Giving Cows Milk to 1 Year Old

For what it's worth, I've hated milk ever since I could remember. And I'm not even lactose intolerant. My mom said the minute I started solids I refused all milk. Throughout childhood she tried everything to get me to drink milk -- bribes, threats, etc -- but I wouldn't budge. Even now as an adult I won't drink it. I tried after I had my kids but it would make me gag and literally throw up. But I love cheese & ice cream & many other dairy things.

So what I'm saying is, it could just be a personal taste thing. From my own experience, I would advise against forcing him. It would become a major power struggle that I think you could do without.

One of my children was born when we lived in Holland.
At one year babies were put on a special rice pudding. Rijstpap.
It was sold in all supermarkets and from the milk man. It came in a big bottle.
My little boy loved it. He is now 6'4"
it was milk and rice cereal.
B. vO.

Hi D., I agree with Caroline, Ree, kids don't need cows milk, actually many well trained pediatricians and wellness practitioners say "just say no to cows milk".
Listen to your son, he is telling you not to feed him that. Please trust him.

Please do your research. Milk is NOT what is used to be.

I am a family wellness coach and here are two of the sources that I trust:

http://www.formerfatguy.com/articles/dont-drink-milk.asp

http://search.mercola.com/Results.aspx?q=milk&k=milk

Do your due diligence. My children are 14 and 11 and there is no milk, cows, goats NONE in this house, hasn't been for years. My girls drink almond milk. PLEASE NO SOY milk www.Mercola.com and search soy.

Cows milk is full of empty calories. It fills the tummy but not the brain.

If milk is about breakfast, then please take a look at this: www.BestBreakfastEver.com.

PLEASE EDUCATE YOURSELF. Things are not as they seem.

B.
Family Success Coach

Humans do not need to drink the milk of another mammal once they are weaned from human milk. Make sure he eats a balanced diet and he will be fine. All 3 of my kids were never big milk drinkers.

My son was not crazy about milk when he was one years old. I gave him soy milk. He liked the vanilla soy milk and that is what i gave him when i transitioned him off of the formula. I also fed him yo baby yogurt which he liked alot. You could try to put a little milk then water and try to build it up a little each day. Try the soy first and see what happens. My son is almost three and he loves milk,cheese,yogurt but did not like milk when he was one years old. Good luck

My son took milk in his cereal, but wouldn't drink it plain. We tried chocolate milk (using 1 tsp of chocolate powder per 8 oz rather than the 2 TBSP the label suggests...yikes!) and that worked. Now he drinks chocolate milk at his afternoon snack and "moo-cow milk" at breakfast and dinner/before bedtime. He still drinks mostly water. I don't think it's a big problem if your son doesn't like milk, but if you want him to drink it, try a little chocolate. It has not made my son have more of a sweet tooth as I initially feared--he rarely has sweets and doesn't ask for them.

My daughter who is now almost 15mos was exactly the same way. I simply give her water to drink. She gets loads of calcium from cheese and yogurt, so she doesn't need the milk. I really wouldn't worry too much. I kept trying to push the milk. I would try warming it, using different cups etc. She just doesn't really like it. So I stepped back and looked at her diet, and I realized that she gets plenty of dairy without the milk. I keep offering it to her, and I am fairly sure she will come around. Likely your son will do the same.

Just keep trying with the bottle, but I would dilute the milk so as its not a strong taste to him. Everyday give him a bottle or sippy cup and keep trying. It should eventually work for you. Like I said dilute it if he takes to it for a little while half and half then eventually 3/4 to one quarter water. Just until he gets the taste buds working. Perhaps because he's nursing thats all he wants. Try and get a bottle ready 1/2 to 1/2. Have the bottle ready when he is ready to latch on, and get the bottle in there quickly. I don't know if this would work, your fooling him but hey he might just take it. Use a smaller nipple, much like your own so he doesn't know right away that somethings' not right here.
I wish you good luck, sometimes they won't take to a bottle until he's a little older. Have you tried showing him, pretending that your sucking on the bottle and see what he does when you offer it to him. Anything is worth a try.
Good luck mom, remember that the little ones' have a mind of their own.

a few ideas:

first of all, in terms of the bottle: keep trying. My daughter refused and then suddenly just completely attached to it.

Milk:
try it at different temperatures; try different brands and fat content levels--maybe even powdered milk-- and you may try some Goat milk (available at Whole foods and the like) to see if that appeals to him. Lastly, (this is what worked with my daughter) add a tiny bit of Agave syrup (low glycemic nature sweetener) to make it a bit sweet. Oh, and I have also added vanilla to it too.

If nothing works I would just wait 3 - 6 months and try it again to see if his taste buds and system has changed a bit making him interested in Milk.

Start by mixing a small amount of cow milk in with breast milk in his sippy. Have some one other than you offer it so he knows that the breast is not an option. Slowly increase the amount of cows milk to allow him to get used to the difference in taste. If he still seems to not like it you can add a small amount of vanilla extract to it, it makes it sweet and my boys love it.

He's probably just not used to the taste. Little kids have some great gag reflexes.
My daughter was very easy to transition to milk because my dad loved milk and drank it every night with dinner. She wanted what Grandpa had and he let her drink it right from his glass. She never did use a sippy cup for milk. She wanted it just like Grandpa.
You can try mixing the milk with breast milk. Or try warming it up.
Strangely, my kids only liked milk if it was ice cold. Just keep trying.
Neither of my kids had milk allergies or were lactose intolerant so I never, thankfully, had to deal with any of that.
My kids always wanted to drink what we were having so we just let them sip juice, water or milk from what we were drinking out of.
Like I said, I think your little one just isn't used to the difference in taste and he might think there's something "wrong" with it.

Best wishes!

Hi D. - in addition to the suggestions already posted - maybe try toddler formula?
My daughter wouldn't drink regular milk until she was about 22 months old. She took toddler formula (only sometimes) around 1 year. In the meantime, she just ate yogurt and cheese to cover off the calcium/dairy needs. My pediatrician said that she didn't need to drink milk (that it's great to drink milk, but not necessary).

try almond milk or rice dream! When my kids are sick, i substitute these for cows milk and they don"t even mind! They actually like them. They are a little sweeter then cow's milk and a good source of protein. good luck!

As far as getting him to drink it, start mixing it with pumped breast milk. When I weaned my son, I started giving bottles that were 75% breast milk, then reduced to 50/50, then only 25% breast milk until he was fully drinking the other milk on its own. You can do it with a bottle or a cup. It will take time, but he will eventually start drinking it.

As for the intolerance, it IS possible to have problems with cow's milk even if yogurt and cheese don't affect him. The vomiting could simply be that he has a really strong gag reflex, not that the milk is actually causing him to throw up (and the gagging could just be from the new taste).

That said, I never restricted my own diet when I was nursing, and my son turned out to be highly allergic to all dairy (no symptoms from nursing). You should consult with your doctor to be sure.

K.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao

Hi D.,
You might be surprise to know but children really don't need cow milk at all. My son is lactose intolerant so I too had an issue with giving him milk and did some research on it. Drinking water is awesome for him and if you like you can give him some watered down 100% juice for something different. Also if your still concerned about him getting the proper amount of calcium, you can give him some of those yummy calcium chews. They love them and are like a candy treat :)
Best Regards,
C.

Hi!
Neither of my kids would drink cow's milk or take a bottle. The main reason that milk is important is the calcium, so my pediatrician said that as long as I made sure my kids were getting calcium from other sources (dairy, fortified O.J., etc.) it's fine not to drink milk. I wouldn't try to force him to drink it.

My daughter was the same way. She ended up only drinking non-fat milk, about 18 months. I have heard of pediatricians suggesting offering chocolate milk, to help them get use to the flavor and texture of milk. I did add some (little) bit of chocolate a coulpe times, and that did seem to help.
Good luck
R.