Trying to Move Baby to Cow's Milk

I mixed breastmilk with cow's milk, gradually increasing the proportion of cow's milk from about 1/4 to 1/2 to 3/4, or so. That way the transition was gradual, and he didn't even notice it.

J.,

Have you tried mixing breast milk with cow's milk? Start with maybe 75% breast milk and 25% cow's milk, and see if he'll drink that. If he does, after a few days, make it 50/50, and then after a few more days, make it 25% breast/75% cow, and just gradually decrease the breast milk until you finally give him all cow's milk. It might be a good way to "trick" him into liking it! I hope this works for you!

J.,
Whole milk is thicker in consistency than brestmilk so try "waterting" it down by adding a little whole milk to the breastmilk and gradually increase the amount of whole milk.

Hope it helps!

maybe try skim or 1% milk to start as it is thinner than whole milk and he may have a texture issue with the milk as whole milk is thicker. One of my kids didn't like whole milk to start with so used 2% which is what we usually bought anyway for the adults and older kids and eventually the baby took the whole milk after he got used to drinking 2%.

You might also mix it with breast milk or formula and add more cows milk to it daily until he gets used to the new taste and texture.

you can always try mixing it half water and half cows milk or mix it half n half with breastmilk.

try half ur milk half cow milk i weined both my daughters this way

I was wondering if you expressed breast milk and put it in a sippy cup would he drink it? If he would, what about putting more breast milk and a little cow milk in his cup and slowly decrease the breast milk and gradually add cow milk? Also in the mean time decrease your time nursing(if that is what you wish). Good luck!

Hi,I had the same problem, mix breast milk and whole milk together. If this works, then you can wean the breast milk out. Took me about a week. L.

I have a 13 month old that I too recently switched to whole milk. When we first began the transition I mixed half formula and half whole milk. I gradually increased the whole milk and decreased the formula and within 10 days he was drinking whole milk and loving it! I highly suggest doing this with your breast milk.......good luck!

Have you tried to mix it with formula or breast milk first. For my oldest I had to mix it with formula. First I did 6 oz formula and 2 oz milk. Then I would increase the milk to formula ratio every few days. Hope that helps you.

Hi J., I had a hard time getting my daughter to switch to cow's milk at 12 mo also. What I finally had to do was mix her formula or breastmilk with cow's milk and slowly decrease the formula/breastmilk and increase the cow's milk. Good luck.

My son did the exact same thing. He would spit out (or throw up) cow's milk whenever I tried to give it to him. I took the advice of a friend and started mixing in a couple tablespoons of Vanilla Carnation Instant Breakfast. Over a week I decreased the amount until I didn't use any at all. It worked like a charm! Good luck!

J., what I did with my three kids was give them 3/4 what they are used to (for me was formula) and 1/4 of the milk, then over the coarse of a week or so I would adjust the ratio. With that being said I think you need to stop nursing first, because it sounds to me that nursing is what your baby could be holding on to. If I were you, I would pump and put it (along with a little milk) in a cup or bottle, whatever you are trying to transition to so that he doesn't have you to fall back on. I would work on weaning from nursing first then work on transitioning to milk.

Just my opinion, hope it helps, good luck to you!

M.

Why rush it? Your son might be trying to tell you he is not ready.
Please read these articles (or at least skim the toddler benefits sections).
http://naturalchild.org/guest/katherine_dettwyler.html
http://www.llli.org/NB/NBMayJun06p100.html
http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/breastfeeding/...

My girlfriend had to quit BF at 6 months due to some medications, and her son wanted nothing to do with formula because it wasn't as sweet as brestmilk. I imagine it's a bit of the same for your little one. She said her pedi said she could sweeten it with a little bit of splenda (since it is a natural sugar derivitive and not at all like equal, ect.), and then "wean" off the splenda as time goes on. I don't know if I would use splenda without checking with your doc first, but its a thought for if nothing else works.

I have breastfeed all 4 of my children and I currently have a 1 yr. old that is starting to take cow's milk too. As you may know, breastmilk is sweet tasting and I had trouble with all my kids taking plain, white milk too. So I gave them A&E 2% chocolate milk and they loved it! I didn't freak about the sugar because I was at least getting them to drink milk and have the calcium their growing bones needed. Plus, kids are busy playing and walking it all off.

My older children are not obese and have outgrown drinking chocolate milk on a regular basis and they have no problem with 2% or skim milk now. You might try cheerios with a small amount of milk too. The cereal soaked in the milk and my kids loved to eat it. Plus, if you're really concerned you could speak to your pediatrician about a Flintstones vitamin supplement. Milk does the body good but he's probably getting enough liquid (water) from the food he eats so it's okay if he only wants to take a few sips. Like lots of things that pertain to our children...this is just a phase you go through...soon he'll be cleaning out your refrigerator for you. Try not to worry...everybody has to do what works for them. I don't believe it's the cup or bottle that is the problem it is the "taste".

And, I just kept cutting back feedings/nursing and trying to offer sippies or other ways to affirm and snuggle as I weaned my kids. It's challenging if you're ready to be done with nursing and their not. My daughters could've gone on and on (I nursed them for 14-16 months) but my son seemed to lose interest all on his own around 12 months. Good luck!

ok well you either mix half and half with breastmilk or here is how i did it. i first offer 2 ounces of milk with 6 ounces of breastmilk do this for three days then go up to 3 ounces milk to 5 ounces of breast milk. then 4 ounces breasrmilk to 4 ounces of milk and then 6 ounces of milk to 2 ounces of breastmilk, and then finally all milk. but you have to watch your child and see if they can even tolerate milk mine could not and we had to do soy milk until they were 16 months old and then made a switch to milk. it is best to check with the doctor. are planning on total winging her of breast milk? if not you might want to breastfeed at night and before breakfast and maybe at nap times. hope this helps T.

I had a similar problem, only we were switching from formula. I started mixing it 1/4 cow's milk with 3/4 formula and then started graduaally increasing the amount until my daughter would take nearly 100% regular milk. Also, she was not interested in whole milk right away, so I started with 2% and then did the whole process over with the 2% milk and whole milk. It took a few weeks, but it eventually worked.

That's what worked for me. I'm not sure what others suggest.

I just wanted to reassure you that cow's milk is not necessary for healthy growth and development. My daughter is allergic to cow's milk, sheep's milk and goat's milk and doesn't drink other fortified milks for whatever reason. You can find other sources of the nutrients that are found in milk and if your son is already enjoying yogurt and cheese, he's probably getting them. For the weaning part I read How Weaning Happens, published by La Leche League and I really enjoyed it. It has a lot of ideas on how to help move things along without a lot of stress. You may also want to contact a LLL Leader to discuss your specific situation. It's free and confidential and they have access to all kinds of resources. I'm sure the switch to cow's milk is something they hear about a lot so they probably have a lot of great ideas for you. You can find a leader near you through their website www.llli.org

Good Luck!

Try pumping and mixing breastmilk with the regular milk. Start with 3/4 breast and 1/4 cows, then after a few days go half and half and so on. This worked for my son. They just have to get used to the taste.

My 9 year old didn't take easily to cow's milk either. We tried chocolate milk one day & he loved it. I don't know how you feel about the chocolate, but it worked for us.

I was worried about this with my first one as well. My doctor at the time told me that as long as she was eating plenty of yogurt and cheese, that she would be fine. I would always put juice and milk on her tray at meals so that she had the option but most of the time the milk didn't get touched. Eventually, she started drinking it once the juice was all gone and now she drinks milk without any problems. My younger one still will not drink milk out of a sippy cup but if I am drinking it, she will drink it out of my cup. Just be patient and if he doesn't drink it right away, don't stress about it.

Hi... I started mine on Goat's Milk... you can find it at Whole Foods, it has a purple label. But basically, goat's milk is closer to human milk... and easier to digets. I started by warming it up and eventually he took it cold.

I did this for about a month and then transitioned to cow.

Good Luck!!!

Hi J.!
I am not sure if you have already gotten this suggestion, but soy milk worked for us. My kiddo is also not picky at all, but he just never liked whole milk. We switched to soy milk and now we have no problems! You can even get it in flavors, we normally get the Great Value brand from Walmart - Vanilla Soy Milk. The Vanilla taste is super mild, but just makes it taste a little sweeter. My son gets his lion's share of nutrients from other dairy products, but having the soy milk in his diet makes me feel like he is getting a good variety of sources.

Good luck!
D.

Hi There!

I teach preschool and we have this problem getting kids to switch from soy to cow's milk when they outgrow allergies. (which is a HUGE taste difference) You might try giving him a sippy cup with 75% breast milk & 25% cow's milk, and then after a day or so, switch it to 50-50 and then to 25-75, etc. until it is all cow's milk. It will be a pain to pump, but might work. Also, I have found organic milk to be slightly sweeter, so he might enjoy that taste a little more. The last suggestion would be that maybe he would do better to start with formula and then move to cow's milk?? They have a "Next Step" formula for children over 1. Good Luck!

One of my sons did not like the cows milk either. He was exclusively breastfeed also. We kept forcing it and when he finally did drink it he had terrible stomach cramps and loose stool. I called the dr. and they had me switch to an artificial milk or a soy milk. He drank these with out the side effects. My husband is lactose intolerant also and along with the stomach issues starts sneezing and watery eyes when ever he drinks milk, eats cheese or ice cream. He won't deny himself these things. My son is now 17 and can drink milk just not in large amounts, same with other dairy products. Maybe try a soymilk or milk substitute.

Perhaps you baby is wiser than you, perhaps he instinctively knows that his body can not tolerate cows milk. I would look on the internate for a equal if not better alternative.

Also, there is a book called "Skinny Bitch"
and there are loads of scary info about cows milk. I think soy products may be ok, just a thought, good luck

Are you pumping at all? Can you mix he breast milk and the cow's milk? I did this with formula and some with cow's milk/ Good luck !

My son did the exact same thing and when I mentioned it to his pediatrician, she asked if he was eatting other dairy items and what they were and the amounts etc... Then she said don't worry about it, he's getting all his dairy needs from the other forms and heck she didn't even like milk, maybe my son just doesn't care for it right now. Just try again every few weeks cause their tastes do change. I took her advice and didin't force it or stress out from it and just made SURE he had the other forms of dairy. He's now almost 4 and will only drink a glass of milk occassionally. He says he just doesn't like it. He will drink chocolate or strawberry milk, but that's just as few and far between as the regular white milk.

If you're wanting to ween him just do it. You don't have to substitute milk for yours, because for breastfed babies it's not ALL about the milk. It's the comfort and security they feel from being so close to mommy. But you know that! Because it's the same for you too. I think it was just as hard on me to ween mine as it was on him.

Good Luck!

add sugar or vanilla. brast milk is sweeter than cows milk. I had to add a little sugar then slowly wean off of the sugar or vanilla in the milk.