Transition from Bottle/formula to Cup/milk

My daughter resisted milk at first. So I just started mixing the teensiest amount of milk in her formula. Like less that one ounce at first. And just gradually upped it over time. And now she'll drink a bottle of reg. milk no problem.

The bottle part is a little more tricky for me. I admit, my 18 mos old still gets a bottle of whole milk before bed and not a sippy. She is a strong girl and I figured it's not the end of the world. She'll scream for hours if I give her her milk in a sippy and then be up crying/ hungry half the night. But during the day, she is fine with a sippy (for juice, water).

You can go straight from the formula to the milk, no need to transition. The bottle might take a few days. I would start giving her the cup for snacks first. After about a week and she has the hang of it, I would toss the bottles and move straight to the cup for good. Be aware that she will probably protest, but its normal. She won't starve or go thirsty. When she is thirsty she will drink from the cup once she realizes the bottles are completely gone. She should be getting most of her nutrients from food at this point, so don't worry too much if she takes a bit of time getting used to the milk taste. Give her water in the cup to stay hydrated. Do yourself a favor and don't drag this out. Cold turkey is the way to go IMO. Best of luck!

We just went through this about 6 weeks ago! We did a 1/2 mixture of formula/milk in the bottle for about a week, then did this mixture in a sippy for another week, then went straight to 100% cows milk in the sippy. We use the Horizon brand organic whole milk with DHA and Omega 3's (same good heathy stuff as breast milk or formula). I was super worried my daughter wouldn't do well with the transition but she barely seemed to notice! I think the key was the 1/2 and 1/2 mixture for a while. Now she will specifically ask for milk, water or juice depending on which one she wants. Good luck! Exciting times!!

Hi,
With my kids I kept them on the bottle through the formula to milk transition. I just start mixing the formula w/ milk and over time I'd use more milk less formula.
I used to make the formula in larger batches. So, if my son was @ 8oz of formula, I would pour 7 oz and 1 oz of milk into the bottle. I would do that for about a week ( to see how he handled the milk), and then moved up to 2 oz of milk, and so on.
I saved the sippy cup for other drinks ( water, juice).
I hope that helps you.
A.

You may need the ratios to introduce her to the taste, but try going straight to milk, my son didn't seem to notice a difference. I think that the big thing is the cup. Go grab a few and try them yourself. If you can't easily get anything out of them, it will be harder for her to transition. I found the most natural to be the Gerber Nuk. That was my opinion, and I gave my son lots of options, but in the end it was the one that got him off bottles.

Here's how we did it with both kids - you may find your daughter to be completely different in how she reacts to the transition.

Our son was breast fed for his first year. Our daughter was transitioned to formula after 3 months so I could take chemo. Both went cold turkey to Vitamin D milk on their first birthdays. Our son nursed at night for about 2 more weeks.

Our daughter had to be off a bottle to transition to the next class at day care saving us $25/week. So, they worked with her at school which made it much easier for us at home. On their first birthday, all the bottles went into a bag and put into storage. Both kids did beautifully and had no problem with the difference in taste.

They did start mixing it for our daughter. 80/20 ratio then 60/40, 50/50 with her formula.

Good luck. The next year is so much fun!