Switching to Milk

I made it a 4-week process:

week 1 - 2 oz. whole organic milk + 6 oz. formula
week 2 - 4 oz. whole organic milk + 4 oz. formula
week 3 - 6 oz. whole organic milk + 2 oz. formula
week 4 - 8 oz. whole organic milk!

Start off the first day of the switch like this. 6oz formula 2 oz whole milk. Do this for 3-4 days. Then 4oz milk 4 oz formula for 3-4 days. Then 2oz formula 6oz milk for 3-4 days then just whole milk.

When my daughter turned one, I transitioned over a week period. The first day, I gave her 3/4 formula and 1/4 milk. The third day, I gave her half formula, half milk. Day 5, 1/4 formula, 3/4 milk and then at a week, she drank 100% milk.

With my twin boys, I just switched from formula to whole milk on their first b-day and there was no issue... They drank it fine. I still heated it up though for a while.

Just add 1 oz of cow's milk to his other milk (breast milk or formula) to see how he responds. Do don't want to give him too much in case he has a severe reaction.

I am preparing for the transition myself - I plan to follow my friend's lead. With her 4 kids she started "weaning" by adding milk to formula slowly. First week add one quarter milk to the bottle of formula, next week add half, next week 3 quarters, final week all milk bye bye formula. Good luck!

Depending on your child, you may also want to offer a sippee cup instead of the bottle at least for 1 feeding a day to start with. The afternoon would be the place to begin that.

Hi J.. to make the switch, give yourself a couple of weeks ot do it slowly. start out with replacing an ounce of formula with an ounce of milk (so for his bottles, 7 oz of formla 1 oz of milk) do tat for a few days. then do 2oz milk, 6 oz formula for a few days etc. thats how I did it and it worked great!! good luck!

I did it one ounce at a time until the bottle was all milk. It took one week & he LOVES his milk now. My son doesn't really like change so this method was perfect!!!!

We switched cold turkey from nursing to bottles. (Her teeth just got too sharp.) She was about two weeks shy of 12 months.

Her first bottle was 4 oz. skim milk (since it's all I had in the house), two teaspoons of sugar, and heated up in the microwave for about 30 seconds. She downed it - it was sugar milk! The next bottle I cut it back to 1 teaspoon sugar. The next bottle was just about half a teaspoon. We switched to whole milk the next day, after I could get to the store, and she's never looked back.

(She would not take bottles, or pacifiers, before that point. Actually, she didn't take a pacifier until she was 18 months old, but I think it's just jealousy for the babies she sees at church with the "paci".)

At first I tried going straight from formula to whole milk, but my son wouldn't touch it, so I started mixing the milk with his formula, gradually increasing the ratio of milk to formula. I also warmed it slightly in the beginning to take the chill off, but I didn't do that for more than a month.

My daughter was almost on the same feeding schedule. I gave her whole milk mixed half and half with water and each time a little less water. Once she got the taste of real milk, she wouldn't drink formula. Hope yours is that easy!

I'm geting ready to do the same- my baby girl turns 1 (aggh) later this week. So I kind of cheated a bit here and just read all the suggestions moms made to you (thanks!). But I'm wondering how it worked out for you (if you did it already) AND if your baby had any special needs. Mine has GERD (infant acid reflux) so I really don't know whether to try the cow milk or the Lactaid. I would appreciate your response b/c if you don't know then perhaps I'll go ahead and ask the whole network anyway.

Thx, N.

Make a quick call to your doctor to see if it's ok to do a full on switch without much (if any) transition. If you're baby is a good eater and formula drinker and has no allergy issues and is healthy, you can likely just make the switch. It's so much easier. But like I said, make a quick call and run it by him/her.

Good morning J.,

My daughter just turned one this month and what I did last month was I added a little milk to the formula and just slowly added more milk. Hope this helps.

Also I know how you about wanting to be home with him. I am currently working full time and want to be home with my kids. Have you ever thought about one of the work from home businesses? You can start it on your free time around work and your little guy. I just started one and my goal is to be home by the beging of summer of next year. If you want to hear more I can tell you some more.

Best of luck,
J.

I just quit the formula cold turkey and switched my son to milk, who turned one in June. He handled the transition like a champ. Some people mix the milk with the formula for a couple weeks first to get them used to the taste, if you'd rather try that. I couldn't wait to give up the formula!
Lynsey

Your pediatrician will tell you that once your baby turns 1 it is time to start giving him whole cow's milk. Formula no longer provides what a growing baby needs. While I was breastfeeding my then 9 month old son I suddenly found myself
with out breast milk one night. He must have been going through a growth spurt and was nursing very frequently and I guess I couldn't keep up. I was in a panic because he kept crying and was fussing at the breast bc there was no milk. I warmed up a bottle of cow's milk gave it to him, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. He drank it and was totally fine. He had no reaction or allergy. He's 9 now and has had no problems with dairy. My advice is just start off slow-maybe a few ounces to start and then work your way up. And don't forget to use whole milk until the 2nd birthday. They need the fat for brain development. Good Luck!