Changing from Formula to Milk.

Updated on April 10, 2007
A.O. asks from Universal City, TX
22 answers

I can not seem to get my daughter to drink milk. i really want to switch over to milk from formula. formula is so expensive. are there any tricks i can use? i have also tried it in sippy cups and bottles. my daughter is now fourteen months old.

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So What Happened?

Thank you for all your advice. She's just drinking milk now.

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S.S.

answers from Abilene on

Try half and half but if I was you I would use 1% milk.. because whole mike made my kids constipated, and after she starts drinking mix more milk and less formula.Well it work for me I hope it works for you. Good Luck!!!

2 moms found this helpful
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J.A.

answers from El Paso on

start slowly adding the milk in with the formula. Instead of 6 ounces formula. Do 4 formula nad 2 milk and so on. Give it about a week each time. Soon you'll be done witht he formula and fully to milk.

Good luck!

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G.B.

answers from San Antonio on

Try 2% milk first because whole is very thick and could take awhile to get used to all milk has calcium but the fat intake is different, also try putting a little choclate syrup in it not a lot just a little to give it different taste to it. I did it will all 3 of my kids and we go threw 4 gallons every week and half (NOT ALL CHOCLATE).

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J.G.

answers from San Antonio on

Hi A., have you tried using half formula and half milk in her bottle or cuppy? She might just need some coaxing to change over and it is a little difficult going from formula to milk for some children. Hope this works. As the days progress maybe go for more milk and less formula until the day comes when it's just milk.

J.

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L.S.

answers from San Antonio on

Mix the formula and milk together gradually adding more milk than formula. Start with whole milk b/c they need those extra calories( gosh I wish you could eat the extra calories lol) That's how I did it. Also put the milk in a cup only not in a bottle. Adding a little chocolate or strawberry syrup is okay. Also you can just give her milk for a few days all the time until she takes it. I can tell you by the time the children hit two or three they don't frink that much milk any more b/c they get more from thier foods. She doesn't have to drink milk to get he vitamins ask your doctor about giving her a vitamin and increase her calcuim intake with veggies, fruits, cheese and other dairy products.
Hope this helps and good luck,
L.

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S.P.

answers from Abilene on

I feel your pain. My middle daughter was the same way. She was breastfed and as soon as I weaned her she wouldn't drink milk. She still doesn't and is 4 years old. She will occationally drink 'pink milk' aka strawberry milk, but still isn't a fan. We just had to make sure she got a lot of calcium in other foods ect. She loves cheese and the such, even ice cream... that was a nightly routine. We even got her drinking pediasure to help with her intake, but she still wasn't happy about drinking it. Some kids just don't like milk. Talk with your pedicatrician about other foods. That is what we had to resort to.
Oh, try using the sippy cups with the straw, kids seem to like to drink out of those.

1 mom found this helpful
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D.B.

answers from San Antonio on

Hi A.,
How well does she eat stage 1 baby food? You might try putting a couple of spoonfuls into her bottle to flavor it. You might have to make the holes in her bottle larger for it to flow easier. I believe playtex sells a specific nipple for food feeding.
D.

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J.A.

answers from Amarillo on

You can try warming her milk up until she gets used to the new taste or you can add a little flavor to it, sugar free chocolate milk mix or some carnation instant breakfast mix.

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D.S.

answers from Austin on

Hi A.

I agree with other moms about mixing it a little at a time till it is 100% cow milk, keep in mind is the formual room temp, cold, warm, try to prep it the same till the transtion is complete... BUT I disagree adding chocolate or strawberry flavors to it, I have a friend that did that with her oldest child and it took months to almost year for her to break that habit of her son wanting flavored milk only and I am sure Doctors would agree thats not a good idea at such a young age. Why start a bad habit (sweet tooth) if you don't need too. Use flavoring to milk as a treat or reward when they are older.

Good Luck
D.

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S.

answers from San Antonio on

A.,
I had the same problem with my son. He was nursed until he was 10 months old and then one day decided not to take any milk in any form. I had to mix his formula in with food until he was 1 just to make sure he was getting the calcium. At his 1 year appointment my pediatrician told me that it was not necessary that I push the milk. He said to make sure that I was giving him plenty of foods with calcium, like cheese and yogurt and keep offering whole milk and he would eventually drink it. He was right. My son loves milk now. He did say to make sure that the other sources (cheese and yogurt) were full fat. That means no reduced fat cheese, and the only yogurt I found with whole milk is called YoBaby. I had a lot of suggestions from friends to mix chocolate or strawberry in with the milk, but I really wanted him to learn to like milk, so I stuck it out and he is a very healthy almost 2 year old that loves milk. Hope this helps. Good luck.

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J.A.

answers from San Antonio on

I had the same problem. He just didnt like milk. So i added just a few drops of chocolate syrup. It took only a few bottles like that and now he loves his white milk. Good luck!

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L.F.

answers from Lubbock on

This sounds harsh, but once the formula you have is gone don't buy any more! One year olds don't get choices on what to eat. You're the mama!

That being said, here's what we did with our three kids. Put 3 ounces of formula with 3 ounces of milk in a sippy cup. The next week, put more milk than formula. By the next week, she should be drinking the milk without formula. Remember, that temperature may be an issue for her. If she's been used to warm formula (mine were never patient enough for me to warm up the bottle, turned out to be a good thing!), you're also going to need to gradually get her used to drinking it cold.

Do not flavor the milk. It'd really be best in the long run for her to get used to it the way it comes out of the carton!

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A.N.

answers from Odessa on

I would start mixing the milk with the formula and slowly work the formula out ounce by ounce. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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D.S.

answers from Austin on

Hi A.,

We just switched from formula to milk. We added about 1/2 ounce of milk to his formula on the first day. And then gradullay added more each day. It took about a week, but he is on 100% milk. It helped him to get use to the taste. If you haven't tried this, hopefully it will work for you.

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C.J.

answers from Amarillo on

You could slowly mix milk into the formula, till it's half and half. (I breastfed, I don't know if you can do that, it's just what I did to get my son to take regular milk.) And keep going till it's just milk.
Also, try Ovaltine!!

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L.B.

answers from Corpus Christi on

What I did with my 12 month old was I put half formula and half milk in his bottle at first and then I just slowly weaned him of formula completely. It took about 2 weeks for me to get him of formula.

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L.F.

answers from Brownsville on

I hate to be so matter-of-fact, however, you may have to face the fact that she may NEVER drink milk. My mother told me that I stopped drinking milk at 9 months old & I never touched it again. I am now 41. What you CAN is do for her what my mom did for me. If she rejects milk the way I did, subtitute milk with other dairy products. I always ate lots of cheese, ice cream, yogurt..... (which are also made with milk). Mom would also "disguise" my milk with bunny quick chocolate or strawberry i alsways drank that. She would also put some milk in my oatmeal & it did not bother me either. The idea of drinking milk straight out grossed me out (it smelt ugly to me & tasted even worse!) By the way, don' worry. I am 41 years old and I have NEVER EVER had a broken bone in my life nor any deacyed teeth (which is also bone). Good luck with your little girl & finding alternatives!!

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C.M.

answers from Austin on

Put milk in cup. Hand it to her. The end. I hate to break it to you, but you are the only one with the problem. Your daughter will adjust as long as you don't make a big deal out of it. Just don't comment on it, don't treat it as out of the ordinary, don't say "please, take one little drinky for mommy", just hand it to her and walk away. She will either drink it or not. I assure you that she will not fade away from thirst. Offer water as an alternative and I'm sure that she will come around. Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.I.

answers from Amarillo on

you can try to put half formula and half milk for about a wekk until she gets use to the taste of milk. that is what i did with both of my kids .

1 mom found this helpful
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C.S.

answers from Austin on

I breast fed my kids, but they too had a hard time switching to milk from breast milk. i found that if I microwaved the milk for about 10 seconds they started to drink it...i think sometimes we switch them from something warm to cold and they just don't like the coldness rather than the taste, plus warm milk for some reason tastes a little sweeter.

I also think like others have said start with 75% formula and 25% milk and then slowly increase the milk and reduce your formula...C.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.R.

answers from San Antonio on

After becoming a vegan, I discovered, we don't really need milk after all. Try soy, rice, or almond milk. It's much more nutritious, less fat content, and comes in yummy flavors. Even comes in light for us adults. My 9 year old loves the chocolate soy milk. It does not contain processed sugars or wacky additives either. Also, since I stopped consuming dairy products, allergies have diminished :) They sell small containers of alternative milks so you can try it. And it's definitely cheaper than formula.

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A.F.

answers from Killeen on

Hi, I just switched my 11 month old son over from soy formula to soy milk, I did it by mixing half and half and gradually took out the soy formula and it worked like a charm. Hope all goes well.

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