Transitioning to Whole Milk - Tully, NY

Definately try the gradual mixing in, and the squirt of sugar-free chocloate syrup. Breast milk is sweet, so it will be less of a transition. Good Luck !

Hi B., What has the baby been drinking if not whole milk? Then maybe I can help out alittle more.

A.

Hi B. - When I transitioned my son to whole milk from breast milk, he was NOT into it and I tried lots of different things. The thing that worked best was adding a little bit of Ovaltine. Not too much... then gradually use less & less until none at all. Worked for us. Good luck.

Our little guy didn't like milk at first, either--I tried mixing it with half vanilla pediasure and THAT did the trick!

My advice would be talk to your pedi. My son is 19 months and won't touch the stuff either. No matter what I do to it I can't get him to drink it. When I mentioned this around 15 months to his dr he said not to stress over it. He has cheese and yogurt in his diet daily and eats a well rounded variety of foods. We have tried now and then to give it to him, but he only will take a few sips. I have to admit I have never liked milk myself, so I feel his pain :)

Hi,

What I did was mix the milk & formula. Five oz formula, 1 oz milk then 4 oz & 2 oz, etc. By the end of the week my son was drinking whole milk no problem! Hope this helps!

Barb

Hi B.,
I transitioned my son at 14 months and he refused it as well. I added approximately 1/4 cup of vanilla NutriPals (children's vitamin drink) to the bottle and he started drinking it well. I think it sweetened it enough that it was less of a transition from breastmilk to whole milk. Over time I added less and less and now he drinks whole milk straight. Good luck!
J.

A word of caution on milk, it is highly allergenic to babies (and adults) if she does not like then take that as a sign. I would try other types of milk like Almond Milk, Oat milk and goats milk. All will be much easier on the digestive tract and my personal favorite, almond milk is absolutely delicious.

week 1- mix 2 oz milk into 6 oz formula or breast milk
week 2- mix 4 oz milk with 4oz formula or BM
week 3- mix 6 oz milk with 2 oz formula or BM
week 4- regular whole milk

If the first week isn't going well switch to 1 oz at a time. It will just take longer to transition.

use whatever container is her favorite: bottle, sippy cup, cup with straw, or in my case my kids wanted my coffee cup!

I haven't read the other entries - I'm guessing this has already been suggested - but just in case - you need to SLOWLY make the transition by just mixing a little bit in the beginning with whatever you are giving her now (formula or breast milk?) - depending on how sensitive she is, you may start out with maybe 1/2 ounce to 7 1/2 ounces of formula/breastmilk. Again, depending on how picky - you do this for a day or a whole week or somewhere in between - you'll have to judge - then you increase to 1 ounce to 7 ounces, etc., etc..

Have you tried with ice and a straw?? mixing with strawberries or other berries?? Mix with cereal like rice krispies. I was typing with my son on my lap, so that is why my response is so short. I gave my son milk mixed with formula for a while then switched to whole milk at 18 months. He would only drink it cold, never warm.

Hi B.- when we did the transition with our daughter we started by mixing it with breastmilk or formula- she was used to both-

also, I swear the biggest trick after the mixing was warming it up- we would stick the milk in the microwave for 25 or 30 seconds. We always warmed her breastmilk and her forumula was at least room temp, so giving her something cold like milk did not go over well...

B.,

What about trying chocolate milk? I would also suggest not putting it in a bottle but a cup of some sort. I know a little girl who only got milk in a bottle til they took the bottle away age 2-1/2 years old and now will not drink milk at all.

Good luck,
L. M

B.,

I used to add just a splash of the stoneyfield farms vanilla yogurt drinks to my sons whole milk. It made it a little sweeter and "fooled" him. After about two weeks I slowly stopped adding it and he never knew the difference! Good Luck!

maybe she has some issues with milk. My little guy didn't want to drink milk and we tried everything and when he did he was so gassy at night and he broke out with eczema head to toe turns out the is allergic to dairy we use enriched rice milk and hemp milk. He doens't really care for the oat and I haven't tried almond milk yet. If you bf maybe she would like it better if you tried warming the milk and mixing it 20% milk 80% breast milk or formula and slowly increase the amount of milk in it.

Have you tried a gradual infusion? Mix a very small amount of whole milk with whatever she's been drinking, then slowly over weeks or months keep adjusting the ratio until she's made the transition without being aware of it. This method worked well for our little guy as we moved him from a regular blueberry/pomegranite juice over to the V8 version (sneaking in those veggies wherever we can!). Other suggestions I've heard include adding a squirt of chocolate or strawberry, the stuff in the plastic bottles made for exactly this purpose. Apparently it really doesn't add much sugar, and maybe she'll think the colors are fun?
-L.

Hi, what i would suggest is, if she likes Strawberry and chocolate and has no allegies when she takes them, then, get either straberry flavor beverage mix for kids or chocolate powder or whatever flavor she loves and mix it with the milk.

Please dont forget to ask her doctor if its ok.

Good Luck,

Leena

Hi B.,

Don't fret if she won't drink it. She can get minerals and vitamin D from other foods - look them up on the internet.

My family doesn't drink milk. I did when I was younger. I was intolerant of the milk fat so I drank skim milk as a child. I enjoyed it. Later I drank whole milk which I enjoyed more. About 5 years ago I gave up milk because it hurt my stomach and made me congested - I'd cough after drinking. I tasted it recently. It tastes awful. How funny that I used to enjoy it.

Good luck,
: ) Maureen

Don't give her any options. It sounds mean, but the more you cater to her wants the more she'll fuss and be "picky". Tell her this is her milk. If she refuses to drink it, let her refuse & tantrum. But continue to give her the milk you want. She'll eventually get thirsty and drink it unless you allow her the option of juice, etc. when she should be having her milk. She'll acclimate quicker than you think. This also works for foods. I know from my experience with my 24 month old. In less than a week or 2 she was eating whatever we were at dinner etc..
Good luck!

Hi B.!

My oldest(4yrs) was and still is a very picky eater. She did not like milk at all when she first tried it (nursed her as well). I actually ended up mixing it with vanilla soy milk. She loved it and now drinks milk no problem! I know a friend of mine also pureed banana for her little one and that worked for her. I think its just going from breastmilk thats very light and sweet to a thick rich taste that bothers them. Good luck! :o)