Whole Milk - Palos Hills, IL

I started my kids on whole milk before the age of a year also, my kids are very strong & healthy and eat well.

I started letting my little girl start tasting whole milk at ten months. She has been fine. She is eleven and a half months old now and has whole milk regularly, she loves it!

I started both my girls when they could hold a sippy cup.

Personally, I would go with what your pediatrician tells you. I also have a 10 month old baby and have been advised to wait until she's 1 year old before introducing cow's milk. Surely by now you've had lots of unsolicited advice from well meaning people that you've had to ignore - I know I have!

My doctor told me to start at 12 months. Every three days add one once of whole milk to their bottle. So first 3 days would be 7 oz. formula 1 oz. milk. The next 3 days would be 6 oz. formula 2 oz. milk. just keep doing that until you have all milk. You don't want to do it at once or it might make him sick. Lots of diaper changes. LOL.

do you give your son yogurt? YoBaby is made with whole milk.

If you give him yogurt, then you are already introducing milk products. watch for allergies there, providing the fruits mixed with the yogurt are already proven to not cause any allergy.

what about cheese? got milk there too.

My son had issues with the lactose in dairy based products. we did a complete switch over to lactaid one day and never looked back. he had a little gas for a couple days, but it was not a big deal. he could tolerate the small amounts in yogurt but not the 8 oz bottles he was drinking 3-4 times a day.

talk with your pediatrician though... best course of action.

Ask your pediatrician. Only two people know the health history of your child and family: you and the pediatrician.

You must talk to your pediatrician about when to start milk. Mine had me use 2% milk, not whole milk and started out with a teaspoon mixed in with their formula for week to test for allergies then slowly increased the milk content over time to where they were drinking all milk and no formula.

As long as they are eating meals throughout the day and are getting enough nutrition that way, then yes do it! My daughter and son were both on 3 meals, snacks, and some milk in straw cups by 8 mos. and one bottle at night. By 10 mos. my son was completely on milk and is just fine, typical 2 yo. picky eating, but other than that healthy and fine. My daughter b/c she was our fist continued until 1 yr on one bottle of formula at night. But we learned from her that it was not necessary. Both of my kids were also done with the bottle by 1 yr. Good Luck. Just remember that the doc will tell you what he is supposed to not whatcould be ok for your kids.

Hi A.. I couldn't agree more with the Moms that suggest checking with your Pediatrician! I felt very strongly about avoiding straight milk until 12 months old because of a couple studies linking early milk drinking to diabetes. And my husband and I have histories of both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in our families. My Pediatrician definitely supported my decision. I'm pretty sure we used Yo Baby yogurt before 12 months, but no straight milk.

I started my son on whole milk when he was 10 months. He had no problems, besides it was too rich for him, so I switched to 2%, he is now 14 months and I give him 1%. He does great, you should be alright!

A.,
A friend of mine gradually did it with her son at about 10 months. I think she just added a little to his formula each week. She did that for a week and then added more and reduced the amount of formula.
Good luck,
T.

I weaned my first at around 10 months and my doctor said that since she was healthy with no allergies thus far, she would be fine to try on whole milk. She didn't really like it, so we ended up doing enough formula to get her to like the whole milk, but the doctor said it was close enough to not worry about it. Good luck!

I agree with Jasmin. Often children develope allergies later due to starting whole milk to early.

When in doubt, call the doctor! :-) I got the okay for my 2nd son to start whole milk when he was 11 months. (I had to wean because of complications with my new pregnancy.) With my daughter, I started introducing her to a cup of 2% around the same age as your little boy. She was (and still is) breastfed, so I know she was getting plenty of everything she needed, I was just hoping to make weaning easier. (The joke was on me, though. She's never going to give up breastfeeding.) The point: my kids were fine, double check with your doctor! Good luck! -T.

When you switch to whole milk at age one, you are adding it in as a beverage not a food. By age one, you should begin replacing his bottles or breastmilk with food, not whole milk. Taking in too much milk at a young age can cause anemia. Please talk to your ped, or just continue with formula or breastmilk until he is at least 1 year old.

Hi Anette,
I am a mother of four 14yrs.,10yrs.,8yrs.,and 20 months. I started introducing whole milk to my kids at around 10 months. They are just fine. Although they say you should keep your child on formula or breastmilk until 1yrs.old I beg to differ. What did parents do when formula wasn't around? My suggestion to you would be to try it and see how your son does with whole milk, can his stomach tolerater it, does he have any complications from it? Slowly introduce it and take it from there. All little ones are different and what is okay for one may not be okay for the other. I agree with one of the other moms on the page (I think it was Erika) when she says doctors will tell you what they have to. This is true they tell you what they have to as well as nutrtionists and nurses you get the idea. Have you ever had a doctor or nurse tell you something and then say they have to tell you that but, and then tell you something else off record or they didn't say. I have. Good Luck

As a wellness educator and nutritionist, it is best to wait until your son is a year old. Babies exposed to milk prior to a year have a higher risk for developing milk/dairy allergies. You can do rice milk if you feel he is ready (you probably gave him rice cereal as his first food, so it is easy on the digestive track). And add some Nordic Naturals Liquid DHA fish oil for toddlers/infants for the needed fat (and it is a much better fat anyways for their brain development). You can find rice milk at Trader Joe's, reasonable and best-priced. Each baby is different, however, it is best to wait.

I will add regarding from the other posts, cheese and yogurt are processed differently that is why you can introduce it sooner than whole milk. Even though it is "made with milk" it is more easily digestible ( I don't think you want the scientific break-down?) The other thing is that doctors are not dietitians or nutritionists...they take an optional one-elective course in nutrition, so while you do want to consider their advice, you have to do what is best for your child, watch for signs, etc. Most don't even realize that a major cause of eczema is an allergy to dairy products. Rice milk is a nice introduction b/c it is easily digestible. In all honesty, whole milk is not the best form of vitamins and fats...eggs is higher in Vitamin D and fish oils, avocados and coconut oil are much better fats for your child. If you do go with whole milk, make sure it is hormone free (rBGH-free) It will say it on the lable.

Please feel free to reply if you have further questions.

J. W. MPH
Lifestyle and Wellness Consultant