We stopped the bottle cold turkey this week. Today is the 2nd day.
While my daughter is a good eater, she is hardly drinking a few sips of milk here and there through her sippy cup. I've tried many different types (yes, even the Nuby ones). She regularly drinks water in the cups all the time.
My concern is she is not getting much calcium with this new transition. She gets some through her cereal and string cheese. She is not a fan of macaroni, spinach, green veggies, or yogurt.
Is this a temporary phase or is she always going to drink less milk now? Any other calcium-rich foods I can give her to meet her daily calcium requirements?
There was another thread on this earlier in the week, so there may be some good info there. Milk is not really a great source of nutrients. You can easily meet her needs with other dfoods. Just make sure she also gets plenty of fats in her diet to assist in brain development.
I think that tofu is a good source of calcium. I wouldn't worry about milk so much. Cow's milk isn't as good for children as people would have you believe.
Erinn,
I agree that milk is not the great source of calcium that it is marketed to be.
I would supplement with liquid calcium, as long as it is within some acceptible range, of course.
I have heard that calcium chelate is the most absorbable from of calcium. Calcium carbonate is the most common form and is not as easily absorbed. Sometimes you can find supplements containing several different forms of calcium. The calcium supplement should also contain magnesium.
My family and I use a brand called Liquid Health. This is a great line. They have a kids' multi and a good Ca-Mg supplement. They also have a PMS formula! You can find this info. on the web.
Good luck.
Amy
Not sure on her age but Flintstone vitamins has a toddler version. If she is two, I believe that is the age to start. I am sure she will be fine though. Every little bit helps her. I don't give my kids whole milk; I firmly believe that is why so many kids are fat today. Not to mention I get the hormone free milk ONLY! One other thing, humans are the only animals that "need" milk after infancy. Why is that? Don't believe everything doctors tell you! Good luck!
Mom to four healthy children!! :-)
Not sure how old your daughter is, but what you need to worry about from year 1 to 2 yrs old is fat intake....it helps with brain development. My daughter was the same with milk when we started it, we supplemented with yo baby yogurt, I saw your daughter is not a fan, ice cream, ect... We tried falvoring the milk with all sorts of flavors...but it really just took time. We only offer milk or water in our house and eventually she just started to drink it. Talk with your Dr. and see what advice and recommendations they have.
