Hi. I have a son who is 10 and a half months old. I have heard different advice from many people...to start a baby on whole milk around 9 months (which I haven't) to start transitioning them before a year. My son is on Enfamil Lipil and drinks about 16 ounces a day but he clearly is cutting his bottle out. He is down to two bottles a day, morning and night, and some nights he will only drink half of his bottle. My aunt and our daycare provider said when he turns 11 months old that we should start mixing milk with the formula and gradually adding more milk and less formula until a year when he is on all milk. What is everyone's opinion on this and does anyone have a good ratio of formula to milk and the weeks to do this so at his first birthday he is on all milk? Thanks!!
M., I think you are suppose to wait on giving him milk until he is a year because the formula offers more than the milk does. We started my son on milk the same week he tuned one by warming it a little in his bottle so it would be the same temp as the formula and we only did that for like a week so he would get used to the taste. good luck!
I never started transistioning util 11 months. Week one you mix 3/4 formula 1/4 milk, week two half and half, and so on. By the time they are a year it will be whole milk only. There is however nothing wrong if it takes a little longer than that, that's why they actually make formulas now that they can have until they are 2 years old. I hope this helps.
M.,
That's how I did it with my kids: At about 11 months old, start mixing milk with the formula, gradually adding more milk & less formula until 12 months (usually on whole milk then).
That is the formula I used with my kids. Actually I didn't even mix them. I just gave a straight cup or bottle with milk in it. It was easier to tell if my kids would have an allergy if I didn't mix it. They took to milk right away and that was the end of formula. I think I gave them milk at 11 months and they all drink it great! Good luck!
I did the same thing and started adding milk at 11 months with my son. That was what WIC suggested so I just went for it. And he was totally on Milk by a year old. Good Luck!
I suggest following your pediatrician's recommendation. He or she will have the best advice. It can be confusing trying to follow all the conflicting advice family & friends (& complete strangers) want to share.
Hi M.,
I just wanted to let you know what my Pediatrician told me when my son was around that age! He told me not to start giving him milk until he was a year old! I never did the transition half milk half formula! I went straight to milk after he was a year old! But I know every child is different! You should discuss this with your Pediatrician! I hope I was of some help to you!
Becca
Hi
My pediatrician didn't recommend starting whole milk until at least 12 months to reduce the possibilities of getting food allergies. At 11 months I starting using enfamil's next step to supplement while I breastfed and through the weening process which I started on her first birthday. I never did split ratios and I didn't have any problems. Good luck.
C.
what I did , which worked great for both my kids, is put milk in a sippy cup and formula in bottles. that way, it was interesting enough to get them using the sippy cup. and formula was associated with the bottle, so they switched over to milk and used a cup and I killed two birds with one stone!
what i did with my daughter is i would add 2 ounces a week to her formula until she was one
Hi M.,
I changed my son over at 1 year which was June 15th :). I tried to give him milk and he too it right away so I didn't have to do any mixing. I have heard if they refuse milk to try transitioning that way by mixing the two. Congratulations on your little man! Landon is my first as well and it is such a wonderful experience!! My Pediatrician had advised to switch him over at a year.
Hi M.:
My daughter is 22 months old now, and her dr said not to put her on whole milk till she was 1yr. I didn't do thr transional thing, I just gave her a sippy cup before bed with warm milk in it and haven't had any problems. she drinks more milk now than when she was an infant. We started her on sippy cups about 8 months old, with formula in them, then just switched to whole milk at one, and she love it. We have always warmed her milk so even today during the nite she still wakes up for milk and if it isn't warm she won't drink it. During the day cold milk she doesn't mind the cold milk, I think she's spoiled.
D. J
Hi I started mixing whole milk with formula around 11 months with both of my children. I started with about a ounce of milk for about a week then gradually start adding a ounce at a time if he seems to be doing well then keep doing that. By the time he's about 1 he should be drinking all milk.
good luck
My daughter is four and my son is 17 months. I switched them both at 12 months per their doctor. With my daughter I didn't mix formula with milk I just heated milk and gave her sippy cups during the day and bottles at night for a while. She did fine with it. The problem was weaning her from the warm milk. She just wouldn't drink cold milk for a while. Of course, she finally did. With my son I just gave him cold milk in his bottle at night and in the morning and sippy cup during the day. He did fine. Of course I feel that I am spoiling him a bit as he still takes a bottle before bed and has one in the morning. But hey! I know he won't be a baby forever and he certainly will be weaned before college!! Sometimes we Moms worry too much. We need to just enjoy our blessings!
I am no professional but a mother of a 4 year old and an infant. I would say that there is no rush to get our kids on cow milk. The human body is not made for cow milk. I definitely would not substitute milk for the formula. If you going to start giving your child milk, I would just give it to them as we would drink it, one or two small servings per day(for a child). They should already be getting most of their nutrients from the food in their diet by the time they are ready for whole milk...
My pediatrician had us transition when my son was about a year old. She suggested giving him formula in his bottles, and milk in a sippy cup, so we were changing both at the same time. Since I had a preemie, and he was on high calorie formula and still having problems with his weight, and he didn't really show an interest in the cup, we didn't transition for a couple months after he turned one.
Using the sippy cup to help transition was a great idea though. Does your son have any interest in a sippy cup?
You should follow your Pediatrician's advice on this - not family or friends. The issue is to do with your child's digestive system - they are not ready to digest cow's milk before 12 months, which is why the recommendation is there.
i've heard to wait until they are a year old but i'm sure like a lot of hting it depends on who you talk to - i have a daughter born 7-28-06 and i don't plan on starting th e switch until i get the ok from her dr.
As others said, ask your pediatrician when you should make the switch to milk. Mine said I could start anywhere between 9 - 12 months and I started the transition around 11 months or so. I did go too fast and wasn't mixing the formula and milk, so my daughter got constipated. When I called the dr, they said to mix it for a while and slowly transition to avoid the constipation ... and that worked. So, I think that may be why they recommend to make the transition slowly and to mix formula and milk for a while too. Good luck!!
