Son Hates Cow's Milk

Updated on June 04, 2010
L.A. asks from Tulsa, OK
15 answers

DS is 1 year last week and we began cow's milk a few days ago. He hates it! I have tried mixing it half and half with breastmilk, given it to him straight, cold, room temperature, from a sippy cup, open cup, and nothing has worked!

Now, when he sees the cup coming, he'll just turn his head or take it then throw it. Will it just take time for ds to get used to it? Any advice to help him along?

I would like to get him off breastmilk during daycare hours, as I am having a really hard time pumping now and I'd really like to avoid using formula since he's 12 months old now....

Thanks!

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So What Happened?

Thanks everyone for your advice! We've decided to offer cow's milk with meals to see if he'll try it. So far, he'll maybe take a sip, but after that he refuses to go near it. So, we are just making sure he has lots of other dairy and calcium and Vit D rich foods. We tried drinkable YoBaby yogurt, and he loves it! We may also try other types of milk, but for right now, we'll give him water for fluids.

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S.C.

answers from Boca Raton on

Do some research on cow's milk. There is a lot of information out there about how unhealthy it actually is. There are plenty of other ways to get calcium. Like others have said, try goat's milk, almond milk, hemp milk, but NOT soy milk!!!! Soy is only digestible in humnas wn it is fermented (tofu, tempe, miso, etc). I would thoroughly research ANy soy products before giving them to my child and to myself. We avoid them alltogether once I learned the truth about soy. Good for you for breatfeeding for this long!! Awesome job! Really kids just need water for hydration.

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J.M.

answers from Harrisburg on

DON'T give your boy soy milk! It has a lot of estrogen. Try Hemp or Almond milk. Both have calcium and both are better nutritionally than cows milk any way. But don't take my word for it. Research Soy and compare Almond and Hemp milk to cows milk. Also research cows milk. The fact that he hates cows milk may be a blessing in disguise.

2 moms found this helpful
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C.G.

answers from Davenport on

Cow's milk isn't very healthy anyway. As long as he is a healthy eater, give him water. We (American's) have this misconception that cow's milk is a necessity for our children to be healthy.

2 moms found this helpful

M.M.

answers from Chicago on

How about soy, rice or almond milk? You could get his calcium in in other ways, like cheese or yogurt (my son LOVES Yo Baby). Just wondering if it's stubborness coming off of breast milk, or if he's resisting all milk all together.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.H.

answers from Atlanta on

HI L.,

Try goat's milk or Almond milk. Goat's milk has similar proteins as human breast milk and almond milk is used by most cultures (other than ours, lol) as a staple in the home. Almond milk has not been as processed and doesn't have the chemicals that regular cow's milk has and is probably more nutritious than cow's milk anyway. It can stay on the shelf until it's been opened so you'll never run out!

Hope I helped!

M.

1 mom found this helpful
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D.P.

answers from Raleigh on

My son hated white milk when we first introduced it. I can totally relate, as I do not like white milk either. I got a great tip from another mom to just add 1/2 packet of vanilla Carnation instant breakfast to his milk. The instant breakfast also has a lot of vitamins and protein, so it helped him get his intake for the day. Once we added the breakfast mix, he loved it, and we never had a problem again! Hope this helps!

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C.N.

answers from Baton Rouge on

Will he eat yogurt? Cheese? Will he drink oj fortified with calcium?

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N.J.

answers from Dayton on

You could try to give him cow's milk made from milk powder. It is the same thing but seems to taste better to some babies.

Also you could try to give him him the Nestle Breakfast essentials mixed with milk. That also seems to taste better.

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L.R.

answers from Oklahoma City on

My daughter was the same way, so we started giving her Silk Soymilk. She loved that and still drinks it at 5. Apparently Soy is better for us anyways.

K.M.

answers from Redding on

My 1 yr old daughter didn't like the taste of milk either. I ended up just adding about an ounce of milk to 6 ounces of formula and gradually making the balance toward more and more milk. Since you're breastfeeding and don't want to waste your breast milk, I'd give very little cow's milk (maybe 1/6 of an ounce) with an ounce of breast milk and see if he can get used to it like that. Does he drink other fluids from a cup successfully? If not, maybe you could start with straight water to get him used to drinking without wasting your milk.

My daughter ended up being allergic/sensitive to all forms of plain milk (funny since she drank milk-based formula) and we now just give her yogurt several times a day.

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L.D.

answers from Las Vegas on

This may not be your son's problem but, for some kids, cow's milk can be very hard to digest; dairy allergies or intollerances are not uncommon for young kids. Your son may be turning his head away from the cup because he either doesn't like the smell or taste of the milk, which is basically a preference issue, or the one time that he did drink it, he didn't feel very well afterward. If the milk is not doing it for him, you can try giving him goats milk, the protein molecules of which are much more like human milk than cow's milk is, or try organic fortified rice and almond milk (I'm a little weary of boys consuming too much soy products). But, really, most of what he should be drinking at this point is water. Calcium can be obtained from a lot of other fruits and vegetables so, if you incorporate those into your son's diet, he'll grow up with strong bones and nice teeth. Here's a list of calcium-rich foods and how they rank:

http://www.iofbonehealth.org/patients-public/about-osteop...

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T.S.

answers from New Orleans on

We would put Nesquik strawberry flavoring in my son's sippy cup cuz he didn't like plain white milk either. We would let him shake his no spill proof sippy cup to turn the white milk pink. He loved it! There are other flavors now too. Good luck and hope this helps! T.

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L.Y.

answers from Saginaw on

He doesn't need cows milk. He can get his calcium from other sources. Yogurt, soy milk and cheese are all great sources. My daughter prefers yogurt and cheese to cows milk, it really isn't a big deal. Make sure he is getting enough liquids though, you can give him water for that.

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J.B.

answers from Atlanta on

I always hated milk as a child. My first didn't like it either. We subbed the orange juice that has added calcium for milk. It has as much calcium as milk does! Also -feed him cheese, yogurt and other items that contain calcium. You can also try soy milk, almond milk, goat's milk, etc. My son and I never liked those either, but some kids do. He'll be fine if he never drinks cow's milk -there are many other ways to get calcium and vitamin D!

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