TOO Much Milk for a 1 Year Old?

My doctor said my daughter could become anemic if she had over 16 oz too. I think that is the latest news. I didn't notice any juice on the menu. Apple juice was my doctors suggestion. You can substitue some of the milk with juice. 2-3 ounces of juice duliutes with 2-3 ounces of water. Equal parts. I also saw on TV that there is juice that is made for toddlers. I think it was calles Motts-Tots. Something like that. Too much of anything isn't good. Nice to know she likes milk so much though.

Can you give her water? Nobody needs that much milk. Can you get a low flow on the sippy cup? She should be getting her nutrients from food, not liquid. At least that's the goal, right? Good luck! C.

Cow milk is not easily digestabe for babies and isn't really the best for them. The American Academy of pediatrics don't recommend ANY milk until one year old. Why dont you give her water, and mix the milk with water and juice with water? Also, it sounds like that soft tip sippy cup is so much like a bottle that it isn't really like weaning her. My daughter never used a bottle, but used a soft spout tippy cup from 6 months to 13 months for her water. You should just give her the soft nose tippy cup a few times a day with just a few ounces of milk or whatever, and then a couple times a day then once a day. Start giving her milk or whatever in the other cup slowly. Also you could switch to enriched soy or rice or almond milk for one milk a day, so she is still getting milk but wont be drinking so much COW milk. Rice is gentle on a babies system.

a 1-3 year old only needs 500 mg of calcium a day

My pediatrician stated that if kids drink too much milk they can become anemic...so I would be careful. Talk to your pedo about what is too much.

Hi there,
If you are concerned you are giving your baby too much milk, you can cut it out, a little at a time. Thats what we did with our daughter. We cut one bottle every couple days until she was down to her naptime bottle and her bedtime bottle. We got her off the nap bottle at around 15 months and she is still taking her bedtime bottle. There are other alternatives to milk to get calcium, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, etc. If you cut back a bit on the milk, she will be more hungry and eat more food. It sounds really hard, I was worried how it would work out myself, but it all worked out fine. Now I just have to get her off that last bottle. She will be 2 in Aug. ;o)
Good luck!

This is one of those times I wish I could ask your doctor what their logic is... milk is protien and other stuff than calcium.
My first thought is "whatever happened to breast feeding until the child is 2?" like the AAP wants? I wasn't able to breastfeed, but I let my daughter have formula in a bottle plus solid food until she was 2 (figured that was close, right?) and then cow's milk. We had a lot going on when she was 2, so it wasn't a great time to get her off the bottle at home (she was at nursery school). Also, she wouldn't drink much from cups, with her consipation, the dehydration was alarming.

Now that she is almost 6 (she plays classical guitar and is one of the top readers of her class. Her BMI is only 14, we can still see her ribs. So much for formula making her fat and stupid. No cavities also.) there is one thing I wish we had bit the bullet on: milk at bedtime and overnight!!!! She would usually drink 2 bottles at bedtime.
Now, I often get woken up at 3am for milk!!! OH how I wish I had given my 2 year old bottles of water and just suffered for the 2 weeks of heck on the issue back then. Not let it keep going for years. (this will haunt you from hotels to sleepovers at Grammies.) Having this arguement with a kindergartener at 3am is no fun (the milk was still at Grammies, and no I wasn't going next door to get it!).

Good luck, and I hope you find something that works for you.

It is definately possible for them to have too much milk. I had to battle this problem with my second child. She wanted to drink instead of eat. I would definately keep to your doctors recommendations. Children get dairy from so many foods. There is far more calcium and nutrition with no ill effects from foods like fresh peaches, leafy greens, nuts (when she's older), legumes, oranges and more. Filling up on milk (which nutrients the body does NOT readily absorb) prevents children from eating other important foods in their diet. Milk is sometimes referred to as "liquid protien." The protien in milk gives your child a sense of being full which decreases her appetite.

I had to take milk completely out of my daughter's diet to get her to eat. It was difficult on both of us. She also liked a bedtime bottle. She has the worst teeth of all my children. Please don't allow you daughter to go to bed with a bottle. Save yourself and your daughter hours of dental work and hundreds of dollars. My daughter, now 8, has had to have fillings redone (ouch! twice) and a tooth that had a baby root canal gone bad extracted and a spacer put in. This daughter was a terrible sleeper, so I understand wanting to do whatever it takes to get her down. At one, my daughter refused to nap (and I tried everything), and woke 3x's a night for almost three years. I discoved at the end of her second year it was due to apnea, which was corrected surgically. If she needs a bottle, fill it with water and stick to your guns. She will eventually either take it or go without. Protien causes alertness/wakefulness, so it could be the mild that is helping to keep her up. A bowl of cereal or pasta before bed would be better. Carbs can help you feel satisfied (especially whole grain) without effecting sleep.

I have two other daughters who will require orthodontics due to excessive pacifier use. My pediatric dentist said if they start sucking on their fingers, let them have a pacifier. If not, try to break the habit by one year of age. I'm currently having to break my almost three year old from the pacifier and it is extremely frustrating for both of us.

Milk is in reality not a dietary necessity. Our culture has been brainwashed since the 1940's-50's to believe milk is essential for good health. It is simply not true. So don't feel bad cutting back your daughter's milk intake, you'll be doing her a favor. My five children do not regularly drink cows milk (they get it at grandma's house) and they are healthy, bright, and active. Best of luck to you and enjoy your one year old! Its a great age, I have one too.

I'm not sure about the too much milk thing, I would just go with your gut. But as for the forcing her to wean from the bottle, it's nonsense. If you think she finds comfort having a bottle of milk before bed, then let her have it for a while. My daughter is 2 and drinks all her juice/water out of cups, but will still take her milk in a bottle. I'm just now starting to wean her from that, but she really wasn't ready before now. Hope this helps :).

The short answer to your question is yes, a 1 year old can have too much milk. The main concern is that milk is very filling so it’s possible for them to fill up on it and not eat enough of their other foods. Also milk can be constipating for some people (I assume we’re talking about cow’s milk). If she’s thirsty give her water. If she won’t take plain water, water down the milk. Some people add juice to water to get their kids to drink it. Personally I try to avoid juice since it’s just empty calories with little nutritional value.

i agree with the other mom...swap out one of the bottles of milk with water. i also see no harm in watered down apple juice or oj. good luck!

Hi, I would add a mid morning snack, such as fruit and whole wheat crackers. Also, add a protein for breakfast such as egg, tofu or sliced turkey. All 3 of my kids loved tofu right out of the fridge, I would get the soft style and cut into cubes and it was a hit. Also, they loved beans such as; kidney, garbanzo beans etc.... I think if she gets more protein earlier in the day she may crave less milk. Also, you don't need to fill the bottle up and use lowfat 1 percent. I wouldn't get overly concerned, she is still quite young. Although, I do recommend encouraging variety. As a mother of 3 I know how important it is to keep them trying new things eventually she will be eating what you eat. Let her try the foods that you eat in small pieces.

At my sons 12 month check up our doctor said he only needed about 9 oz of milk a day. My son had already cut back on milk so this was no problem for us. Plus he loved water. he only gets his morning milk, usually 6-7 ozs, right when he wakes up and then we feed him breakfast about 45 mins later. Throughout the day he drinks water. At dinner time we give him another 6 ozs of milk. We let him drink what he wants of that until bed time. He's usually so full from dinner that he doesn't finish it all. When you cut out the afternoon milk, your baby will want more solid foods. They need the water to help breakdown all the solids they are eating. Your son will adjust to it, it just takes some time. Good luck

You can water it down... give less in a bottle.... give bottles of water instead of all of the bottles being milk... my sister dilutes her kids juice cups - 2 of her 4 kids LOVE apple juice diluted and they drink a lot of that. For the older boy she puts in about 1/2 - 1/2 or maybe more of water less of juice. For her younger girl she does the reverse, slightly more juice to water.

Babies and children eat what they are given, and learn to like what they eat. Give them water now. Bedtime/naptimes is the ideal time for a bottle or cup of water. My almost 6 yo still insists on cold water at bedtime, so we have those water bottles (since he can manage the screw top - makes travelling in the car sooo much easier - starting about 3yo I think?) or those plastic "straw-top" drink thingys from Walmart. We just have to make sure to put some ice in since he's acquired that "must be cold!" habit from his dad.

My daughter was the same way. All she wanted was milk and that supplimented her food, which was not good. She got constipated as well. her dr. was not so adimant about getting her off the bottle, but was more concerned about her intake and her constipation. In her sippy cup, I gave her small portions through out the day that added up to the 16 oz. She would still take a little more, but it was a gradual procedure. We even began to water down her milk a bit (dr. suggestion), after about 6 months or so, she caught on. We then added carol syrup to her milk to help with the constipation. She did wake up in the middle of every night for milk. We had to limit that into 1 time a night, (she may have been a little older than a year by this time). when she got a little older, and we went to her dentist appt. she had 7 cavaties and I knew it was because of the night time milk. After this appt, things changed big time. This was all a long process and we had to be firm when it came to her intake and waking in the night. She too had her sippy cup as if it were a bottle. Once she started kindergarten, she stopped waking up every night. It's just once in a while now. Now she has a cup sometimes two, before she brushes her teeth for bed.

You have to reinforce what your daughter can have and let her know that she can not have milk until she is done with her food, or even most of it. It's going to be hard at first because she will test you and resist, but stand your ground and that will help build the parent child relationship. You can't let her get over on you.

One more thing. I would not re-introduce the pacifier. If you have her off already, I would leave it that way. It's just another habit that's difficult to break. None of my 3 children had the pacifier. Maybe just their first 2-3 weeks and that was it. I think the longer they have it, it impaires their speech because they always have that in their mouth. That's just my theory, and both my niece and nephew had the pacifier longer than a year and still do not speak well. I think 1 year should be the limit. I would often get compliments on how well my children spoke at such a young age, just got one the other day for my 4 yr. old, which encourages be to believe in my theory even more...lol :) Good Luck!

I've read that milk taken at the same time as other foods can interfere with the uptake of other nutrients, so it's best to skip the meal-time milk. My daughter only has milk when she wakes up and before nap and bedtime (though not in order to fall asleep and she brushes her teeth after her night-night milk) - a total of 12 oz a day (she's 2 1/2). She loves cheese and yogourt, though, so I don't worry that she's lacking calcium. There's really no need for her to have liquids with her meals at all; perhaps a little water if she's thirsty. Good luck!

Im not sure why the docs have gotten so strict about the amount of milk other than the decreased appetite for solid food. You could only offer her half as much milk at meal times plus a cup of water or a 4 oz. serving of watered down juice at one or more of the meals/snacks.

Another dual purpose strategy to slowly decrease milk intake and transition away from the milk at nap/bedtime is to water down the milk at those feedings. Mix milk to water at 75/25 for a few days, 50/50 for a few, 25/75 and then all water. This will cut milk intake, ease the sleep weaning and save her little teeth!

Good luck!

PS: Do NOT switch to 1% milk yet! At her age, her developing brain still needs the extra fat of the Vitamin D or at least 2% milk. Check with your doctor...they typically do not encourage switching to 1% until the baby is 3+ years old.

I was told by my doctor that formula is not the same as cow’s milk. Formula is like a meal with lots of nutrition but cow’s milk doesn't have all the same building blocks in it as formula. A kid getting full on cows milk can become anemic. So when you say milk are you speaking of formula?

My 20 month old still gets two 8oz sippy cups of formula a day. The doctor said I could stop whenever but I don't feel confident enough that she's getting full nutrition from the way she pecks at her meals. She gets one in the morning and one a couple of hours before she goes to bed.

Our pediatrician said to consider milk a solid. When we looked at it that way,our child didn't get enough liquid, water. Swap out the milk between meals and nap for water.

If she hasn't had juice, don't start. We didn't give juice to our daughter until she was nearly 3 and to this day she prefers water. If you do use juice, REALLY REALLY water it down. I have to water down the juice for her still and she is nearly 7.

Swap to water. She's young enough to adjust.
Stephanie

If your child drinks a bunch of milk at meal time they generally do not eat enough other foods. So, give her milk during meals after she eats the rest of her food, or give her smaller amounts.

Otherwise I do not believe you are giving your child too much milk. You want her to have plenty of calcium so if she falls and breaks her arm it won't look like a broken pencil. This happened to my brother when he fell off his bike and his bones broke that way because he didn't have enough milk. If he had had enough calcium he would have had a much cleaner break.

Does she fall asleep while drinking her milk for naps and bedtime? If so, you want to be sure to clean her teeth and gums to prevent cavities, and if she only has gums it'll get her in the habit of teeth brushing.

Hi G.,

It sounds like she had a very hearty diet without the milk. I don't see why you need to give her 8 oz bottles...why not 4 or 6 oz. bottles. I would try moving the first morning bottle after breakfast a little later and then put her down for a nap about 30 minutes to an hour after it. She will be full and you will know that if she cries for the bottle it is not because she is hungry. If she will not go to sleep without the bottle either try a bottle of water, or just cut back and offer her 4 oz of milk and when it is gone it is done.

The next task at hand is to give her milk in a sippy cup all the time, not just in between meals. I think by 14 months I was only offering milk at meal times. In between meals was a sippy cup of water they could have anywhere anytime. Try substituting the in between meal bottles with a snack of apple and cheese, or toast with a little jelly.

Most of what you need to change is just bad habits and you just need to make one change at a time and stick to it when you make it. Good luck with it all!!

I have never heard of such a thing as to much milk for a child. I remember when my children were born. I had larger babies. My youngest was 9 lbs,9oz. they told me he should only eat 2oz every 4 hours. He would cry for more when the tiny bottle was empty. I would feed him until he stopped crying. I don't believe that they can really overeat or drink. My sons regulate themselfs. They do not eat when they are'nt hungry. But they don't get dessert if they don't eat their dinner. I don't understand who is telling you this. I have never read this in articles.

I think the conern with too much milk is because they are getting too full from the milk, and thus not eating the solid foods. We try to stick to milk only at morning meal and dinner. We do dinner right before bed (dinner, straight to bath, snuggle and bed), so my son is too full to think about a bottle. We have only had to use binky, but I would say to swap milk for meals, and try to take it away a few times so it doesn't get chugged at the begginning, then only have water in between. We do give a small amount of juice sometimes for lunch, but water works too. We only give water in between meals. Good Luck!

Hi- I have never heard of a 1 year old drinking too much milk. It does seem like you give her a lot of milk, especially 8oz at nearly every snack/meal. Until their 2nd birthday, they still get most of their good fat from milk. She is not eating the same because she is filling up on the milk and not food. She probably only drank 24oz of milk out of the bottle because she got tired of sucking. A slow flow nipple at 1 yrs old takes alot of sucking power to feel satisfied. My husband and I give our son his drink, whether it is milk or water or juice when he is almost done eating so he is consuming more food than liquid. I would definately cut back on the milk, instead of 8, give her 4oz. I would also cut out the milk before bed by slowly reduncing the amount you are giving her. It sounds like your daughter is getting her calcium from other places but she still needs the fat from the milk. As for the bottle, I'm sure your pediatrician told you she needs to be off the bottle because it encourages tooth decay, especially if they go to bed with it. She is not a baby anymore and no longer needs as much milk as before. She needs some, but not 32oz a day, for a 1 year old that is a lot, that is a lot for anyone. Just start cutting back on the milk.

Hi there
maybe try a milk alternative like rice , almond or hemp milk as well as cow milk. Our bodies do not naturally break down cow milk it is not necessairly the best thing for humans. Hemp milk is full of omegas and good fat, do not worrie it is not a drug. Anyhow just a suggestion, look into it.

I felt like my son was drinking way too much milk as well. I never had to worry about it before because he was nursing but as he slowly started to wean, I noticed he'd drink a TON of milk. So we just really started increasing his water intake. We don't give our son juice so water is the only other option. When I go out to run errands, I don't bring milk. I just take water. That way when he asks for it, it's just not there. When we eat out anywhere, we only order water for him so if the milk is not there, it's not an option. At home is hardest when he knows it's in the fridge. But there's lots of ways we've discovered to get him to prefer water. We will let him use a regular cup for the water (b/c it's ok if it spills) and this allows him more independence. We did have a water cooler and we'd let him get his own water and then tell him about the bubbles he can make when he gets water from the cooler. Also at nighttime, after he brushes his teeth, we started out by saying to him:"Say good by the milk. The milk is going away after our teeth are clean." After a few nights of this, we broke the habit of giving him milk after brushing... which was really defeating a lot of the purpose of brushing. So now he knows that once we've brushed his teeth, he's done with milk for night time. If he really insists and wants another drink (andi it's early) we allow it but he knows he will have his teeth brushed... again. The going to sleep with milk will really harm the teeth and it's not too early to visit the dentist with your toddler to get encouragement and information on dental care for your toddler. My son has already been three times!

hang in there... but stick to it! It will be hard but better in the end for your baby.

Remember you are the one who pours the milk into the cup, so if she wants it only pour 1/2 cup and then she is done. You can offer this 1/2 cup 4 times a day and she will still only get the required 16oz of milk a day. If you pour 4 full cups a day she will drink it. In between offer her water or like a V-8 fusion drink which offers a full serving of fruits and veggies and some calcium etc. I water mine down a bit for my son as it is pretty thick. Too much whole milk can lead to a chunky baby. They can get extra calcium from cheese, yogurts, cottage cheese, lots of green leafy veggies (spinach, kale etc.) If she won't just eat those blend up or chop up finly and add to the food your cooking. Like meatloaf throw in some chopped carrots and grees or when making spaghetti sauce throw some in there. Great way to give extra vitamins without them ever knowing. Stick to your gut instinct and give only 16oz of milk per day.
Good luck

Hello,

I can only give you my experience. I too have been told and read everywhere that you don't want to give too much milk. So, at 12 mos, it was milk or water. And flouride water since we live on a well. WE also made the mistake of giving milk or juice(as he got older) before nap, sleep time and he had 2 cavities, so now when it nears bedtime he gets water. It took him a few times to understand it was that or nothing, but he does not complain, he just accepts it. I also water down his juice a lot.

If you feel you need to give her milk at meals etc, just don't fill the cup all of the way. If you fill it half way, you can get 4 times the feedings for her.

As for the bottle, at 12mos I started to wean him as well, and within the month, the bottles were gone, only sippy cups, and it was a non issue. It was matter of fact, I did not show the bottles or offer options, it was sippy cup or nothing.

Good luck.

I would start putting 1/2 milk and 1/2 water in her sippy cups. That way she is getting 1/2 as much. You will want to do this when and if you give her juice.
Good luck!