DHA and RHA under the Little Einstien's brand, but I have never seen it here. 1 year is the recommended age, but it's not as if they suddenly on their first birthday are getting enough nutritional elsewhere and can magically digest milk proteins--it's a gradual process and some babies may be ready earlier...if he's eating solids well, gaining and growing and does ok with whole milk , then i say go for it (ask your ped to make sure)--don't water it down though--he needs the nutritio from the whole milk! And drop the bottles all together--don't bother with milk in them-if he won't take the formula in the bottle--then just move him to completely solid meals and snacks--3 meals-2 snacks and sippies! yes they grow fast, don't they! IF you weeen him now from the bottle--it will be MUCH easier--and there will be no attachment issues down the road. If he can hold it in his hand--they he can drink from a sippy....

Hey S.,

I started my son on 2/3 whole milk and 1/3 water at 10 months and then whole milk with no water at one year. My doctor said that was fine and he has done well. I hope this helps.

Have a blessed day!
T.

I believe my son started milk at 12 months. And I also believe it was straight out of the refrigerator (cold). Eventually though I had to put either a little bit of chocolate or strawberry syrup in it for some flavor.

S.~

I have to agree with several of the other responses...call the ped. They will most likely tell you to switch to the milk. My son did this when he was about 10 and 1/2 months old but we were on vacation and once we got back home and back to normal he would sometimes drink it. When he was just over 11 months old he started pushing it away again so I called the ped and she told me to try the milk. All in all it went well he loved it. At the same time I took away the bottle and used only his straw sippy cups that he had been drinking his water/juice out of. There were sometimes he did not want it but I never brought out the bottle I just offered it again and again and in about 2ish days he had moved on (a couple of days with little to no milk is not going to hurt them...). Sometime I am finding the sooner you do something the other habit is quickly broken. But now he's just over a year and will not drink the milk. So again I called the ped and she suggested yo baby yogurt drinks and/or adding carnation instant breakfast to his milk. So far both are going well but he has really started getting a mind of his own which seems to change faster than our weather...lol! But I guess this too shall pass. Best of luck!! Hope this helps!

Check with your pediatrician. A quick phone call should supply the answer without a visit to the doctor being necessary.