My baby wont drink milk, what do I do?

Question

My baby just reached the point when I am supposed to give her milk, but she hates it... we tried to slowly give her milk instead of formula, but she just wont have it. What do I do?

Answer 1

Talk to the pediatrician. You may end up giving an alternative to cows milk, such as soy milk. I assume if you are moving to milk that your baby is now eating baby foods so main thing is likely going to be that you make sure the child has a bal;anced diet.

Answer 2

Disregard about half of these answers (especially the ones with the orange juice, flavored syrups or Karo....all are very unhealthy in a baby being weaned).

The idea of mixing some whole milk or soy milk in with formula and gradually shifting the proportions is very sound. There are many reasons babies don't like the shift, but the big one is that regular milk isn't as rich as the formula. The soy milk has a closer consistency to formula than regular milk does, which is a major reason they like it. Go for an unflavored soy milk, though, as your baby doesn't need the extra sugar and hasn't been introduced to flavorings before so they can cause diarrhea (as can the syrups mentioned in other posts).

Soy milk also tastes amazingly close to many of the formulas, so it's an easier transition. For children who had problems with formulas, this is the optimal solution.

Your doctor can reassure you that this is normal, so don't be afraid to call for advice. The biggest thing to remember is that not only is the taste different between milk and formula, but so is the heating point. Make sure the milk is the same temperature as the bottle you usually feed. Milk gets hotter quicker, so you may need to cut back on the heating time to make it more consistent for her.

Answer 3

I would mix just a tiny bit in with the formula and slowly reduce the ratio so that it ends up being just milk. There is toddler formula so you could try a variety of things. I wouldn't suggest using skim milk because at this age (I am assuming she is around 1 if she is the age where you are transitioning to milk) she will need the fat that is in whole milk. However, the baby is absolutely NOT going to starve to death as a previous poster suggested because at 1 year old they are eating solid foods (or should be). My son is almost a year old, he is breastfeed but he eats 3 meals a day and snacks on top of it so he wouldn't starve to death without milk.

Answer 4

It worked for me: Mix 3/4 formula and the rest milk for a week or so, then start doing 1/2 and 1/2 until you are 1/4 formula and 3/4 milk.

Answer 5

Mix it 1/4 milk to 3/4 formula, then after a couple days or weeks start 1/2 and 1/2, then maybe she will like it better.
Are you sure she is old enough to have milk? How old is you baby?

Answer 6

First of all, I'd check with your child's doctor first to rule out there is no other reason that she's rejecting the milk.

If she won't drink regular milk, maybe she's not ready body wise for it or is refusing it for some reason. A lot of children are allergic to regular cows milk and may reject it because of the way it's making them feel. It never hurts to keep an eye out for hidden allergies.

If she still refuses regular cows milk, and the dr. said everything is fine, then goats milk is usually a better bet. A slightly different flavor and more easily digestable to their stomach.

If she doesn't like that, then perhaps trying soy milk if she's not allergic to soy. Soy is a great source of protein as well.

Answer 7

You can try other milks like soy and rice worse comes to worse you may add a little mix into it like strawberry or chocolate ( I'm not a big fan of this though). If your child won't drink milk it isn't a horrible thing give her water, and a small amount of juice for her liquids and just make sure you give her foods high in calcium. Cheese sandwiches - I would take two pieces of whole wheat bread and a slice of cheese and squish them together and cut off the crush, then I would cut it into little bit size pieces for my 1 year old. Yogurt is also a great thing to add to her diet every day, oatmeal made with milk etc... Milk is not that important it's the calcium and vitamin D.

Answer 8

you should try a mix. Like 10% milk and the rest formula. Keep adding more milk to the formula each time. Don't panic to much over it, I know all kinds of children that don't like milk. It just takes some work to get them use to it.

Answer 9

I would try some of the older baby/toddler formulas before doing something like chocolate syrup. Baby formula has a slightly sweet tase to it, nowhere near as sweet as chocolate milk, but regular milk probably is too strong of a taste right now for your little one.

Answer 10

There is no reason your baby *needs* milk. If she eats dairy products such as yogurt and hard cheeses (Swiss, cheddar, etc.), these are the nutritional equivalent of milk. You can substitute a cup of yogurt for a cup of milk, or an ounce to an ounce and a half of cheese per cup of milk.

Even if she eats *no* dairy products, she can have a healthy diet. You don't need a "replacement" for the dairy (except if you want to have something to pour on her cereal), either, so don't bother with rice milk or soy milk unless you *want* to. Neither of these is a nutritional substitute for dairy.

The primary nutrient you need a substitute for if your daughter eats no dairy is calcium. Two of the best non-dairy sources of calcium are almonds and sesame. You can use almond butter or techina (sesame butter) the way you would serve peanut butter. Or cook with grated almonds (to avoid the choking hazard).

If you are concerned, talk to a nutritionist. She is an expert on nutrition; doctors have *no* training in the field; it is optional in medical school if it is even offered.