Formula/milk

There were certain BRANDS of formula my kids didn't particularly care for. You might try switching brands. My kids also got horribly constipated on formula so if I was making a full bottle I would generally put 2 oz of apple or prune juice in it.

Hi J.,

My son turned away from both breastmilk and later formula at around 10-11 months as well. So, like you, those last few months of trying to get milk into him were like a battle. A couple of things that I did was not to offer any juice until after his milk intake was accomplished (I realize that this sounds harsh; but he never went thirsty). Also, I "snuck" his milk in with oatmeal and thicker fruits. Although he wasn't technically drinking his milk, he was still getting it mixed in his foods.
As for switching to whole milk now (at 11 months), I don't know; but I would think that your pediatrician knows best. Luckily, my son loves whole milk so hopefully you won't continue to have any problems.
Good luck.

I too had this issue. We tried every milk flavoring as well and then reverted to whole fat yogurt and cheeses. After 1 year we also then supplemented with calcium vitamins, the gummi kind. We saw a nutritionist thru children's mercy, but possibly something your ped can discuss with you. As I was told calcium is calcium and if your kiddo is a veggi eater than you will be in better shape, there are many other ways to get calcium into your diet. Hope this helps if even a little. P.S we gradually got to the point of a lot of cereal and a little milk, and cereal straws.....

Have you tried mixing half and half of formula and milk? I give my son a vitamin everyday. You can always try other forms of calcium by giving him cheese and yogurt.

I'm not sure on the formula part of your request, but YES on the vitamin part! There are vitamin drops called Poly-Vi-Sol (also comes in generic) at drug stores and Target/Walmart that our pediatrician recommended we give daily until one year, then 1/2 a chewable vitamin (like Flintstones) with iron daily after one year. I crush the vitamin and mix it in with his yogurt, which he loves.

wow...I would be worried that he wasn't getting enough fluids. I have never heard of a child that disliked the taste of formula. If the Ped gave the go ahead for milk I certainly would be up for at least trying it. I would say a multi vitamin couldn't hurt. A child I used to watch used to drink those protien drinks, the one he drank was vanilla...it didn't smell great to me but he was under weight and loved it. There are lots of things that you can buy now that are calcium enriched...cheese slices, ice cream...If I see a product that says extra calcium I am pretty much sold = ) Lots of luck, I hope you find something that works!
B.

We had the milk problem with both our girls. One wouldn't ever take a bottle so formula was not an issue but the milk was. I had lots of people suggest adding things to the milk to make it taste better for them but I did not like the idea of getting them hooked on sugar added to their milk. My girls love cheese and yogurt though so I was not worried about it. You can also get orange juice with calcium add if he likes OJ. We have not given our kids vitamins to this point and they are perfectly healthy and normal. I still offered the milk but I did not force it on them. Do not make it a battle because that will only make if want it less. My younger daughter would not drink milk at all until she became interested in drinking out of a cup. She wanted to drink whatever I was drinking since it was in a cup and I drink a lot of milk so that is how she got used to the milk. She also did better with 2% instead of whole milk which her dr didn't have any problems with. The difference in the milks is the fat content not the vitamins so as long as he is getting plenty of fat in other foods, try the 2% and see if he takes it better.

My granddaughter doesn't like milk at all. Her dr said to give her yogurt and cheese and a daily multivitamin. There are also foods that you can give that contain calcium and other vitamins and minerals that milk has. Hope that helps.

my daughter started pushing her formula away at about 9 or 10 months old and my pediatrician freaked out, swearing she needed to have 32oz. per day of formula. I finally at 11 months had enough and tried her on plain, cold milk but she wouldn't take it in a bottle. I put it in a cup and she loved it. she started drinking milk and we didn't have any problems. I figured out that she just got tired of drinking the formula and liked the taste of the milk, with nothing else in it. She is now going on 19 months old and doing great! It was also very easy to take the bottle away, we just quit giving them to her cold turkey, and she had no problems with it!

All good advice. You might also ask your pediatrician about giving your son Pediasure or the store-brand equivalents.

I give my 1 year old daughter Poly-vi-sol liquid vitamins (you can buy them at Target or Walmart). She won't take them directly, so I just add them to her food and she does just fine. She doesn't like milk either, but she will drink Pediasure, so you might try that.

Good Luck!