What is the best way to transition from formula to milk?

Jodi - posted on 04/14/2010

Ladies, thank you for your contributions. This question is 6 months old, so I am pretty sure the OP has managed to transition her daughter, so I think the thread can be safely locked now. We appreciate you all helping other mums :)

Jodi Adams
WtCoM Moderator

Shannon - posted on 04/14/2010

Please read the following information and possibly check out the following website!



http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/...



Cow's milk is not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for children under 1 year old. Infants fed whole cow's milk don't get enough vitamin E, iron, and essential fatty acids. They also get too much protein, sodium, and potassium. These levels may be too high for the infant's system to handle. Also, whole cow's milk protein and fat are more difficult for an infant to digest and absorb.



For the best infant nutrition, pick the right milk source and eventually introduce the infant to solid foods. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants be fed breast milk or iron-fortified formula during the first 12 months of life. Between ages 4 - 6 months, certain solid foods may be added. Breast milk or iron-fortified formula, along with age-appropriate solid foods and juices during the first year of life, provides more balanced nutrition.



When the time comes to transition from formula to milk just try giving whole milk (suggested from age 1-2) in the sippy to see if she likes it. If she doesn't care for it at first mix it with her formula and gradually decrease formula while increasing milk until she is getting just milk. Be sure to watch her for any type of reactions in case she has milk intolorence or allergies. Good luck and I hope this helped!!

Sarah - posted on 04/13/2010

I would really urge you to wait until 12 months old before transitioning from formula to milk as that is what is recommend and regular milk is not a substitute for formula. Good luck on the switch

Alexis - posted on 04/13/2010

I have found that it is best to transition from formula to milk by giving a little "taste test" with a soft sippy cup at lunch to start off. It will give you a chance to observe two things; how well she handles the sippy cup and her willingness to drink the milk. The two handle sippy cups work best for babies just starting out. If your goal is to wean her off bottles as well as formula, I suggest you give her a cup in the day and bottle at night. Some children really dont use the bottle at night for food but more for comfort, so you may find that she will not need a bottle at bedtime. If you are just trying to wean her off the formula, then you should give it to her in a bottle and you can introduce the cup in stages. Make sure that your little is eating well. I starting my two boys on polyvisol, its a liquid multivitamin, when they switched to whole milk. I mixed it in their cereal. I wanted make sure they did not miss out on any nutrients provided by the formula. Also, I no it is healthier to drink skim or low fat milk, but a baby your daughters age needs the fat found in whole milk, formula is full of fat, they burn a lot of energy and being on a half liquid half solid food diet they will need all the healthy calories they can get. My boys are 5 and 10 and they are not overweight or undernurished, and very active, I now give they low fat milk because they are older and eat solid foods exclusively now.

Katie - posted on 04/08/2010

My fiance forgot to tell me that we were almost out of formula so at bedtime when I went to go make some I had to use warm milk instead. Ever since that night she is has been formula free. I think it does help if the milk is a little warm but that might not work for all babies. Good luck!!

Briana - posted on 04/06/2010

to transition from formula to milk put the milk in a nubby sippy cup. cause the bottle so go away at about one. its not good for their teeth. the nubby ones are soft tips so its not a big transition and u hit 2 birds with one stone

Krystal - posted on 04/05/2010

My daughter is a milk freak like her dad. She was drinking 16 oz. of milk a day, from 11 months to 14 months when I found out that the calcium was causing her to be anemic and constipated even more than she already is so I cut her down to 8 oz. cups.
My daughter did not have formula though.

Have you tried just giving her milk? She might just love it.

Krystal - posted on 04/03/2010

hi my son has been having whole milk since 8 months, i started putting it in his food and cereal and he was just fine, at 10 months he started loosing interest in his formula and i asked my doctor and she told me to go ahead and give him whole milk, we are still trasnsitioning at the moment, he has 2 sippy cups of 6oz formula which he leaves 2oz in both. and he has 1 sippy cup of 6oz whole milk and 1 sippy cup of 4oz whole milk. my son is 11 months old now and hes completely off the bottles. he has 4 nuby sippy cups, they have a soft spout which makes it easyer for him to suck on. and he drinks water out of a regular cup to. we havent mixed the whole milk with the formula because i tried it and he just would not drink it. gave the whole milk to him on its own and he cleared the whole 6oz. we still warm them up though, its not hot it just luke warm. it hasnt affected his tummy, he isnt constipated, he goes every 2 days which is what he has always done. hes still putting on weight and thriving. he'll be completely weened by the time hes 1. speak to your doctor and if they say yes then go ahead. my son likes the milk more than his formula, he used to have 4 bottles of formula, 3, 8oz and 1 4oz bottle, thats a big drop to what he eats now, but he loves his solid food to. i would rather give him the milk then him not get what he needs. i cant force him to drink the formula but he guzzles down the whole milk so im giving it to him. if your daughter will take a sippy cup then i would start to take the bottles away. i did it gradually, i took 1 for a week then took 2 for a week then took the 3rd one for a week and then took the 4th one and within those 4 weeks he got used to using the sippy at every meal ect so he now prefers the sippys to the bottle. deffinately talk to your doctor they can give more info and advice on transitioning from formula to milk. hope this helps. good luck and best wishes. :) x

Tamarra - posted on 04/03/2010

My son's pediatrician said to start @ 10months, 2ozWHOLE milk/6oz formula, then two week from there half & half, then try straight milk.

My son takes a sippy cup & a bottle, cup @ brkfast/lunch/dinner/snacks && bottle the rest of the time.

If you want to try a cup do the silicone tops first they are similar to the bottle top & make the switch easier.

Laura - posted on 04/03/2010

yeah, i've found that if they resist the cold turkey switch from formula to milk, just slowly add in a little more milk to the formula a day at a time until it's just straight milk. If it's easier for her to stick with the bottle, worry about the sippy transition a little later.

Elizabeth - posted on 10/28/2009

personaly i went cold terkey lol i gave my son his bottle filled with milk some ppl like to do half n half it was eaiser to just give it to him for me good luck

KfjkHCF - posted on 10/28/2009

hi i have 13 month old son & im a first time mom! what helped me when transitioning from formula to milk was mixing them together! but make sure u put more milk then formula. another thing is make sure u still put baby cereal w/ the milk. it will help out a lot! take care..

Elise - posted on 10/28/2009

My son is 10 months old also but I was told to not start milk until the first birthday. I don't know how but you may want to check with your prediatrician to make sure 10 months is okay. My son has been off of the bottle since 7 months old and uses a rubbery spout sippy cup. Remember formula has vitamins that are neccessary for our babies that they cannot get from milk. :)

Amy - posted on 10/28/2009

I would try giving her just some milk first in the bottle to see if she likes it. If she likes it then if your trying to get her off the bottle give her milk in a sippy cup during day and the bottle at night. If she doesn't like it start by giving her 1 or 2 oz of milk with her formula and increase it every week until she is getting only milk.

Kendra - posted on 10/28/2009

We just put the milk in the bottle one day and he drank it. If you were warming the formula do so with the milk for a little while until she gets used to it

Ricka - posted on 10/28/2009

I didn't start my son on regular milk until he was 1 and a half. And then I did half half - half formula and half milk for about six months all the while making the formula less and milk more and once it was just milk I watered it down a bit for around two months and then just clean milk - he took to it quicker and not bubling over or allergies.

LaShonda - posted on 10/28/2009

With my kids i just waited until they were 1 and gave them milk no mixing of milk and formula. just straight out gave them milk and they took it.

Tricia - posted on 10/27/2009

They say you should wait until they are at least 1 yr old. Bc of everything that they need in formula. But when I switched from formula to milk. At first I mixed it. Formula and milk. Then after a few days or a week. Start to put more milk and less formula. Until its all milk. Worked for me with my daughter.

Angela - posted on 10/27/2009

start giving him cows milk in a bottle if that dosent work start giving him is own feeding cup with a top on it then they get the hang of using there own feeding cup becomes speacil like us having our own i use to give them it in a bottle for there feed times then give there specail cup in between hope all goes well

Aimee - posted on 10/27/2009

I just started my 11 month old son on milk a week ago, and we did it cold turkey. My mom said she did the same with my brother, sister and me. I don't think he noticed, and if he did, he wasn't bothered by the change.

Suzanne - posted on 10/27/2009

Quoting Andréa:

try a soft nipple sippy with warmed up rice drink from a health food store. visit Milksucks.com and decide for yourself if you want to give ur daughter health problems caused by our genetically modified and hormonally injected milk from our poor cows. Milks not the same as it used to be. anyways... try that and she should mostly be eating food throughout the day with 3 cups of "milk". HIH ;)

You can always do organic milk if you're worried about poor milk quality.  I switched to organic when I got pregnant and I don't plan to change back.

Lisa - posted on 10/27/2009

I just did formula/milk half and half in the bottle w/ my son, slowly weening him from the formula. BUT.....I made a mistake by not taking him off the bottle right at 1 yr old. I tried to, but he was not happy about it and I always caved into his cries and gave the bottle back. However, I have learned from my mistake, and my next child will not be as lucky. Now that I have finally gotten my son off the bottle I know that a child will only whine and cry for a couple days and then forgets the bottle all together. So my advice is to use the bottle to switch your baby to milk and once she is comfortable w/ the milk, switch her from bottle to sippy cup. (Provided that she is able to hold the bottle on her own, she should be able to hold and use the cup)

Stacey - posted on 10/27/2009

We gave our oldest whole milk once a day in her sippy cup instead of a bottle when she was around 10 months to help with the transition from formula to milk. By the time she turned one we had her off both formula and the bottle. It will be different for all babies, but if your baby will take it in the bottle but not a sippy cup, I say stick with the bottle and try water or juice in a sippy cup till she gets the hang of the cup and prefers that to a bottle. She will soon realize she gets more at a time with less work from the cup and then taking the milk will fall right in line.

Holly - posted on 10/26/2009

We have an amazing doctor, and he said that unless your child doesn't like the taste of milk, you can just switch it out completely. We did that, and it worked great! For a while, I would give him formula just at night, for the full tummy factor. I switched to the sippy cups with the straws that fold down. He seemed to take to them easier as the sipping action is nearly the same as with the bottle. I also found they are nice, because kids can't lay down or fall asleep with them in their mouths - therefore, avoiding it sitting on their teeth and causing decay. He sits up and drinks it, and then, puts it aside to go to sleep. Hope your transition is smooth!!

Caroline - posted on 10/26/2009

My son probably would have taken to regular milk cold turkey, but I had a can of formula to use up so when he was 12 months old I mixed it first 2/3 formula, 1/3 milk for a week, then 1/3 formula, 2/3 milk until the can was used up. It was probably the easiest thing I've had to do as a mom so far!

Kimberly - posted on 10/26/2009

I just recently put my Son on cows milk. I started off will one bottle a day, with his lunch time feed so if he had a sore tummy it wont affect his sleep at night. Then i gradually added in and extra bottle everytime.

Danielle - posted on 10/26/2009

I gave my girls whole milk in their weetabix then as a drink in a sippy during the day then just gradually until i'd completely swapped to whole milk and sippy cups instead of bottles. I also found it good to praise them for using their cup and drinking 'big girls' milk. Hope this helps x

Gabrielle - posted on 10/26/2009

Everything I've read says not to give your child whole milk until 12 months of age, unless told otherwise by your doctor. If your baby is still taking a bottle by 12 months then I think that would be best.

Sarah - posted on 10/26/2009

I mixed them, starting with half-and-half, and gradually increased the amount of milk. I did this when transitioning from formula to milk as well as when transitioning from breast milk to formula. I was lucky with the second one, though -- he could care less what he was drinking as long as he got something! Good luck with it!

Magie - posted on 10/26/2009

i did the half and half thing. i found it was better to slowly add more milk after about 2 weeks each time. :)

Iris - posted on 10/26/2009

You can try and warm the regular milk just a little and in a bottle until they are comfortable enough not to suck from a bottle..my 1 year old drinks juice and water out of her sippy cup and only drinks milk in a bottle at bedtime and when she wakes, i have tried to give her milk in a cup and she will not drink it..

Shannon - posted on 10/26/2009

with my youngest we switched out one feeding with milk in a cup for 3 days, the 2 feedings for 3 days, and then once we finished with the third set of 3 days he wouldn't drink the formula anymore, hope this helps

Charlotte - posted on 10/26/2009

when I went from formula to milk I just went half and half at first then just keep added more milk. Just dont make to many changes at one time so keep it in a bottle then you can always try something different then a bottle. hope this helps

Priscilla - posted on 10/26/2009

Amanda, Your daughter needs to be on her formula for a full year. I would suggest that you begin to give her some regular milk in her sippy cup at (baby food) mealtime but continue to give her the formula in her bottle until her first birthday. Once she is a year old, you can begin to give her regular milk at mealtime as well as in her bottle. You don't really need to heat the milk either. She's old enough now to drink her milk cold and will probably prefer it cold once she gets used to it.

Jennifer - posted on 10/26/2009

my advice is to start out with 1 cup a day for a few days. You dont want the tummy to get upset, and it might take a little while to get adjusted to it. if you see her tummy is not bothered by it then just up the milk intake for her. If you see she is not going to care weather it is formula or milk i would finish the formula and go straight to milk

Tatia - posted on 10/26/2009

Hi Amanda,
I weeeened my son. I did 1/4 milk 3/4 formula for a few days and then 1/2 and 1/2 for a few days then 3/4 milk 1/4 formula until I went for the gusto. You will be able to tell when your precious is ready for the next stage.

Melody - posted on 10/26/2009

Hey Amanda. Just a thought for all of you wanting to start milk. Please make sure your baby is eating well and taking vitamins before starting any milk. Formula is loaded with vitamins and iron. Milk does not have these. If the baby is not a good eater i suggest staying on the formula longer. My daughter ( 7 now) was not a good eater. I took her off of formula around her 1 yr b-day. Her Dr. never informed me that her bad eating skills might be a problem once off of formula. 3 months after being on milk we almost lost my daughter. She was life flighted to Arnold Palmer Childrens Hospital when I took her to the hospital for being sick. I had no clue she was that sick. For the past 3 months she really was not getting any iron or vitamins and drinking too much milk and not eating enough regular food. Her iron levels were life threatning. She had to have a blood transfusion. This was the scariest day in my life. I felt like such a horrible mother. How could I not know that my daughter was not getting enough iron or vitamins? After this ordeal my Dr told me it is very common in babies starting milk and going off formula. Wish I would have known sooner. Please be safe and careful if you start milk too soon. They do have formula for bigger babies now. I will be using that first b4 swutching to milk. Hope this helps someone.

Crystal - posted on 10/25/2009

Do half milk half formula.. it works pretty well

LACIE - posted on 10/25/2009

I only put formula in my kiddos bottles. When they started to drink milk, I only gave them formula at nap time or bed time. There did away with nap, and finally bed time. My daighter actually took herself off the bottle at 8 mos.-was very sick- so that part was easier with her.

Lisa - posted on 10/25/2009

U should think about staying on formula till about 2years old..depends on how much ur bubby eats and what types of food..formula has a lot of the good stuff in it that kid's need like iron ect..i think formula works out to be cheeper as well.if u still wanna put ur bubby on cow's milk then i was told that u swap one bottle to cow milk,do that for a week and then the next weeek u swap the second bottle to cow milk..then all bottles should be milk..it's better to do it week by week so it does not upset there little tummys.

Ashley - posted on 10/25/2009

oh I forgot to add. its best to start testing milk by mixing with cereal, or in food to check for any intolerance.

Jennifer - posted on 10/25/2009

I also have a 10 month old daughter, and she is in the transition right now. I put 2 ounces milk to 6 ounces of formula for her, I will probably bump her up to 4 to 4, she has sippy cups, she will rarely use, she doesn't even hold her own bottle yet, but she will hold a sippy! But like many moms said on here babies will go at their own pace! It's not a big deal. Her peditrician asked at 6 MONTHS if she was talking? I was like an occassional gaga goo goo. LOL.

Ashley - posted on 10/25/2009

Not really too much medical evidence supporting this but what I did with my children was buy a soft tipped sippy cup. I kept formula for bottle feeding and milk or juice for the sippy cup. In the beginning try just 6oz of 1/2 water 1/2 juice (or baby juice) with each type of fruit juice just to check for allergies (uncommon but happens). Then once youv'e tried the juices just do 6oz of Milk in the sippy for the first day (just to make sure her belly can handle it. If she has any problems with the milk (diarrhea or constipation) hold off and ask your pediatrician about lactaid as an alternative for a short period of time. If she has no problems start subbing the sippy cup for times when you would give her a formula bottle. Once you have made it through the whole day without a bottle, you've conquered both weening from the bot and transitioning to milk in one shot. Worked w/ both my boys and my neice, so doesn't hurt to give it a shot. It takes time though, just always remember whole milk is to be used unless their is a weight issue that the pediatrician is concerned about, because the fat in the milk is needed for nerve and brain development. After 12 months a baby should have aprox. 16 oz of milk per day....hope this was helpful!

Joanna - posted on 10/25/2009

Quoting Abbie:

@ 11 months I gave a 6 oz bottle, so I would do 5 oz of formula to 1 oz of whole milk. The next week I did 4 oz of formula to 2 oz of milk........... eventually we made the switch after 6 weeks. Worked great for us.

I did this same thing when mine was 12 months, it worked really well.

Noelle - posted on 10/25/2009

Like many of the mom's above, we transitioned gradually by 1oz whole milk with 5oz formula to 2oz whole milk with 4oz formula, ect. but before we started the transition, we also stopped warming the 100% formula bottles about 9months. My son seemed to love the cooler temp to the formula and that may have helped the change to refrigerated whole milk easier? My son also took to a sippy really well toward the end of the formula transition and began to refuse a bottle at 12 months. Good luck!

Ashley - posted on 10/25/2009

When my babe was ready I bought Transitional Formula. Its made by Nestle Good Start (yellow box). It helps get them ready for cows milk. I used it for a month or so and went straight to cows milk. It worked great. I also took her right off the bottle cold turkey. I was prepared for long screaming nights but she didnt even notice, not one fuss. But if your babe is having problems, remember it only takes 3 days to change a routine of any kind. It may be tough but if you stick it out it will pay off. Hope this helps.

Erin - posted on 10/25/2009

My son wouldn't accept the milk immediately, and he certainly wasn't ready to switch to sippy cups. So, I started mixing formula with milk. For the first week or so, it was 75% formula, 25% milk. Then it was 50/50, then only 25% formula, and finally, just plain milk. I took about a month to transition him completely. Switching over to the sippy cup came much later (about 18 months old), but it still happened, which is all that really matters. Good luck! :)

Tiffany - posted on 10/25/2009

We did a slow transition. Starting around 11 months, we started out mixing 4 oz formula to 2 oz milk, then 3 oz formula to 3 oz milk, then 2 oz formula to 4 oz milk, then full milk. Each step took a week or so. She also took a sippy cup during the day, only had a bottle at naptime and bedtime. Then she was off the bottle completely by the time she was 15 months old. Good luck.

Serina - posted on 10/25/2009

Not always. I would ask your doctor though. Just make sure they eat food. All my kids were eating table food by six mons. Its a tradition in my family. They always feed the babys. Let them eat. my mom would say! Her and granny fed them anything. lol! Never hurt no kids in my family. My granny had 10 kids,30grand kids, and 15 great grand kids, all raised the same. Never hurt none of them!

Louise - posted on 10/25/2009

I thought you were supposed to wait until they are a year old to introduce cow's milk because of the risk for anemia. Is that not true?

Shannon - posted on 04/14/2010

Please read the following information and possibly check out the following website!



http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/...



Cow's milk is not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for children under 1 year old. Infants fed whole cow's milk don't get enough vitamin E, iron, and essential fatty acids. They also get too much protein, sodium, and potassium. These levels may be too high for the infant's system to handle. Also, whole cow's milk protein and fat are more difficult for an infant to digest and absorb.



For the best infant nutrition, pick the right milk source and eventually introduce the infant to solid foods. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants be fed breast milk or iron-fortified formula during the first 12 months of life. Between ages 4 - 6 months, certain solid foods may be added. Breast milk or iron-fortified formula, along with age-appropriate solid foods and juices during the first year of life, provides more balanced nutrition.



When the time comes to transition from formula to milk just try giving whole milk (suggested from age 1-2) in the sippy to see if she likes it. If she doesn't care for it at first mix it with her formula and gradually decrease formula while increasing milk until she is getting just milk. Be sure to watch her for any type of reactions in case she has milk intolorence or allergies. Good luck and I hope this helped!!

Sarah - posted on 04/13/2010

I would really urge you to wait until 12 months old before transitioning from formula to milk as that is what is recommend and regular milk is not a substitute for formula. Good luck on the switch

Alexis - posted on 04/13/2010

I have found that it is best to transition from formula to milk by giving a little "taste test" with a soft sippy cup at lunch to start off. It will give you a chance to observe two things; how well she handles the sippy cup and her willingness to drink the milk. The two handle sippy cups work best for babies just starting out. If your goal is to wean her off bottles as well as formula, I suggest you give her a cup in the day and bottle at night. Some children really dont use the bottle at night for food but more for comfort, so you may find that she will not need a bottle at bedtime. If you are just trying to wean her off the formula, then you should give it to her in a bottle and you can introduce the cup in stages. Make sure that your little is eating well. I starting my two boys on polyvisol, its a liquid multivitamin, when they switched to whole milk. I mixed it in their cereal. I wanted make sure they did not miss out on any nutrients provided by the formula. Also, I no it is healthier to drink skim or low fat milk, but a baby your daughters age needs the fat found in whole milk, formula is full of fat, they burn a lot of energy and being on a half liquid half solid food diet they will need all the healthy calories they can get. My boys are 5 and 10 and they are not overweight or undernurished, and very active, I now give they low fat milk because they are older and eat solid foods exclusively now.

Briana - posted on 04/06/2010

to transition from formula to milk put the milk in a nubby sippy cup. cause the bottle so go away at about one. its not good for their teeth. the nubby ones are soft tips so its not a big transition and u hit 2 birds with one stone

Krystal - posted on 04/03/2010

hi my son has been having whole milk since 8 months, i started putting it in his food and cereal and he was just fine, at 10 months he started loosing interest in his formula and i asked my doctor and she told me to go ahead and give him whole milk, we are still trasnsitioning at the moment, he has 2 sippy cups of 6oz formula which he leaves 2oz in both. and he has 1 sippy cup of 6oz whole milk and 1 sippy cup of 4oz whole milk. my son is 11 months old now and hes completely off the bottles. he has 4 nuby sippy cups, they have a soft spout which makes it easyer for him to suck on. and he drinks water out of a regular cup to. we havent mixed the whole milk with the formula because i tried it and he just would not drink it. gave the whole milk to him on its own and he cleared the whole 6oz. we still warm them up though, its not hot it just luke warm. it hasnt affected his tummy, he isnt constipated, he goes every 2 days which is what he has always done. hes still putting on weight and thriving. he'll be completely weened by the time hes 1. speak to your doctor and if they say yes then go ahead. my son likes the milk more than his formula, he used to have 4 bottles of formula, 3, 8oz and 1 4oz bottle, thats a big drop to what he eats now, but he loves his solid food to. i would rather give him the milk then him not get what he needs. i cant force him to drink the formula but he guzzles down the whole milk so im giving it to him. if your daughter will take a sippy cup then i would start to take the bottles away. i did it gradually, i took 1 for a week then took 2 for a week then took the 3rd one for a week and then took the 4th one and within those 4 weeks he got used to using the sippy at every meal ect so he now prefers the sippys to the bottle. deffinately talk to your doctor they can give more info and advice on transitioning from formula to milk. hope this helps. good luck and best wishes. :) x

KfjkHCF - posted on 10/28/2009

hi i have 13 month old son & im a first time mom! what helped me when transitioning from formula to milk was mixing them together! but make sure u put more milk then formula. another thing is make sure u still put baby cereal w/ the milk. it will help out a lot! take care..

Tricia - posted on 10/27/2009

They say you should wait until they are at least 1 yr old. Bc of everything that they need in formula. But when I switched from formula to milk. At first I mixed it. Formula and milk. Then after a few days or a week. Start to put more milk and less formula. Until its all milk. Worked for me with my daughter.

Stacey - posted on 10/27/2009

We gave our oldest whole milk once a day in her sippy cup instead of a bottle when she was around 10 months to help with the transition from formula to milk. By the time she turned one we had her off both formula and the bottle. It will be different for all babies, but if your baby will take it in the bottle but not a sippy cup, I say stick with the bottle and try water or juice in a sippy cup till she gets the hang of the cup and prefers that to a bottle. She will soon realize she gets more at a time with less work from the cup and then taking the milk will fall right in line.