My 17 Month Old Will Not Drink Whole Milk.

Hi, Have you called her pedi. to see what he/she suggests? My daughter was lactose intolerant as a baby and it was hard to change her over. If she hasn't been-then maybe she has developed it now-you may have to try a lactose free milk. As far as the sippy cup and juice go-a lot of little ones refuss it at first. I know that it sounds mean-I thought it did too, but if you want her off the bottle -then just don't give it back to her. Keep insisting on the sippy cup-she's not that thirsty if she won't take it-the bottle is just a habitt to drink from at this age. When she gets thirsty enough she'll take the sippy cup. Juice is knew thing to her it sounds like-so you may have to try different kinds and flavors. Good Luck
NF

2% is the way to go. My daughter's daycare uses 2% and her pediatrician has told me that 2% is perfectly fine. She still gets the nutritional value, but with less fat. She is 2 now, but has been on 2% since she was 13 months.

You probaly need to talk to her pediatrician about this. She may have some lactose intolerance. Also you could try, skim, 1% and 2% milk. Rice Milk or Soy milk maybe a good alternative and there is a lactose free type of milk product that you could try. I had a friend whose little girl would only drink rice milk. It is a lot sweeter than regular, but does have nutritional value. But start with the pediatrician and get his/her advice.

Your daughter might not like the taste of whole milk. If you can try to find some good unpasturized goat milk, it's a lot easier to digest, has a slightly different taste and gentle on the stomach. Your daughter is probably just trying to show you she doesn't like the milk or maybe she doesn't feel good after drinking it. Pay close attention to how she is after drinking the milk. You can always give her fresh sqeezed fruit juice and as she gets older fresh extracted vegetable juice is super healthy for a child.

my daughter did that with the whole milk also.. but we found out she was lactose intolerant.. is there any diarrhea after the milk bottles? any rash?

She may not take whole milk. You make need to ween her to whole milk. I suggest giving her 2% and if she still throws it back up, she may need lactaid.

Is she throwing it up after having yogurt and cheese? I could be slightly lactose intolerant and having her drink whole milk makes it worse. You could always call her doctor and ask.

As for the bottle, yea it can be difficult but you just have to take it away, its not fun, and it was hard for me to realize Cameron (m oldest) wasn't going to dehydrate. When they get thirsty enough they'll take the sippy cup, just keep offering it constantly don't giv her the bottle. If it makes you feel better since she doesn't like juice give her formula in the cup then you know she is getting something good for her and something she drinks is in it.

Does she like to drink ANYTHING besides formula? Water?

Wow! Sounds like you have a strong headed little girl. Aubrey (my 14 month old strong headed daughter) will only drink juice if I mix it with water - like 4 ounces of water and one ounce of juice. My pediatrician says that juice is not important at this age and as long as she is drinking lots of other liquids (water, milk, formula) she is doing fine. Aubrey didn't like the sippy cups at all. She loves drinking out of a straw though, or just a "big girl" cup if I help her.

The throwing up could be a sign of a more serious problem and you should think about at least calling your pediatrician. I have heard that gripe water (I found it at ride aid) really helps. It was kind of expensive, but if it works like they say it does it may be worth it. Here is what Wikipedia says about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gripe_water
I do not trust everything that wika says but in this case I think they are pretty near the mark. You can always "google" it to find out more information.

Let us know how she does!

Hi K.,

My oldest daughter threw up milk when she was little and it wasn't the milk (and it wasn't lactose intolerance, that is a common misnomer)that she had a problem with, it was the processing, the antibiotics and the steroids in the regular milk you get at the grocery store. She drank organic milk fine. Our entire household has changed over to organic milk since we determined that. (We pay $4.99 a gallon for organic, where the regular is $3.99) Also as a note, Publix brand milk (the regular stuff) does not have the added hormones and steroids that other brands have. It's noted on the label.

Cow's milk is not a necessary food. As a matter of fact, there are many who believe no one should drink cow's milk. You are right that your daughter needs to get enough fluids but milk isn't your only option. Try juices that aren't as sweet...or water it down. Babies don't like change and apple, for instance, is almost pure sugar. Rice milk may be a stepping stone also. It's a great alternative to cow's milk. Don't ever give your baby soy. A young woman shouldn't have that much estrogen until she has hit puberty.

Try whatever you give her in her bottle. After you determine what she likes, then try the sippy cup. Like I said, babies don't like change.

I hope I helped K.. God bless!

M.

Have you tried vanilla soy milk? none of my kids drink milk. They will eat cheese, yogurt, etc. but they just don't care for milk. I would put the soy milk in her bottle. Don't try to change too many things on her at once. If you want to get her off the formula first, then focus on giving her something else in her bottle (other than juice)like the soy milk. If you want to get her off the bottle first, then keep giving her the formula but in a sippie cup. (you can also try the straw sippie cups).
Or slowly eliminate the bottle, once at a time. for instance if she usually has 3 bottles a day, then go down to 2 bottles and a sippie cup. GOOD LUCK!!

Call your doctor. she might be lactose intollerant

My 13 month old wouldn't drink it either, until I warmed it up, at least to room temperature. Only then would he drink it. Sometimes I pour the milk into his cup and let it sit out a while why I feed him, then I sometimes warm it for about 20 sec. in the microwave. He drinks it when it is warm.

I'm with Mimi about the rice milk vs soy milk concept. I grew up with a dairy allergy and I still prefer rice milk over cow's milk - Most kids I know like it because it is sweet-tasting, like breast milk. The soy milk is something that your daughter shouldn't have until later in life and she probably won't like the taste or texture, even the flavored varieties. As far as the juice goes - I wouldn't bother pushing it. If your daughter eats enough fruits, there is no reason to get her into the habit of drinking juice. Just let her drink water. Check with your pediatrician about the maximum amount of water she should be drinking daily for hydration purposes and provide her with a sippy cup of regular water to drink. Many pediatricians will tell you that the reason for drinking the whole milk is to provide your little one with necessary fats, if she eats nuts, eggs, meats and fish she should be getting plenty of what she needs to grow.

She might be lactose intolerant if she is spitting up like you say after drinking whole milk. I would put a call into a nurse at her pediatricians office or schedule an appt. Be honest that she hasn't made the switch off formula or a bottle yet. They can give you lots of suggestions. My son is lactose intolerant and can handle most cheeses and yobaby but not whole milk, ice cream etc.. We use soy milk under the brand name "Silk" at any grocery store. They have a kids (purple carton)with extra vitamins. Between 14-22 oz is normal a day for milk or soy milk and then give extra bottles or cups of water. Be glad she doesn't like juice that's just extra cost for you and wasted calories for her! As for switching to a big girl sippy cup I suggest Playtex's straw cup for 18 months +. My son took to this at 12 months when every other sippy cup was thrown at me. He has never liked them or took to them. He prefers the straw b/c the bottle involves lots of sucking so it was an easy transition. (Put formula in it first. Then switch to two ounces soy, 4-6 oz formula. Keep this up for a day and then start to add more soy vs.formula. It took a week of me doing this before we totally switched to soy.) Then you'll just be ahead of the game and won't have to switch cups for awhile! Publix has them for sure for about $5. Good luck!

K.

We had the same problem. We added just a little bit of strawberry syrup flavor. That worked then we just weened down the syrup till they would just take the milk by itself. Many moms may argue that it is just adding sugar to something that is good for them (others may say milk is not that important), but our pedi agreed it would not harm them. I only give him milk now before bed with graham crackers so he sleeps well through the night.

throw the bottles in the garbage.
she's getting yogurt and cheese, so wouldn't worry about the milk, if you insist she has to have milk start with skim work your way up, to 2% wouldn't do whole milk, too much fat, and kids get enough fat from other foods.
As far as enough liquids, try some water, more hydrating than milk, and mix the juice with water, takes the tartness away. and you won't have as many loose stools in diapers. And always give a couple sips of water after juice to remove acid and sugars from teeth.

Just an FYI - milk (any kind) is not necessarily the best for our kids anyway. Store milk is laced with all kinds of bovine growth hormones and the like. You could try a vanilla soy that has all kinds of great antioxidants or even an organic milk that is fresh from the farm. Both are great and will give your daughter what she needs without the hormones. Usually they taste better to children too. And also if you start her on organic or soy now, she wont get hooked on something that isnt the best for her anyway. Her period will start most likely at a latter age and her adolesent mood swings will be much less severe. I have 4 girls and saw the difference first hand when I switched to soy and farm fresh with no hormones. WOW!

Hey K.

My family doctor started my kids on 2% instead of whole milk when it was time. We actually started closer to 9mths than the year mark. They have never had a problem. I know a lot of babies that cannot stomach whole milk and parents often mix milk with formula until they develop enough to drink it. Perhaps it is a taste thing. Maybe try a half and half mixture and see if she will drink it or even try 2%. It is not as fatty and like I said, my kids had no problem. Good luck!

Whole milk is a very different taste from formula so it can be a hard transition for children. My youngest had a hard time switching from breast milk to whole milk and juice so I know it can be frustrating. She refused to even hold on to the sippy if it had milk in it. Finally, she started drinking it but only from a cup. It was kinda messy at first but we just put a plastic tablecloth under her seat and put just a little bit in a cup until she was comfortable with it. Now at 21 months she will drink milk and little bits of juice but only orange juice. You mentioned that she throws up the milk, have you ever had her checked for lactose intolerance. That may be part of the issue. One of my brothers had that as a child and he would get horrible stomach aches and just be sick for an hour or two. He eventually out grew it but until then he drank rice milk or took some stuff to help him digest milk products. Hope this helps.

If she is not lactose intolerant, do not mix her formula with milk. This is probably the reason she is throwing up. My 2yr. old is lactose intolerant and we use the Lactaid, which is milk, just lactose free. She will eat yogurt and cheese with out throwing up, but when it comes to milk she will get sick. My 5yr. old did not want to drink milk out of a sippy cup because she associated it with her formula and she did not want a bottle anymore. I tried everything to get her to drink milk; I put vanilla in it, tried chocolate milk, strawberry milk, and then one day I was eating cheerios with milk and a little sugar and she drank the milk from my cereal. I then began to put a small amount of sugar in her milk, and later used splenda (diabetes runs in my family so I am extra cautious with my children). Eventually she drank plain milk, and she can go through a gallon in three days if we don't monitor. If you try everything you can think of and it still doesn't work, consult with her pediatrician, they should be able to help. Make sure you tell them what you've tried. Good luck.

Hey K.,
I know my husband is an adult but he sometimes acts like a child so I think it's kind of the same. LOL! He's always had the problem with whole milk but whenever it was mixed with anything with sugar, his body would accept it. I personally don't know why but it works. As for the the bottle... you just need to throw away ALL the bottles! It's time. The more you baby a child the harder it takes for them to accept the way things are as they grow up. Will your daughter drink water? There's nothing wrong with water... flouride water is great for them.
Definitely talk to your daughter's doctor about the milk issue. The drink container issue is just her trying to be boss. If she has no bottle, she'll drink from something else. Let her pick out a sippy cup or cup with straw at Target for herself. Summer is coming, you can always give her a freeze pop to help with the hydration. Good Luck!

If you are worried about liquids give her water. Milk is not necessary and is a high allergen. Juice is too sugary. Soy is not good for little ones. Rice milk and almond milk are okay for cereal and such (if you do that kind of thing), but get the unsweetened version. The earlier you start these things the healthier and more normal to your child.

I too have a 17 month old. He will drink whole milk out of a bottle, but only after we weaned him a little at a time. He won't drink it from a sippy cup. However, we have given him water in a sippy cup since about 8 months. We have also tried MANY cups. HE doesn't like juice so water is fine with me! Whole milk(cow's) is NOT a must have for anyone. It just goes great with OREOS. So maybe try just plain water in severeal different cups, or maybe let him pick one out at the store. Hope this helps!
Johna

hey girl, i had the same but different problem, my son and daughter loved whole milk but instead of throwing it up, it would tear up their tummies. Go and get some vanilla soy, it will change the way your child thinks about milk, its full of all kinds of good stuff for them too! Make sure you start it in the bottle and then show her that you're pouring the same stuff in the sippy.. works everytime!! I weaned my daughter from her bottle at exactly 12 months, i got so tired of paying for formula!

I had a similar problem. I could not get my now nine year old to drink milk once she was taken off the bottle. Every once in a while she will drink milk in school but not too often because I send her daily with the little kool aid pouches. Once we gave her a sippy cup at the age of 10 months she started drinking kool aid and that was it. No juice and no milk. I think she liked the sweetness of the drink and realized that milk did not have those different flavors. She is a bundle of joy at the age of nine. I just make sure she get calcium elsewhere. Give that a try and see how it works...Good luck!!!!C.

Hi Kim,

If you are giving her enought of yogourt and cheese throughout the day...try giving her water...to begin with to ween her off the formula. Then give her 1% milk, 2% after a while...then go up that way....it can be the consistency in the milk that she doesn't like...my son was the same...so this is what i did and it helped. Don't go into juices...it is a good way to give kids their nutrients...just a suggestion.

C.

I wouldn't worry so much about the whole milk. My daughter couldn't have it(everytime she drank it, it would come right back up). She had to drink Soy milk for the 1st year. And even now, she can drink 1% or 2%, but still can't do whole. You can try the soy and see if she will drink it. As far as the juice goes, my ped said that it's better to do water than juice b/c of the sugars etc that are the juice.

Hope this helps. Good Luck. S.

I had a similar experience with my son. He would drink the whole milk but as soon as it went down it came right back. After a while he knew it was going to make him sick so he wouldn't even drink it. Turns out he was milk protein intolerant which is completely different than lactose intolerant. Our miracle fix was soy milk. Give the soy milk a try and keep your head up if its a protein intolerance they tend to outgrow that by their third birthday. Good luck hope this helps.

I dont think that's such a bad thing. My children drink hemp milk, almond milk, soy milk and only if it's organic do they drink cows milk. Goats milk is very good and rich too. Cows milk is full of cow sized antibiotics and stuff you dont even want to hear about... Water is so valuable that the liquid can almost cure you. That's a good choice too. Dont take my word for it though, look it up and see for yourself. Dont ever take anyone's word as "truth" unless you know and have determined them to be tried and true. Good Blessings to you. :)

I know a few posters said they would do soy having had 3 kids now who refused whole milk because it made them sick and having the oldest of who i went the soy route with all i can say is please please please don't go soy. Soy milk is not a natural soy product and it raises the estrogen levels in little girls i had a 5 year old with breast buds (that were extremely painful for her) and now at 8 we are seeing many many signs that she is entering puberty (which as a society I want to know we arent asking ourselves more why its happening so much earlier when life expectancies are so much longer) I will say that we switched to raw goats milk when we could get it fresh but have now found an awesome source of raw cow's milk and the kids are loving it (raw milk still has all its enzymes intact to balance itself out to put it simply) we are a very dairy intolerant family but noone has had any issue at all with the switch to raw milk infact those dark circles and tummy problems are now a thing of our past.

I am not sure if you are referring to all dairy milk or just the whole milk category. If she can handle the lactose, then try 1% or 2% milk. She will be getting the nutrients but less fat. If she can not handle the lactose, then try soy or rice milk. There are many children who are on other types of milk, due to allergies and preferences by the parents, pediatricians, etc. Organic milk is better if you are using regular milk.

Hope this helps

Hi there, it sounds like you are giving it your all and she knows what she wants and what she does not want. It is hard when you have a premature child because they need the formula a bit long than most and that makes it more difficult to get her off that and the bottle. I would talk with your doctor before you take my advice but when my second child turned one her doctor told me that there is no reason for her to be put on whole milk. She was not overweight and not underweight and you get the same nutrients from all the milk. Many premies need the extra fat that whole milk has, that is the only reason a child should be on whole milk. I suggest putting her on a low fat milk. The whole milk is just probably too much for her. Again, I would talk this over with her doctor and if they give you the go ahead try that. I hope it helps. Oh, and remember to try to give it to her in the sippy first. If she does not want that then try a regular cup. Some kids go straight to big kid cups and that will help you out in the long run with having to ween her off the sippy.

when my son was little I could not get him to drink whole milk either. So my cousin suggested 2% instead. It is not as thick as whole milk and does not have the fat content either. My son took to that a lot better than whole milk. Not to mention he had a problem with milk base formulas. We were changed to lactose free formula. I mixed his bottles starting out 3/4 formula & 1/4 2% milk for 2 weeks then 1/2 & 1/2 for the next 2 weeks and continued this untill I had him on all 2% this worked well for us. Once I had him off formula them I slowly started with a sippy cup. He really took to the one with 2 handles.I know what works with one don't work with all but it doesn't hurt to try. Good luck!

Whole milk could be upsetting her stomach. Try soy milk or rice milk in a sippy cup. I have four children only one drinks whole cow milk. 2 drink soy and one drinks goat milk.

My pediatrician, along with many pediatric authorities, suggests not giving children cow's milk. Think about how much a baby cow grows in a very short time. It is also VERY mucus forming and one of the reasons we have such a problem with ear infections in this country.

My daughter drinks some soy milk, but we try to do as much water as possible. Soy has a lot of sugar in it as well. I am interested in one of the statements about not giving a child soy because of the estrogen. I know there is a lot of controversy about soy....

We are the most over proteined country in the world. I would not worry too much about trying to get protein from milk. The fats that are important in development of the brain are NOT the fats from cow milk. I give my daughter Nordic's oil (the Norwegians have a MUCH higher standard than in the State's... I would ONLY use fish oil from Norway.
Even Sonja Gupta on CNN did a blurb on cows milk not only is not necessary, but is detrimental!
All the best!
C. Hiebel
www.candlewealth.com/soy4u

I wouldn't worry about the whole milk as much as just getting her to drink milk in general. Try 2% milk; maybe the whole milk is too rich for her. I used Lactaid milk to transition my daughter from formula. It's easier to digest but still has all the same nutrients they need. I'm also lactose intolerant and drink Lactaid milk even though I can tolerate moderate consumption of dairy foods. She may be slightly lactose intolerant which is why she keeps yogurt down better.

I would try Pediasure and see if she will drink that. Pediasure has more calories than whole milk. My son drinks Pediasure and loves it but he also drinks Lactaid milk.

My daughter stopped drinking whole milked when we weaned her from the bottle. She refused to drink milk from a sippy cup. Our doctor advised us to give her choclate milk (add syrup to the milk). It worked (even though I hate all the extra sugar). Just a thought...