Trying to wean from breast milk to cows milk

Sara - posted on 07/06/2009

Thanks everyone! I have banished the bottles :) and I am amping up the yogurt and dairy foods. I also noticed that several of you had mentioned that your babies weaned around 15 mo. so I have decided not to worry too much and just keep trying.

User - posted on 07/06/2009

My son wanted nothing to do with cow's milk until around a month or two after he completely weaned. He would eat cheese and yogurt so I made sure he got plenty of dairy that way, but kept trying the milk. I finally started flavoring it (not much) with Nesquik powder and that seemed to help. He is 2.5 and he has been drinking milk with NO flavoring for over a year. He only drinks one full cup a day, but it is better than nothing. Breastmilk is sweet so it is hard for babies/toddlers to go from that to regular milk, it may just take some getting use too. Also have you tried warming it up a bit before offering it? I know that is what worked for a friend of mine with her 3 kids.

Stacy - posted on 07/05/2009

I am having the same problem. But I have found that if I put a straw in my milk that my daughter will drink it with me, we take turns drinking from the straw. My daughter picked up drinking from a straw in a matter of minutes. Some days she will even drink chocolate milk out of her own cup... but that is rare currently. I hope this helps :)

Kristen - posted on 07/05/2009

Oh, I have to agree with the other ladies....if she's getting plenty of full-fat dairy products other than milk, I wouldn't worry. Stoneyfield (sp?) farms makes big containers of organic whole milk vanilla yogurt and my son loves it. Plus, all the good bacteria in yogurt helps their little tummies digest properly and help prevent yeast infections (which is actually the cause of most diaper rashes!!!)

Bonnie - posted on 07/04/2009

Don't forget to warm the milk a little. If all she's had is breastmilk, she may not like it cold.

Jana - posted on 07/04/2009

My daughter didn't really get into cows milk until I had fully weaned her (around 15 months) So she went about 3 months with drinking very little cows milk. But she was eating cheese and yogurt so I knew she was getting enough calcium. I found out after the fact that she was lactose intolerant, so maybe your little one is trying to "tell" you that the cows milk is agreeing with her. I also second the not giving the milk in a bottle, just one more weaning process later on. She'll get the hang of a sippy cup soon. Just keep giving it to her with the same liquid inside, so she can get used to the sippy cup and the milk and she'll get it in no time. Good luck.

Carly - posted on 07/04/2009

So long as your daughter is getting lots of other dairy products like cheese and yogurt and eating a good range of vegies and some meat, she doesn't really NEED straight milk. I only offer my son milk in a cup once a day and the rest of the time it's water. He has milk on his breakfast cereal and a couple of other serves of dairy during the day. The main goodness in milk is the calcium and essential fats and there are plenty of other sources for those nutrients.

Kristen - posted on 07/04/2009

Hi Sara! My son actually just weaned himself a week ago at 15 1/2 months, but we were having problems getting him to drink milk too (one of the reasons why I kept on nursing him). We found that he can only drink organic milk (anything else makes him spit up) and, I hate to say it, but ovaltine is what worked for us. I add just a little bit to his sippy and he drinks it just fine now. I hate to give him sugar, but I figure there is only a tiny bit in the ammount I put in his sippy. I would advise against giving her the bottle, since it would just mean having to wean her off the bottle down the road too. Have you tried the Born Free sippy cups? My son is VERY fussy about what he drinks from, but he likes those cups.

I try to feed him only organic foods as much as possible, so I'm actually going to see if there is an organic alternative to ovaltine for him, but I figure I have to do what works for now! He used to push away the plain milk, but now he actually asks for milk and uses his sign for it. Its worth a shot to try it! Hope this helps!!!