Im Not Sure How Much Milk to Give My Son

My pediatrician told me to shoot for 20 oz a day but anything between 16 and 24 oz a day was fine. As he says, you can't make them drink if they don't want to, so just do the best you can! My son only gets milk or water to drink, so he usually does fine. The doctor said it can be harder to get them to take enough milk if you also give juice or other beverages. Milk should be the first choice when offering a beverage.

I had the same question and concern because my daughter was taking 24 ounces daily, she loves it (whole milk).
The recommended amount is 16 ounces(4 cups) a day. Try and spread it out with 2-4 ounces/bottle several times a day if he feels the need to want milk often. If you feed too much milk he may become constipated or anemic due to decreased availability of iron. Try to utilize water and watered juice between meals and with snacks in sippy cups.

Hope this helps!

At my son's 12 month check up, our Ped suggested giving him no more than 24 oz a day. So, he usually has one cup before every meal and one in the mid afternoon.

My granddaughter is now 2 years and 3 months old, and honestly, I don't remember how much milk she was getting back then, but I used to go to a website called www.babycenter.com for any information I needed. Very helpful site; lots of general guidelines for developmental questions, for feeding questions, etc.; lots of firsthand input from other parents.

you know when hyour child gets to much milk when the diapers are yellow and mush. When my kids were small I thought there was no such thing as to much milk. silly me- all they need is at least 4 servings a day.

He should have 16-24 ounces of whole milk at age 2 you can go to 2%

Hi, I'm a pediatric RN and it is suggested they have whole milk 16-20oz everyday until 2.

My daughter is also one and when we were at the pediatrician he told us to aim for 16 ounces of WHOLE milk a day. If they dont drink that much milk make sure they are eating cheese and yogurt. Good luck !!

When my children went to milk the dr said to go gradule, but once they were on milk i continued to give the same abmount of bottles i did when i was giving them formula. My daughter is going to be 18 months and i still give her three bottles, but usually she only really drinks two, it depends on her. I follow her lead. She really doesn't eat much food ( i am fighting that battle) so i continue to give her bottles so i know she is getting something. Everything works out your child is basically the guide they usually know what and when they want it. Good Luck

It's hard not to be worried when your in transition. Why not just call your doctor? There's a wide range of normal. Alot depends on your baby's height and weight. My daughter dropped to about 12 oz per day, and her doc wasn't bothered at all (although I was a little unnecesarily worried). So long as she was getting other fluids, the doctor was okay with her low level of milk intake.
She's over two years old, and is a good eater. Too much milk can fill them up when they should be eating other foods.

My son is 14 months and he gets two bottles of organic whole milk a day - in the am after attempting to have fruit for breakfast LOL, and in the pm about an hour or two before bed and teeth brushing. I just switched him to organic milk after reading some really horrifying stuff in "Skinny Bitch," and I don't even want to give him cow's milk anymore, but he needs the milkfat in it... Anyway, I usually do either half milk with half formula, or I toss a scoop of powdered formula into the milk before giving him the bottle. Cow's milk is intended for baby cows, so it's missing some of the nutrients that human tykes need, so I would really urge you to keep a bit of formula added to the milk to make sure your little guy is getting what he needs. Best of luck!

I would say to give him as much milk as you were giving him formula. Ultimately, I think they should be getting no more than 24oz a day by age 2, but my daughter still drinks more than that and she'll be 2 in about a week. She's not a great eater though and doesn't really drink anything else (like juice), so I think it evens out.

Congrats on making it through the first year! :)

M.,

I give my son two 8 oz bottles (one in the morning and one at bed) - he drinks a sippy cup during his meals and i offer it for his afternoon snack (he sits in his chair in the kitchen while i empty the dishwasher and get everything ready for dinner around 330/400).

we were giving him an afternoon 'before nap' bottle but we phased that out... actually... phased isn't the right term...i just stopped giving it to him one day, and he didn't miss it :)

so for now, i would say 3, 8 oz bottles is probably about right for 12 months, but try to push the sippy cup (if he isn't keen on it quite yet - my guy needed a bit of time to understand that it was more than a play-thing that makes a huge mess), and work on getting him down to 2 bottles for about 16 oz. - i should add... though i 'offer' 8 oz.... he doesn't always drink it all.

something that i have to work at and remind myself a lot though... during the summer months, they do need to drink water, or some other fluid (i say water becasue it's better for the teeth) to help rehydrate...and to keep from overheating, so i would suggest starting now to introduce water in one of his sippy cups.

good luck! Congrats on your son turning one :)

About the same as he was taking for formula. breakfast 6-8 oz - midmorning 6oz, lunch 6oz, midafternoon 6oz, dinner 6oz or whatever amount he usually drinks at these stages.

I'm not sure that question should be answered by age criteria. Maybe according to his growth rate and size. A large baby might require less than an underweight baby. Make sure he eats his food before filling up on milk so he gets everything he needs. Good luck mommy.

My little guy is 21 months, and they said between 16-20 ounces per day at his one year appointment. Which was a little tough at first because he got a bottle in the morning, after nap and before bed, way too much. It took some time, but I cut out the after nap bottle and he gets 2 big sippy cups now in the am and pm for a total of about 18 ounces. I hope this helps you out.

If your child has acclimated to drinking milk without any side affects, then he should be having two three glasses a day.

Can you call and ask your doctor/nurse? He/she knows your sons weight and other issues. Our doctor was a huge help.

Also, the book Super Baby Food has a ton of helpful info in it.

My pediatrician reccommends 8oz of whole milk a day for kids 12 months and older.

I have 2 kids, 4 yrs old and 15 mo. and i was alwasys told (by there doctor) no more than 24 oz a day. if they have more then that, they will become stuffed from drinking to much milk and not eat enough food. I hope this helps

I think it depends on your sons preference,but I don't have a set amount that he should drink, sooo my advice is to just ask his doctor how much he should drink in a day.

my pediatrician always tells us at that age 12-24 oz. No more than 24 oz because it will fill him up too much and he won't eat as much.

16-20oz/day is what our ped recommended.

My pediatrician told me no more than 32 oz. of milk and 4oz. of Juice mixed with 4oz. of Water in one day!! I wish they would of told me that for my 1st. child, she drank way to much liquid which in turn made her not hungry and I could not get her to gain weight!!Almost 2 and only 18#'s.