My Son Won't Drink Milk - Sandy,UT

My son had a terrible allergic reaction when switching from breastmilk to regular milk. I had tried soymilk,silk, formula and didnt get a good response. After trying several things I thought I could not do anything else, when someone told me about goat milk. I had completely forgotten about goat milk even though I was raised on a small farm. Although goat milk is more expensive than regular milk it is still very good. I had finally succeeded with a milk that he loved and didnt spit it out and didnt get a reaction to. Every 6 months I tried to get him to drink the reg cow milk and eventually I was able to get him to drink cow milk without the bad reaction. So I guess sometimes it just takes some persistence........
Good luck

My daughter has never liked drinking milk either. I feel like I tried everything. My doctor told me that if she is eating cheese and milk combined with fortified juice, that she is getting enough calcium. My daughter loves orange juice and I buy Tropicana with as much calcium and vitamin D as a cup of milk. It has helped me stop worrying and she loves to drink it.

You might try warming up the milk. There are days that is the only way my daughter will drink milk warm, not cold. Also, you might try offering it at different times of the day like right when he gets up and is the most thirsty. My daughter also GREATLY prefers 2% which my doctor says isn't bad to give them as long as they are getting their fats elsewhere.

I have a friend that is in the same boat...he just doesn't like milk. She just makes sure he is getting enough dairy from other sources and her doctor said to give him one glass of orange juice with calcium a day.

Hope that helps!

Do remember that, despite what the Dairy Council would have you believe, milk is not the only source or even the best source of calcium. Try leafy greens, calcium-set tofu, edamame (it's fun for kids to pick the beans out of the pods and eat them), and calcium fortified juice. Ask yourself, what would you do if your son had an allergy to milk? There are lots of ways to get the same nutrients into your son without banging your head against the wall trying to make him drink cow's milk.

-S-

Hi,
My son has the same problem he is almost 2 yrs now but he stopped drinking milk after 12 months,he was on breast feed. He didnt like any brand any flavour, i tried them all. He just doesnt like it even its smell. so he only has milk with cereal in morning and i give him yogurt and cheese he likes both of these. If your child doesnt want to have milk dont force it ,try to replace with other foods that have calcium such as cheese, yogurt. If he gets atleast 3 servings of calcium this way thats is fine. sometimes i use to mix cheese in his food what ever he is having like rice ,macroni. i hope this will help u too. U should consult pediatrician as well.
Good luck
H.

Unless your pediatrician says he must get a certain amount of milk every day, I would just go with the other dairy products (make sure they have vitamin d). The more you push the milk the less he will eat it. Also, you can mix it in with eggs, put powdered milk in his food, etc. in order to get calcium in his diet. There is also a lot of calcium in other foods. Check with his doctor to be sure, but otherwise I probably would't worry too much. In fact, my doctor told me at 2 years to stop pushing too much milk so my little boy wouldn't get too full on that and stop eating "real" food. Good luck!

MY DAUGHTER IS THE SAME WAY... IF YOU GIVE HER ANYTHING BUT JUICE SHE IS NOT INTERESTED. BUT I FIND THAT IF I STAY STRONG AND ONLY GIVE HER THE CHICE OF MILK OR WATER SHE WILL EVENTUALLY DRINK IT AND NOW ITS GETTING EASIER TO GET HER TO DRINK IT. I ALSO TALKED TO ME DR AND HE GAVE ME SOME VITAMINS WHICH MAKES ME FEEL BETTER.
GOOD LUCK
A.

My daugher was the same way. I did get to drink chocolate milk eventually, so maybe keep trying the flavored milks. Does he eat yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese? Those are great sources of calcium too. Her pediatrician said that if she was gettng calcium those other ways, she really didn't need to drink milk. I'd check with your pediatrician on your next visit.

Does he currently or ever have in the past, drank formula? if so, i started adding 1/2 ounce of milk to the formula bottle and each day or week (depending upon if he can detect it). then gradually, it will be all milk. You can also try Pediasure drinks. YoBaby also has drinkable yogurt.

I wouldn't worry as long as he's eating cheese and yogurt. You could also try flavoring the milk, that might help.

Hi - I had & still have the same problem with both of my girls (now 7 & 4). I have to tell you, if you are extremely concerned, speak with your doctor. I feel that both of my girls are pretty healthy & rarely drink a glass of milk. They have it with cereal otherwise they get their calcium from cheese, yogurt and ygurt drinks. Hope this was helpful!
M.

Hi-
My daughter would not drink milk for anything..sound familiar? We were also worried that she wouldn't get enough calcium..we found juice that has calcium added! and yes, lots of cheese, yogurt, etc..
Our pediatrician said it was fine as long as she was eating other healthy foods.
well, about a year go she started drinking chocolate milk...by the gallons! She's 5 now and very healthy!

The way i look at it, I don't like all foods so why should my child? As long as I can get the same vitamins -why fight?
Good luck!

My son was like that also. Now he loves milk, so just give it time. My doctor recommended putting Ovaltine in his milk to give it some flavor and it has vitamins also. When you weaned him did you mix half formula/breastmilk with half milk? That might help to get him adjusted to the taste without the shock of a completely different taste. I also pushed yogurt during this time, so he had yogurt once per day. I used the baby yogurt that they sell at most stores. It is thick and easy to feed them or for him to feed himself. Good luck.

I'm not a doctor, but getting a little one to eat yogurt is a feat in itself! That's great!

Maybe soy milk doesn't appeal to him? Or is that a prescribed formulation? Mine started with formula (I failed as a breastfeeder), moved to regular cow's milk, then moved on to dairy products such as cheese and ice cream.

Babies are wonderful in the respect that they will listen to what their bodies tell them versus what we think they should have (from my brother's pediatrician 30 some odd years ago).

With your pediatrician's help, see what your little one can tolerate. I wouldn't be too concerned about matching level-per-level of prescribed daily intake. Coordinate with the physician and see what calcium enriched foods or drinks he may like.

Does he like orange juice? There are calcium-enriched orange juice now.

Good luck!

your son is very smart. we are the only species that drinks the milk of another species. After one year of age we don't need it. It is a fallacy that kids need milk. He can get calcium from broccoli and sardines and yogurt and lots of other foods. Vicky

Hi. Was your son drinking breastmilk, formula or both when he was an infant? Is he still drinking breastmilk/formula? If not, when did he stop? My advice is...to give him Enfamil Next Step or Similac 2 or Carnation Follow Up (depending on what brand you were using, if at all)...even the generic/store brands carry them now too. I've been seeing them on the shelves lately at Wal-Mart and Albertsons. I fed all 4 of my kids formula as infants and once they turn 11 or 12 months old, I transition them to these "older baby formulas". I am so glad that most manufacturers of baby formula have these available now (they're usually meant for babies who are 9-24 months) because it still tastes like formula, has all the benefits of formula...and they get the extra calcium toddlers need. It makes weaning them from infant formula easier as well. And because toddlers are such picky, sporadic eaters...giving them this kind of formula ensures that they still get all the nutrition they need (just like their infant formulas)...and of course, the added calcium is a wonderful bonus!!! I have a 9-month old (he's the youngest) and I am just waiting for his stock of Enfamil Lipil to run out...then I will be giving him Enfamil Next Step until he needs it. With my other 3 kids, I was able to transition them to regular cow's milk when they were 18-20 months old. Then I just buy a bunch of PediaSure for those days when they eat less than normal...just for my own peace of mind. PediaSure is for picky eaters...but I have a huge stock in my pantry for those days when my kids decide they dont wanna eat very much or when they lose their appetite for whatever reason. Its better than worrying myself to death! I just never felt at ease with depending on solid/table food for meeting daily nutritional needs in children between the ages of 12-24 months. It is so easy for these little ones to get distracted, mood plays a big role as well with how much or how little they will eat...if they want to eat all...its just too inconsistent. And since they cant talk and say what they want to eat, we have to keep guessing and keep trying...and sometimes, it seems like nothing will do for them. So when it comes to my kids' health and well-being, I always want to be on the safe side! If you decide to give your son the older baby formula, continue to offer him regular cow's milk. If he continues to refuse, at least you know he'll be okay. Good luck to you and let me know how it goes....

Hi, I can understand your frustrations. My daughter was the same way when she was a that young. You could try fresh orange juice, which is also rich in calcium and maybe he would like ice cream since it is mainly milk. A lot of other people, and with different cultures in the world do not have the luxury of having milk in their diet but they get calcium from other sources. So, I would not worry about my kid not wanting to drink milk. Although these other sources may contain lots of sugar, moderation is the key. I think as long as he gets his nutrients from other food and drink. Your son will be fine. I hope this helps. Have a good day!

I'm going through the same thing right now. As soon as my son was off the bottle he stopped drinking milk (he'll be two at the end of the month). On the bottle he drank TONS of it, but I was back and forth between whole milk and soy milk. I have tried Pediasure, chocolate/strawberry milk and he won't take any of it. He does love string cheese and yogurt, when he's in the mood for it. He's a very picky eater too, so I hope this will all pass soon! My daughter, who is 9 now, loves milk and always has. She was/is a picky eater, but she always loved milk.

I had the exact same problem with my son. When he turned one, I started diluting his formula with milk, adding more milk every so many days. He didn't seem bothered by that, but once I changed to just milk, he did the same thing your son is doing. He went several months without milk and I raised the concern at his 15 month appointment. During those months, I gave him so much string cheese and cottage cheese! For every meal and every snack inbetween. His doctor said that lots of cheese is fine, just keep trying to give him milk - much to my dismay, he wasted a lot of it. But then once he saw that the kids I am tending drank milk, he decided it was ok for him to drink it too. Even if you don't have a daycare try every time you're by another child to show him pouring milk in both childrens cups. It will take a while, and you might end up wasting some milk, but the more he understands he's not the only one, he'll want to be like everyone else and drink it. Good Luck!!

I am too dealing with this. My daughter will be 2 at the end of this month and has not had milk since she was 17 months old. I was trying to wean her from the bottle with the advice I received which was not to give her anything but water from the bottle so that if she wanted milk or juice she would have to drink from the sippy cup. To this day she will not take milk from a sippy cup (or a bottle for that matter). Oddly enough, her acid reflux and constant throwing up immediatley stopped simultaneosly with the loss of milk and thus I am sure it was making her sick and she related the milk to her feeling sick and thus didn't want milk. As a lot of others have advised, as long as other calcium sources are being consumed, try not to worry, your child may have the same internal knowledge of what makes them feel sick and stays away from such itmes.

Well, haven't had that problem with my 2, but there's Pediasure, and there's also Calcium-fortified Orange Juice.
Hope those help a little.
B.

My son (now 3) is and has been the same way. He just doesn't like milk. I spoke to his doctor, and she has said that as long as he is getting dairy, not to worry. She also suggested we try juices that contain calcium and vitamins A & D. We give him fortified orange juice and apple juice. We also make sure that he has at least one yogurt and one stick of cheese each day. We haven't had any problems getting his dairy in so far. Of course, you'll want to talk to your pediatrician if you're having concerns. Good Luck!

GK,

Cow's milk isn't the end-all be-all of nutrition for babies. When you "wean" from breastmilk or formula, cow's milk isn't nutritionally equivalant and you shouldn't be weaning "to" milk, you should be weaning to a full, nutritious diet. I breastfed and my son was really slow to get into solid foods so I didn't wean at 1 year, I waited a few more months until he was eating enough actual food that I wasn't worried about him starving... If your son isn't eating enough or well enough, you might want to consider supplementing with formula, follow up formula or something similar for a bit longer until he's eating more. Kids develop at their own pace. Not ever kid is actually ready to "wean" from formula or breastmilk at 1.

T.

My son is now 3 and hasn't touched milk since he turned 1. I just figured it upset his tummy or something and didn't really worry about it. When I talked with yy pediatrician, he told me that my son was fine as long as he had yogurt and cheese each day. One container of yogurt & a slice of cheese is equivalent to one cup of milk. Also, we started giving our son children's calcium vitamins as well. I found them at costco. Best of luck

My son really loves Carnation Instant Breakfast (the chocolate kind). He also was always a big milk drinker, so this may not be too helpful for your son but... Carnation has 2 times more calcium than milk, so it might not hurt to give it a try since most kids love chocolate.

Don't worry about the milk so much. There are other sources for the nutrition factors you're looking for. Calcium is much better assimilitated from broccoli and vegetables, cheese is great...I didn't drink milk as a kid. I absoulutely HATED it. The nutrition is more important that the source. However food based calcium is better than the supplements, but if thats all he'll do than that is better than nothing! I wouldn't force the milk. Praise him when he eats something that is Calcium rich. There are some good books and resources, just type in calcium rich foods or even check out "what to expect when you're expecting" They have suggestions for calcium rich foods

Good luck

I don't know how to get him to drink milk if you've tried so much. But giving him a TUMS once daily should help with his calcium intake. Talk with your pedi about it. :-)

My 14 yo dd and 4 yo dd will only drink chocolate milk unless it is in cereal and I found this website to have "hidden sources of calcium"

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/calcium/a/0906_calcium_hd.htm

HTH.. B.
Matt's wife and Meghan, Savannah and Emily's mama

Hello, I have a 2 year old boy and as soon as he turned 1 he wouldn't take the bottle any more so I tried milk and he did the same as your son. To this day it is very rare that he drinks milk. I asked the doctor about it and he said as long as he eats cheese and other things with calcium, he will be just fine. I dont think you should worry about it. Maybe hard to do, but I worried and it was for no reason. He will be fine. Remember that babies know what their bodies need. Good Luck!

My oldest son did this and didn't start drinking milk until he was probably 5. I would not push the issue. He may even be allergic and his body doesn't like it because of this. Just make sure he gets ice cream, cheese, yogurt, etc. to keep his calcium levels high. You should probably speak to your pediatrician and ask for a list of other high calcium and vitamins A & D foods. You might also want to try different kinds of milk such as skim versus 1 or 2 percent or even whole milk. He may just not like the texture.