milk and sippy?

Question

when my son who is almost 11 months gets off of his bottle...and my goal is to get him off by a year and train him to use a sippy...do i just give him cows milk at that time???? right now, he is on formula and i have pleanty to last til he is a year.

can i just gove him straight cold milk when he turns a year?? i dont want to have to heat it when he is one

Answer 1

You can do whichever you like but we did regular milk. most people I know have switched over by the time the child starts using the sippy cup. But there is no rule on it, I would say use what you have already. No use in wasting it.

Answer 2

You will probably want to do a transistion period. If on his first birthday you hand him a sippy cup of cold cows milk and all he is used to is warmed formula, he'll probably reject it!

When he turns a year, start mixing part formula/part milk (start with 3/4 formula, 1/4 milk) and not as warm as usually, every few days, use a little more milk than formula (go to 50/50, then 1/4 to 3/4) and with a cooler temperature. Eventually he'll be drinking straight cows milk from the fridge. Check with your pediatrician if you have concerns.

Oh yeah, and make sure you give him Whole Milk for a year... younger babies still need the extra fat for brain development. It's a pain if you're drinking 2% or skim, since you have to buy 2 different kinds, but remember it's better for his health!

As for the sippy cup, you can introduce it now with water or juice or formula....he may love it or it may take some time to get used to. Gerber makes some good cups with soft spouts that are good for beginners.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Straight whole milk after 12 months...no need to heat. My son didn't bat an eyelash at the switch.

Getting off the bottle is easy...the good stuff goes in the sippy, only water goes in the bottle. Some sippies are easier to get liquid out of than others. My son prefered Gerbers starter cup with two handles and a soft rubber spout.

Don't forget that although pediatricians recommend weaning from the bottle at age 1, the average age is many months later. Don't beat yourself up if it takes an extra couple months.

Answer 4

I have done it gradually with my other children. First, at the time that I wanted them on milk instead of formula, I would give 1/2 formula to 1/2 milk for a few days/week. Then just milk, slightly warmed, then cold milk. Make sure by this time, you are offering cold milk in a sippy during the day at meals as well. Good Luck.

Answer 5

Warm milk is more soothing and relaxes the baby more. It helps adults too but I gave my daughter both and it was fine. Cold milk is nice on a hot day too. Watch him when you switch him to regular milk to make sure he has no reaction to it. Some children are sensitive to it. My mother said that my brother had to drink goats milk until his digestive tract matured more. Different styles of sippy cups work for different children. Some require sucking like a bottle but I wanted to get her away from that so I bought the tupperware sippy cups when she could hold onto one. Before that I used a couple that had double handles so she had the option of using one or both hands. If you wonder how well a specific one works, try it yourself. There were a couple we tried that just frustrated her and when I tried it I found out why; she could barely get anything out of the openings and it just upset her trying to get a drink out of it. Have fun wiping up the spills, lol, they LOVE to turn them over and watch it drip out which I cured her of QUICKLY. There are some that prevent that but she didn't like them. You might have a little struggle giving up the bottle, so if you do try giving him the bottle just at bedtime and the cup during the day and PRAISE him for being such a big boy, clap etc. and he will respond to that. Sometimes we adults look like total idiots when we are teaching or entertaining our little ones but it works, so have fun!

Answer 6

He could be on regular milk now! If he's old enough to try and take a drink out of your cup, he's old enough to offer a sippy cup to. Let him keep his bottle at night for awhile. You don't need to be heating his formula now anyway and no you don't have to heat the milk either.

Answer 7

I took my son off the bottle at 1 yr of age. His pediatrician said to use whole milk and not 2% because he needed the fat content for brain development. It didn't make sense, but with her being a dr I figured she knew more about these things than I did. I had no problem breaking him from the bottle either. She said to give him lots of apple sauce to keep him from being dehydrated, but don't cave in and give the bottle. He was broke in 3 days!!!

Answer 8

at one year, wean him to whole milk. At this age, fat is actually good for brain development (age 1-2 years). If he normally gets 8oz of formula, mix 2 oz of cows milk to 6 oz of formula for a few days to see how he tolerates it, then 50/50 till he's all the way on cows milk

Answer 9

Unless you or your spouse are lactose intolerant, it's ok to give your son cow's milk when he's 1 year old. Make sure it is whole milk - he needs those vitamins and fat.
My daughter's doctor said baby's should be weened off the bottle by 1 year of age.

Answer 10

After 1 year of age you can give him whole milk. Perferablly Organic milk only because it last twice as long and is healthler for the child and doesnt have the hormones.