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

Serina - posted on 10/25/2009

Well those lady gave good advise. I have 3 kids. And 3 step kids. I went cold turkey with all 3 around 11 mons. I just started giving them milk. They took to it well. Also. When they are one. You have to take the bottle. If they cry stick it out. Give them sippy cup. I know it sounds mean. Just throw all the bottles away, so you wont give in! ITs the best way. They might get mad at first. They will take it though! Hope this helps! Try cold turkey before you try anything else. She might take to it. Try it also cold before warm. Also, maybe do 1% milk at first so it dont upset her tummy, alot of times when you change they will got poops(yellow runny) from the lactose. Hope this helps!

Jessica - posted on 10/25/2009

My kids all got consitpated from me putting directly to whole milk...so i doctors suggested to do half formula and half milk and slowly use less and less formula..

Kim - posted on 10/25/2009

as soon as my son turned 1 i just gave him milk warm up and he loved he he took to it str8 away.each kid is different but u can just try them on milk one bottle a day then just keep giving them more and they shud just ajust to it.

Rachel - posted on 10/25/2009

With my girls I just started given them a cup at six months and started given them the cup more than the bottle and at 10 months or so i started putting milk in there cup at meals and started given less formula by the end of the month they were off of the bottle and i would give them there formula in the cup And slowly add more milk than formula. At 1 year i got rid of formula and went to milk and the cup. There were some times they wouldn't take it but it takes time and your child will let you know when they are ready too.

Michelle - posted on 10/25/2009

We made the switch at 9 months when our doctor suggested we try to. We mixed her bottles with 1/2 formula and 1/2 whole milk. She is now 10 months and drinking straight whole milk. She still drinks from her bottle although she is offered a sippy cup or regular cup with all of her meals.

Stevie - posted on 10/25/2009

Ive got a 1 year old and we've just started the transition from her toddler formula to milk. She has 1 bottle of full cream milk a day just before nap time. She seems to like it cold as she wont touch it if I warm it up. Its different with all children but most parents find weining them off formula is the best way to go. But some children can take to the milk straight away and turn their noses up at formula. Good luck.

Andrea - posted on 10/25/2009

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 ;)

Lakisha - posted on 10/25/2009

Well I work at a daycare center and I have a 5yr old and the best way that works for most of my parents and myself was to do half formula & half regular or 2% milk...whtso ever ur choice maybe ....and once the child is comfortable then start regualr milk, just warm enough to where they think it's a bottle, but not too warm and then start implementing cold milk!!! TRY IT, just a suggestion

Anneke - posted on 10/25/2009

We slowly added whole milk into their diets. Using a cup instead of the bottle. It helps to get rid of the bottle. From 9 to 12 months, they drank both. We found that after they turned a yr old, they wouldn't keep the formula down. So they just had milk in sippy cups from that point.

Maria - posted on 10/25/2009

we did ours cold turkey, the other ladies gave great advice too.

Nicole - posted on 10/25/2009

I just did the same thing. What I did was gave her one cup of whole milk a day...Then when she was completely out of formula which was 2 weeks ago she went straight to milk all day. I even pulled her off the bottle except for at naptime & and at bedtime. O I warm up the milk when I give it to her at those times in the bottle. She took to the regular milk just fine. I hope that helps you.

Abbie - posted on 10/25/2009

@ 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.



The cup vs bottle is a personal choice, we didn't make that change til he was 18 month old. My son wasn't ready for a cup............many aren't!!

Shayna - posted on 10/25/2009

With my oldest two I was just able to put the milk right in their bottle and they took it.

But with my 11 month old right now, she does not like milk. I'v been mixing her formula with milk in her bottle, half and half, and then during the day milk in a sippy < which she won't hardly drink.

If you want her off the bottle, putting it in a sippy cup would be easier.

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.