Advice on Switching Baby from Formula to Milk

I started switching both of my kids when they were about 10 months old. They were totally off of Formula by their 1st birthday.
I started with switching just one bottle for a few days, than 2 and so on. As long as they are eating good you know they are getting the nutrients they need.
They will get used to it.
C.

I had twins also. I gave some bottles formula and some milk and then switched totally over to milk by 1 year.

K., I gradually switched my daughter at 9 months and my son at 7 months from formula to "D" milk successfully and with no problems. First I just added a few ounces of milk to the fomula to see how they took to it, then a week later maybe 1/2 and 1/2 and so on. I know the doctors are against this but with much advice from my mother who raised 5 children and now has 11 grandchildren, everything turned out just fine!

I wennt through this with my 1 year old son when he started really getting into baby food and table food. I would advise you to be persistent, and keep offering the formula. My son moved out of this phase quickly once the excitement and newness of table food became old. I found that experimenting with the timing of the bottles was helpful, so that he wasn't offered a bottle too close to when he eats regular food.
I wouldn't suggest switching to milk yet, because the nutrients in formula are still essential and not the same as milk at their developmental stage. Keep up the good work, i'm sure twins are not easy at all!

First off, nutritionally, formula is all they need until their first year. Any solids they may eat are just a bonus at this point. This is their training period to get them used to it, see what they like and so on. Formula should be given to them until their first birthday for nutrition purposes, especially the iron. It sounds like it may not be a formula issue, but a bottle issue. Try switching a some sort of cup. Also, they may be eating too much solids and just not hungry for formula. You'll need to keep in mind that they need all of their formula and any solids are just extra. Try cutting back on their solids and see if they'll take in more formula. At this age too they can start snacking in between to keep them more full with less solids at regular meal times. Gerber Puffs and Wheels are great for this age! They dissolve quickly and are made of veggies and fruits. They taste like sweetened cereal actually.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat

Hi, I also have twins. They will be 2 in june. I started switching at about 11 months and I was nervous to do anything sooner than the doctor says. So I talked to some friends about what they did with their kids. I began by putting in 25% milk in their bottles for a week or so and then went to 50% for a week , then 75% for a weeek. By the time it was their one year appointment they were drinking milk. The doctor they asked me if I had switched yet and told them what i did with the bottles. They said "okay" as if it wasn't even an issue that I did it a little early. I guess it's not a big deal to start a little early if they can tolerate it. Good luck.

PLease talk to your ped before you do this. Milk has too much sodium and other minerals and not enough vitamins and iron for growing babies. Babies' need for iron drops signifigantly after the first year, but right now they need LOTS and without formula they might not get it.

Maybe try a sippy cup instead of the bottle?

hi K.,
i don't see why it would be a problem to switch them this early, but i would still ask their doc first. cause you never know. but i say go for it. when we were little we were drinking milk way before 1 year, ya know!! lol. if you go for it try like an once of milk at a time, like mix it in with their formula and see how they take to it. my doc told me to do this, one once then three then a full bottle. but if they start pooping white or you see their spitting up after each bottle, they are not ready for milk yet!! i switch my son when he was around 11 months, he wasn't getting enough of the formula eitheir. but he was on table food all the way by 9 months. so he was getting all the nutrients he needed. well good luck to you and i hope everything works out!!!

Hi K., Yes it is absolutely fine to switch infants as young as 8 mons that are "tired of their bottle " and ready for regular milk. Just make sure you use whole, or no less then 2%, because they need the fat for their brain growth, among other things. I checked this with my pediatrician when my daughter was 8 mons old. She did great and loved her milk! Good luck with your liitle ones.Oh, and K., you might want to buy separate milk for you and your hubby.....we gained a few pounds drinking the fattier milk we bought for our daughter.lol.
W.

Hi K., my son went through the same thing around that time. He really took to his sippy cup around 6-7 months so aroun 9 months I started to put his formula in his sippy cup. It was an exciting change for him and I think he felt like it was something different, even though it was still formula. I asked our Ped. if we could switch to milk at that time and they suggested that is was still a little early. Good luck to you and your twins!

You should check with your pediatrician. Also ask what type of milk to switch to. They used to recommend whole milk until 1 year (for brain development) and then switch to a lower fat milk ---again, ask what type and when. You might also consider soy milk. Again, check with the babies doctor. As a side note. If the babies are not drinking from a cup, this may be a good time to wean from the bottle.

Hi K.,
My son just turned 13 months and we switched him to whole milk at 1 year.

I would definitely talk to the pediatrician about it and they will base their decision on the twins weights.

I know for our son, it was important that he continued with the formula because of the extra vitamins the formula contains compared to baby food. He is also 27lbs right now and has always been in the 90th percentile.

I'm sure it just depends on your particular pediatrician and their feelings on the topic.

Good Luck
L.

The current advice is not to give whole milk before 12 months. I think we tend to forget sometimes that cow's milk isn't designed for humans, it's designed for a baby calf that's growing by huge leaps and bounds that will reach more than 1000 lbs in weight. The proteins found in milk are different than those found in formula/breastmilk and are a common allergy/intolerance cause.

If you are concerned about them not having enough formula, I would cut back on the amount or frequency you are offering solids. For the first year, solids are more for experimentation and play with taste and textures than for nutirtion and at 12 months approximately 75% of their nutrition should still be from formula.

Best wishes

S.

I would definitely talk to your ped about this first. Ours said that they couldn't digest it that early. I started at 11 months mixing a little bit of milk in with the formula and gradually replaced the formula with milk. By 12 months, it was all milk. I would wait a couple months, but when you do, gradually replace the formula with milk. It takes them a bit to get used to it. Sometimes some babies have trouble pooping cause of the milk.

Everyone beats to there own drum...my older cousin started giving her kids milk around your twins age and now they are huge, healthy teenagers. I started around 1o months with the milk and mixed it with formula, he was off formula before a year (he also breast fed for 7 months, don't know if it makes a difference?)

Follow your gut, but it sounds like your babies will be fine :)

I switched both of my children (now 5 & 3) to whole milk at 10 months. I had been breast-feeding and supplementing formula until then with solids introduced at 4 months old (solids early introduction to reduce the risk of siliacs). My pediatrician gave me the OK and it went very smothly. I slowly reduced the amount of formula in their sippy cup while adding more milk by an ounce a day so in a weeks time my children were off formula and on whle milk.

If you want to switch, don't go directly to milk (they will get very upset tummys) you will have to gradually mix it in with the formula like an ounce each week or so many days. Have they used a sippy cup yet, if so put it in there if not start with the bottle and gradually change from there.

Hi K.,
I've always heard O. year is when to switch them to whole milk. Check w/your pediatrician first. Also, ask whether you should give the formula first then the food so that they do get enough of the formula. When you do switch them, I would introduce the mild a little at a time--maybe O. bottle of milk per day while keeping the others formula.
It will be a happy day when you go into the store to buy a gallon of milk instead of formula!

Our ped oked us switching to milk at 10 months from breastfeeding, and we also started yogurt. My daughter wasn't really into milk (still prefers water), so she gets one baby yogurt every day and some cheese to make sure she's getting the calcium and fat. Good luck!

Have you tried using a sippy cup? All three of my children used a cup very early since they went from breast to cup, rarely, if ever, even taking a bottle. Just the novelty of it will be fun for them! Try to find cups with long spouts as this is easier to get in their mouths. Do not start with the spill-proof cups with valves as it will probably be too difficult for them to get anything out. You want them to experience instant gratification so they will keep trying it. It will take some time and will be messy at first but put bibs on them and be prepared for them to play with the cups so they might end up on the floor!
I hope that helps-have fun!

It sounds like they are tired of the bottle. when my son was seven months old he played with the bottle so i out him on a sippy cup and he took well to it. my doctor said not to give him whole milk until he was a year old. I feed him stonyfield farms yogurt with his cereal in the morning and sometimes one other time during the day. I mix the formula with his oatmeal or cereal.I want ot make sure he is getting enough calcium. Try to put formula in the sippy cup and see if they like it. The playtex sippy cups with handles are awesome cause they are leak and spill proof. The sell them in a two pack in target,walmart and kmart for $7-$8. Good luck,sound like they are doing great.

I am a mother of a one year old. Our doctor told us at 9 months that we could switch her to milk. She did fine with the transition and we haven't had any problems.

Hope this helps.

I asked the same question on here a few months ago. Listen to your mommy instincts and you can always talk to your doctor. We switched both of our children to whole milk at 10 months, and it was okayed by the ped. Both of my kids took to it very well. They love it and in my daughter's case she thrived better on milk than she ever did on formula. I hope this helps, and remember to take what people say with a grain of salt. Try not to let other peoples comments get to you, you do what is right for your kids, and no one knows that better than you!!!! Good Luck!
C.