My daughter is just over 1 year old now and starting to resist drinking her milk. She's still drinking a bottle or 2 a day; for the others, she'll have a few sips and then get distracted. When I pour the milk in a sippy cup, she'll drink it herself but doesn't drink as much. I know formula/milk is so important the first year. How much should I be aiming for her to drink now? And if I let her work on the milk in a sippy cup, how long do you think it's safe to leave it out of the fridge? It takes a while for her to drink a cup rather than a bottle. Any ideas would be so helpful!
How about trying a smaller bottle half the size-they sell them in I think 6oz sizes. Also maybe a sippy cup with a top she cna suck out of?my 2 year old is on sippy cups 99% but at night it is a bottle-I have tried to get her a sippy cup she picked out.....not having it ...
At age 1 they need the equivalent 16oz of Vitamin D milk a day, according to my son's pediatrician. Most sippy cups that I have are 8 or 10 oz, so if she drinks 2 a day she is fine. All dairy products count toward this - yogurt, cheese, etc., just make sure it is made with whole milk. (I'm sure you probably know this part: the fat in whole milk is necessary for development of the brain.)
Stonyfield Farms makes a great whole milk yogurt in lots of flavors: all the berry flavors, plus sweet flavors like french vanilla and vanilla truffle. If you can't get her to drink the milk I would recommend those, you're sure to find a flavor she'll eat. I've sometimes mixed yogurt with applesauce or baby oatmeal & milk when my son has grown sick of plain yogurt.
Plus 16oz is an average. If she gets more one day and less the next it is absolutely OK.
Good luck!
You can get insulated sippy cups that you put in the freezer and keep things cold. 2 of my children turned away from milk eventually, so I had to go the cheese and yogurt route (watch out for sugar in yogurt). My pediatrician said that chocolate milk is ok or ovaltine, which the kids love...but the dentist disagreed!
There are other ways to get the dairy she needs into her, whole milk yogurt, cheeses, try that?
I would do orange juice (with calcium) for my kids. At first, I would warm in microwave for 15 seconds. They also would have yogurt.
Hope this is helpful!
With both my kids I give them a cup of milk with each meal during the day. The rest of the time they get either 100% juice cut 50/50 with water, or just straight water. Don't give to much fruit juice during the day because this will give her diahrrea.
My pedi said at this age drinking 2 cups of milk was fine as long as there were other sources of calcium. They also wanted to be sure you offer water as well. I would not leave a sippy cup out for more than 2 hours, then bacteria begins to grow.
Great responses from everyone else and also, don't worry too much about leaving the milk out. In general, I find the guidelines for food spoiling to be extremely on the cautious side - to the point of excess. But the amount of time it takes your daughter to drink a cup of milk, even if it was over an hour, is not something to worry about.
Hi L.,
Remember that the "milk" needed in the toddler's diet simply means dairy products. If she's not drinking a lot of milk but is having a yogurt each day and a slice of cheese, those replace some of the milk. At a year, food becomes the main source of nutrition, and toddlers don't usually take multiple bottle "feedings" anymore. Milk would be served in a cup with meals as a beverage, just as we have a drink with our meals, and maybe a cup/bottle of milk once during the day and before bed, but that's about it.
Good luck!
L.,
What your daughter is doing is normal, as babies eat more and more solid foods they tend to cut back on the amount of bottles they drink. The other thing is your daughter's taste buds may be changing, she may not like the taste of the milk. If she is on whole milk you could try adding a drop of maple syrup and vanilla, just only enough to make is taste different. We did that with our third child, he decided he didn't like the taste of milk so our pediatrician suggested we try that. He still is not a big fan of milk and he just turned 21, but whenever he drinks milk he puts maple syrup and vanilla in it or makes milkshakes. Babies are like us, their tastebuds change, just wait until she decides she won't eat anything green or my favorite, eats only pasta and potato bread with creamy (and I mean you have to whip it in front of them) peanutbutter for months on end, talk about getting worried. LOL My 9 year old son refuses to eat fruit or drink fruit juices, never has liked them since he was a toddler, it drives me nuts. I love fruit, vegetables, nuts, beans, this one is a meat potato and corn kid. Bottom line she will problably outgrow not drinking milk, but if you are that concerned call your pediatrician.
Hugs,
T.
