Hello...
My baby refuses to take formula, period. He simply flat out will not drink it, even when masked. He gags. Hates it. We tried 3 different brands. He is coming up on 11 months now, and eats very well thank goodness because my milk is really dwindling and he doesn't get a lot of it. (I have tried everything, I am pretty good at sweezing out every drop I can - we are just not real full on the milk supply at this point).
So without addressing all that could be addressed in the above... I have a question about toddler formula. Have any of you tried it? I received a free sample in the mail the other day and wondered if it really does taste better? I wonder if he would drink this?
Also if you have any WAY OUT ways to mask the formula taste, or the toddler formula taste, I am all ears. The one time I got him to drink it I put in 1/2 the amount of formula to a full dose of water with blueberries and molasses. At that point I figured that it was better not to bother with it. He's not losing weight - he is gaining. I am extremely diligent about the nutrition he gets from food.
Thanks for all the responses. He does get a fair amount of dairy now with grilled cheese on his sandwiches and yogurt every other day. I worry a little about over doing the dairy actually, since he likes the yogurt so much. I just mix fresh fruits in with plain and add wheat germ, which he loves. He doesn't use bottles either, so there will not be a weaning process from those. For the record I worried about milk supply from about 6 months!!! (and made it to 11 so far) Thanks for all the support.
Have you tried pedialyte? Some toddler formulas come flavored with strawberry, chocolate or vanilla.
Talk to your doctor. Mine told me I could start giving my 10 month old whole milk, along with my nursing. That way I will know how he does with it and stuff. I don't think 11 months or 12 months makes a big difference, perhaps you can skip the formula and go with milk.
I'm not familiar with toddler formula, but based on your little guy's age, you might be able to 'make due' until he hits a year and can have whole cow's milk. As long as he's getting fluids- water, maybe a serving or two of diluted 100% fruit juice a day, you can meet his calcium needs with things like whole fat, plain yogurt. If he doesn't want it straight, you can stir in pureed fruits. I used to give my kids a mixture of baby cereal, pureed fuit and plain yogurt for breakfast when they were about that age, and all 3 of them liked it. Good luck!
Since he's almost a year, check w/ your pediatrician on going to cow's milk now. Or as the someone else suggested, just give water (I'd skip the juice) when you are out of milk and supplement with calcium rich foods. Glad he's a good eater!
I'd ask your doctor if he can just make the switch to whole milk one month early.
I also had a friend who put a chocolate-flavored protein shake powder stuff in her daughter's formula because she would NOT touch formula. She was much younger, though, and I think she gradually weaned her off the chocolate (adding less and less each time). But that seems like a big pain to try for one month.
If he likes milk, try adding a little formula to it. I did that in reverse, mostly to use up the formula I already had, when my sons got to 1 year.
I agree with the other responses. Check with your pediatrician but cow's milk may be a viable option as he is so close to 1 year and you are still nursing. You are doing a wonderful job! I remember when my son was that age my supply tanked and we had to start giving him goat milk in addition to breast milk, but then I did successfully nurse him until 19 months (twice a day only). I think you are right about the formula.
Move him to whole milk. He is at the age where whole milk is what the next step is. I moved all my kids to whole milk at 10 months. I just warmed the milk up and gave it to them that way and then slowly gave it to them colder and colder till they were drinking milk straight from the refrigerator.
It is the fat in breast milk and formula that is most important for little ones. Even so, at 12 months, most healthy babies can make a full switch to whole cow's milk and not use "toddler" formula. Perhaps you can ask your doctor if your baby could switch to whole cow's milk now, and what foods or supplements could make up for that fat. Good luck!
At 11 months, you should be able to start weaning him onto regular milk. (Talk with your doc, of course) All formula that I have ever tasted is disgusting. It doesn't even taste like food or anything edible, so I never even tried with my children. My second didn't love milk right away, so I mixed in 1/2 t. Nestle chocolate with it at first to get it down, and that went fine. Now she's a total dairy girl! By this time, your milk supply is dwindling because nursing is becoming more about togetherness than about nutrition. Also, you can skip the bottle right about now and save yourself the step of having to wean him from that later. Mine all went from breast to cup, and I'm so glad because it was MUCH easier than dealing in bottles! (I used bottles when I was working and pumping...pain in the neck to clean/sterilize all that). Another note: all of mine preferred a straw cup to a sippy. also easier to get really clean as milk debris gets stuck in the little holes on a sippy.
Best of luck in this transition! :)
My kids would essentially drink the "low iron" formulas. You have to search hard to find it but it smells and tastes much better. The current crop of formulas are so packed with iron there's no way to make them taste good. Most other countries have iron contents that are much lower ours.
In no way would I give toddler formula because it's made with HFCS.
First of all, congrats on making it to 11 months nursing your son. You have done a wonderful thing for him that will affect him for the rest of his life! I agree with the other posts. I don't see any reason to put him on toddler formula. I think it's a marketing ploy, not a health product. Especially if he is eating well, there is no need to supplement him with a toddler formula. Adding molasses is just going to jack up his blood sugars, which is not good for him.
I will never forget the first/only time my oldest tasted formula. She was 15 months, still nursing, and we were babysitting a little boy. She was walking across the room w/her cup in one hand and his bottle in the other, and she accidentally swigged out of his bottle instead of her cup. She make the most horrible face, handed me the bottle, then went and got a napkin and wiped off her tongue!! Her face was one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life. Honestly, have you ever tasted formula? It's disgusting, especially compared to yummy sweet breast milk!
It sounds like you are a wonderfully concerned and conscientious mama. Keep feeding your little man healthy natural foods, and he should grow into a beautiful little boy!
Cheers,
S. L
I got pregnant again just after my little guy turned 6 mos old. By the time he was 8 mos old my milk supply had almost completely dried up and forced me to wean him. I tried giving him the formula to drink but its disgusting. I wanted to gag just smelling it and he definitely gagged when I tried to get him to drink it. I couldn't do that to him... so we got soymilk (your baby is totally old enough to just drink regular milk unless he has an allergy). Since he was such a champ at eating his solid food, we ended up mixing a bit of the formula into his baby mush we would make for him 3 times a day, just to give him that extra boost of nutirents and calories. Our baby mush consisted of rice cereal, soymilk, baby food, and a scoop of formula. He never even noticed it was in there and took it like a pro, until he was about 13 mos old and we had introduced enough other awesome tasting food that he decided had grown out of the mush :-)
Hope this helps, good luck!
