Introducing Baby To Whole Milk

Trisha - posted on 02/03/2010 ( 2 moms have responded )

Recently I tried feeding my 11 month old whole milk for the first time. She did not like it at all, refusing it after the first taste. I even tried warming it for her and that didn't make a difference.

I know other parents that have had to add chocolate or strawberry flavoring to milk to get their child to drink milk. Some of those kids are now are at least 3 or 4 years old, and they won't drink milk unless it's strawberry or chocolate flavored. Recently I heard that a friend's child went to the doctor after frequent ear infections and the doctor concluded that it was because of the caffeine in the chocolate milk he was drinking, as he won't drink white whole milk.

We wanted our daughter to learn to drink whole milk plain, without all of the extra sugar and dyes of flavored milk. My husband had an idea to slowly wean her off of formula (which she loved) to whole milk gradually over several days. The formula amounts are based upon a standard formula measuring amount of 2 ounces*, in some cases doubled to use 4 ounces of formula. We used formula, but the same approach could be taken with breast milk if necessary. We fed a mixture of formula and whole milk in the following ratios:

Days 1-3: 4 oz formula with 1 oz of whole milk (8:1 ratio)
Days 4-6: 4 oz formula with 2 oz of whole milk (2:1 ratio)
Days 7-9: 2 oz formula with 2 oz of while milk (1:1 ratio)
Days 10-12: 2 oz formula with 4 oz of whole milk (1:2 ratio)
Days 13-15: 2 oz formula with 8 oz of whole milk (1:4 ratio)**
Day 16: 100% Whole Milk!

*2 Ounces = 1/4 Cup
** If your baby needs one more baby step before advancing to 100% whole milk, a mix of 1 ounce formula with 8 oz whole milk could be added for 3 days here.

That is how we did it, no chocolate or strawberry milk necessary, and she is drinking whole milk now, and loves it! It takes some planning, and the schedule could possibly be accelerated if you are feeding the formula/whole milk more than once per day as we were.

Good Luck!