How to Get Grandson off of Formula

Try using more milk than formula gradually until you are using 100% milk. That way he may not notice a drastic change in taste while he gets used to the milk. good luck.

K.,
You should start giving him 1/2 whole milk and 1/2 formula.
After a few days cut it down to 1/4 formula and 3/4 whole milk. It should take about 7-10 days to wean him off of the formula.
Unfortunately he should have been weaned off at the age of 12 months so it might take you a little longer at 17 months.Is he still using a bottle? If he is you need to wean him off of that as well. The Nuby sippy cups with the soft nipple works very well. Nuby makes a package that gives you 3 tops to the sippy cup so as they get older you can switch out the tops.
Good Luck.
H.

Have you Tried mixing a little bit of whole milk in with his formula everyday and gradualy increase the milk and decrease the formula until you finally get rid of formula completly.
This is what I had to do w/my youngest son as well as heating it and It worked like a charm within a week or so.

I still heating his morning milk to take the chill off, He prefers it.

Good Luck!
M.

I was wondering if you have tried to mix the whole milk in with the formula. When I moved my kids to whole milk I would mix a 6 oz bottle of formula, pour out 1 oz of formula to a new bottle and then 1 oz of whole milk. I did that for one week. Then the next week I would pour out 2 oz and so on until the whole bottle was 6 oz of whole milk. They get used to the taste a little easier as the weeks go by and then they don't know the difference. It worked best for us and we didn't have upset tummys by the shock in the sudden change between formula and cow's milk. I hope that works for you. R.

What we did to transition our sons to milk was to mix 3/4 formula with 1/4 milk for about a week. Then 1/2 and 1/2 for a week, then 1/4 forumla to 3/4 milk for a week, and then all milk. That worked for both my kids. Is he still taking a bottle or is he drinking from a sippy cup ? If he likes the sippy cups you might try using those for this and see if it helps.

Good luck !

Have you tried watering it down a little?

K.,
When i did the switch I used half and half. half formula and half milk. Then everytime I made a bottle I would use less formula. This didnt take very long at all. Or u can try half water and half milk. This worked with my older one. Good luck. Remember you dont want him on the bottle much longer.

From one "Mimi" to another "Mimi", in my experience (3kids,3grandchildren, and 18 yrs.as a daycare provider), sometimes just waiting a couple of months does the trick. For others I have gradually added the whole milk to the formula, and they acquire the taste for it. Good luck! Wish I had had a resource like this when I was starting out!

Hi K.,

Mix the milk with some of our nutritious Kids Shakes. Not only will your grandson love them, but he'll ask for them! The idea is "cover" the milk taste with children.

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D.

You could try phasing it out. Mixing the forumula with the milk. I've heard that works for a lot of picky eaters.

Try pediasure, it comes in diferent flavors and it might ween him to chocolate milk and eventually to regular.

We just stopped offering it. My daughter didn't care much for milk- though she would drink a little, so we gave her lots of other high calcium foods and drinks. We even tried choclate or strawberry milk and she wouldn't have it- but formula isn't meeting his needs at that age anyhow so try to find the healthy foods. ALSO at that age he can have vitamin drops. Ask your pediatrician.

Try mixxing a little bit of whole milk in with his formula everyday and gradualy increase the milk and decrease the formula untill you finally get rid of formula completly. Good Luck!

Try mixing half formula and half milk. Then slowly reduce the amount of formula and see if that help.

Ditto Heather. We started with 1/2 and 1/2 when carter turned a year. Good luck! If 1/2 and 1/2 is too much you can try a smller formula to milk ratio and increase.

I would start with 1/2 formula and 1/2 milk in his cup. After about 3 days go straight milk. Trust me when I say if he gets thirsty enough he will drink. He has to have the option of milk though. If he knows he will always get his formaula then he will not frink his milk. At his age the milk(whole milk) has what his body needs at this age and formula isn't supplying his needs. I am a mother of 4 and a home daycare provider so I too have gone through this.

I used chocolate milk. Ovaltine to be exact & we had no problem switching. Maybe give that a try.

Formula is better for him than milk I would leave him on it until he quits him self...

you can always add a little milk to the water you use to mix the formula and slowly wean the formula out of the mix...

but really its ok for him to be on it as long as he wants it... my son was on it till nearly 2.
Good luck
A. J

The only way to get my son off of formula was to switch to Pediasure. It is in the baby isle and we went with Vanilla. You can drink it at room temperature. He still won't drink cold regular milk, he's 7, but he started drinking chocolate milk at school last year. Good luck, I know how frustrating it can be to make the switch!!

Do you think it is the taste or the fact that the formula is warm? For my daughter is was that she just wanted it warm. Once I warmed regular 2% milk she was happy to drink it. Sounds simple and you may very well have already tried that, just an idea if not. Good luck!

You can mix the formula with cow's milk.. a little at a time. Then eventually graduate to 100% cow's milk. Or just get rid of the formula completely and he will adapt. He will not starve b/c he is getting his nutrition from other sources at this age. Additionally, if that is the only thing that he can drink he will drink it!

Hi K.,

My advice would be to not give him the formula any longer and give him regular milk. If he doesn't drink it, then he doesn't get anything else. I know it seems harsh but it is the only way he will understand that he drinks what you give him or nothing. It might take a few days for him to adjust to it. And it is okay for him not to drink milk, he will be fine. If you are really worried about the vitamins he will be missing then by some vitamin drops and give him something with more calcium. Good Luck and just remember sometimes you have to give them tough love for them to understand. Bless you and your family!

Have you tried chocolate milk? You can mix it yourself and then slowly take out the chocolate over a period of time. It does have more sugar but for a short adjustment time it is fine. Also, I know milk has a lot of nutrients, but there is no "law" that says he has to have any milk. Just keep his meals packed with nutrients and maybe even a multi-vitamin (ask doctor) and then don't worry about the milk. Good luck!

Have you tried mixing formula and milk? Start with 1/4 milk and 3/4 formula and gradually more to milk. I don't know if it will work but it is worth a try.

Are you trying to wean him because of cost? If not, it doesn't hurt him to stay on formula, just graduate him to big-boy cups. Formula gives him vitamins and iron and such that he won't be getting from cows milk (and just in case anyone thinks it, I am a pro for cows milk. My family drinks it plenty). I remember my pedi talking about this with me with my daughter and said as long as she will drink formula to just let her, eventually she will grow to not like the taste. So I am sure the same will be true for your grandson. I just think it's silly to force the issue, next you may be writing saying he isn't eating does anyone use Pediasure (which is just vanilla flavored formula!). Just my thoughts!! :)

Have you tried gradually mixing milk in with his formula? I would suggest replacing one ounce at a time, increasing the milk and decreasing the formula every 2-3 days. If he is on regular formula then he should be able to start with whole milk. This will allow him to gradually get used to the flavor of milk. Also, does he drink his formula warm? If so, you might get a better response. Hope this helps.
A.

He is definitely ready to be off formula unless he's on the "older baby" kind then he can stay on it up to 2 yrs old. We kept our son on the Enfamil Next Step until 20 months. He was early and is prine to any respiratory illness so we figured the more nutrients the better. That and I was getting so many checks/coupons for it it was actually cheaper then milk. Otherwise he would have switched sooner.
I would switch it out an ounce at a time. He drinks 8 oz make one oz of it milk and every couple of days inctrease it by another oz. Another thing is if ou warm the formula still you need to warm it less and less until it's cold like milk as well.

put some ovaltine in the milk. Not a lot just a little to change the taste of the milk. This is what i had to do with both mine around 11 months. Their pedeatrician now tells his patients that. I would gradually put less chocolate in it and they did fine.

You could try mixing some chocolate or strawberry flavor in. Also, if the formula is heated or warmed, try warming the milk like that. It could be the temperature he's rejecting instead of the taste. It's a transition I was excited to make. A $3 gallon of milk instead of a $25 can of formula!

Try regular milk with Hershey's chocolate in it.....

With my daughter I greadually mixed milk with the formula. I started with about 1/4 milk-3/4 formula, and gradually increased the milk ratio until there was no formula. My daughter, who is alomst 5, is now a milk-a-holic! Good luck!

Formula is sweet. Have you tried to sweeten the milk? (chocolate milk, strawberry milk, banana milk, or even vanilla)

I just did it cold turkey straight from the fridge. She hated it. She wouldn't drink for about a day and then she gave in. Godd luck!

I don't think you should worry about it. After all, many moms these days nurse until their children are his age. You should just keep trying different milks now and then, but don't force him off the formula. Just my opinion! Good luck.

Have you tried mixing the formula with the whole milk? I introduced whole milk slowly to my sons by starting with an 8oz bottle (1/4 milk - 3/4 formula). They couldn't tell the difference. Then I increased it to 1/2 & 1/2. Then 3/4 to 1/2. You get the picture. I really did this as not to "shock" their system and avoid constipation. No problems! My sons are 11 years apart......

you should try half forumla and half whole milk. This usually works.

At first neither one of my boys wanted to take the regular milk but if you're consistent with it and that's all you offer him eventually he'll get thirsty and take it. That may sound harsh but it works and that's what my pedi told me to do. Good luck.

I would try 1/2 and 1/2
no flavoring as he will get used to that and never want reg. milk. Try whole milk then grad. goto 2% closer to age 2
goodluck

We couldnt get my son to drink milk either until we heated it up for him. We just slowly started to heat it up less and less and it wasnt long before he would drink it right out of the fridge. But if you've tried that and it didnt work then have you tried mixing formula and milk and slowly putting less formula in it?

You gradually replace his formula w/ milk. Lets say he takes an 8 oz sippy cup. Do 7 oz formula, 1 oz milk for 1 week. The next week do 6 oz formula, 2 oz milk, etc . . . This worked for both my boys. With the baby we had to increase the milk every 2 wks instead of every week. Hope this helps