When did you finally wean your baby off of formula?

Claudia - posted on 02/21/2012

Use your judgement on formula. As for the bottle there is sippy cups or the ones that have straws.My son couldn't take formula so he was on milk alot sooner than most.As for the bottle You may have to use bottle for the nighttime for awhile.

Jane - posted on 11/26/2008

By the end of the week i reckon my little boy will be on just whole milk, do i still need to sterilise his bottles?

Debra - posted on 11/25/2008

My toddler's best chance book (from the British Columbia Government) advises that milk after the age of one can be whole milk or goat's milk (no lactose or vit d in goat's) and they need only 500 ml per day or 2 cups. If your baby is not liking anything but formula, start cutting it with whole milk- ie. half and half and then slowly have more whole milk in there than formula.

Dahlia - posted on 11/24/2008

Thanks to everyone for their great replies! SO helpful! Everyone is different and so is each child, but it is nice to get feedback from other moms. I have been giving increasing amounts of formula in the morning and night bottles. Now, I am doing half milk, half formula at each feeding throughout the day. Next week, I will probably replace the nighttime formula with all milk and go from there. I think that I just wanted reassurance that I wasn't crazy for doing it this way. Thanks all!!!

Jane - posted on 11/24/2008

My little boy turned one on the 11/11 and would not drink whole milk in a bottle, cup or beaker so ive gradually introduced it to his bottles of formula which he has when he wakes and just before bedtime, he does not seem to notice the change so i think by the end of this week we will be on just whole milk and saying bye bye to formula.

Jessica - posted on 11/24/2008

Cale turned one on the 12th. We started giving him whole milk around 10 months but he also got formula. Now he gets a bottle of formula in the morning. A sippy of milk with his meals and a sippy of water to drink throughout the day. Then he gets a night time bottle of formula.



Hopefully by 18 months I will feel comfortable with no formula and we will try to have all the bottle gone by 2.

Nicole - posted on 11/24/2008

My daughter will be 1 year this Saturday and over the last couple of weeks we've started giving her whole milk at least once a day. She can definetely tell that it tastes different and didn't want it at first, but she's starting to get used to it. If we warm it up she likes it alot better. Our plan is to have her off formula completely by the time our current container runs out. I don't think it will be a problem. I've never heard of keeping a child on a bottle until 2 years old. I think this could be more of a problem because they get so attached to the bottle and it becomes harder to ween them. Definetely transition to a sippy cup now if you haven't already also. If the milk isn't making him spit up alot or giving him an upset stomach, go ahead and start giving him a couple ounces at a time and slowly work up.

Erica - posted on 11/24/2008

My son just turned one on the 22nd and I started weaning him off the formula, when he was almost 11 months old. He actually just gave it up, he wanted something new.

Elizabeth - posted on 11/24/2008

I think a regular cup will work for her because she will drink water from a regular bottles water and does pretty good when my hubby lets her. But the regular sippy cups that look like bottles she won't touch.

Lara - posted on 11/23/2008

Our pediatrician, and all of our books, say to switch to whole milk around the first birthday. We are a week away from her birthday, so I am planning to do half formula/ half milk and ease her gradually into just milk in a sippy cup. I think I'm going to keep the bottle at bedtime, though, since I don't want to change everything on her at once. Then, I'll try to get her off of that bottle feeding over the next month or two.

Patricia - posted on 11/23/2008

i have started replacing formula with whole milk a few months ago, now we are just finishing off the last can and we are formula free!

Amanda - posted on 11/23/2008

My son turned one on the 8th and we stopped his bottle and formula. He has whole milk in sippy cups. My pediatrician agrees that the time to stop is a year, anything after than you're just wasting your money on formula. I have a book, "Baby 411" by Denise Fields & Ari Brown, M.D., which says the same thing. They actually tell you to teach them to use a regular cup as the sippy's promote tooth rot, but I can't picture myself cleaning up that much milk all the time! They say it's ok to use a sippy if you have to, it's better than a bottle. Hope it helps!

Amanda - posted on 11/22/2008

liz have you tried just a normal cup? my friends girl would take a bottle just boob. or from a noraml cup. they dont fill much at a time but she is one and she on a regular cup with help!

Elizabeth - posted on 11/22/2008

I haven't had a problem with the switch to milk except bowl movements. We have dealt with that from day one and with every new thing introduced to her diet. She slowly adjusts and I have to help her till she does with glyceron suppositories. However she won't have anything at all to do with a sippy cup no matter what I put in it.

Amanda - posted on 11/22/2008

I started by 1oz whole milk to 7oz formula and slow worked my way to whole milk... Justin was having big problems on formula so we started make the change at 9month but he was really having big problems on formula belly pain a rash the whole bit.



I feel as long as he is off the bottle by 2 ( I am okay with that). He doesnt always eat a lot through out the day. So if he is drinking milk i dont worry as bad. If dont believe there is a right answer.



as for the sippy cup! My 6 year old took 6 month to get him to take one and a few hundred in different types of sippy cup. We found the Avent with the flate nipple was his cup of choice for MILK we could get him to take juice in the hard top ones.



justin is different he like the tubware sippys, but still very much loves his bottle. and i guess for me i will just keep trying no rushing the growning up to fast for me. he is my last baby i am going to enjoy my baby!

Jennifer - posted on 11/22/2008

So, Ashley, what you are saying is to put juice in with the milk?

Ashley - posted on 11/22/2008

Jennifer, what you can do and it worked for my girlfriend is try putting a little juice in it and from there gradually leave out the juice part. As for my kid, she's still breastfeeding (unfortunately). She has a milk allergy or lactose intolerance and gets bad stomach aches during the night if given dairy. Doc said for me to try lactaid and see if its just the intolerance but i'm so scared!!!

Jennifer - posted on 11/21/2008

Yeah, we've dropped the 2 daytime bottles, but still have to have the AM and night time bottle. I'm doing 1/2 formula and 1/2 whole milk. He is NOT taking to milk in a sippy cup during the day though. He will drink watered down juice from the sippy, but not much milk (so far, only about 1 oz all day of milk from the sippy). Any ideas from anyone?

Elizabeth - posted on 11/21/2008

My daughter just turned 1 last week too. My pediatrician says whole milk now too and loose the bottle. The last one is a lot harder for her than for my son when he turned one.