Hi moms
My daughter was on Nutramigen formula up until her first birthday which was last week. Not only does she no longer need the formula, but WIC won't pay for it past one year of age and it's very very expensive formula that I cannot afford to buy. In any case, we have always said we would switch her to milk at one year of age, just like with our other daughter, now four. Well, we are having NO luck whatsoever. She refuses to drink milk. Whether in a bottle or a cup, cold or warm, I have even tried adding a teeny bit of chocolate to it to try to get her to accept it.
Any of you moms out there experienced something like this? What did you do?
Any suggestions would be great!
Start by adding a little milk to mostly formula, and than slowly over the next few weeks slowly increase the milk to formula ratio. That worked well with both of my boys.
I would stay away from sweetening the milk - you don't want her to become accustomed to only drinking sweet things. That's a slippery slope!
If she is a good eater and likes solid foods, you could just forgo milk entirely. She can get calcium from broccoli, spinach, cheese, yogurt and other foods. She can get vitamin D from being in the sun just a few minutes a day. Milk isn't a totally necessary item in a child's diet. Neither of my kids is wild about milk, and I just make sure they get calcium and vitamin D from other sources. They are both perfectly healthy and fine.
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Hello L. ~ If she is refusing to drink milk it's possible that she could be allergic to it...you wrote that she was drinking nutramigen formula which is a hypoallergenic formula??? Since she just turned one...their tummies aren't mature enough can't handle/digest the milk protein. kids just know... ;0) my daughter was the same way...not w/milk but w/a milk based cereal...hope that helps.
I have over 11 years in child care and I know what little ones can be like. You are going to have to buy some formula or go to different groups in your town and see if you can get a donation. I know that formula is terribly expensive. One of my moms lost hers and had to put off her car payment to buy a couple of cans of it to get to her next WIC date.
Start by adding 2 oz. of whole Vitamin D milk, not low fat, to her bottle mixed with 6 oz. of formula. Give this to her until she is taking it well and not giving any problems. I would say about half a week. Then go to half and half, if there are any allergy issues or stomach issues you will know by this point. Give her the half and half for at least a few days then go to 6 oz milk to 2 oz. formula. At this point it has been about a month and she should be completely transitioned. if she's not then talk to your peditrician and ask them to extend her formula and then WIC should cover it if Obama hasn't made more cuts into WIC.
Children need fat in their diets for specific reasons. I don't know all the details but until she is 2 they recommend little ones stay on whole milk.
I had success by starting with 75% formula & gradually decreasing the formula and increasing the milk. You could also try organic milk which tastes slightly different. Plus it lasts a lot longer than regular milk.
My daughter was on the same formula, but we did a gradual mix of formula and whole milk. She had no problem with a slow transition. The formula was expensive and I was lucky to find some at a garage sale. I think it would take only one can to transition to full whole milk. Good luck.
Cows milk is far from the only option.
You could try soy, almond, hemp... plus dozens of others that have as much calcuim if not more than milk plus they have lots of other great advatages.
So I'd give those a try.
My son did not take to it well either. I started giving it to him when he turned one and he would make the worst faces. He would drink it however, if I gave him a bowl of cereal with milk. He would eat the cereal first and then drink the milk after. After he had been doing that for a while I started trying to give him milk with one meal. He usually doesn't drink it all, but I'm not going to force him. He gets a lot of calcium anyhow, eats yogurt and cottage cheese everyday, which also has protein.
I wouldn't worry as long as she is getting it from other sources and seems to be growing.
Good luck
I believe there are programs that will help you with the formula. Call the hospitals and they should be able to tell you where you can go. Maybe even planned parenthood. I tried to switch my now 13 month old and she hated it. On top of that, milk gave her diarrhea. She's not ready for milk. Someone said soy. Stay away from that. Soy in young children isn't good. Adds too much estrogen which has been linked to cancer in adults. Take a look at this link when you get a chance: http://www.westonaprice.org/Soy-Alert/
One more thing. If you are able to switch to formula, don't water it down to save. Babies have starved that way. However, being that your child is 1 she is most likely eating solids so that won't apply too much, but I thought I'd throw that out there. Let us know how it goes!
