Start Whole Milk

you should be ok at that age. They did a medical study that found that the things they need in their intestines to digest the milk and process it are not there prior to 11 mos 3 weeks in ANY child. They tested over a thousand kids and 99.9% of them had that thing show up between 11 mos 3 weeks and 12 mos 1 week old. The other 2 kids showed up LATER.

If you are going out you may want to invest in a good thermos. I went to target and found one that said it kept things cold for 12 hours. Prep it per directions prior to use. Then pour into the cup as you need it. We did this for hiking trips in the woods, in the summer, so it will work wonders.

Use a small cooler bag (like a lunch bag) with a cold pack...
Most folks do this with formula too... or anything you want to keep cool. We use it in the summertime even for cold water, juice boxes... snacks like fresh fruit...

We started at 12 months, but you *are* pretty close. Maybe run it by his ped to see what he/she thinks.

As far as the daily transport, do you have an insulated bag with freezer packs that you used with your bottles? Or, not sure what you're doing in the city but you should be able to duck into a restaurant, White Hen, Walgreens, or some sort of store and just grab a small bottle. I know places like Corner Bakery, Panera, and Starbucks have the little tiny Horizon Organic milk boxes.

You could also buy a smaller can of formula and bring along bottled water and make drinks for him while on the go.

Good luck to you!

I also gradually transitioned my kids from milk to formula -- easier on their intestines, easier on their tastebuds.

That sounds like his age is close enough but they do say 12 months. Maybe run it past his pede just to confirm. And if I remember, I did a transistion over to milk by mixing formula and milk for a few weeks because all that dairy is pretty binding for their tummies. My son was pretty constipated while transitioning so it may be shocking to his system to just switch straight over.

Earth's Best makes little milk boxes that you buy on the store shelves (Target sells them in their baby food isle). Believe it or not, because of the way it's sealed, regular milk can be kept on the shelf. They're great for traveling with because of that reason. Just toss in your bag, open and pour into a sippy or have him use the straw if he can. We also got a large cooler bag that I can keep up to 3 sippies in to keep them cold while on the go. Those milk boxes aren't very inexpensive. They're good for a special weekend like you're talking about but a little pricey for all the time. I got my bag at Buy Buy Baby and it's large so we can barely fit it in the diaper bag but it does fit in the bottom of the stroller no problem. It was around $10 so that's a good investment. Plus you can keep water cold for yourself, juice for the kids, etc.

Hey J.,
I'm transitioning my little one. I tried giving milk to her straight and she does not like it! So to gradually switch I've been adding milk to her formula. We were at about 1/4 to a 1/3 of milk in her bottle last week. This week we're up to 1/2. Ped's also recommend adding in a daily vitamin.

Good luck

J.

He's close enough to a year it doesn't have to be exact. The reason behind waiting a year to give whole milk is so their digestive system matures enough to be able to digest the milk. It seems we are so particular nowadays about what to give our babies. I just spoke to my 85 year old aunt and she was telling me how she fed her six kids when they were 6 mos. old right after she milked the cows. The kids now in their 50's grew up fine. You treat the milk just like the formula. I think it could stay up to two hours at room temperture. Just pack it with ice packs and take it out earlier so it warms up a little.
Bernie