When can I take my baby off formula?

Christina - posted on 04/11/2010

i switched my kids at a year old. they did fine. if your child takes the sippy cup i would just put the milk in that. if he/she is used to it being warm then you could warm it up a bit. sometimes my kids wouldn't want to drink the milk, so i would add a little bit of chocolate or strawberry syrup to it. just enough to make it have a little bit of flavor. they liked that real well!

Randee - posted on 04/11/2010

I started to introduce milk about 2 months before the swicth, my daughter is 14 months and see went to milk when she turned 1. Things are great!

Jessica - posted on 04/11/2010

We took our son slowly off formula by giving him milk for during the day (only once or twice rather than formula) for about a week then just slowly increased it. We started doing that when he was 12 months and it took about a month. He is completely on regular milk now.

Serina - posted on 04/11/2010

Health and nutrition specialists in canada recommend between 9-12 mnths. I swiched my son at 9 mnths and it was fine! My daughte ris 9 1/2 mnth now and I am starting to give her a few cups of homoginzed milk in the day. Plan to have her on milk full time by 10 mnths.

Christina - posted on 04/11/2010

I took my son of formula right at a year old.. I made his bottles half and half til he got used to the taste of whole milk.. I had alot of people tell me that and it really worked.. Alot of doctors will tell you that once they turn a year old they need to be drinking whole milk..

Angela - posted on 04/11/2010

i put my kids on whole milk @1yr old r u in the wic program?

Casey - posted on 04/11/2010

My daughter started drinking cow milk at 12months.. i gave her 2% percent milk and her nutritionist said to give her whole milk...but she doesn't like it..because she already gotten use to the 2%,so i put the milk in her oatmeal,cream of wheat, or baby cereal for breakfast..so that way she has some type of diary product in her system

Brittney - posted on 04/11/2010

about 10 months old i stated to mix formula with whole milk. 1/4 milk, 3/4 formula.. for a month then 11months i mixed 1/2 and 1/2 milk and formula and on her first irthday i started whole milk only. it was easy for my 2 children to like whole milk. i have 1 that was on soy formula to whole milk..

Rachelle - posted on 04/11/2010

Hello. I just recently took my daughter off of formula. She is 12 months and this is how I weened her from formula to whole milk ... first gradually take away the formula and replace it with whole milk. Say she drinks a 8 oz bottle...make a 6 oz bottle of formula and the other 2 oz use whole milk. Just keep adding whole milk a little at a time and within a weeks time she should be off the formula and onto regular milk....good luck I hope the trick works.

Elizabeth - posted on 04/11/2010

I just would like to put it out there that there is a reason that cows milk SHOULD NOT be introduced till after 12 MONTHS. Their bodies are not made to process it and it can actually cause death in infants. Causes issues with Kidney failure and so forth.And a Pediatrician should not recommend early introduction of cows milk until the age of 12 + months. It is also important to continue onto a the next step formulas for tots. So please be very cautious in introducing milk at such a young age.

Tiffany - posted on 04/11/2010

with both my kids i started at about 13 months slowly adding 2oz of milk to the formula bottle to slowly let them adjust to the change it not you get constipation/diarrhea.. Upset tummies!! I also used the next step 9-36 month formula for a while just adding a scoop into the milk bottles after transition off reg. formula. Just to keep those extra nutrients & vitamins!! Good Luck!!

Rebecca - posted on 04/11/2010

I started switching when he was 11.5 months, don't mix formula and milk together or water down formula. We changed the lunch time bottle to milk first and also made 2 bottles one formula and one milk but only half bottles. SO instead of giving 200mls formula we gave 100mls formula and 100mls milk (actually 50/50 milk and water) then slowly cut out formula altogether. The last formula bottle to go was the bedtime one because it's more filling but instead we just give him "dessert" like fruit or muffin and then milk before bed now.

Karrington - posted on 04/11/2010

My son came off of bottles and nine and a half months old except for his night time bottle. During the day he drank whole milk or water out of a sippy cup. He turned one on a Saturday and Monday night was the first night he didn't have a bottle. If she is drinking from a cup during the day then I would switch her to cow's milk and if she still has a bottle of formula at night then the first three nights will be the hardest but then she will totally forget about it! Trenton has not had a bottle/formula since nine and a half months old during the day and has not had a night time bottle for a little over two months.

Alexx - posted on 04/11/2010

when my daughter was little I breast fed for almost a yr but around i would say 8 or 9 mos I started giving her soft baby food to start the transition. i would not recommend, giving an infant whole or any form of cows milk until the age of 1 because of the lactose in it the baby could become allergic or worse. so id say normally when the baby turns 1 and you shouldn't have a hard time switching to milk at all just warm the milk up a little bit they wont even know. hope this helps.

Mary - posted on 04/11/2010

I slowly introduced milk to my boy at 10 months. He was eating way too much formula costing me way too much money. I talked to his pediatrition and she recommended me slowly giving it to him. Mixing it in with his formula then slowly adding more milk then formula. By 11 months he was on milk and healthy. didn't have a problem. I would say since your little girl is 13 months she should be ready unless she has dairy allergies you can always try soy. Don't be afraid to talk to her pediatrition. Good luck

Kristen - posted on 04/11/2010

my baby is 13 months also and we just took her off the formula this past week. we had to keep her on it for a lil longer because when we first tried to switch it was tearing her stomach up...we ended up finding out shes lactose intolerant!!!

Lisa - posted on 04/11/2010

with all my children i started mixing in 2 oz whole milk per 8 oz bottle of formula so 6 oz formula and 2 oz whole milk at 10 months and worked my way up to half and half by the time they were a year old and every month after just take 2oz more of formula out for milk and you'll be on whole milk soon enough. considering your daughter is 13 months i would go ahead and do a half and half bottle and see what she thinks or if she even notices. if she doesn't notice and you don't see any effects, diarehha or upset tummy , then continue from half half this month to a little more next month.
best of luck to you

Crystal - posted on 04/11/2010

We have WIC and so I opened our last can of formula 3 days before she turned 1, and so I just started mixing milk with it until we were out and she just converted really fast. I have always heard that the transition is at 1 year.

Rikkie - posted on 04/11/2010

12 months is a great age..i started putting cows milk in sippy cuts instead of bottles. The only time my kids recieved a bottle of formula was at nap/bed time. With in 2 weeks they all were drinking cows milk and did not drink out of bottles either..
Hope this helps

Cindy - posted on 04/11/2010

I'm very gladyou asked this question Tammylee, I have been wondering the same thing. And just as I have read on other things,.. mostly everybody on here says around 12 months is when they switched to cows milk. Nobody believes me when I tell them this, My Husband, and then particularly my sister in law seems to think babies can drink cows milk at 5 or 6 months and has been trying to force me to do it for a while now.

Now I know I'm not crazy or over protective like they think. I am right!

Sunshine - posted on 04/11/2010

you should always ask your Dr. first but I believe that after age one you can safely change over.

Just start with replacing one bottle and watch for any signs of gas, or upset tummies. if everything is good give two bottles and so on.

Christi - posted on 04/11/2010

we were told that by his first bday be had to be off of formula. the day of his bday the bottle monster came and took all his bottles. we had already been using sippy cups with him for juices and sugar water so he knew how to use them. he loved milk so it wasn't hard at all to switch him. but you are supposed to do it at one.

Emma - posted on 04/11/2010

hi i put my daughter on cows milk at 12 months! i actually thought she wouldnt take to it but i just gave it her 1 day and she didnt even notice the difference!

Kristen - posted on 04/11/2010

Slowly transition baby from formula to milk by doing half milk half formula and gradually add less formula until it's just whole milk. I didn't transition my daughter until she was a little over 1 year. To take her off the bottle I got the transition soft soft sippy cups and by 15 months she stopped wanting a bottle. She is two now and still drinks about 8 oz warm milk in a sippy cup before bed.

Leanne - posted on 04/11/2010

Hi my baby is only 7months but i know that you can introduce full fat cows milk as a drink once they are one but they can have it in cooking from 6 months. so it's totally up to u now ur little one is 13months xhope this helps

Michele - posted on 04/11/2010

I took my daughter off formula at 6 months & switched her to regular milk.

Lacey - posted on 04/11/2010

my daughter (now 3) when she was 10/11 months she took herself off the bottle and formula. and my son (now 1) took himself off formula and a bottle at 10/11months too and i wasnt going to force them to eat it until they were 1 just because wic program said they couldnt have milk to age 1. but the dr said that he can have milk and formula at 9/10 months.

Sam - posted on 04/11/2010

I started to switch at about a year too. I gave my daughter a half formula half milk bottle... and added more milk until the bottle was just milk. You could take it a step further (if you haven't switched to sippy cups yet) and do the mixture in a sippy cup.

Danielle - posted on 04/11/2010

Children are apparently supposed to be on formula til the age of two. There are three steps of formula. The first is for newborn to 6 months, the second is for 6 months to 1 year and the third is called a follow-on milk drink which is for 1 year to 2 years of age.

My son is 18 months old and he hardly has a bottle anymore. He just is not interested unless its first thing in the morning or last at night. He mainly has three bottles a day now (one with breaky, lunch and dinner). This milk formula does not replace meals as the first 2 formulas did / do. It is a suppliment filled with goodness to make sure your child is receiveing the proper amount of nuitrition in their diet eg iron, calcium, folate, omega 3s etc It is sort of a top up. I give it to my son as i said three times a day just to keep my mind at ease. So i know that he has the very best start in life. Once he turns two i will then change him to a cows milk with added suppliments that you can buy in most local shops. Its called kids brain milk that had all the added benefits that formula has but in real fresh cows milk. Hope that helps

Amanda - posted on 04/11/2010

At the age of 1 is when drs in the u.s suggest to make the switch. If your child was on a soy formula, try soy milk first to make it a little more easier transition. They also have a powder formula for children 12-24 months. It is a next step above regular formula to help the transition.

Jennifer - posted on 04/10/2010

My son quit taking a bottle and formula at 11 months, he wasn't interested in it anymore and wanted real food. You should talk to your doctor but my son has done just fine on whole milk since then.

Jessica - posted on 04/10/2010

My son just turned one and the day after his birthday we switched from bottle to whole milk in a sippy and he loves it!! now he doesnt want a bottle and he drinks juice and milk from the cup. I suggest you introduce the sippy early (I did at 9 months). He didnt want it or like it for a while so I didnt force it but I kept offering it on occasion and then by his first bday he had no trouble!! Also at age 4 months I started introducing jar food and at 6 months things like baby yogurt and when he could sit up (6months) i fed him puffs and snacks from gerber. hope this helps! good luck!!

Nicole - posted on 04/10/2010

LIke most of the moms here I started the gradual switch to cows milk (1/4 Milk 3/4 formula ect) at 1 year. Since she was on powdered formula we continued to carry some powder with us everywhere for emergencies. At 17 months now we are completely out of formula and she is happy with out it!

Becky - posted on 04/10/2010

Most doctors will tell you 12 months is a good age, but once again every child is different. My son starting drinking cows milk at 10 months and only because someone let him taste it and after that he refused to drink formula. I waited until my daughter was 12 months before I started giving her real milk. Maybe you should try giving your daughter cows milk just to see how she does with it. Alternate it in between formula bottles. If she isn't already drinking from a sippy, maybe give her some milk in a sippy cup to ween her not only from the formula but the bottle as well. Start with maybe a cup a day for a few days just to see how she's doing. I have heard of some people mixing formula with cows milk, but I don't know how healthy that is...

Jessica - posted on 04/10/2010

my son stopped formula feeds at 11months then he drank full cream cows milk.

Katie Pearl - posted on 04/09/2010

rule of thumb is 1year... at least that is what all of the books and doctors say... But you are the Queen in the kingdom of your child... So if YOU think she's ready and your doctor agrees that its safe (be sure and watch for signs of allergies) I say go for it... try diluting it with water and gradually increase the milk to water ratio... in no time she'll have her own milk mustache worthy of a got milk? advertisment... Good luck xoxo

Emma - posted on 04/09/2010

I took my daughter off formula 4 days before her first birthday. I started off with 3/4 warm water and 1/4 milk till she got used to the taste then went to 1/2 warm water 1/2 milk for about a week and then went to just milk. It took her a day or two to get used to the taste but now loves it. I would still heat the bottle up but now at 20 months old she drinks it straight from the fridge.

Sarah - posted on 04/09/2010

Babies are not really suppose to be on cows milk until 1 year so I nursed/formula fed my son until 12 months then I cold turkey switched him at 12 months. I warmed it up just like his formula and he had no problem drinking it at all. I know all babies are different. I let him get use to this for a month or two then I weaned him off the bottle and only gave him the Whole milk in his sippy cups.

Elizabeth - posted on 04/09/2010

my son stayed on formual until he was 9 months and then was slowly introduced to cows milk around 9 1/2, but he had a reaction and drinks soy milk, the sippy cup was introduced to him at the same time as the milk.

Mary Jean - posted on 04/09/2010

my lil boy just turned 1 on april 1 and he is off formula, when he was 10 1/2 months i started giving him 8 oz, half formula and half whole milk, until i gave him whole milk only

Yinni - posted on 04/09/2010

my son has been drinking whole milk since he turned 1 (pedi said it was ok). he hated it! what i had to do was any formula i had left over, i would do a half formula, half milk mixture. day by day i would put in less formula and add more milk. now my son will drink it no problem. if he get extremely fussy over his milk, ill put in a squirt of chocolate syrup and then hell take it like a champ. just remember to brush her teeth after!

Amanda - posted on 04/09/2010

The doctors told me a year and they were on it for a year...i started giving them smaller and smaller amounts until they didnt even realize i switched their formula to milk.

Tiffany - posted on 04/09/2010

hey wic usually wants them off formula by the time they are 1 year, but truthfully its entirally up to you. I got all my 3 off formula by the age of 11 and half months. 1st just start with formula and half water half milk, then as the weeks go by decrease the formula and before you know it your baby will be on just milk. goodluck!

Tammylee - posted on 04/09/2010

Thanks heaps for your comments ladies. Really appreciate it, will definatley be giving the cows milk a go now that I know 12 months is an appropriate age. Thanks again

Jessica - posted on 04/09/2010

Hi Tammylee, my little girl is 16 months and I starting weaning her off formula at 10 months. She was a really spit upy baby so the sooner the better. Just do bottles at like half formula and half milk. This will get her used to milk but no fully over to milk. It worked great for my daughter who is now 16 months....and she loves her milk in a baba still!

Crystal-ann - posted on 04/09/2010

i started the process at around 12 months for my son and i found that if you just give them a little to start off with so that they dont get an upet tummy than with in a week you may have replaced one feed with cows milk. but than again its what your child likes i found that after emmett had a taste of cows milk he rejected any formula i tried to give him so just she how she reacts

Brooke - posted on 04/09/2010

Well, my daughter will be 13 months old in 3 days and she is on the Enfagrow toddler formula. I just stopped breastfeeding about a month ago because I am in school, and am finding less and less time to pump. My daughter's pediatrician wanted me to keep her on formula until ahe is at least 15 months old, because of her weight. She is only 18 lbs, but is very tall!!! Good luck to you!!

Jessi - posted on 04/09/2010

i took my son off formula at 6mos. i mixed 1oz at a time until about 75% of his bottle was whole milk

Jessica - posted on 04/09/2010

i took my daughter off it at 14 months when she started refusing it totally. ive heard any time after 12 months is appropriate.

Leah - posted on 04/09/2010

any doctor will tell you to switch at the age of one. your baby souldnt want anything to do with formula after she gets the taste of cows milk.

Rebecca - posted on 04/12/2010

Age 12 months is when you can take your baby off formula! Wean baby slowly start with one bottle of milk a day for a couple days and then add another milk bottle and keep going until it's straight milk, you also might want to wean from bottle at same time but I waited until about 18 months to wean from bottle to sippy cup.