Which first - switch to cup or switch to cow's milk?

Question

My son is 9 months old. I'm just wondering for future reference. When it's time for him to switch to cow's milk, should he already be off the bottle? Or can I let him get used to cow's milk first, then take him off the bottle? Or can I do both at the same time?

Answer 1

It depends on your child. If he is holding his bottle and seems ready for a cup you can certainly try that. I would recommend mixing small amounts of cows milk with what you are giving him now and keep adding more over time until it is completely cows milk. That will allow him to adjust to the taste and texture, as well as his body adjusting to the change. The cup is less of an issue right now and is really up to you and your preferences.

Good luck! :)

Answer 2

Two things happen at one year old. Babies digestive systems are more or less ready to handle cows milk and doctors tell you to get that baby off the bottle. However, I think doing both at once is crazy. If you want to be off the bottle at one year then start now so he can get use to the sippy cup. "Happy Birthday, we just threw all your bottles away and oh by the way now you have to drink this new stuff." Just sounds crazy to me.

I would do formula (I assume since you say bottle but if you are using breast milk in the bottle then use that in the sippy cup) in the sippy cup right away. Let him have some while he is eating his other foods and/or to wash down finger foods. Teach him to use it like you taught him to eat from a spoon.

Continuing formula for a little while after the first birthday won't hurt anything while your son adjusts to cow's milk.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

My daughter will be a year old Feb 20th. I'm waiting until after she has had her birthday and has recovered from her immunizations to switch her to whole milk (poor baby, don't want too much happening all at once!). I will not be putting whole milk in a bottle, she's used sippy cups for a long time for water & juice & SOME formula feedings, so I will just be throwing all the bottles out! Okay, not really "throwing them out" because that's kind of a waste. But I'm going to put them somewhere out of sight until I can give them to someone that could use them! It's up to you how you want to do it. Switching to milk and getting rid of the bottle all at once may make the transition a little harder, but it will be over and done with quicker! Good luck with whatever you decide! :)

Answer 4

Every child is unique. In fact, my daughter drinks Soy milk (Silk), we skipped the cow's milk all together. I would go with about a year old on the bottle. Try offering him a sippy cup and see if he likes it. Once he gets used to it, phase out the bottle.

Don't worry if he still wants a bottle for awhile, (I've seen 3 and 4 year olds with one)so if he's 9 months you're okay!

Answer 5

They say that u should switch your child to cow's milk and they should b completely off the bottle by 12 mo. As a mother of 2 i have to say its not always easy. My son was on cows milk and off the bottle by then but my daughter was difficult w/ the bottle. I highly recommend that u put half formula and half cows milk in the bottle around 11 mo and slowly wing them off the formula. Then around 12 mo start out w/ 3 oz of water and the rest cows milk. Slowly use less water until they r on full cows milk. I have worked for a daycare have seen several blistered bottoms from baby's being switched straight to cows milk it is very painful. If u notice ur baby is starting to have loose stools and a butt rash use less cows milk slowly wing them on to it. As for the bottle start letting ur baby try a sippy cup now. i also recommend the soft tops. u should try juice in them as they may seem to like them better at first like that.

Answer 6

I did both at the same time........but not all at once. Our ped allows small amounts of whole milk at 9 months. So she would have milk in a sippy at dinner, and her usual three bottles of formula. I just pulled her late afternoon bottle (the one between lunch and dinner) and replaced that with a sippy of milk and a small snack. at 11 months I will pull her early bottle (the one between breakfast and lunch) and give her a snack then too. When she turns one, I am putting her on toddler formula at night only (as a supplement) and will allow her to have a bottle right before she goes to bed......I will let her have that one longer, but the other 2 will be gone by the time she is 1. each bottle of formula is replaced with a sippy cup of milk. That is working very well.

I started her on a sippy cup with meals at 6 months. usually just water, or diluted juice. she took well to the Playtex soft spout. she could not use the other ones at first. But she LOVED that kind. Now she will use any of them, since she is used to the concept. The soft spout one made a great transition.

Answer 7

I switched to cow's milk first and then a bit later to cups instead of bottles. If you try to do it all at the same time he might get too confused. You can get him used to the sippy cup by letting him use it for water, juice. You can also put formula in a sippy cup and see what happens.

Answer 8

I'm not sure exactly how you're supposed to do it, but my daughter is 9 months also and we're working on getting her off the bottle now. Hopefully, she will be completely off within the next month or so. Around the week of her first birthday, we plan on getting her onto cow's milk. Like I said, not really sure if that's the right way, but that's the way we're doing it and so far it's working pretty well.

Answer 9

With my first son, we switched to cows milk first, then to a sippy cup. But by that age (12 months) he was so used to a bottle that he wasn't extremely pleased with the sippy cup. With my second son (7 months) we have given him a cup with some water in and let him chew on it. He is very interested, although he doesn't know how to drink out of it yet. We use the sippy cups that have a soft mouth piece, so it's perfect for him to chew on. With my first son, we had to take the "plug" out and give him something to drink in the bath tub to help him get the hang of drinking out of a cup. Good luck and have fun. They seem to grow up so fast!

Traccla

Answer 10

You should take him off the bottle at a year old the same age he should start drinking cows milk.