12 Mo. Old Is Now off the bottle....yikes!

i am in the same situation right now. i would love to see some of the responses you recieve. how do i view them? well any advice would be great!!!! thanks K. S.

I had that same problem. My doctor told me to mix the milk with the formula. She said to start off small.. 6oz of formla 2 oz of milk and to slowly start increasing the milk and decreasing the formula. Hope this helps =)

Have you tried mixing the formula & milk for a few weeks, and then gradually add more milk and less formula? I would try that first, keeping the bottle, and then once she takes to milk, then I would switch to a sippy cup. Too many changes is pretty hard on a little one. Good luck.

there are some transitional formulas by nestle. You might consider giving one of those a try.

When I was weaning my son, now 16 month old, off the milk I would mix a little bit at a time with the formula. This was just to finish off the formula. He was drinking from a sippy cup at 7 months juice/water. Once he was completely on milk I would give him a sippy cup with milk. BE PERSISTENT. One bottle at night is not bad. Just keep trying one day hopefully soon she will change her mind.

Congratulations! Now, just keep it up and she'll forget all about it. Yes, she needs milk (16 oz. a day - two sippy cups). I would recommend that she receive a cup when she first wakes in the morning and right before bed. Other than that, she can have yogurt, cheeses, etc. She does still need whole milk as it provides more of the brain-developing good fats than 2% allows. Give it time and your daughter will warm up to it. I found it went down easier if it was very cold and when she was more likely to be thirsty (first thing in the am). I am NOT a believer in adding stuff to the milk for many reasons. First, chocolate being added to milk actually blocks many of the essential nutrients in the milk from being absorbed in the belly. Second, I am not a waitress and I don't cater to each child individually or my kitchen would become a diner and I would go nuts! I find, the less of a deal I make out of it one way or the other (to the kids anyway - I freak out on my own time as do we all!), the easier new things are handled. So, give her the sippy in the am and let her have an hour or so to finish it. Refresh her cup with water (I'm with you on the juice thing too!) as needed throughout the day, and load up again on the milk right before bed. Best of luck and good job!

She does need milk, she needs the calcium, etc. You might try 2% milk or skim milk, it isn't as thick and is lower on fat but not calcium. It's all we drink and I think it has a bit of a different taste. You might also try cups with straws. They make a lot of leak proof cups with straws and she'll feel like a big girl drinking from them (especially if you make a little production about it). You can give her warm milk in one of these cups at bed time. I started doing that with my son around that age and he is now 2 and still drinks warm milk before bed. Just don't get into the habit of putting her to bed with her cup. That can cause tooth decay and ear infections. Good luck!

My daughter just had her first birthday in march and stoped bottle feeding and formula as well. I traded her bottle to a NUK brand sippy cup with a soft spout and she loves it. it has handles and dont hurt her teeth, also she took a few time to get used to the flow of the cup. so maybe you can try that. they are available at walmart in the baby section by the bottles. they come in blue green and red. I recomend the brand nuk and mam to anyone with new babys they have given me no problems and my daughter as well. she never had colic or and problems with spitting up or gas. good luck!!

Yes, your child has to have milk, whole milk, usually 16oz or so a day...have you tried warming it up??

Hi K.:

First of all with the bottle, like some of the other Moms said, just be persistent, once you take it away, don't give it back to her, because it will just confuse her. As far as the milk goes, I have that same problem with my kids, I have 16 month old boy/girl twins, and they WILL NOT drink milk, whether I put chocolate in it or not! I talked to their doctor about it, and he said that since I give them AT LEAST 2 pediasures a day, it was ok, because they are getting everything they need from them. It's a little expensive, about $10 for a 6 pack of them, but at least you know they're getting all the nutrition they need. Your daughter may not need 2 a day, but my kids need the extra calories... they're little runts! :) I hope this helps. Good luck to you and God Bless, H.

Hi there K.,

Congrats on getting your daughter off the bottle. Both of my boys now ages 2 & 3. got off the bottle at 12 months old. They didnt even need it at night. I started using sippy cups at 6 months so the transition was easy. But with whole milk to make it more yummy to them I put a little amount of nestle chocolate or strawberry powder. Not a lot just a bit to taste and they loved it. I wouldnt go to 2% or 1% yet for toddlers need the fat for them to grow. At least until they are 2 yrs. of age. Yogurt is also an alternative if she doesnt want the milk or cottage cheese with fruit cocktail which is a favorite of my sons. or even cheese.until she gets use to milk.
Hope that helped? good luck. Julie

I was always told to gradually mix it. Start with formula that has a little bit of whole milk in it, then start decreasing the ammount of formula and increase the ammount of milk. That way it isn't such a shock to his little tummy. You're Dr might also have some good insight.
M.

YOu might want to check with your DR first but maybe try soy milk. My daugher never liked milk either- we get her calcium through other foods and vitamins. I would stay away from the bottle at night as it is really bad for the teeth. Maybe soft music before she falls asleep- change things up a bit- do story time instead... Super nanny has great ideas for getting children to bed..

Many Blessings, C.

have you tried soy milk?

Well, it's good that she drinks water. That is totally better than juice. I would continue to give her formula, to be honest. At least until 18 months, formula is a better source of nutrition than whole milk. I would also experiment with different types of milk: try organic whole milk, soy, almond, rice, goat...There may be a kind she likes better than others. Does she prefer straw cups over sippies? Or an open cup?

I tried weaning mine off about one. I had a hard time, i had to mix milk with formula and gradually replace all of the formula with just milk. I did the 'wow what a big boy, you even drink like one . . ."

As for juices, I started with WAYY watered-down juice - usually white grape or something smooth, not citrusy or spicy. My kids still love to drink 'lite'juice now, which is great since it costs a whole lot less in the long run. I just gradually increased the ratio of water to juice over a couple of weeks.

Milk isn't required for development after a toddler is on a regular diet. It's a source of protein, fat, and calories - just like any other food.

My older son (4) is lactose intolerant, he drinks vanilla SILK and loves it. They gave him milk at preschool on accident once, and he (thankfully) refused it because it was, "nasty". He gets a cup of silk with breakfast and lunch if he wants it, water the rest of the time. He is in the 90th percent for height, 70th for weight, and 95th for head circumference.

My baby, (15 months) drinks whole milk at daycare and Silk here, he usually has 4oz of silk in the morning, 8oz of milk at daycare, and water the rest of the time. He's in the 25th for height, 50th for weight, and 95th for head circumference.

As long as your daughter is getting enough calories (not underweight), enough protein (talk to the doc - varies by age), and enough fat (see protein), it doesn't matter where she gets it from - and water is, by far, the best source of hydration for any one. Juice is unnecessary too, it has as much sugar in it as soda, can lead to malnutrition due to lack of hunger, and can make a child overweight - just in excess calories. Whole fruit (smashed bananas, sf applesauce) is a much better source of the vitamins and minerals moms expect juice to help provide. Fiber too.