Need Advice 1Yr Old Does Not like Milk. Want Him to Stop Brest Feeding.

There are so many responses that I don't have time to look and see if anyone suggested this, but keeping in mind that breastmilk is sweet and cow's milk is not, my pediatrician recommended chocolate milk. I thought - no way! That is too much sugar! But this is what he recommended - start off with 1/2 chocolate, 1/2 white (more if he won't do that), then slowly reducing the chocolate in the milk over a few weeks until it is all white. This worked for all three of my children. Good luck!

I wouldn't mix juice in with the milk (or chocolate like some moms suggested!).

Persistence is key. Keep offering it. If you can pump a bit, try mixing the milks together.

Have you gotten him to take any of the cow's milk? Has he had a reaction? Maybe try rice milk / soy milk / etc. Most of those are a bit sweeter than regular milk and more like breast milk. They are also gentler on the stomach.

My daughter didn't like milk either. I got some Nesquik in chocolate and strawberry and mixed that in. Then she would drink it. I told my doctor about her not liking milk and he said that breast milk is sweeter than cows milk, and that's probably why she didn't like it. Good luck!

I would suggest that you just give him water if he isn't breastfeeding and is over 1. Juice is not good for him at all as it is really just sugar. You need the whole fruit to make it nutritious. Store bought cow's milk is not a healthy alternative to breast milk either. If you want to give him milk, give him raw milk (from a dairy you know is safe!). Pasteurizing milk just kills any vitamins it had to begin with. Raw goat's milk is actually the closest to human milk and is filled with nutrients. http://www.westonaprice.org/ This site has great info if you want to look into it more. If not, then I would suggest that water would be much healthier for your son than the stuff you can buy in a grocery store that passes for milk. : )

I agree with Tonya C. If your child doesn't like cows milk, try a different kind of milk. Goats milk is a milk that more closely resembles breast milk (as opposed to cow's milk)but you can also try full fat hemp or soy milk, rice milk would be a poor substitute because of it's lack of adequate fat and soy milk has it's negatives as well.

The "need" to give whole cows milk to 1 years olds is a very common misconception. The most important nutrient in whole cows milk is the fat. Ensuring your child get's enough fat in his diet is very easy to do using food sources (avocados, nut/seed butters, and if your family eats meat and dairy products such as cheese and yogurt, etc...). When he is thirsty, give him water to drink...you do not need to buy Pedialyte unless he refuses to drink anything at all. Do your homework. But, if you are unable then insist your Pediatrician refer you to a nutritionist that can help you make sure he gets a well balanced diet.

Hi S.,

Both my kids weren't big fans of milk. They've only in the last few months started eating in on cereal and they are 3 and 5. Don't worry about it. I think to much enphasis is put on drinking milk anyway. They can get the nutriunts they need from other foods. Cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, butter (they need the fat) homemade mac and cheese... there is plenty he can eat without haveing to drink milk. Encourage drinking water. It's better for kids anyway. I'm no expert, just my opinion. But my kids are super healthy. God bless!

I'm not sure why people get so hung up on milk. Milk is for cows. There are so many alternatives - soy milk, goats milk, nut milk, then there are milk in different forms: yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, etc. It's pretty easy to get a dairy daily suppliment in many forms. If you google it you will find the daily serving, and the amounts of broccoli or other foods you can serve to get the calcium you need for him.

A one year old child really does not need to drink tons of cow's milk every day. If he does not like milk he may still like yogurt and cheese and just have water or juice to drink. Just do NOT overdo the juice! Good luck with weaning, just try to wean him slowly so its not too traumatic on either of you.

One more thing, soy milk may not be a good idea to replace cow's milk for a boy, recent studies have shown that it is not good for boys and men to consume lots of soy products because it contains plant estrogens that will have a "feminizing" effect on men's bodies.

Your little one can get more calcium from brocolli and green veges, than from milk. His body may be telling you something (future allergy to milk products?) Have you considered Rice Dream? It is healthier and a little sweeter.

Remember that whatever "vitamins" they can get from milk, they can also get from foods. There is more calcium in one serving of broccoli then there is in a day's worth of milk.

Just feed her real food, and she will be fine. None of mine drank bottles of milk (or sippy's) when they weaned from the breast after 1 yr old. It is definitely NOT requred.

Be sure if you do choose cow's milk though, to choose milk without growth hormones. This can be accomplished without paying for organic milk- Kroger and King Soopers both carry non-organic milk that comes from cows who have not been treated with hormones, and it isn't "ultra-pasteurized" like a lot of the organic brands are- which zaps all nutrition value anyway.

Good luck!

I would suggest weaning him off the juice. The sugary taste of carbs can be pretty addictive (think of adults snacking constantly on soda, juice, beer, donuts, chips, cookies, etc.), yet there's no nutritional value. Once his choices are down to water and milk, he may be more likely to drink the milk.

To help get away from carbs (which I've seen wreck children's appetities for healthy foods), start removing the junky carbs from his diet (juice, Cheerios, crackers, cookies), and replacing them with fruit, cheese, rice, turkey. The more he's not frequently tasting carbs, the more his tastebuds might embrace the healthier foods. Good luck!

Maybe you could try mixing milk with Nesquik for a different flavor or even try pediasure. That would give the nutrients he needs. Good luck!

M.

My little boy did this too when he was one. Breastmilk is just so sweet so no wonder why they'd rather have that! :) My little boy was a lightweight and I was worried about him getting adequate nutrients. My ped told me to give him carnation instant breakfast. He LOVED the chocolate and it also gave him everything he needed. He aquired a tast for milk and he sarted drinking it on its own in a few weeks. Good luck! This stage is so much fun and it just keeps getting better!

My daughter did the same thing. We were able to mix a little of the Gerber Yogurt Juice with 2% milk (the whole milk wouldn't work at all, and after a month the doctor told us try 2% and it worked). Occassionally we offered a soft straw cup to mix things up and make the milk more fun. I gradually cut back on nursing and eventually offered ice water in place of the last few nursing times. Its a process, especially when you have a child who knows what they want. Good luck.

If you have a pump, you could give him breastmilk in a cup for 2-3 days, then start adding just a tiny bit of cow's milk into it. Since you know he doesn't like it already, I'd start with a tablespoon. Gradually increase the milk, one tablespoon more every two days. It will take a while, and it sounds like a royal pain, but if it'll get him to drink milk...

My first son chugs milk and always has. But my second doesn't like to drink it. We get it down him as often as we can, and here are our tricks. First, he always has some with cereal in the morning. When my boys were your son's age, I started them with mini shredded wheat (yes, they were frosted) because they're easy to pick up with a spoon or fingers. I would pour a little milk on top until they were saturated, but not much milk in the bottom (to contain the mess). They loved them, and later I added a little more milk.

My husband always craves milk after dessert (it really does hit the spot!) so we always pour DS#2 some milk, too. He usually drinks it, and he is gradually drinking more.

He also loves yogurt and cheese, which are great ways of getting "milk" down him. He loves quesadillas for lunch (just cheese melted in a folded-over flour tortilla, or with refried beans for fiber and protein spread inside, too) and grilled cheese sandwiches. My husband loves milk and always says I need to drink more, but I am sure we all get enough through other dairy products.

I'm sure lots of responses have been posted, but here I go anyway.

I suggest trying rice milk. It is quite sweet, like breast milk, so maybe he'll like that. Good luck.

my oldest( who is now almost 8) didnt like milk at first either. Try buying a small can of formula and mixing it in with the milk and then gradually decrease the amount of formula- it worked for me. You can also try pumping breast milk and mixing it with the regular milk. I hope you find this information helpful!

I have been there and I found that consistency worked best. My 3rd child nursed until he was almost 16 months, but I introduced milk to him at 1 year. I just kept giving it to him at the same meal every day and eventually he started drinking it. Now, he can't get enough of it! Good luck!

Have a GREAT day!

S.

Mixing never worked for me. For our son, he liked it with Carnation Instant Breakfast. We started mixing it with 10 oz. of milk as a formula substitute and slowly backed off the CIB until it was straight milk. For our daughter, we use half keifer. It's really expensive, but she LOVES it. You can get it at Whole Foods and places like that. It's basically drinkable yogurt (which she doesn't like, so there must be a difference). Unfortunately, we haven't been able to use less than half keifer with her yet, but we're still working on weaning. We replaced the last nursing yesterday, so if it sticks, we're going to work on using less keifer. You can get whole milk keifer, but it's not flavored and the flavoring is what she likes. We were able to use raspberry coffee flavoring in a pinch once, and she thought it was okay, but we're trying to avoid that one. :) GL!

I agree with other moms - chocolate milk is the way to go. We opted for Ovaltine for the extra vitamins (thus foregoing the multivitamin for awhile) and it worked perfectly. Our little guy now rotates between the chocolate milk and regular milk, depending on his mood. My pediatrician suggested we try it along with whole milk yogurt and full-fat ice cream to get the nutrients in him and as long as the rest of his diet was good, the sugar wouldn't hurt him in the long run.

Actually, formula has more nutrion in it than cow's milk.

To switch over to milk though, this is something that I was always told to do, and it helps if you have a picky kid to get them used to milk.

Do you have any sort of breast pump? Pump some milk, and start off by getting your child to drink it from a sippy or bottle. If he will already do that, add a fourth (or less) of regular milk as there is breast milk, so he starts to get used to the flavor of milk slowly. Gradally increase the amount of milk you add, until it's almost no breast milk.

If he will drink formula, then you can use formula instead of breast milk and do the same thing, until the flavor of milk does not bother him.

You can also try adding Carnation Instant Breakfast in chocolate or strawberry to regular milk, and also add less over time...or keep adding it. At least it's vitamins.

You could also try vanilla ice cream. Maybe he will like the cold and the texture and get better at eating plain milk because of the similar flavor.

Added: Little ones are only supposed to get 8 oz or less of juice a day because it does not have enough nutrition and too much sugar.

Do you have a breast pump? If so, I would recommend offering him a cup or bottle of mostly breast milk combined with a little milk and then gradually decrease the breast milk and increase the cow's milk until he is drinking only cow's milk.

L.

You're talking about my daughter, I swear! I went with chocolate milk during the transition. And cups, not bottles. None of my kids weaned from breast to bottle (I didn't even offer it), they all went straight to sippy cups. My third actually preferred a straw from the beginning. Anyway, I mixed just one spoon of Nestle (or generic) with a regular cup of milk. Eventually, she got to where she drinks regular milk like a champ! Oh, and her teeth are fine and she's an excellent weight...the extra sugar is nothing compared to the nutritional value of the milk.

Babies are funny that way! He knows what you are trying to do. Try to get someone else to introduce milk to him. I have got to say that persistence is the key. My son also liked pediasure and then transitioned to regular cow's milk.

as far as i know, your son does not have to drink milk. cheese, yogurt, etc. provide enough calcium. i weaned my daughter at 13 months and she didn´t like cow´s milk either. she´s almost 2 now and does like it. i never gave bottles of formula or milk. just kept offering milk in a cup and eventually she started drinking it. my dr. was never worried, though. sometimes i would make pudding or something else with a lot of milk for her to eat. you could also try heating it with a little honey. but in general i wouldn´t worry at all, just keep offering it from time to time and give him nutricious food to eat!

My daughter was the same way, I wanted to wean her at 6 mo. and she refused formula, then when she was 1 she refused milk. Congratulations on lasting for the full year.

So what I did was mix 3/4 breast milk with 1/4 formula, or in your case milk for 1 week. Then week 2, 1/2 each, week 3, 3/4 milk and 1/4 breast milk. Week 4 only milk, by then she'll be used to it, that way it's not a shock to her. Hope this helps.

If he's used to breast milk and that's what he likes, then pump, and add just a little milk to the bottle of breast milk. Over time decrease the amount of breast milk and increase the milk, until you are giving him straight milk. This worked with my little girl. She did NOT like milk and was not happy to find that in the bottle, instead of the formula that she was expecting. But doing the gradual mixing she got used to it and now she won't stop drinking milk!

I converted my son to regular milk over a 3 week period. It helped me not feel engorged and I just slowly decreased the pumped breast milk and increased the regular milk. He's 13 months now and is completly on cow's milk when he's not with me and he's ok with that and I no longer have to pump milk anymore.