M will be one in 3 weeks (omg) and I'm intimidated by the transition from formula to cows milk. At 11 months she is still getting bottles separate from meals. Did you start offering milk only with meals at 12 months? Did anyone keep a separate morning or bedtime milk feed? Any other tips for me?
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LO was never on formula but now at 14 months she gets milk between meals at school - so she will BF at 7, have breakfast at 8, snack and milk at 10, lunch at 12, snack and milk at 2:30, BF at 5:30 when I pick her up, dinner at 6:30, and BF at 7:30.
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We just did a gradual release. He was BF, so I would do less boob every night and more milk. It made the transition really easy. I would just slowly replace the formula with milk over thecourse of a week until it's all milk.
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Our pediatrician actually told us to do milk between meals, and water with meals.
We mixed breast milk and cow milk starting at around 11.5 months (25/75 for a day or two, 50/50, 75/25 until I used up my freezer stash and now we are strictly on cows milk). -
@mamabolt: Thanks! That's very helpful.
@matador84: Thank you! Do you give milk with meals or in between?
@Pink Champagne: That's interesting! I had this idea that she needed to have it with meals but I'm not sure where I got that from.
Anyone else want to weight in? Milk with meals or in between at 12 months?
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We quit formula cold turkey when she turned one. We did milk at breakfast, lunch, and bedtime. Water for dinner and snack. She's 2 now and we just transitioned away from the bedtime milk sippy, now she gets milk at dinner instead and some water at night.
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Very interested in this as well!! 2 months till 1! Eek
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@MrsF: we nurse morning/night...i at least offer, if he refuses, then that's fine. I do a bottle at night, but I'm about to drop it completely and only do a sippy with milk during the day since he is 1.
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we mixed whole milk with breastmilk for several weeks until 100% whole milk. I still can't get her to take milk from a sippy or straw cup, but the transition to whole milk exclusively was pretty easy. We offer milk around mealtime, she refuses it sometimes. She's on her own schedule i guess.
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@yellowbird: will she only drink the milk from a bottle? We have been trying different cups with water - and none are working!
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@hellobeeboston: This is something else I'm worried about. M drinks water from a zoli. Sort of. Not very much and she opens her mouth and half of it falls down her chest. I'm hoping that with milk there will be a better incentive?
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My boy will be 1 in a few weeks, too! I've already started giving him sips of cow milk at dinner or breakfast from an open cup. Sometimes I'll put a wee bit in a straw cup. He slurps it all right up, so I hope the transition to cow's milk only will go well.
My plan is to do @Pink Champagne's method of mixing cow's milk with breastmilk in bottles the week leading up to his first birthday. In that week, I'm going to offer milk in a straw cup each night at dinner. If all that seems to go well, I'll drop the bottles altogether at daycare and he'll have milk with his meals there & for dinner.
ETA: I'm planning on still nursing morning/night & when we're together on the weekends.
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@MrsF: We do milk with meals and water in between. It works for us. We never talked about it with our pedi, but I think it is partly because they are offered milk with meals at daycare?
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Oh, and I BF and am still am/pm nursing so I don't have much advice. My LO has been able to handle the whole milk from a cup and BM from mama without much issue. She uses the regular playtex straw cups for both water and milk and has liked them pretty well since about 8 months.
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LO was drinking his formula bottles with meals since about 8 months, so we just switched cold turkey to whole milk in a sippy cup the week before he turned one, and honestly, it went pretty flawless. Luckily, LO actually really likes milk. We waited a week or so until he was used to the milk during the day before we dropped his bedtime bottle. Dropped that bottle cold turkey with relatively no problems as well. We give water in between meals.
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@yellowbird: I am having the same problem! The transition to whole milk was relatively painless as I kept mixing in cows milk into her bottles till it was purely cows milk, but she REFUSES milk in anything but her bottles. She loves drinking water in her straw cups and drinks about 3 sippys worth a day, but no way will she drink milk from it. DD is 19 months now and still only drinks milk if I give it to her in a bottle - one 9 oz bottle in the morning. I've been trying since around 16 months, stopped and tried again at 17 and again during our vacation, but each time she just decided not to drink milk at all if it's not in a bottle.
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We don't drink milk at meals (neither my husband or I grew up doing that) so my son doesn't get milk at meals either. He only drinks milk in the morning and at night, which I am trying to wean him from. It seems like he's started the process himself, as some times he's just not interested in it.
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@MrsF: hmm. good to know about zoli cup -- i'm having a hard time figuring out which is best! I just ordered the Nuby handle straw cup.
we couldn't get LO to drink water from any cups - weirdly he likes it if we pour it into his mouth from a water bottle - or he'll drink it from a little bottle.
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@MrsF: hahaha you have no idea how much I stressed out about this!!! Just look at my posts started from around 5 months ago! LO is 16 months now.
Basically I started the cow's milk transition around 13 months when my supply was greatly tanking. We started slowly mixing in cow's milk into her bottles. Then eventually it was all cow's milk. I chose not to go cold turkey and I also chose to make that transition first before transitioning from bottles as well.
She got/gets her cows milk the same time as she used to get her bottles. Now she's down to 2x at 5oz each and they are between meals. I never give cows milk in the morning at all because of iron supplements. But at dinner time I do occasionally give cow's milk as well. On the weekends I give it to her throughout the day. -
I'm wondering this too! We have 3 weeks to go. I'm gonna pick up some milk today to try a bit and see. She chugs water from a sippy, so we will see!
We are exclusively nursing so I'm a little nervous!
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@locavore_mama: I think I did read at least one of your posts! I am SO stressed about the whole thing. I feel like just when I start to feel comfortable with one stage there's something else to figure out. I guess that's life as a parent!
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DS turns 1 on Monday and I'm trying to figure this out. I can't remember what we did with DD.
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I'm not much help because I'm at a point where I'm not sure what to do next! I finally got my LO completely off formula onto whole milk BUT she still drinks it out of a bottle. I'm currently giving it to her separate but still close to her meals. She has been drinking water out of a straw cup for about 3 months and she is starting to drink out of other types but ONLY water! She will drink her milk out of her bottle and I can pour the same milk into one of her cups and she will spit it out! I was told when I'm ready for the transition I just have to take the bottle away and hopefully she will drink it from the cup...
She's 13 months. -
Did all of you use whole (cow's) milk? Or is it okay to use, say, 2%?
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