Weening - Pampa,TX

Updated on March 14, 2007
S.R. asks from Pampa, TX
12 answers

My son just turned 1 last week. I was wondering what is the best way to transition from formula to milk? Also he wakes up once a night for a bottle. How am I going to switch to a sippy cup and still help him sleep all night?

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K.R.

answers from Dallas on

I tried just giving her some regular milk and my little one wouldn't take it. I have now been doing what the others suggested by starting to add milk and water. So far she doesn't act like she can tell a difference.

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J.F.

answers from Dallas on

I did it by mixing formula and milk. I started off with 3/4 formual and 1/4 milk in the same bottle and gradually increased the ratio of milk to formula. It worked great for my son and we switched to milk no problem.

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A.P.

answers from Austin on

Just switch it - he'll love it. Milk is yummy cold, and if you emphasize that he's big like his sister, you'll never have a problem. You can give him a sippy of milk at night before bed, but I wouldn't give him anything at night. He's too old to still be waking up at night and drinking anything (after 5 or 6 months, its just a habit not a need). If he wakes up, just comfort him and he'll fall back asleep. After a day or so, he'll catch on. Just remember, he doesn't need anything to eat or drink at night if he's had enough during the day.

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J.A.

answers from Amarillo on

I switched my kids from formula to warm milk, then eventually to cold milk. I also still gave my kids their bottle at night but it had water in it instead of milk, after a few nights of fussing they completely gave up the night time drinking which was really nice!!!

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M.W.

answers from San Antonio on

I just went through this myself. To get my daughter from formula to milk i put half formula and half milk and then just started reducing the amount of formula until she was drinking straight milk :)
With the sippy cup that one is a little tougher. My daughter is 19 months and shes only gave up her bottle for a sippy about a month ago. I finally just had to throw out the bottle and give her no choice. The clear sippys that kinda look like bottles seem to work the best for me. Once her bottle was gone she pretty much gave up the middle of the night feeding as welll. Hope this helps you out some.

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K.W.

answers from Lubbock on

I am a breastfeeding mom, but I did formula feed my first. I just put milk in a sippy cup and started giving it to him. It wasn't a huge deal for him, but you could gradually reduce the number of bottles he gets if you need to do it slowly. I would not put milk in the bottle or formula in the sippy, but that is just me.

As for the night time feeding, I don't have any advice. I nurse my babies at night, but my ff baby slept through the night.

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A.N.

answers from Odessa on

Well I started giving my kids regular milk a little before they turned 1 and i just slowly stopped giving them the formula. The sippy cup t6hing is going to be hard to change to well it was for me . Mine did not like the sippy. I just had to give it to them and bare with it. Well I wish you the best of luck.

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K.D.

answers from San Angelo on

hi there! I just thought that Id tell u how my mom would do it! I'm the oldest of 13 and have 2 kids myself but I breastfed mine so I didn't have that problem but my mom would put a little honey or sweet yogurt in the milk and the yogurt would be heavy enough to keep him full through the night. This might be helpful!

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N.M.

answers from Corpus Christi on

I have a two year old and 5 month old. With my two year old daughter I just started giving her milk (not mixed with formula) in a Nuby sippy cup at one year. I didn't warm her milk or anything. I think the excitement about using a "big" cup all the time was a bigger deal than switching to milk. She had no problems. I was surprised because I expected resistance. I think sometimes we make a bigger deal out of things than need to be. She wasn't quite too attached to the bottle yet either. There is no set way to transition. You just have to try it out. As far as him waking for a bottle... He doesn't need it, he's just gotten in the habit of waking up. My son is 5 months old and sleeps from 8 PM to 7 AM with no feedings. His pediatrician said that it's great. He wakes sometimes and cries out, but goes back to sleep within a few minutes. If he fusses for a longer period I just make sure his diaper isn't dirty and lay him right back down. I know many don't agree with the cry it out method, but I'm enjoying sleeping all night myself. So, I would suggest letting him fuss a little (say start with 5 min.) then go in and comfort him. Gradually increase the time you wait to go in to him. Eventually, he shouldn't fuss long at all. It may take a couple of days, but not weeks. There is a great book for sleep called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. Also, Babywise is a good reference also.

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S.S.

answers from Austin on

the soft nipply kind of nuby cups are great... i would suggest not using formula, i havew seen many kid get bad tummy problems if they are breastfed.. is he ready to quit nursing? well try silk soy milk they seem to do very well with it.. my son johnny nursed til he was 17 months, and wasn't quit done , needlss to say he got a lil mad at me ( it caused a rift for about six months). and i know many moms don't want to go that long and i am definently not saying you have to, just maybe wait a lil longer... and start now with giving soy milk bottles.. it may help the switch... good luck, S.

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C.B.

answers from Odessa on

Weening from a bottle shouldn't be too tricky. Just saying he takes a bottle 4 times a day, i would take one feeding out every couple of days. the two in the middle first and then the night time feeding last. Being a year old, he shouldn't even be taking a bottle in the night. Its just become habit. It takes 3 nights of consistency to set a good routine. So, let him cry it out for 3 nights and he'll forget all about that feeding. If it is hard for you to hear him cry, go in and hold him for a minute and then lay him back down to sleep. if you are consistent, he will be too and will start sleeping through the night. if he's eating enough during the day, you know he's not starving at night. babies thrive on routine and if you give him feedings at night, then they thrive on that schedule. so if you change that, he'll learn to sleep all night. I have a lot of friends that just went through this same transition. they were consistent, and the transition was a breeze. Hope this helps you! Good luck!

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J.H.

answers from Amarillo on

As far as switching from formula to milk, I would mix a bottle with formula (made with water) and milk. I started with a small amount of milk and then added more until it was all milk. And switching to a sippy was easy with a sippy cup brand called "Nubby". The spout is flexible like a bottle nipple. I gave my son a sippy cup of milk before bed and that would last him through the night, and now he doesn't even need that anymore. I hope this helps. Good luck!

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