Is it ok to introduce whole milk to my son?

Charlie - posted on 06/29/2010

Ask your doctor or midwife first , if they give the go ahead then start to introduce it slowly and not as a full replacement for formula , wean him onto it just in case he develops an intolerance or allergy .

Good luck :D

Angie - posted on 06/29/2010

Have you checked with your baby's doctor? Most do not suggest that children under the age of 1 drink whole milk because it can cause allergies. If the doctor thinks he is fine but small for his age, trust that. My girls were 18 months old before they reached 20 pounds and they were perfectly healthy. Whole milk will likely not "make him grow" but it might make him fatter. 1 month to you and me is nothing but 1 month to a baby is a very long time! Don't rush things, after all is "just 1 month" before it is safe to give him whole milk.

Keshia - posted on 06/29/2010

thanks everyone well i gave hima little bit today before bed i didnt think to warm it up at first so he wasnt drinking it so then i warmed it up a bit and he seems to be doign fine with it and he does use a sippy cup not all the time since its easier to measure the formula in a bottle he has used a sippy bup with juice and water since he was 6 months thats when WIC said to start gettign him on a sippy cup and iI have heard its best to have them off the bottle by 12 months I heard it can give them something called baby bottle syndrome where their teeth can be all messed up so i feel much better im not the only one with a little baby it just seems like everyone is always askign me how old he is and i tell them and they are like wow hes so tiny i thought he was like 6 months and other kids his age are double his size my my side of the family is all little so maybe once he gets a little older he will get his dads traits

Sherri - posted on 06/29/2010

The American Academy of Pediatrics as well as most pediatricians strongly recommend to have all babies off the bottle by 12mo's. They no longer need them at this point they are more than capable of drinking out of a sippy cup by this point in there development. They also tend to have many more dental problems the longer they remain on the bottle. Plus they tend to lack in nutrition because they are drinking far to much milk instead of only the the 2-3cups of milk a day.



All my kids were off bottle by 11 mo's, drinking from regular adult cups by 16 mo's, sippy cups were completely gone by 2 yrs.

Jessica - posted on 06/29/2010

my son is also lactose intolerant with his formula so to have milk and not spew it everywhere has been good. reading earlier, someone said the bottle should be weaned from 12 months: ive never heard of that! from 12 months they drink more from sippy cups but they still have bottles.

Jessica - posted on 06/29/2010

my little man is 10 months old and i have already started to introduce whole milk. i give him a little bit on his breakfast every morning and have done so since he was 9-9 and a half months and it has done no harm at all. one of my friends introduced milk to her kids straight from the breast at 8 or so months and they are fine too. as for his weight; every child is very individual and his eating all the time. his probably drinking alot of formula because his going though a growth spurt. i just put my little man into a size 1 suit (12 month suits) and within a couple of weeks, his already growing out of a couple of them! i dont think it would do any harm to start to give your little one milk.

Sherri - posted on 06/29/2010

At this age it is fine to start introducing it very slowly. 3/4 formula to 1/4 milk for a week, then 1/2 f to 1/2 m for a week that 3/4 milk to 1/4 formula for a week to all milk the next week. It has far less calories though but at a yr they should be getting most calories through solid food. You should also start weaning the bottle at this point too as the bottle should be gone by there first birthday.

Kelli - posted on 06/29/2010

I started my daughter on whole milk at 11 months because of the same reason. She was going through more formula than I got through WIC and it got so expensive. She did really well actually. I would give her formula in the morning then milk at lunch then formula in between lunch and dinner and so on. I would just increase it every week. Just make sure you just gradually get him used to it. Kind of wean him off the formula little by little. She was tiny then and is still tiny now. She is 15 months. It might help him with his weight but it hasn't with my daughter. Everyone is different. Good luck.

Adrienne - posted on 06/29/2010

Both of my older boys that are 2 and 3 years old both started milk at 11 months old because they drank so much formula but before I did that I made sure that I got the ok from the doctor. The doctor said that it was fine one month early. Nothing bad has happened to my boys since they started milk at 11 months.

Keshia - posted on 06/29/2010

well hes constantly eatting something but not sure if its enough? or maybe he just has a good metabolism he eats oatmeal and has a 8oz bottle for breakfast lunch he has #2 fruit and 8oz bottle then has gerber snacks and gerber baby juice or ill let him snack on something im having then he has #2 vegetable and 8oz bottle for dinner then 8oz bottle around 8:30 before bed so that seems like hes getting plenty am I doing something wrong or should I be doing somethign different?

Iridescent - posted on 06/28/2010

Considering he's already small for his age, it would be a bad decision. You may possibly want to ask the doctor to determine why he's eating so much yet gaining so little weight. Whole milk will not help.

Katie - posted on 06/28/2010

Sorry how do you go through that much formula and still have a small child? had to ask. My baby does the exact same thing. He is almost 9 months goes thru all the wic formula, plus 2 big cans and 3 small cans of formula a month. He weighs 25 pounds.

Onto helping you with your problem. It is fine to introduce milk, slowly, into his diet. If you really want him to gain weight, whole milk has the same amount of calories as formula and about the same amount of fat. That will not make a difference. If he is drinking that much formula though maybe you should start offering more snacks throughout the day. Babies need a lot of calories. Cereal bars that they make for toddlers are great. We use them for meals and snacks.
Good luck with the baby

Jonna - posted on 06/28/2010

I always transition my babies to whole milk during the 11th month. Start by mixing it so he has some formula and some milk in each bottle... each week give him more milk and less formula and by 12 months, he will be totally on milk. Also, the weight I wouldn't worry about, my daughter is 4 now and can still wear infant pants, some babies are just smaller than others. Good Luck.