Close to Weaning almost-1-yr-old...but She Doesn't like Cow's Milk!

You could try Goat's Milk instead of Cow and see if that makes a difference. Goat's milk is more similar to breastmilk than cow's milk, but it is a little harder to find (Whole Foods carries it).

She will learn to like it.. it may take time but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Try using a lower fat milk product at first, it could be the thickness of the milk she doesn't like. Keep giving it to her and she will in time will take to it.

My son was the same way. I got him switched to a bottle of WARM cow's milk by slowly phasing it into his formula. But cold milk from a sippy - no way. I wanted to phase out bottles all together around 14 months because he could care less about having one, but that was the only way I could get milk in him. I tried offering ONLY milk in his sippy thinking that it was a battle of wills and eventually he'd cave. This was an awful idea - he didn't drink anything for 2 1/2 days, until I finally got worried about dehydration and caved.

Then I found the trick - Ovaltine - I bought a jar of the malt kind because it has less sugar and sodium than the chocolate varieties. I mixed in 1/2 of the suggested amount to a glass of cold milk. My son's response at 15 months was "Mmmmm" and then he drank the whole cup. I now have him cut down to 1/4 of the suggested Ovaltine to Milk ratio. I am still on my first jar and don't plan on buying another one. I think we have been mixing his milk for 3 weeks now. I know he is getting a bit more sugar, but he is also getting extra vitamins. And I think we should be able to have him on straight milk in a few more weeks.

Good luck!

I want to ditto Kathy K, humans arent meant to drink the milk of another animal, especially cows. Cows have multiple stomachs tobreak down their milk as babies... we only hav eone. Cows milk is very harsh and hard on our systems, there is a reason most people have issues with milk.

Cheese and yogurt are different, the proteins are broken down and nearly nonexistent.... thats what most people have a problem with in cows milk... the proteins.

Steer clear of soy, its so overprocessed and it contains hormones that can be harmful to children and adults alike.

Try almond milk. That is what we use in our house. My boys don't care for the unsweetened, so I buy the vanilla and mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with the unsweetened.... that way its a bit sweeter but its not full on sweet milk. And it does taste alot like breastmilk.

I nursed my boys into toddlerhood.. its not as hard as you think. I wouldn't start putting milk in a bottle, thats another habit you will eventually ahve to break. If you want to wean her, wean her to a cup, not a bottle. She's almost a year old, it would be silly to wean her t oa bottle.

I suggest you not push her. Just drop the feedings where she takes a bottle, and keep the ones where you nurse. THat way, when she doesn't eat or drink what she needs to, she will still be getting everything she needs from you. Even if she nurses once a day, your body wil concentrate the milk to pack it all into one nursing, she will get all the antibodies, nutrients, and fats her body needs. Thats especially important this time of year, gearing up for the imminent cold and flu season, that she gets those VERY important antibodies from you.

Nursing into toddlerhood has amazing benefits for both you and especially her. THe benefits of breastmilk dont' end at a year, the ycontinue as long as you breastfeed.

You may not know this... but you don't have to wean her. You can continue to nurse her. The WHO recommends babies be nursed until AT LEAST 2 years of age. If she doesn't like cow's milk... it's because she's a smart lil girl!
You can also try goat's milk, or set a longer goal of getting her on cow's milk by the time she's 15 or 18 months. Some kids just KNOW that their bodies aren't going to do well on something other than the best, and react strongly. Take it as a sign that your baby girl still needs momma's milk and try to go a bit longer if you can.

If you want to talk more about nursing past a year, you can join this group:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/milk_drunk/
Hope you join up! Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

As the other PP's have stated, cow's milk is meant for baby cows, not humans. Humans are not meant to drink milk past infancy, and are definately not meant to drink the milk of another animal. Lactose tolerance is actually a mutation, and about 80% of humans are lactose intolerant...because we're supposed to be. There is nothing in milk that you cannot get from other food sources, and as the PP's mentioned nursing past a year is very, very good for babies. The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for at least two years. We do Almond Milk in our house...rice milk and soy milk are really heavily processed and loaded with sugar. Here is a good article on milk alternatives:

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/milk-alternatives-easy-g...

Good Luck!

A cow's milk is meant for baby calfs not human baby's. My kids do drink cow's milk but very little. They get their calcium and nutrition from other various food sources. So my daughter#2 is going to be switched from formula to cow's milk next month and if she likes cow's milk cool if not oh well. But she will be weaned off formula.

Hi C.! Becky W had the best advice! And if you want to wean at age 1....go ahead and do it.
What I am going to say will offend some people but I am PASSIONATE about health and wellness and have been for years.
Soy milk is garbage for your body. It IS one of the most processed foods out there. People say that it's bad for boys because of estrogen but soy products all but ruined my health. There is alot of good research on the damage soy can do to the body.
I don't drink any milk. I eat cheese, yogurt and other foods high in calcium. Milk is not essential.
I am concerned with what one poster wrote about the China Study. Please do your research. The China Study is not a reliable source of health information. And I would NEVER recommend using flavoring in milk!

We use goat's milk for our daughter and she LOVES it! It's easier to digest than cow's milk. I hope this helps!

news flash: you dont have to wean a 1 year old baby! my son nursed and self weaned at 19 months, and the only reason we got that far was becase i did NOT listen to outside advice that was negative toward nursing. there is nothing wrong with nursing over a year, and gradually over a span of MONTHS dropping nursing time....

having that said, perhaps you just want to wean? this is ok too.
one thing that i know is that cows milk is not only not as healthy as they tell us it is, it can also be harmful. if you would prefer to use soy milk or another kind of milk, this is perfectly acceptable as long as fruits and veggies, whole grains legumes are all a part of the diet. even this kind of milk is not needed in high amounts; perhaps one cup a day or something. water is a necessity, milk is not. so if you prefer to forgo milk altogether, its not a bad idea.

also, that being said, you can add chocolate to milk, this makes it sweeter, and closer to breastmilk, and might be more acceptable to your little one. it worked for my son, but still we do not have any reason to give him anything other than skim milk. yes, some fats are needed for brain development, but dont let that beat you into serving whole milk, the fats in milk are whats bad for us. the fats that baby needs for brain development are found in nuts, and many other foods, and the nutrients in other foods (especially plant based) are absorbed more easily and better than ANY nutrients in milk.

dont get me wrong, we drink milk, we eat meat, but its NOT a main portion of our diet. fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes (beans), WATER
that is essential.
if you are interested; 'the china study' makes good reading regarding nutrition. be aware that if the things we eat are a part of 'the american diet' and being obese, overweight and unhealthy dying of all sorts of diseases is the product of 'an american lifestyle' you do the math and realize we should do something different regarding diet.

my bottom line; if you feel like it, continue nursing! dont follow the advice of ANYONE (including doctors) until you have dont research and thought to find out what is best for YOU, and, like i said, do what is best for you and your family, NO MATTER WHAT. if you want to continue nursing, do it! :D if you are ready to be done, there are slow, respectful easy ways to do that (www.askdrsears.com is a great resource! as well as the la leche league)
just never feel presured by anyone to do anything with your child. my son didnt take to milk until he was over 15 months. its ok. milk isnt as important as they make us think (imagine that a multi million dollar industry not doing whats best for us? no kidding huh?)

:D
just take it easy. dont panic. do what you've gotta do, regardless of the pressure you feel and the looks you get. do what YOU want and feel you should do. take the doctors advice as 'general' advice, and be in charge of your parenting! :D :D informed parenting - :D
and congratulations for nursing this long! way to go! :D :D :D you should be proud of yourself!!!

My daughter would not drink cow's milk when I first tried. She only would drink the breast milk. I started by putting 1/4 cows milk with 3/4 breast milk. After a few times, I increased the amount of cows milk. I continued to gradually increase the amount of cow's milk until she was just drinking cow's milk. It didn't take very long before she was drinking only cow's milk from the cup and she would still nurse twice a day as well.

It's ok if she doesn't like it. We actually don't need to drink cow's milk, but it is the best way to get vitamin D, and calcium in young children. Try goat's milk, you can get it at Whole Foods, Cub (more exp), Valley Natural.

Another thought is that the association is confusing to her. She's been getting milk from your breast or a bottle, and only water from a sippy. Try put some breastmilk in a sippy and she what she does. Good luck!

With our daughter we dealt with her stomach not being ready for cow's milk yet and we used goat's milk to transition her with. She got goats milk in her sippy for 2-3 months before she was able to tolerate cows milk. It worked well for her and I'd say that's worth a try. We were fortunate enough to be talking with a friend of ours and told her of our dilemna. She informed us that goat's milk is very similar to mother's milk and the gentlest way to go. She also knew of a local goat farmer that we bought the milk from. But I know that I have also seen it in the natural foods sections of both Cub and Rainbow before.

HOpe this helps!

have you tried starting her off with 3/4 breast milk and 1/4 milk and SLOWLY add more milk. Don't be in a hurry where you are absolutely cutting her off the day that she turns one. It will take at least a month sometimes 2 if they are reluctant, also remember whole milk only =)

I nursed our daughter until she was 15 months old. At about 11 months we started to add some cow's milk to her bottles of breastmilk at daycare. She didn't like it at first, so I cut down the amount of cow's milk and then slowly added a little more each day. By the time she was one she was using only a sippy cup and was drinking only whole milk when she didn't nurse. Take it slow and let your daughter adjust to the change. Good luck!

Have you tried some other milks? There is so much to choose from these days (at least in the larger stores). How about goat's milk? Organic milk? Rice milk? (I don't think I would recommend soy). She may change her taste quickly or often, too. So don't give up hope.

Also, you didn't say why you were planning to wean now? Is it important that it be now? If you can nurse a little longer, it may buy just the time you need for her to change her taste. I'm guessing that it's not even the taste, but the whole idea of drinking from a cup what she wants to nurse from her favorite receptacle.

I was in the same boat. I have two boys - ages 2 and 3 that were exclusively breastfed and refused cow's milk as well. My sister-in-law said 2 of her kids did the same thing and she got them to drink it by adding a little strawberry syrup to the milk. I asked our Pediatrician and she said it was okay since it was such a small amount. Low and behold it worked! They still drink their milk that way. I keep trying to cut the syrup down to get rid of it but they still don't like it plain. Hope this helps!! Good luck.

I'd suggest, assuming your doctor was ok with it, trying Soy milk. They have a regular flavor that tastes similar to milk, and a vanilla flavor, plus tons of other ones for when they get older. My kids have always preferred Soy milk to regular milk. If someone gives my kids cows milk my daughter just sits and stares at it and my son drinks it but makes faces the entire time (lol). I've always hated cows milk as well but I love soy milk.

So if nothing else you could try that and see how it goes. I'm due In December and this baby won't get cow's milk either. He'll go right on soy milk.

Our son was the same way. I strictly breastfed till 9 months and then introduced baby food and about a week or two later, table food. Around 11 months I started giving him some milk in a cup (up till then it was ONLY WATER) and he hated it. So I tried breastmilk in a cup and he refused that as well. (He also NEVER took a bottle....) But every day I'd give him a milk cup with regular milk in it for lunch. He really didn't start drinking milk very well till about 18 months. I did finally wean him from breastfeeding at 18 months but only because I was producing next to nothing. After stopping I didn't even have any engorging I was so empty.... Don't worry if she doesn't drink much right away. Eventually she will.

With my son, the trick was that he didn't like the cow's milk cold straight of the fridge initially - not too surprising, since he always had his breast milk warm :-). I warmed it a little, and after a while he didn't care about the temperature any longer. Good luck!

Why are you in a hurry to wean her? Just because she's turning that magic number 1 doesn't mean she's ready to be weaned.
I know many mom's who have said their babies weaned themselves at 18 months when they are a little more independent.
If you want her to nurse less from the breast then I suggest you pump your own milk out and give it to her in a sippy cup.

I've nursed 4 babies into the toddler years. My first child hated cows milk also and it worried me. I weaned him from the breast at age 2 and what I learned at a couple of years of trying to force cows milk on him is that he is lactose intolerant. He is 14 now and still can't drink milk and has to be careful with other dairy products. He drinks rice milk and loves it.

I would really think about your reasons that you are wanting to wean her. She is still so very young and needs it and it sounds like she doesn't want the replacements either.

Good luck with your decision!

Breast milk is much sweeter than cows milk. I have switched my kids over by mildly sweetening the milk with strawberry or chocolate flavoring. You can later wean them off of that by adding less and less.
Otherwise just keep offering it, but make sure that there are other sources of calcium in the diet. You can still wean without her drinking milk. She will eventually start drinking it.

Is there any reason why she needs to be weaned right at 12 months? Breastmilk still has many many benefits past one year for both you and your daughter.

My daughter has a very strong sensitivity to cow's milk and she has never even had it directly. Since she was a baby I have had to avoid it in my diet so she can breastfeed without getting tummy aches. She too would refuse any rice or soy milk offered in a cup, even though I wasn't trying to wean. Breastmilk just tastes so much better than anything else to them!

Maybe you could let her still bf at least 3 or 4 times a day so she is getting all the calcium/nutrients she needs and take it month to month. I decided to do child led weaning with my daughter and it is going great. She is now 27 months old and nurses about 4 times a day.

For more information on extended breastfeeding check out kellymom.com or askdrsears.com or llli.com

If she totally refuses cow's milk, even after you try to dilute/mix with breast milk, try goat milk. My husband and I both have a casein allergy and can't eat dairy. He likes rice milk, but I don't particularly like it and like goat milk a lot more. I believe somewhere, you can probably also get sheep milk; I've only eaten the cheese, so can't say what sheep milk is like.

Maybe, unbekownst to you, your daughter's body can't handle cow's milk and so she's refusing to drink it. If you can't find regular goat milk in the fridge (usually places like whole foods stores sell it), you can also find dry goat milk powder. I keep that on hand in case of extreme weather emergency in the winter time.

I breastfed my daugter exclusively and pumped for daycare for 14 months. When I was ready to be done pumping, my daughter hated cows milk and only drank sips per day. I was so discouraged that I felt like I couldn't give up pumping until she was ready to accept cow's milk. When she was 17 months old, she began having tummy troubles and I suspected a possible milk reaction. I decided to try vanilla soy milk and she sucked it down and loved it instantly. I tasted the vanilla soy and it remarkably tastes a lot like breast milk (yes, I did try dabs of breast milk) and has equal if not better nutrition than cows milk does. The only thing I worry about is the extra sugar with the vanilla. I recently switched to plain and she didn't complain at all. I think you could try the vanilla soy for a while and slowly mix it with more and more cows milk. Hope this gives you some ideas!

My son switched at 12 months, he liked it but didn't drink much of it at a time, it takes some getting used to, by the time he was 14 months he loved cows milk he drinks about 24 oz of it a day. it took those 2 months to help him adjust. you should be mixing it with expressed breast milk start with small amount of cow milk to more breast milk then slowly even it out then have more cow milk and less breast milk until it is pure cow milk. good luck it is a long process but you can do it!

Maybe my experience will help. I nursed until my son was about 13 months old. Congrats to you for making it to a year - it is a big accomplishment, especially since I see you work part time and you probably need to pump. My son was not too fond of cow's milk either and I remember asking the pediatrician what to do. Her answer... keep trying and that is what we did. He now drink's cow milk just fine... he's not a huge milk drinker though. He does enjoy cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese as well and eats a lot of those items in addition to drinking milk.

Good luck to you.