How Much Milk to Give a 15 Month Old?

My pediatrician said she wanted my girls to be drinking at least 24oz of liquid a day. My second daughter at 15months wasn't gaining so she wanted her to drink only whole milk for a little while to get her to gain weight and she did but otherwise I give milk with mainly with dinner and if they ask for it othertimes, but then watered down juice or just water. I was told children shouldnt have anymore than 4-6oz of juice a day because they dont need the sugar so I always water the juice down and if you start young they dont know the difference in taste if you do mostly water and a slash of juice. My 3yr old notices if I do it to much sometimes but its just like flavored water.

V.,

My answer would be not to worry about replacing your milk with a cow's. There are many folk who wonder why we drink the milk of another animal and personally, I wouldn't introduce it. I used soy, rice and almond milk with my girls and broccoli and other greens for the calcium. If you do go the milk route, make sure to only buy milk without the growth hormone in it. My .o2!

Happy holidays to you and your family!

M.

Why water from a sippy cup? No nutrional value in water.

My son is 3 now, and we went from formula to milk and apple juice...we also mix it up with chocolate milk if he wants some.

On an average day, he drinks milk or apple juice with his meals.

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Hi V.,

A lot of people I know who breastfed started the switch by putting 3/4 breast milk in a cup with 1/4 cup whole milk. After a week or so, lessen the amount of breast milk to 1/2 cup with 1/2 whole milk and just gradually keep adding more whole milk and less breast milk. Since your daughter is already used to drinking from a sippy, you could use that for the milk. I did the same weaning process with my son, except I used formula instead of breast milk since I didn't breastfeed and it worked well. Some children seem to have a hard time with the taste of cow's milk at first because breastmilk is sweeter. Several people I know said their pedi told them to add a little strawberry flavored Nesquick to the milk to help it taste more like breastmilk and lessen the amount of flavoring you add until finally your daughter has just milk. I'm not sure if you want to go through all that and you would probably want to check with your own pedi to see if that's a good idea, but just thought I'd mention it. Good luck!

I don't think you need to go to a bottle if she's already drinking from a sippy cup. Unless she really misses the breast and needs the sucking to be soothed. But then you will have the issue of taking the bottle away later - that's up to you. Once she's weaned, she doesn't really need cow's milk - no animal, including humans, really needs milk once weaned. We humans are the only ones to use it! So you can be creative in giving her products that provide liquid, calcium, protein and so on. That can include soy, cheese, etc. and water plus fruits & vegetables. If she's very efficient at drinking from the sippy cup, you can use it. If she just plays with it, then you need to think about a bottle or other sources of liquid. You can also supplement to make up for the deficiencies in our diets and our depleted foods - liquid supplements are the most effective, the most fully absorbed and therefore of course the most economical.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

I would just transition her to drink regular whole milk from a sippy cup. It will save yourself a lot of hassle weaning her from a bottle (which she might not take anyway).

At her age, my two girls had milk in a sippy cup with breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes I'd give them watered down juice with lunch, but they made up the milk by having it with a snack before bed. I'm pretty sure that at 15 months, it's acceptable for her to have anywhere from 9 - 12 ounces of whole milk a day. Some people feel this is too much, or that kids that age don't need cow's milk at all, but I always gave it to my kids once they were weaned off bottles and formula. When they turned 1, I did replace the bottle time with a sippy cup of milk, but after a month or so, they were both fine just having it to accompany a meal and not being the center of the meal itself. The majority of your daughter's nutrition will come from food now. And of course, giving water all day is necessary and encouraged! This was my own experience - you might find that others say differently, but in the end, it's what works for your child and you!

Formula has a lot more nutrients than milk does. I found it to be a good bridge while I weaned my daughter.

If you go the milk route, your daughter should be eating finger foods to supplement. I would definitely get moving in the finger food direction.

HI,

You should check with your pediatrician, but children that age should be consuming 16-24oz of milk or the equivalent (yogurt, cheese, etc.) per day for the calcium. You don't have to replace the breastfeeding with formula as far as I know. It used to be that kids under 2 should have whole milk, not low fat, but that I believe that thinking has changed as well and again, check with your dr. If she takes a sippy cup you don't need a bottle.