11 Month Old and the Switch to Whole Milk

We switched from bottle to sippy and from formula to whole milk at 11 months. We never mixed milk and formula. We began by only offering milk in a sippy at meals, and once he had that down, switched the bed and morning routine. We had 2 days where he didn't take much of the milk, but after that, he got the idea that the formula wasn't coming back, and switched great!

Hi J.,

I have a 14 month old, and when she was about 11 months I started to add whole milk into her bottles. In an 8oz bottle, I would first put 6oz of formula and 2oz of whole milk, then gradually add more milk and less formula. My daughter never hesitated about taking the whole milk. By her 1 year appt she was completely on whole milk, and drinking it out of a sippy cup in the mornings. I still give her a warm bottle at night, but we are slowly weeding that out as well. Hop e this helps.

Take care
T.

Typically babies are moved to whole milk at 12 months - sorry. When I moved my daughter we did a "step process" where we started with 1/4 milk 3/4 formula and gradually moved to a full bottle of milk. My doctor said this was important to help monitor for allegeries that are unique to drinking actual milk (as opposed to milk-based formula). If you really want to move your son now, you might call and speak to the nurse at your ped's office. There shouldn't be a charge for this and she can give you guidance that is specific to your son.

Good luck.

Most pediatrician's wait until around the first birthday to switch to whole milk. I would guess that at 11 months would probably be OK. You could always call the office to be sure before you do it, if that makes you feel better. I starting mixing 3/4 cup of formula and 1/4 milk, then 1/2 and 1/2, etc to make the switch. It is just an adjustment to the new taste, so my pediatrician recommended doing it that way. Good luck.

I have always been told not until after the doctor gives you the go ahead at their 1 year check up. Also, you may find your son doesn't take well to the taste of milk right off the bat and have to mix with formula for a little while until he gets used to it so you may have to buy more formula anyway. We started with 1/4 vs. 3/4, then half and half and then 3/4 vs 1/4 and finally all milk and that worked for us. Also, formula has so much more nutrition than cow's milk that we actually kept our son on formula for a little while longer. We had quite a bit still left when he turned one so we just mixed the two (milk and formula) until the formula was all gone. It certainly didn't do any harm and that was just more time that he got the nutrients from the formula.

As long as you don't have a history of milk allergies in either of your family I'm sure whole milk will be fine. I weaned my son at 11 months and he refused whole milk. He would only drink watered down juice for a month until finally he decided he liked milk. I just made sure to give him lots of cheese and yogurt so he got the calcium he needed. My pediatrician was fine with all of this. Good luck!

Keep giving him formula until his 12 month birthday. If you REALLY don't want to give him any more, call his pediatrician and ask for a recommendation. Only your own pediatrician, who knows your son's health history, is really qualified to make this call.

Don't buy any more formula! Save your money...I started REALLY watering down his formula about one month before we made the switch to whole milk and eased him into milk. Don't replace bottles with milk, but instead offer him milk with meals and snacks. Make sure that he has access to water all the time in a sippy. I would use the remaining formula to just wean him on. My son made a very quick transition and it sounds like yours will too. Most kids that have issues don't take a sippy or aren't eating solid food well. Sounds like you are doing great Mom!!! Good luck!

Most doctors will recommend switching to whole milk at the year old check-up; but anytime after 10 months of age is fine...especially since your son is already using a sippy cup. Be sure he is drinking whole milk until the age of 2. Then you can switch him to 2% or less if you want. But they especially need the whole milk until age 2 for proper developement.

http://www.missbrenda.com

Just switch to milk in the sippy once you run out of formula. Just give it to him with three meals a day.

Well J.--- I am going to give you my advice, that others may have tried??? First, my son flat out quit taking formula at 7 mo and we had to switch him to whole milk---the pedi didn't like that and told me not to---but I wasn't going to starve my son. Second, My dtr had milk issues as a newborn so her pedi told me to mix 1/2 formula and 1/2 milk to see if she gets reaction--She told me to start that at about 10- 10 1/2 mo so we would know, so I think you could mix the two to see if he is okay, or just make the switch. I am sure he will be okay as long as he was taking reg formula and not Lacto-Free

I hope this helps. E.

my baby started drinking milk at 9 months. She was exclusivly breastfed until 8 months then started solids. Then at nine months we just started giving her milk at snacks and lunch. She is 10 months now and she still nurses twice per day, morn and eve. My pedi said no more than 16 ounces per day and offer the milk AFTER he has already eaten his meal, or else he may fill up on milk. I did not do any mixing with breastmilk and whole milk. She just drinks it staight out of the carton, in a sippy of course. She usually only drinks about 12 ounces. 4 ounce with morning snack. 4-6oz at lunch and 4oz in afternoon. All the while still eating all her solids and nursing morn and eve.

I switched my child at 11 months and she did fine. I think you are suppose to give around 24-32 oz a day, but I am not 100% sure.

Hey J.! Gorgeous name, that's my daughters name!

Milk may suprise you... It did us... We were told to stay on formula longer then we'd expected... BUT if your son hasn't had any medical issues, or feeding complications, you probably are fine to switch. I would call your doctor, and leave a message on the nurses line (or however yours is set up) and ask. They may be able to look at his chart and determine one way or the other... I would always suggest the doctor because you don't want to have any suprises if you try it on his own. And NO don't take him to the doc just for that! We catch some silly virus every time we're in there so avoid that at all costs!

As for the sippy cup vs bottle. I know it seems odd but you may try a straw instead! Sippy cup is okay from time to time, but if you can get him to go to a regular every day straw you'll save yourself so much heartache! They learn so much, its better for their mouth because it actually helps them develop different muscles etc to help with speach, and they also learn how to drink without tipping the cup (over time but it does work!). I've seen kids of ALL ages still tipping the cup and making messes when they are older... This will avoid that as he gets older. Plus some kids have a really hard time getting off the sippy cup... Sure you have to supervise more of the drinking but in the long run I'm so glad we did that!

Now we don't have to have a sippy cup with us everywhere. We can just stick a straw in whatever we're drinking (bottle of water or cup of juice at the restraunt) and we're set..! That was a tip we got from ECI and its paid off big time!

As for the milk part, don't be suprised if he doesn't want MILK from something else! It took us a long time (in fact we're still working on it) to get her off the night time milk bottle. We're off the bottle now, but she doesn't gulp down a glass of milk like I'd hope! Loves water and juice and everything else but, there is something about milk that is different...

Just be prepared for it! Another thing I've learned was that they actually only need 2-3 servings of milk a day. So you can make that up with calcium rich OJ, cheese, yogart, stuff like that too. But that may be for when he's a little older... Get on the same page with your doctor is going to be your best bet... Find out if you can start milk now, and if so you can give that a good try until his 1 year check up and discuss everything in detail with your doc then!

Good luck! Glad to help!
~T.~

I started my kiddos on milk early, around 10-11 mo. If they were taking an 8 oz. bottle, I would give 1 oz. milk & 7 oz. formula for 1 week. Then the next week, 2 oz. milk & 6 oz. formula. So on & so forth until we phased out formula. I did this to make sure there was no allergy, which DID happen w/my 1st DD, so be watchful.

They say about a year you can switch them to whole milk. With my first and second one we didn't switch until after their 1st birthday. With my 3rd one we started at 11 months and that was a big no no from my dr but we had no milk allergys and she wanted to be like her big sisters. So I let her try a little early. She loves to drink her milk that is usually gone before her meal is done with. When we first started we would add a little chocolate syrup to their milk so they get a taste of it and gradually I put less and less until they were totally use to just milk it self. I think I did it over a week.
Good Luck!

Unless your son has had feeding or digestion problems, I do not see why you couldn't give him the milk one month early...I did. I ran out of formula and didnt want to spend the money to buy more if he wasnt even going to finish it, so I just went ahead and gave him milk. He was a bit hesitant at first, but if you warm it, they seem to like it better. Your son may not drink the recommended amount at first so just give him a few spoonfuls of plain whole yogurt every day so that he gets his calcium. :)