Help with switching from formula to cows milk?

Question

Any tips on the best way to go about it? My daughter will be turning 1 years old at the end of January 2008 and, at the suggestion from her dr, i plan on switching to cows milk at that point. But I'm wondering how you're supposed to do it? I have the following questions i'd appreciate any input on.
1. Do i cut all formula out at once and just give her whole milk?
2. Can I continue to use bottles to feed her her milk/formula until she is ready to transfer completely to a bottle?
3. How much cows milk should a just-turned-1-year-old drink (please give ounces if you know)
4. Whats the reason she can't just continue with formula?

It does not seem fair to her to switch from formula to milk and bottles to cups all at once. I'd like to switch to milk and gradually make the transition from botle to cup. Is this ok?

Answer 1

My son is 10 months old 11 on the 20th, he stopped breast feeding two weeks ago and has been on whole milk since.

Babies can have dairy any time that they are eating baby food. Unless you have a serious history of dairy allergies they can have a table spoon or so at time, or cheese or what have you. A little hear and a little there.

Mine had cheese and dairy products at around 6 months, and started drinking a sippy of milk around 8-9 months, along with his other drinks.

Work her up to it, little by little, get her used to drinking from a sippy, and then make the switch.

My son has never had formula or really drank from a bottle, but he's an excellent eater- if she doesnt eat table food you really need to get her used to it. Nuby makes excellent sippies, they have wonderful transitional ones that babies really like. Try those for her. He drinks probably about 16-20 oz a day. We go through a gallon of milk every 2 days or so, but my husband and I also drink from it. I just fill his sippy whenever he empties it. He also has a sippy of juice or water so he has the choice of both.

You switch to milk at a year because the nutrients and caloric intake in formula no longer meet the demand her body needs, she gets what she needs from table food and milk from that point on.

Answer 2

You are right that you shouldn't switch everything at once... but I would suggest getting your child ready for a cup before you introduce milk. That is a more important bridge to cross. Your baby can drink formula for another 6 months if need be... it is actually healthier than cows milk. The only reason people switch is because the risk of allergy goes down and its much less expensive.

Once your baby can drink formula and/or water from a cup, then what you do is mix 1/2 milk and 1/2 formula or 1/4 and 3/4... still heat it up if that is what she is used to. Then slowly make the ratios more milk and less formula. They don't even notice if you do a good transition over a couple of weeks.

Once your baby is off formula, you have to be more careful about what she is eating because you're taking away a good source of nutrion. My son doesn't drink formula anymore (14 months) and I'm constantly worrying about iron and vitamins, etc. Make sure your baby doesn't fill up on milk because that can reduce the amount of food she eats during her snacks and meals.

Answer 3

My daughter just turned one a Month ago today I switched over Exactly 2 days After. I didn't Give her Any Formula For those 2 Days. My Doc Says it could cause Tummy Probs.
On Her 1st Feeding I gave her 2 Oz To Try, Then After I gave her 4 Oz. & so on. I think it really Depends on the Child My daughter Drank it with out 1 single Prob as if she had been drinking it all along! & If she doesn't pick it up Most Formulas Come in a Step 2. There Just Harder to find.
2. At the begining i gave it to her in a bottle But i found it much easier in a Sippy Cut!
3. No More than 12-16 Oz A day
4. Is Usually Cus of the Nutrients But Like i said Some Formulas Do Offer a Step 2.

Answer 4

1. Do the transition slowly. Day one - make her an 8 ounce bottle with 6oz formula, 2 oz milk, day two - 4 oz formula, 4oz milk, day 3 - 2 oz formula, 6 oz milk, day 4 - all milk!

2 - I continue to use the bottles during the transition to keep something normal for her. Once she is comfortable with the milk, than I transition her to the sippy cup. I feel like 2 changes at once is to much on them, considering that babies thrive on routine.

3 - I believe it's 24 ounces, but don't hold me to that one. I know her doctor will give you a more accurate amount based on her weight and eating habit's.

4 - The formula companies make a formula for toddlers, I believe it's called "Next Step". I'm not sure of the exact reason why the formula had to stop at age one.

I hope this helps!! Good luck in the transition!!!

Answer 5

1. Yes. Most babies do fine with the switch. If she doesn't, or if you're concerned, start out mixing half formula or half milk, then start changing the ratio of milk to formula so she's on regular milk before long.
2. I would not. Start working with her to use a sippy cup. She needs to anyway for several reasons, and one of the perks here is that some babies associate the drink with the method. You could find yourself in the position of trying to get her to drink the milk and her getting upset because bottles don't have milk. It's also good for them dentally/orthodontically. Personally, I didn't like the idea of that many transitions -- from formula to milk, from bottle to sippy cup, from sippy cup to regular cup. But this one is totally your call, and it wouldn't hurt her to do that, as long as she doesn't stay on the bottle indefinately.
3. That's something you should ask her doctor about, but I think it's around three servings a day of about a cup each.
4. It's more expensive, it's more filling (and she needs to be relying more and more on solids -- if you fill her up with formula, she won't have the motivation to have the solids), and the calorie/nutrient intake is different for a one-year-old than it is for an infant. It wouldn't be enough to sustain her, but it might be enough to keep her from wanting to eat/drink what WOULD.

Baby's growing up. Sucks, don't it?

Answer 6

you need to transfer her the exact way you started her on formula.......SLOWLY!!!

1. not to good of an idea her tummy will not be to well.. remember how you transferred from breast to bottle do it the same way.. 4 oz bottles of cow milk then 4 oz of formula ( well however much you feed her of a bottle of formula start mixing and use 1/4 of real milk and 3/4 formula)

2. yes of course i suggest that you don't make the transition of formula to milk and bottle to cup at the same time after she is on the milk for a few weeks then you can start the cup and even then 1 isn't a bad age to still be on a bottle i would say about 15 to 16 months would be the age that you get rid of all bottles and have only sippy cups but start out slowly at 13 months. the way my sister changed from bottle to cup is she let her baby choose out a really cool sippy cup(of the babies choice) then set it on the counter and then when the baby would have her bottle and want the cup and she would have to give up her bottle to get the cup....take the bottle away and then when she doesn't have any bottles anymore she will only have her cup!!!

3. like i said start out slowly and then her tummy will start to get used to the cow milk!`

4. she cant be drinking formula the rest of her life. nutrients and things like that that are in the cow milk!!

Answer 7

1. it will be easier on her tummy if you make the transition slowly. I added the milk to a formula bottle, slowly increasing the milk and decreasing the formula until it was only milk.

2. sure, why not?

3. no more than 16 ounces per day

4. traditional formula does not have enough necessary fat or nutrients in it. there is a second stage formula that is good for 1 year-olds. it has more of what older babies need.

Answer 8

Formula is cheap, if you think it is the only source of food your child receives. When they start eating fresh fruit year round, meat, fish, etc., the real expensive starts. Not to mention the increasing expenses for the rest of their life. ie. daycare, school, sports & growing out of clothes every 2 months. Your child deserves the best & it is very important to keep the baby on formula to at least 12mo. Many of the articles I have read, suggests that formula should be used much longer with very slow introductions to foods. Remember, Milk does not provide your child with full nutrition & contains very little, iron, Vit. C, E. Did you know that there is a product out in the market now called Enfagrow. It is an excellent fortified milk beverage formulated specifically for toddlers (1 - 3yrs +) growing minds and bodies. Most toddlers become very independent at this age and since their growth slows down from 1 - 5 yrs, every oz. of food is critical. What ever you do, don't use cows milk as a crutch! It has its nutritional benefits, but only if your child is eating many of the things most kids dislike ie. spinach, liver, cauilflower, beans, lentils, peas, fish, broccoli, etc. It is hard to get a well balanced diet in toddler's list of likable foods. Look up toddler recommended dietary intakes for Vit. & minerals. There are sights availble that provide best source of food to supply that nutrient.

Answer 9

You virtually answered your own question in your last paragraph. Do it nice and slowly.
Mix your milk and formula together and each day use a little less formula and more milk etc ... by the end of approx two weeks your child will be drinking cows milk only.

You may see your child's 'poo' changing as you go through this transition stage so don't be too worried, its just his body saying "Hey! whats this new stuff".

Good Luck!

Answer 10

Hi.

With my first born son I decided I wanted him to get used to cow's milk by the time he was 1 year old as I was due to give birth to baby number 2 at that time and thought I'd better make that transition first! I was lucky that he took to it really well, he noticed a taste difference for sure but his first drink of cow's milk was a whole bottle, I didn't have to introduce it gradually. I have also kept him on Toddler formula (he is now 2) for the extra nutrition in case his diet is inadequate. (He has 1-2 toddler formula bottles mixed with milk and one plain but I will cut him down to 2 milk drinks per day). We buy S26 Toddler Gold (in Australia) as it has Omega 3 for brain development, it seems to be one of the best brands. We used S26 Progress Gold for them as babies.

My second born son (now 14 months) was a bit different - when I tried to give him toddler formula he wouldn't drink it, and the same with plain milk, so I had to stick with his baby formula a bit longer and gradually add milk to it. I started with about 60ml of milk in the mixture until at the end of one week I had taken out water completely and was only giving him milk in the formula. Then I tried offering plain milk again and he was able to drink it (but it took a bit of encouraging for a little while) then I tried the toddler formula again and it was fine! So in just over a week we made a complete transition.

I would recommend a gradual process of weaning her off the baby formula (you need to do so as baby formula is made up of more nutrients that a toddler needs as they get that from their solid food). Maybe try offering some toddler formula if you are worried about her getting enough goodness from food. At her age she would need 3 bottles of milk a day of about 200mls each (I think that works out to about 7-8oz each? which would be around 20-24oz a day). My 14 month old son is drinking one bottle first thing in the morning, one before his midday nap, and then one before he goes to bed at night, in addition to 3 meals a day. And he is still on a bottle, we haven't made the transition to cups yet and am in no hurry to do so, he is still a baby and loves his bottle. He is starting to drink water from a sippy cup so is learning. I'd focus on the change from formula to milk first and worry about the bottles to cups later when she is settled with that.

All the best!