11 Months Old and Ready for Milk?

Hi S.,
First, congartulations!! I am due with my little boy on July 30th.
Second, I started both my daughters on whole milk around 8 mths. Neither liked formula and they were getting their nutrition from the food they were eating anyway. If she has already had milk and you don't suspect an allergy or intolerance, than she is definitely ready for it. I gave it to my daughters three times a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, approx. 4-6 oz.
Third, for the summer, I always had a special water bottle made up and ready for my daughters as juice had a tendency to fill them up so they wouldn't eat. I only gave them juice after they ate breakfast.

I used soy milk at that age until 18 months, that way she could have as much as she wanted (cow's milk needed to be limited). She loved it.

Hi S.,

My son was almost 11 months when I started him slowly on whole milk. I was advised by my doctor to start him on milk. Try 3oz and see how it goes every three to four hours. At first my son had hicups and soon he was fine. I really don't know how to spell it but you get the point. LOL :) Good Luck! :)

i would check with your dr. before you start milk just to make sure, even if she's not allergic to cheese and yogurt.
also, you should try giving her more water than juice, especially with warmer days to prevent dehydration.
good luck! (my daughter is 14 months old, and still nurses a few times a day. however, we've tried giving her cow milk and she refuses to drink it)

Hi- My son started drinking milk from a cup with a straw as well at 11 months. He loves it! I gave him one full sippy cup a day to start and he drank the whole thing a little 2 quick!! I would just go with what she wants really, as he has gotten older I give him 1-2 cups a day depending on his dairy intake, yogurt, cheese etc.

Watered down juices are great as long as there is not a lot of juice in the water.

I personally don't agree on giving milk to children. I believe cows milk or for calves. But if you really want to I would at least wait until she's between 1 and 2 or especially after 2 years of age. Some children have an allergic reaction when given too early. That's what happen to my nephew when given before 1 years old and he didn't have milk again until he was a toddler. There are many other ways to get calcium into the children.

Congrats on your baby boy! We're having our first baby due Aug. 22nd and he's a boy!!

If your daughter is eating a well balanced diet there is no need for milk. Milk is not a replacement for breastmilk/formula. The reason doctors recommend delaying introduction of milk is because it is a common allergen and early introduction can lead to increased sensitivities later on.

It sounds as if your daughter has cut back on her nursing, because you are in the later stages of your pregnancy. If you want to continue your breastfeeding relationship there is no reason to feel you need to stop now (or when the baby is born), but even if your daughter weans, just making sure she is getting a wide variety of foods will assure that she gets adequate nutrition. The best thing you can offer her to drink after breastmilk/formula is water. Juice is pretty much pure sugar (natural sugar, but sugar just the same) and milk is food for growing baby cows, so is completely optional for baby humans ;-)

Other drinks that people often over look are herb teas (mint, rosehip, chamomile etc), non-dairy milks (hemp, sesame, rice, etc), whole fruit blended into a thick juice (regular juice has all the fiber and goodies removed ie. my earlier comment about it being nearly pure sugar), lemon/lime water, coconut water, broths, etc. These are great options for keeping kids well hydrated--and also don't forget about fruit and veggies with lots of water like watermelon, tomatoes, oranges, and cucumbers.

I started giving my son milk at 10 months so that by 12 months he was fully transitioned off breastmilk to milk. We gave him whole milk (in a cup, with meals as well) for the first year (from 10 months - 2 yrs old) and then switched to 2%.

There is no reason you can't start switching over to milk now. My pediatrician actually recommended it so we would have an idea if my son had a milk allergy by his 12 month appt. Do it gradually- change 1 ounce of your formula/breastmilk to milk each day until they're soley on milk. good luck :)

Hi there,

I would definitely check with your doctor on this one, but ours told us we could start my daughter on whole milk when she was 11 months old. We had actually started giving her Yo Baby yogurt (through our doc's rec) around 8 months as well as cheese so we knew she could handle cow's milk. I started weaning around then as well so I would still nurse her in the mornings and at night, but she would have a sippy cup of milk during the day. It startd slowly where she would just play with the cup and drink a little, but then she got used to it more and more and by 13 months, she was completely weaned and onto the whole milk. She'll be 15 months May 15. Have you started yogurt or cheese? You may want to start with those first and make sure she can handle the cow's milk and check with your doc, but 11 months should be an ok time to start.

Good luck!

It is totally fine as long as there is no close family member with a milk allergy. Also, when you give her juice, give her the kind fortified with calcium and other vitamins. You can also give her yogurt. My son is breastfeed too and he never liked formula. I started giving him milk at 11 months and he drank it for a couple weeks and then decided he wanted nothing to do with it. I hope your daughter continues to like it though!

I gave my daughter milk in her 11 month. She was 25 lbs. so I gave her 2% as prescribed by dr. Since your daughter is 20 I think whole milk is necessary.

I just served it at meal times in a cup, no bottle. I never bothered to measure like I did with bmilk/formula. Remember that fat is very important at her age for proper brain development. Most of her other nutrients will come from her varied diet so formula is not necessary into 12 month.

Hi,
you can probably start your daughter on milk. Just give her a little bit to start with and see if she has a reaction and is able to digest it OK. if everything is well, you can start giving her regular amounts. We started my daughter on milk around 11-12 months, we only give it to her in the morning and at night, she is on the small side, but drinks 6- 8 oz each time. you know your baby best, so you can figure out how much to give her (and she'll tell you if she wants more or less).
Another thing that we started around 9 - 10 months (and still do) is give her yogurt. Just regular plain whole milk yogurt. Water it down and put it in a bottle, most kids love it. and if you want to give her something to cool her off on hot days, the yogurt is perfect.
you can also buy baby drinkable yogurts in fruit flavors, which my daughter goes nuts for. We didn't start those until after 12 mos, as i thought they were too sweet, but after we started, she wants them all the time. I figured it's still better than fruit juice, and certainly a lot easier than making home made fruit juice.

good luck!

I would think you are fine to begin giving her milk, but check with your pediatrician to be sure. But really 11 months is not that early. Doctors give the limit of 12 months, but it's not like we wake up on our first birthday ready to drink milk whereas the day before it would be poisionous. I believe that as babies transition into solid foods, they adjust the amount of breastmilk or formula they require for basic daily nutrition. The reason you don't want to give your child milk when they are very young is that it does not have the right composition of nutrients for baby humans, is very high in sodium for a young baby's system, and the pastuerization process kills the natural cultures that are in the milk for the baby cows. This is of course very concerning when your child is only drinking milk as their entire source of nutrition. However, when added as a supplement to a balanced diet of solid foods and other liquids, I believe that 11 monts in not too young to introduce milk.
I would however encourage you to read up on the dairy industry. I don't feel comfortable simply telling you in this post "Buy Organic!!!" because you don't know who I am and that sounds a little self righteous. But I only give my son organic milk and I prefer grass fed milk. I found that in my research, that there are several industry manufacturing standards that fall woefully behind my own standards of ethics and healthfulness. However, it is more important for you to draw your own conclusions than take my word for it.
Good Luck!!

Hi S.,
I'm going to suggest that infant feeding is something best discussed with your baby's doctor rather than random opinions of what people have done which may have no medical basis at all.
The medical/nutritional guidelines are that for the first year, your baby's nutritional needs are primarily met by her milk, preferably breastmilk but formula if not. If your baby isn't drinking milk, she does not need any juice. Fills her up, gives her no nutrition. The nutrition your 10 month old needs is from her milk, I would encourage more breastfeeding, and while I am not a fan of formula, if you're not breastfeeding, that's where the milk would come from. You mentioned that you don't think you're producing much milk because she's not nursing much - it could be that because she isn't nursing much, your supply has now lowered. Cows milk does not provide the same nutrition as breast milk or as a formula. At under a year, the milk isn't a liquid to drink for thirst, it's still their nutrition and they should still be having several milk feedings a day.
I would really suggest discussing your baby's diet with her doctor.
Good luck and congrats on the new baby on the way!

S.,
All of my kids except on started on milk at 9 months, but had milk products much earlier than that. I am Italian so the babies were eating whatever I made and that included manicoti, Italian cream pies and tarts, canoli, etc. The only one who had a problem was my 3rd one, he had an underdeveloped larynx and gastric problems and could not tolerate solid foods until he was 2 years old. Also I made my own baby food, I would puree up whatever we were eating for dinner and did the same with breakfast and lunch. The only thing I did not give them until they were almost a year old was fish and even that I was very careful, giving them just a taste at first and increasing it gradually.

As for how much your daughter drinks a day, let her have as much or little as she wants. My kids are all huge and I mean HUGE drinkers, we have a water cooler with spring water in our kitchen. When all 5 kids are home I go through 8 - 10 gallons of spring water a week, less in the colder months and sometimes more over the summer. My kids are all healthy eaters, picky at times definitely, but healthy and rarely sick. You may have days your daughter is more thirsty than other days, let her decide.

Hugs,
T.