Diet Requirements- Dairy for a 1Yr Old... She Is Refusing Whole & Soy Milk...

Instead of watering down whole milk, could you try offering 2% milk? As far as the formula, I would stop offering that, as she is now getting her nutrients from her food. (And you'll save a ton of money!!) Also -- do you allow her to have fruit juice? Often, children who are given juices stop drinking water and milk. In general, there is no need to feed a child fruit juice -- give fresh fruit as part of her daily food offerings. If milk and water are her only drink choices, you will see her drink them. Maybe you should stop trying milk for a week after you stop formula, and then re-introduce. If you feel there are allergy issues, please talk to your Pediatrician.

Good luck!

EDIT: For pete's sake...cows have FOUR stomachs -- not 7 or 8!!! And this has absolutely nothing to do with how "clean" they are. In fact, a cow is considered a significantly "cleaner" animal than many (including a chicken or pig), as cows naturally eat grass and will NOT eat on other animals (like a chicken or pig will.) Hence, they are NOT susceptible to diseases that other cannibalistic animals are. Further, if you observe cows in a natural setting, you will see that they strive to stay clean and will not roll in or eat their excrement (like your pet dog will!)

My daughter would drink milk out of a bottle, but will not drink it out of a cup. We tried every kind of milk we could find and all different kinds of cups. She even picked out her own special cups for milk and she still would not drink it. She would try it and spit it out. I was hesitant to take her bottle away, but her md told me that as long as she was getting calcium and vitamin D from other food sources she would be ok. She has a cup of calcium and vitamin D fortified orange juice in the morning and two servings of dairy products during the day. And she is as healthy as ever. Good luck!

Either one of my children drank cows milk after 1. I nursed both until 1 and then they went straight to water. I also made sure they ate calcium rich foods such as vegetables in a soup. One other thing that they both liked and ate alot of is goats milk yogurt. It is actually a much better calcium rich food for your kids then cows milk. Cows are really dirty animals and have either 7 or 8 stomachs, goats are a much cleaner animal with only one stomach so any type of goat product is much better for your child. Also, she may be lactose intolerant which is why she won't drink it, it may be hurting her stomach and she can't tell you any other way other then to refuse it.

Try offering goat's milk because it is biologically closer to human milk. However if your daughter won't drink plenty of milk you'll have to get her calcium, high amount of fats, and protein from other sources. Vegans do it all the time so it's not impossible. And it's not so much the calcium from cow's milk why doctors recommend the transition from formula to cow's milk its the high amount of fats and proteins that children need for their continued rapid brain growth. Which is why many mother's are encourage to breastfeed for at least a year by the AAP and at least 2 years by every other medical organization.

So if you wanted to keep giving formula that is okay, but many people just don't want to keep paying for the expensive costs of formula when their child can tolerate a cheaper alternative. However you should switch to a toddler formula if you will continue giving formula.

Personally I hate cow's milk. So does the rest of my family. The only time any of us were big on milk was when we were getting human milk from our mothers. And biologically that is how it should be.

I fed my son formula after I got treatment for PPD so I'm not judging you for doing so. Formula is a much better alternative than cow's milk in the first year of life to feed your child.

I'm a big fan of T. Berry Brazelton, a leading pediatrician (and author of several books about child development).
Dr. Brazelton advises that this “baseline/minimum” program will cover basic nutritional needs during a toddler’s negative period:

* 1 pint (16 ounces) of milk (or equivalent in dairy products; cheese, yogurt, etc.)
* 2 ounces of iron-containing protein (meat or egg) or cereals fortified with iron
* 1 ounce of orange juice or fresh fruit
* 1 multivitamin (to cover for uneaten vegetables)

Yes, that's it. So it doesn't have to be milk. It can be yogurt, cheese, formula, breastmilk, etc. Milk is really just a convenient means to get some good calcium, fat, protein, and vitamin D. So if you get those from other sources, it's probably ok to skip the milk. At 12 months of age I'd ease her into the milk. My daughter was pretty negative about cow milk at that age too and would only drink it from a bottle (NOT what I wanted!) Also try other vessels like a straw or sippy cup. Now my girl's 17 months old and drinks plenty of milk - mostly from a bottle, which we're trying to scale back - but I feel better about it.

GO to 2%. The Dr. wanted her on whole milk because she was underweight, but my daughter hated it. We gave her 2% and she drank it without a problem.

You could check with your doctor about supplements. We give our daughter gummy calcium because she doesn't like milk. For a one year old you'd have to check with your doctor on dosage. The gummy bear tastes like candy so she doesn't mind eating it!