Not Switching Well...

Hi B.:

When I switched my daughter to regular milk, I had the same problem. So I started out by adding strawberry flavored powder mix. I would only add enough to give the milk the taste of it and she loved it. This helped her transition from the formula much easier. It worked really well for me. Hopefully this helps. Good luck

with my daughter when i switched her i just gave her the milk i didn't mix it with formula she didn't know what to think about it at first and would only take a sip here and there but i just keep giving her the milk and soon after she started to drink it with no problems.. i didn't want to switch back and forth between the milk and formula.. hope this helps..
R.

Hi B.,

Have you tried adding just a little sugar to the milk or maybe adding some chocolate milk to the regular milk..you dont add this forever just as a way to ease into it. worked for mine! (p.s. for all the health nuts about to go crazy sugar is ok ladies and in small amounts does not and will not keep babies awake or cause teeth to rot...relax)

GoodLuck!
C.

Dear B.,

Go on the internet to www.drgreene.com, maybe that site can help you. C. N.

You should never give a child milk before a year of age, for several reason, one being that the extra calcium can block the absorption of iron -I actually have a friend who's child became anemic from too much milk.

Really, we're not supposed to be drinking milk at all. If your child gets dairy in his diet; cheese, yogurt, ect, he does NOT need milk at all. Soy is also not a great idea at this age because soy itself contains chemicals that effect one's hormones...it's especially important to watch the amount of soy our children get, and soy is in everything....more info here: http://www.mothering.com/articles/gr...soy_story.html. Your baby is going to be a lot better off being fed the formula he is on and then maybe a toddler formula up until the 2nd year of life than he is milk. It's really best to avoid daily milk drinking. It's not as healthy as they make it out to be.

There are some great alternatives to cow's milk and soy milk. There is Rice Milk and Almond Milk.

When you are introducing something new start out with a smaller portion of it. For example 1 oz of milk to every 8 oz of formula. Stick with it for several days then increase it to 2 to every 8 oz of formula. Eventually you will weed out the forumula. Good luck!

My daughter just drank cows milk for the first time yesterday and she is 18 months. My doctor said to always offer the milk but don't force it. Make sure your baby eats cheese and yogart every day. Along with anythingelse that has calcium in it. Keep her away from infant formulas and Next step formulas because you want her to drink the cows milk. If you continue you with the formula it will take longer to wean her off. It took my daughter 6 months to learn to drink milk but she did it.

My husband and I did the same thing by adding small amounts of flavoring to the milk at first. My son eventually as I put less and less into the cup loved it. Now we have a problem giving him milk because he loves "watta" but he still has small amounts throughout the day. I'm blaming thaton this crazy heatwave!!! Just try switching up the flavors and even put an ice cube in the cup to make a noise that he likes. My son loves ice in all his cups now and he'll drink more with ice in it, so he can shake it up and drink. I think that makes the drink more tangible for him as well, he looks forward to the ice shake dance we do now for milk.

Have you tried milk in her cereal, or letting her dip cookies in her milk ?

Fortunately my son just up and quit breastfeeding one day and took up the sippy cup with cows milk with no protest.
What I would suggest is try giving her milk with some of the rice cereal mixed in with it. If that does not work, then try mixing a little bit of strawberry milk, or chocolate milk, or a little bit of sugar to sweeten it up, or even try soy milk. And if all else fails, follow the same suggestions with the soy milk by adding strawberry or chocolate ect... There are also different flavors of soy milk that you can purchase, including vanilla. And if you are concerned about the soy milk, don't be. I know three children who drink only soy milk because they are lactose intolerant and they are just fine. Just keep trying, but be sure to try one thing at a time for a few weeks so that you can discover what works best for her.
Good Luck!

M. *~

B.:
Is it possible that she is not drinking the milk becuase it is cold? If she is used to warm formula you might want to warm up her milk as well. That might be the problem.

A.

B.,

Is there a reason that you are trying to switch to whole milk now for your daughter? If she still likes it and it covers her dietary needs for milk wait a little while longer. Are you giving her baby food? What kind and how often? Is she still using a bottle or a sip cup? Start psychoanalyzing her. Talk to her about being a big girl and put her formula in a sip cup. Then periodically appear to taste her milk and give her a sad face or one that says you do not like the taste of that milk. Drink some whole milk and give a big smile and show her how much you like this taste. Offer her a taste and if she rejects it, give her another sad face. Keep it up, it may work. I hope now that you considering giving her whole milk that you will also consider giving her vitamins such as poly-vi-sol (probably didn't spell that right). Whole milk does not provide all of the vitamins and minerals needed. I gave mine vitamins even with formula. Don't rush. Not all children march to the same drummer as others.

Now about a paying hobby. Have you ever thought about making note cards, greeting cards, jewelry, painting, etc. You can make a living doing these things. Can give house parties and display your crafts for sale. A sellers permit from the state is free. You can even take your things to the swap meet or to a church picnic to display and sell if it is allowed. Get your friends and family involved and have them crafting also. You can then have a lawn party and showcase what everyone has done and make a profit.

Now think about it. Hope things turn out alright with the little girl. Just remember before you know it she will be asking you these questions about her daughter :). R.

Hi B. :)

They have formula made for toddlers if she likes it you don't mind her sticking with it a while longer. Some parts of milk (use only organic. growth hormoes baaaaad) are great for kids like the calcium and fat but formula IS better (lots of vitamins) for them if you're willing to keep up with the cost of it. My son was on toddler formula til age 2.
My daughter is 1 year. She suddenly lost interest in breastfeeding and I was concerned that she get enough vitamins and fat so I offered her formula (without DHA since it can taste a little funky and she looked at me like i was trying to poison her with that stuff) She didn't like it either. I offered her milk and she kind of liked it but would only drink it if very thirsty. after a while she got used to milk so i started putting in formula in very small amounts.. if she refused it--i would use less until i got a mixture she was ok with. now she drink bottles of half organic toddler formula (baby's own brand) and half organic whole milk. She drinks 2 bottles of that a day and the rest of her liquids are water and apple juice.
Anyway, however you decided to do it and whatever you decided on giving her, Doing it VERY gradually might be the answer for you.

Best of luck!
M.

I did mix the formula and milk but i also heated it up my daughter wouldn't drink cold milk for a while. I also still gave it too her in a bottle where as most people try to switch to real milk and a sippy. Hope this helps.

My son was breastfed, but I started putting a few drops of strawberry syrup or chocolate syrup in his regular milk when I gave it to him at 13 months. He loved it. I started to add less and less each time and he loves plain milk now.

The easiest thing to do is just stop for now and try again in a couple weeks. That is the easiest way to go for whenever trying anything new. Even as she gets older..one day she will love peas the next she will hate it. Just take it away for a week or two and try again.

You can also try switching to a 9-24 month type transition formula for older babies. They are made with more cow milk so that may help. My baby started drinking "Next Step" at 9 months then I started bringing in whole milk at around 14 months and she went right into it.

Well, good luck and if all else fails consult her pediatrician.

I have a 15 month old son and have just gotten him to like milk and drink it. I'm switching from breastfeeding to milk so it was a little harder, especially since the boobs were right there, why does he need a cup. At first he would only take a couple of sips when I was drinking milk, but now he takes it from his sippy cup and will actually drink it. It just depends on the child and what they want. I'm glad that he's finally liking milk, I thought I was going to be feeding forever...Just keep trying, one day she'll surprise you.