My son won't drink MILK

Angela - posted on 03/30/2010

Kimberly S. WIC is a pain. They are telling me that he needs to be drinking milk from a cup by now and I should have weaned him from a bottle. I tell them everytime I go in that he never drank from a bottle and the come out with a new sippy for me to offer him. Only three of my kids really like to drink milk, and My youngest won't at all. The WIC nutrishunist go off of a book but do not look into anything else. In OCT they did change the tickets, but they changed primarly for infants 12-24 months to get whole milk and past 24 months to get lower fat milk

Angela - posted on 03/30/2010

Thank you ladies all so much for your comments. My little one loves milk products just won't drink milk. He does not want to nurse any more. And I don't think I could if he wanted to its been like four or five weeks. We keep offering milk he just spits it out. Even if I give him nothing else he won't drink it and will beg for water or anything that isn't milk. He eats yogurt and cheese, and we cook with milk, but he won't drink it. I have tried the half and half while I was weening him, it was still a no go. I have also tried the hersey's, sippy and a bottle. he just won't. Thank you all so much again I will continue to try.

Laura - posted on 03/30/2010

I started giving him some milk with meals when I wa still nursing (around a year). He weaned himself around 15 months. He never did drink it much, and still won't. He wants juice or water, sometimes chocolate milk. Pediatrician said it was fine if he ate cheese, yogurt, or some other dairy. I present it in a sippy with every meal, but he rarelly drinks more than a sip. May be because we nursed, but my mom said I did not drink it either and I was a formula fed baby. Don't worry about it, but ask the doctor what she/he thinks.

Chatty - posted on 03/29/2010

Sorry but juice (unless on rare occasion as a treat ) is unecessary! They need to get the calories from other sources for healthy natural food.......water is absolutely necessary to hydrate the body! Juice is also a bad habit for their teeth! If your child is eating a proper balanced healthy diet you shouldn't need to give them juice!

Kimberly: Don't even worry about ur daughter's weight yet.....you need to be concious about what ur feeding her but things can totally change as she gets older and becomes more active she may start eating more but thin out! My daughter has been quite chubby until just recently......she eats like a horse all day but she's gotten taller and thinned right down cuz she's always active!

Good luck!

Heather - posted on 03/29/2010

ummmm they definitely do not NEED juice. Water is great. Water is not empty calories - it's fluid, hydration. They should be getting their calories from healthy foods, not sugary juices. Eating the actual fruits and drinking water is much more beneficial and healthy than drinking juice. My daughter doesn't drink any juice at all. She doesn't even like it. She gets water (which she loves), 2% milk, and the breast morning and night. She is in the 95% for height and weight - so she isn't wasting away.

Kimberly - posted on 03/29/2010

I am on WIC and actually got into an argument with the nutritionist about whole milk versus 2%. She tried to argue that they have never allowed 2% milk with the WIC checks and then told me that back in October they switched the checks to say whole milk only. I told her my daughter only gets 12oz of 2% milk(because that's what I grew up on) per day, 6 oz in the morning with breakfast and 6oz again with dinner. She told me she needs at least 20oz of milk per day but never mentioned why...I agree with Dana that the calcium and vitamins can come from other sources. My M-I-L says that my daughter needs 100% juice everyday to help with the nutrients because water is "empty calories" and won't help her grow to her full potential. I was worried for a while that my daughter would be obese like myself and her dad. I had been giving her no more than 12oz of juice per day and then water the rest of the day. Anyone have any thoughts about this? BTW, the nutritionist from WIC took her measurements and said that my daughter is in the 75th percentile overall so she is perfectly healthy in my eyes!

Chatty - posted on 03/28/2010

I thought my daughter was the only 18 month old that LOVES vegetables?!! LOL! Cauliflower is her favorite.......she also LOVES pretty much all fruit and fish! Oooh, and avacado! Yummy!

Rebecca - posted on 03/28/2010

that's a good point, and I guess I should've noted the rest of my daughter's diet... Other than the milk issue she has a VERY good appetite. She regularly eats salmon, chicken, cheese, pasta, rice, beans, legumes, as well as any fruits and veggies that are offered to her-- seriously has never refused a vegetable... loves asparagus, brussell sprouts, broccoli, kale (another source of calcium), tomatoes, peppers, etc.... So I suppose that if a child has a milk aversion, along with general pickiness with foods, then further supplementation would be needed.

Chatty - posted on 03/28/2010

Rebecca: just to add......milk is also a good source of protein and good fats meaning you'll also need to supplement those in her diet as well! You're right though! My daughter doesn't drink milk either......water with every meal cuz I don't agree with juice!

Rebecca - posted on 03/28/2010

You may want to speak to his pediatrician... My daughter is the same way-- HATES non-mommy milk. Her Doctor's position is unless she turns into a calf, she really doesn't need cow's milk. He said that as long as she has either a calcium supplement (she takes calcium gummies), or drinks calcium fortified orange juice, or eats a serving of yogurt or cheese, she's getting the calcium she needs.

Jessica - posted on 03/28/2010

They say that small children who continually refuse the same food or drink often do so because their bodies actually have an intolerance to the food, sometimes an allergy or just a sensitivity. This was the case with my little sister who constantly refused milk products and eggs. When she was allergy tested at 3 they discovered she was VERY allergic to milk and eggs.

When I tried to switch my daughter from formula to whole milk she plain out refused to drink her bottles (even when I snuck in 1 ounce of milk with the formula). So at the pediatrician recommendation I made the switch from formula to soy milk. Soy milk has come a long way since my little sister was drinking it, the taste has greatly improved and they now add calcium and vit d. So you are almost getting all the same nutrients of cow's milk but a bonus of extra protein.

My daughter loves the Vanilla flavored and to be perfectly honest it's not bad in my cereal in the morning. After doing some research I discovered only the organic varieties are guaranteed to be made from Soy beans cultivated only here in Canada and the US, the other varieties use soy beans from all over the world. I pay about $0.15 more per 2 litres in my opinion worth it.

Nicole - posted on 03/28/2010

Just keep offering it. This is normal, it also happens with children who switch from formula to milk.
Add yogurt and cheese into his diet where you can to keep up on the calcium intake and such. I know that most of the time doctors want us to give them homo milk, you could try 2% to see if its a texture thing?
It took us a couple of months to get my nephew to make the switch from milk to formula.
We went through a milk strike with my son when we swapped it into cups from bottles (he was breastfed till 9 months where my son decided he didn't want to drink from me anymore and then on homo milk at the doctor's recommendation).

Good luck!

Heather - posted on 03/28/2010

My advice: It's a battle and you have to be strong. It can feel like a gladiatior battle. I went through it with my daughter. She refused milk. Hated it. Spit it out, got angry, threw her cup. She only liked water in her sippy cup. She was fine cutting down with the breast - not needy with that at all. It took a long time but I kept making the milk available and would take her water away. It was a tough slow process but now she will drink it. She by no means will drink it endlessly but she doesn't hate it anymore. I did learn that she won't do the whole milk, so we do 2%. It helped mixing that horizon strawberry organic milk for a bit too (no HFC or artificial stuff like the nesquick). Good luck, stick with it!

Kathy - posted on 03/28/2010

I had the same problem with my son at 1 yr when switching from formula to whole milk. I started by putting 3/4 formula at 1/4 milk in cup warmed it to room temp for about 3 days. Then slowly lowered the amount of formula and increased the milk in about two weeks he started drinking all milk I still had to warm it to room temp for about a month but he now is a milk-aholic and loves it and drink it cold. Hopes this helps.

Chatty - posted on 03/28/2010

Why does he need milk? As long as you meet all his daily requirements milk isn't necessary!?? There's other ways to get calcium, proteins and good healthy fats......you may have to do some research but providing ur child with a balanced healthy diet that incoporates those things is definitely an alternative! My daughter doesn't drink milk and what little milk we do use in cooking or smoothies is goat's milk as she is allergic to cow's milk! She drinks water with her meals, and usually has a blended smoothie once a day! If you want any suggestions on how to eat milk free lemme know!???

Jamie - posted on 03/28/2010

If you're serious about stopping nursing, then I agree with the previous post on the "this is all your getting" method. You could also try adding some flavor to it, like chocolate or strawberry. We are still nursing and the only way DD will drink milk is if it's got some Hershey's in it!

Kimberly - posted on 03/28/2010

If you are still producing breast milk, i would give him a glass that is half breast milk and half regular milk to see if he takes it. If not, try the "this is all your getting" method. Offer him the milk and when he spits it out tell him that he's only getting that milk and nothing else to drink until he finishes it. Eventually, he will get thirsty and drink it.