Switch to Milk

Hi W.
My daughter is 16 months now and when I ran out of formula when she was 11 months, I switched to milk. She transitioned just fine.

A little about me:

I'm a full time working mom of 2 daughters 6 years and 16 months.

Hi, I started gradually adding whole milk around 11 months with my daughter. I would start with 1 or 2 ounces of whole milk to 6 to 7 ounces breast milk. I would wait a few days and then add 1 more ounce whole and less breast milk until it was eventually all whole milk. I think I let the whole process take about a month. I have heard that this helps them make the transition easier. Especially with allergies and intolerance. Good Luck.

I went right to milk - no formula - and it was cold milk too. My girls love it now and loved it then. Try a sippy cup with it - but she still may want her bottle at night. Don't worry - it will all come. They all give up the bottle sooner or later. My four year old bit a piece of the nipple when she was 16 months - so I told her the bottle was broken and my 2 year old got sick - she was vomitting and wouldn't suck the bottle - wanted a straw - so I never went back - that was probably 15 months. Good Luck to you. Also, if you find she become constipated - cut the milk with water. Always use Whole Milk until 2 years - that is good for their brain - but if you need - add water. I did it! Happy Monday!!!!!

you cna start by putting in 1 ounce mil then the rest formula. then keep adding milk and less formula. to see if she tolerates it

I started my son on milk at about 8 months so I would start the milk and see what happens

BUY FORMULA!!! Hopefully you won't run into the problem that we did, but since it happened, I've learned that it's fairly common. Real milk, for whatever reason, seems to be very constipating for some children. When my son hit a year and we started him on milk, we did not switch him over completely - and even with making the change gradually, we still ended up with him so sick we had to give him an enema and supository (sp?). I guess for some kids, the change has to be made very very slowly. Now, I don't give him more than 6 oz of real milk every other day, and on those days, I also give him fruit juice and prunes.

I hope you have an easier time. Good luck.

We switched my daughter to whole milk just about two weeks before her first birthday. (We intended to go just a little longer before we switched, but she had a pretty brutal latch and I couldn't take it anymore, after she got ALL. THOSE. TEETH.) We actually bought a little can of formula for the "interim", but she wouldn't touch it and I ended up just giving it away. She's been on whole milk for a year, anywhere from two - five bottles a day. (She's almost two now, so I'm going to start weaning her off of the bottle soon...or take her off of whole milk, at the very least.)

For her first bottle, here's what I did - 4 oz of skim milk (it's all I had in the house at the time...switching her was a fairly spur of the moment pain-induced decision!), heated in the microwave (30 seconds) with 1 teaspoon of sugar. What baby wouldn't love that?! The next bottle, I added a little less sugar...and the next bottle was even less. By the fourth bottle, I had purchased whole milk and cut the sugar out completely. She never asked for "mommy milk" again. You're switching from formula, so it might not be the same.

My doctor had us start whole milk at 11 months. She said to try 2oz at first just to make sure she didn't have a reaction. We were going out for the night and I didn't want to pump if I didn't have to. The doctor said to go ahead and start her on whole milk when ever I was not able to nurse her.

A combination of advice from my doctor and these message boards that worked out great w/ my son switching to milk a few weeks ago (at 11 months). It's not a bad idea to make the switch now, because then you'll have an idea if he has any milk allergies before his 12 month appointment. Here is how we did it: substitued one ounce of milk for one ounce of formula per day, changed to milk only 3 times a day (w/ meals, except for breakfast, b/c he gets his milk pretty much when he gets up) - so milk in the am, w/ lunch and dinner. We also switch him off the botttle to a nuby cup (very similar to a bottle) and everything worked out great. Good LUck!

She is much too young to switch to milk. Avoid milk for as long as possible as it simply isn't right nutritionally for an infant. I'm not a health fanatic but I do know that cow's milk is difficult to digest and many brands contain hormones-which you don't want in your baby's system. You don't mention breast milk but if you are giving it to her, continue. If not, stick to a formula that's more nutritious and less likely to cause digestive problems.

Hi W.. It is ok to switch early as long as your daughter has had yogurt made with whole milk and also has tolerated other dairy products. I switched my daughter about 3weeks before she turned 1 at the end of July. I added the whole milk to the formula and within a few days she was drinking straight whole milk. Just another little thought, I use organic whole milk because I have heard that girls can develop earlier if they take in the extra antibiotics that are in regular whole milk. Anyway, if you have formula left or buy a small container of the liquid to mix with the whole milk at first. I hope this was helpful.

As long as there are no dairy allergies in your family, go ahead and try the milk.

Hi W.,

Whether you switched early with your first child or not, medical recommendations are for infant formula for an entire year if you are not breastfeeding. While there are some individual pediatricians who will tell you to switch early, they are not following any medical protocol in doing so, and are going against the advice of the American Academy of Pediatrics and other organizations dedicated to the health of children, without telling patients that they are recommending something with nothing to back it up as being beneficial or even fine.
Good luck!

I ran out of formula 2 weeks before my son turned one and we just switched him straight to milk. I would buy the organic or hormone free brand and try warming it up a bit. He took to it right away and all the money saved!!! GL.

My son went to milk at 11 1/2 months - cold turkey. He weaned himself from nursing right around that time and we ran out of formula (we supplemented while he was at daycare), so we decided to give him milk that night for dinner in a sippy cup. He loved it and has never turned back. He had been having other milk products (cheese, yogurt, etc.) since he was around nine months, so we didn't worry about him having any allergic reaction. And even today he drinks around 16-20 ounces of milk a day. He can't get enough!

Milk by one.. and no bottles by one also.. some people take formula and "cut" it with milk more and more till its just milk. I eliminated the day "bottles" first then evenually the one just before bed.. all of these transitions went off without incident.. the nuk at 3years.. that was a different story.. but just worry about this trauma for now!
Good luck,
M. from Rochester

Hi W.,
I am a mom of four and if I remeber correct approx a year old was an acceptable time to switch. I am sure there is an "Ask the Doc" kind of website you can inquire. I did a gradual switch by putting formula and milk into the cup/bottle over a feww weeks just in case the taste was very different. In my case I used breastmilk with the first three and formula with the last and I used a sippy cup and eliminated the bottle all together. There is all kinds of options for healthy milk out there. We use Rice Milk fortified with calcium and vitamins and the no hormone milk for the older two. Be careful of allergies (two or mine have allergies:soy peanut, egg, milk), but if you have been using a milk based formula any allegies would have become apparent. Whatever you do be comfortable and confident and just remember you survive this transition with the first.

M.

I believe it is one year. Just double check with your pediatrician. It's alot less expensive than formula!

Add a little milk to each bottle, gradually increasing each time and hopefully the formula will run out at the same time your daughter is used to the milk. My doctor suggested doin git this way and that's what worked for us. We started about 1.5 months before our twins turned 1. Good luck!

I put both of my kids on milk at 10 months and didn't have any problems. If you have been giving her yogurt and/or cheese without any problem, hopefully you will have a smooth transition.

Good luck!

I waited until both of my children turned one to beging this transition, but one month early may not be too big of a deal. I would discuss this with your pediatrician. Good luck!