How to Get 1 Year Old to Drink Whole Milk

S.:

Transition him to a straw cup! A lot of sippy cups on the market require nothing different than a bottle, but are just more socially acceptable. Introduce straws and see if that helps the transition to milk.

D.

Why do you want to transition him to whole milk? Maybe he knows something that you aren't aware of. My daughter had certain foods allergies and would not eat them. I couldn't understand it at the time but later it revealed itself.

I know this is not going to be a popular answer, but both of my girls used a bottle until after they were 2 years old. I weaned off BF at one year and gave them formula for another year. Neither of my kids did well on whole milk. My older daughter refused to drink it, and my younger one was continuously sick with coughing-type colds that would not go away until we just gave her soy formula. It is common that people in this country get rid of all bottles after 12 months, but I found that my kids consumed more from a bottle than sippy cups, and they would chug the whole bottle. Sippy cups of milk would sit around for hours with just a few sips out of them (YUCK!!) Don't stress too much, try bottles or sippys that have soft pliable nipples. Use sippy cups for water, but you will probably throw away a lot of milk if you expect him to drink it out of a sippy cup!

go to www.notmilk.com and make sure you want to feed him milk. it's not what the dairy councils ad campaign would have you believe.

I nursed 3 children, one took to milk just fine(at 13 months old), one only drank it if we mixed it with a small amount of chocolate syrup(at 23 months old) and one would only drink it warmed up (at 25 months old). Don't go from breast to bottle, it is a completely different sucking technique they need to master. It is best to go directly to a sippy cup. Offer it to him when he is busy playing and he will take it and see how easy it is to go on playing and also have his drink at the same time (Enlightenment!) You can also point out everyone who uses a cup and maybe pretend his teddy has a cup too. All the siblings are different and each will require new tricks from the bag. Good Luck.

Some people dilute the milk, or put half breast and half milk...or you can change the ratios... 3/4 breast and 1/4 milk...then gradually increase the milk amount over time, as they get adjusted to it. Then again, some children even reject this. For me, this is what I had to do... then gradually my son was on all whole milk, over time, meaning about maybe 3 months.

Oh...perhaps he is just not ready to do this, (jump from breast straight to a cup) with a sippy cup and the milk. The reason why, is he doesn't even do the sippy cup with water in it either, even though he is 1 years old. You might want to re-think that.

Maybe transition him via a bottle first...weaning is not easy to begin with... My son and I LOVE love loved the "MAM" brand bottles. You can find it on Amazon... he had no transition problems with this bottle. It's great.

But yes, each child is very different... my first was not easy to transition, my 2nd child was. Thus, needed to do different methods with both.

You didn't mention how you are weaning him... but there are so many different ways and reasons. Good luck and all the best,
Susan

How about having your 4 year old drink it out of the same kind of sippy cup? Maybe your son will want to copy what she does. Make it a game. It will make your 4 year old proud of herself also when he does it! :)

try pumping your breast milk and mixing it 1/2 and 1/2 with the whole milk or just letting him drink the breast milk from a cup. he will pick it up sooner or later just give it time.

my daughter at 24 months still doesn't like to drink milk from a cup. I consulted her pediatrician with concern for lack of calcium. Doctor was not concerned at all, she said for us to continue to offer, but buy other calcium rich foods. We found Total cereal has the highest level of calcium of all the cereals in our grocery store. We prepare oatmeal with milk and she eats it without any problems. Juices also have added calcium. We figure she didn't take to milk, because she was also breastfed. The last three months I did offer her pediasure, and she liked it very much (with a straw). Turns out the pediatrician was not onboard with this one, because the benefits are outweighed by the high content sugars and fat. My daughter drinks water with her meals, while at daycare. At home, watered down juice or organic lemonade. Good luck to you and remember that each of your children are different, so just because your daughter took to eat at a certain age shouldn't be a marker for your son to be on that schedule. Again good luck.

Hi S., My son was breastfed for the first 3 months but then he had medical issues so I had to stop but I have heard a lot of people say that they mix some of their breast milk with regular milk and slowly increase the amount of regular milk everyday. I think it's worth a shot! I hope this works for you. God Bless you and your family!

I had the same problem with my daughter, so I made her "banana milk" (she loves bananas). I would just put milk and a banana in the blender and she loved it - plus it's healthy! Then after a while I slowly diminished the amount of banana I put in the shake, until she finally started to like just the milk. Good luck! :)
PS- also, my daughter didn't like 'typical' sippy cups at first, so we bought her one that had a rubber straw (plastic might cut the gums) and she did really well with that cup... I believe it was a "munchkin" brand. Here it is: http://www.munchkin.com/products/detail.html?section=prod...
:)

Hi! Mixing the breast milk and whole milk is a good start. However, when it comes time to stop the breast milk all together and if you still have trouble getting him to drink the milk by itself, try mixing the Yo baby yogurt with the milk in a sippy cup. Shake it up, call it a smoothie, and see if he takes to it. It will have a sweeter taste and will give him all he needs. My son wasn't crazy about milk either and now I give him a smoothie right before nap and then plain milk with dinner. He has no problem sucking down the smoothie at all. He loves it. Good Luck.

Mix it with breast milk. Start by mixing 3 or 4 parts breast milk to 1 part cow's milk and slowly increase as he drinks more. Mix his cereal and other foods with it to. Slowly he will aquire a taste for it.

Hi Stecey, I to am a SAHM and have a 13 month old daughter. I breastfed her exclusively until she started eating food. She now eats and snacks all day and I still nurse her in the am and pm, sometimes during the night and during the day when she asks for it. About 3 to 5 times in a 24 hour period. She also would not drink the whole milk. I would first recommend that you don't go to the bottle at this age. Just try different sippy cups till you find one that your son likes. I used the Nube also. She seemed to really like it. I tried mixing the breastmilk and whole milk but that didn't work. Finally I bought organic 1% and she loves it. It took a little bit. She still won't sit and drink a whole cup of milk. It takes time with some. But I figure she is eating, and loves cheese. She loves OJ, which has added calcium, and drinks a little of regular milk a day, plus still nurses. So she is getting plenty of calcium I think. And they only want you to give them whole milk because of the fat content. But she gets that in the breastmilk and in her daily diet. I am confident that my daughter is healthy and she is gaining weight. Although she did lose a little when she started walking. But just take your time and be patient with him. I hope you find some of this useful. Good luck.
M., SAHM of 10 yr old and 12 yr old sons and 13 month old daughter.

Hi S.,
You have really good responses so far...I didn't read ALL of them. Another suggestion: Try buying "Ultra-pasteurized" organic whole milk, it is creamier and a little sweeter...just tastes better all around. It also has a longer shelf life in the fridge. Horizon makes one in 1/2 gallon size. Good luck!