My 15 Month Olds Were Just Given the Okay to Drink Cows Milk

It took me a while to get him to move from a bottle to a Sippie cup but I just broke down and gave him a bottle once a day (night time is best) and had him drink from a sippie cup through the day. I don't know about the smell with the vitamins or what not, you might want to ask the peiditrician about that. I had trouble with the sippie cup but I had to buy sippie cups that had a plastic top so that way he thought it was a bottle but other than that he was not that hard to transfer from a bottle. They have some sippie cups that have clear see through sippie lids that look like a sippie cup top but also feel like a bottle to the mouth. Have you tried those.

When my first-born switched to sippy cups, we had a 3-day weekend when the bottles "disappeared". He finally got thisty enough to use a sippy cup. My other children transitioned with straws.

Kids of this age should be drinking about 16 oz. of milk a day. The best transitional cups to use are made by Nuby, and can be found at Wal-Mart. They have a silicon top that is soft, similar to a nipple on a bottle. My son took to this cup instantly. No more bottles! Don't make them availiable at any time. When it's time to eat, or when they are thirsty, give them a cup. Soon enough they will get thirsty enough and start drinking from it. As for the vitamin smell, I have never heard of this. You need to talk with your children's doctor about it.

Hmm im not sure how much you should be giving them, because of there prematurity.....my daughter was also a preemie, 10 weeks early and she has yet to get onto regular milk.....she is lactose intolerant and they say that most preemies will be for a short amount of time, but i am lactose intolerant and my hubby has allergys, so be careful and slowly work them into it.......you dont want to overload there system and you really dont want an allergic reaction......if i were you id call the drs office and have him/her give you a call and discuss it with the dr...........but best of luck........wish my little girl could handle the milk........

OK, I am not sure about the switch to whole milk because my daughter was a full term baby. But I did have a problem with the switch from bottle to sippy cup. I tried alot of things and finally tried Nuby sippy cup that I found at Wal-Mart. These cups have a silicone nibble and the transitions was much better. I hope that this helps.

Dear K.,

When my daughter's were that age (and even much earlier), I went ahead and fed them as if they were little girls, not babies. There is no special "formula" on figuring what to give them. I usually served milk at breakfast, dinner, and any other time they asked, but there is no steadfast rule. As long as they are getting the nutrition, there is no reason to worry. One day they may drink milk all day long, while other days they will not be so willing. It is over the course of time that is important.
Also, once they were old enough for a sippy cup, there was no more bottles. If there is no other choice, they will get the hang of it. You may want to check the valves in the sippy cups. I have found that some brands of sippy cups are particulary difficult to suck the liquid, and that may be a source of frustration.

Hope this helps,
C.
Mother of 6yr old and 2yr old daughters.

my daughter drank lots of white milk from her bottle but wouldn't touch it from her cup when i took the bottle away at 19 months. i tried chocolate milk, she didn't want that either. but when i tried strawberry milk, she loved it. i think the dr. said about 3-4 cups of milk/day. she still drinks strawberry milk every morning and every night and usually one in the middle of the day or at nap. but now, she will drink chocolate and even some white out of it. i think they associate their bottle to the white milk. but now she's 25 months, and like i said, will drink white milk. oh, and i give my kids the ovaltine rich chocolate milk (cheaper at walmart) and it has a lot of vitamins. good luck.

Hi K.. Both of my sons were early too an it took them a little longer to accept the sippy cup, but I would offer it to them at least once a day in place of the bottle an also put a little juice in one and leave it sitting with them while playing. It only took a couple of weeks and ....no more bottle. It really wasn't as hard as I expected. As far as whole milk, my Dr. told me to gradually make the switch. Continue to give it same as before, but he said to mix 3/4 formula with 1/4 whole milk for 3 days and then 1/2 and 1/2 for 3 days, then 3/4 whole milk and 1/4 formula for 3 days and then straight whole milk. That way they get use to it easier. Not so hard on the digestive system. Although my youngest son would get constipated sometimes from whole milk, so I just gave more juice. Hope this helps!!