Transitioning to whole milk

[klw]

Has anyone started? Do you still give it in a bottle or switching to a sippy cup? I remember that I started transitioning DD1 around 11 months because my supply was tanking and I wasn't pumping enough.

Right now, I still have a bunch in the freezer that I am hoping to use up when I start back to work.

[goldenbird]

I haven't started yet but I need to. 2 weeks from today is his birthday. He's already down to just three 6oz forumla bottles. A mix of table food and purees and we offer water in a cup but he still doesn't love sippy cups.

I was going to mix up a 4oz bottle of formula and then add 2 oz of WCM to the first bottle of a Saturday morning and see how it went. Make them like that for several days and then do 3oz forumla, 3oz milk, and so on.

I'm hoping he will like the taste of it enough to drink it out of a sippy cup. I need him to like them and drink water better. Obviously he can't have 18oz a day of WCM so he's going to have to drink some damn water.

I'm not sure about the timing of offering WCM in a sippy. Maybe first thing in the morning and one in the afternoon? I don't want to offer it at meals because I want him to drink water and eat his food.
I need to figure what is expected of us with DC once he is done with bottles. They provide meals and snacks but he still only has the 2 teeth fully out and sometimes there are things he can't/won't eat.

[potatocakes]

I'll switch to sippy at the same time we transition to WCM.

DD never liked WCM out of a sippy, but she needed to get off the bottle at the same time, so she just went without milk (but continued nursing 2-3x/day until she was almost 2)

This all happens at daycare, so I have to see what DCP wants to do, but I will likely set him up with breast milk in a sippy first (next week?), and then start transitioning him to 75%bm/25%WCM, and keep adjusting that ratio until he is at 100% WCM.

[PennyCandy]

I guess I'm making two transitions. I've been mixing milk with his formula in bottles. We're at 50/50 right now. Once he gets used to the whole milk I'll move to straw cups. If I give him milk in a cup now he takes a couple of sips and throws it.

[vvvvvfee]

kids certainly don't need WCM at age 1 if they have a balanced diet and/or you are still BFing. it's just a convenient source of fat and calories.

my kids would only ever drink breast milk out of a bottle. so as long as i send BM i send it in a bottle.

right now i'm still pumping once a day. i send whatever i pump (4-5 oz) in a bottle, plus a small sippy cup of WCM (4 oz). when i stop pumping in a month or so i'll probably continue to send a small cup of WCM with his lunch.

DS1 loved WCM from the get-go and happily drank it. DS2 did not like WCM. for a while i was mixing some in to top off his BM bottles, but once i got to WCM by itself he wouldn't drink it, so i eventually stopped sending it to DC and he just drank water.

everyone always seems to get all stressed about the transition but it has really not been a big deal IME.

[ohreally]

We never gave WCM in a bottle because the transition to WCM and off bottles happens at the same time. Knock on wood, neither transition has been an issue for our kids. Their big appetites for table food and ability to drink water from a sippy no doubt helped with the transitions.

That said, we rarely serve milk at home. They get it at the sitter's and restaurants and that's it.

[cornflakegirl]

We are still BF so she's had like maybe 4 bottles in the last 2 months. She does get water in a sippy everyday and does well with it. I plan on introducing WCM during snack time, in a sippy, after her birthday. Right now we are BF 4x per day, so not a whole lot but my freezer stash is all gone so if we have a date night or I have a girls night out somebody can still give her milk before bed.

[notmoose]

I need to start cutting out formula/bottles I guess. This is all new to me, ds2 is my first baby that took formula/bottles so I feel lost on how to transition.

He nurses 3-4 times a day and has 3, 6 oz bottles a day. The kid LOVES his bottles. He is grumpy in the morning until he gets his bottle (even tho we nurse first thing and he eats table food).

I am putting off weaning from the bottle but I guess I should start.

[goldenbird]

I'm a little nervous because he doesn't have dairy that often and is on a reduced lactose forumla. We started it when he was 2 months old after he was pooping like crazy and never went back.
I need to buy yogurt to give him this week to get him used to it again. Of course I can buy whole milk lactaid or something but if it's not actually an issue I'd like to save money and buy regular milk.
I think next Saturday I'll put milk in his bottles. I want to do it on a weekend in case he has trouble with it.

[ohreally]

Jul 19, 2019 3:22:15 GMT -6 goldenbird said:

I'm a little nervous because he doesn't have dairy that often and is on a reduced lactose forumla. We started it when he was 2 months old after he was pooping like crazy and never went back.
I need to buy yogurt to give him this week to get him used to it again. Of course I can buy whole milk lactaid or something but if it's not actually an issue I'd like to save money and buy regular milk.
I think next Saturday I'll put milk in his bottles. I want to do it on a weekend in case he has trouble with it.

Obviously all babies are different, but DS1 was similar.  He could only tolerate the sensitive formula and he transitioned without incident to whole milk.  You've got a good plan.  Diary in the form of cheese or yogurt would be a good way to introduce more lactose to see how he handles it.  Then go from there. 

[potatocakes]

Jul 19, 2019 3:22:15 GMT -6 goldenbird said:

I'm a little nervous because he doesn't have dairy that often and is on a reduced lactose forumla. We started it when he was 2 months old after he was pooping like crazy and never went back.
I need to buy yogurt to give him this week to get him used to it again. Of course I can buy whole milk lactaid or something but if it's not actually an issue I'd like to save money and buy regular milk.
I think next Saturday I'll put milk in his bottles. I want to do it on a weekend in case he has trouble with it.

Your baby doesn't need to drink milk! If he doesn't tolerated it especially. It's a convenient source of calories, fat, and calcium, but he can get all of those things from other sources.

[goldenbird]

Jul 19, 2019 8:49:33 GMT -6 potatocakes said:

Jul 19, 2019 3:22:15 GMT -6 goldenbird said:

I'm a little nervous because he doesn't have dairy that often and is on a reduced lactose forumla. We started it when he was 2 months old after he was pooping like crazy and never went back.
I need to buy yogurt to give him this week to get him used to it again. Of course I can buy whole milk lactaid or something but if it's not actually an issue I'd like to save money and buy regular milk.
I think next Saturday I'll put milk in his bottles. I want to do it on a weekend in case he has trouble with it.

Your baby doesn't need to drink milk! If he doesn't tolerated it especially. It's a convenient source of calories, fat, and calcium, but he can get all of those things from other sources.

I know. I was also looking at it as a source of liquid. I'm worried he isn't going to drink enough water from a sippy cup. But I definitely know the milk isn't a necessity and that too much isn't good.

[cornflakegirl]

Jul 18, 2019 20:20:19 GMT -6 notmoose said:

I need to start cutting out formula/bottles I guess. This is all new to me, ds2 is my first baby that took formula/bottles so I feel lost on how to transition.

He nurses 3-4 times a day and has 3, 6 oz bottles a day. The kid LOVES his bottles. He is grumpy in the morning until he gets his bottle (even tho we nurse first thing and he eats table food).

I am putting off weaning from the bottle but I guess I should start.

Can you replace the bottles with a snack?

[potatocakes]

Jul 19, 2019 9:26:36 GMT -6 goldenbird said:

Jul 19, 2019 8:49:33 GMT -6 potatocakes said:

Your baby doesn't need to drink milk! If he doesn't tolerated it especially. It's a convenient source of calories, fat, and calcium, but he can get all of those things from other sources.

I know. I was also looking at it as a source of liquid. I'm worried he isn't going to drink enough water from a sippy cup. But I definitely know the milk isn't a necessity and that too much isn't good.

Good! I just wanted to give you the reminder in case. I get the concern about hydration, though!

[goldenbird]

Jul 19, 2019 10:07:59 GMT -6 potatocakes said:

Jul 19, 2019 9:26:36 GMT -6 goldenbird said:

I know. I was also looking at it as a source of liquid. I'm worried he isn't going to drink enough water from a sippy cup. But I definitely know the milk isn't a necessity and that too much isn't good.

Good! I just wanted to give you the reminder in case. I get the concern about hydration, though!

It's so frustrating. He has no interest in sippy cups. We have to put it to his mouth. He just plays with them. I also still haven't gotten the straw thing down with him so I need to keep working on it on all fronts. I'm hoping he will like the taste of milk enough to want to drink it.

[ohreally]

Jul 19, 2019 11:32:10 GMT -6 goldenbird said:

Jul 19, 2019 10:07:59 GMT -6 potatocakes said:

Good! I just wanted to give you the reminder in case. I get the concern about hydration, though!

It's so frustrating. He has no interest in sippy cups. We have to put it to his mouth. He just plays with them. I also still haven't gotten the straw thing down with him so I need to keep working on it on all fronts. I'm hoping he will like the taste of milk enough to want to drink it.

So he can get the liquid out, he just doesn't hold it himself? 

We still hold the cup for DS3.  Partly because I didn't want to get cups with side handles that would have made it easier for him to hold.  He can't hold a full cup to his mouth yet so we hold it for him.  It keeps him from dropping it and getting water everywhere so I'm not complaining.   

[goldenbird]

Jul 19, 2019 14:27:25 GMT -6 ohreally said:

Jul 19, 2019 11:32:10 GMT -6 goldenbird said:

It's so frustrating. He has no interest in sippy cups. We have to put it to his mouth. He just plays with them. I also still haven't gotten the straw thing down with him so I need to keep working on it on all fronts. I'm hoping he will like the taste of milk enough to want to drink it.

So he can get the liquid out, he just doesn't hold it himself? 

We still hold the cup for DS3.  Partly because I didn't want to get cups with side handles that would have made it easier for him to hold.  He can't hold a full cup to his mouth yet so we hold it for him.  It keeps him from dropping it and getting water everywhere so I'm not complaining.   

He can hold it himself but he just plays with it like a toy. If we put it to his mouth he will suck on it a few times before realizing what he's doing and pushing it away. Repeat by us to get him to drink.
I know he can do it because he does it at DC. I think it's just going to take more work on our part. We've tried all kinds of cups. And also I need to teach him the straw because I think that would be a good thing for him to know.

[klw]

ohreally why didn't you want the cups with the side handles

[kam3100]

Jul 19, 2019 11:32:10 GMT -6 goldenbird said:

Jul 19, 2019 10:07:59 GMT -6 potatocakes said:

Good! I just wanted to give you the reminder in case. I get the concern about hydration, though!

It's so frustrating. He has no interest in sippy cups. We have to put it to his mouth. He just plays with them. I also still haven't gotten the straw thing down with him so I need to keep working on it on all fronts. I'm hoping he will like the taste of milk enough to want to drink it.

I had similar frustrations with dd and then I put the cup down in front of her and suddenly she grabbed the sippy cup herself and drank away. I’m hoping you find a solution.

[kam3100]

Jul 19, 2019 14:37:29 GMT -6 goldenbird said:

Jul 19, 2019 14:27:25 GMT -6 ohreally said:

So he can get the liquid out, he just doesn't hold it himself? 

We still hold the cup for DS3.  Partly because I didn't want to get cups with side handles that would have made it easier for him to hold.  He can't hold a full cup to his mouth yet so we hold it for him.  It keeps him from dropping it and getting water everywhere so I'm not complaining.   

He can hold it himself but he just plays with it like a toy. If we put it to his mouth he will suck on it a few times before realizing what he's doing and pushing it away. Repeat by us to get him to drink.
I know he can do it because he does it at DC. I think it's just going to take more work on our part. We've tried all kinds of cups. And also I need to teach him the straw because I think that would be a good thing for him to know.

I posted too soon! My first was so easy with a straw boy but not this one.

It’s funny he does it at dc but not with you.

[ohreally]

Jul 19, 2019 19:43:30 GMT -6 klw said:

ohreally why didn't you want the cups with the side handles

Mostly because I know how quickly they grow out of using them so I just went straight to the bigger cup he'll use longer.

That being said, a FB memory just popped up of DS1 drinking out of a handled sippy at 2yo so my philosophy has clearly changed from our first. We ditched all sippys/360s/straw cups before DS2 was two. This kid is lucky he gets anything other than an open cup

[notmoose]

Jul 19, 2019 9:36:27 GMT -6 cornflakegirl said:

Jul 18, 2019 20:20:19 GMT -6 notmoose said:

I need to start cutting out formula/bottles I guess. This is all new to me, ds2 is my first baby that took formula/bottles so I feel lost on how to transition.

He nurses 3-4 times a day and has 3, 6 oz bottles a day. The kid LOVES his bottles. He is grumpy in the morning until he gets his bottle (even tho we nurse first thing and he eats table food).

I am putting off weaning from the bottle but I guess I should start.

Can you replace the bottles with a snack?

He's not been a fan of it. I nurse first thing in the morning and then we come downstairs and I give him breakfast. If I don't give him a bottle in the first 20 mins of being up he is grumpy and whining and clinging to me. Same with after nap time.

I think I'm going to not be too worried about it for now. He just turned 1, it's not like he's 2. I'll also ask at his appt tomorrow.

[kam3100]

If I nurse once in the morning and once at night, how much whole milk will she need to get? I know I can give her good fats but I can’t seem to get an answer from google.

[bananas22]

We’ve been very slowly introducing WCM since her first birthday the end of May. It’s taken awhile because at first she wouldn’t even touch it, then she’d spit it back out, and in the past few weeks, she’s just started drinking a measurable amount. However, once she realized she could play and drink milk from a sippy, she’s been way more about it. She will also only drink from a weighted straw cup 🤷‍♀️

kam3100, in my experience, I just go with how much they will drink (up to a reasonable amount) and just try to fill with yogurt or cheese if I feel like they haven’t drank much milk. DD still nurses 5-6 times a day but if she nurses less or doesn’t drink much WCM, then I offer her some cheese. She will usually drink about 4-6 oz a day of WCM.

[potatocakes]

Jul 21, 2019 17:05:20 GMT -6 kam3100 said:

If I nurse once in the morning and once at night, how much whole milk will she need to get? I know I can give her good fats but I can’t seem to get an answer from google.

I think there's a maximum (24 oz?) because at some point it starts interfering with iron intake and absorption, but I'd probably start with whatever size bottles she's getting now 1-2x/day, and go from there.

[frecklesnbrains]

I think I'm going to try starting WCM a bit early (DS2 is only 11mo) because my breastmilk supply is tanking and I see no point in introducing formula for a few weeks. He is awesome with the sippy cup already - he literally guzzles water from it - so I think he'll be easier to transition off the bottle than DS1 was (that kid was a bottle addict and it was at least 15-16 mo before we were successful). DS2 has been so thirsty recently because of the heat, and I think he's really only nursing for comfort instead of hydration at this point.

[ohreally]

Jul 22, 2019 8:41:51 GMT -6 frecklesnbrains said:

I think I'm going to try starting WCM a bit early (DS2 is only 11mo) because my breastmilk supply is tanking and I see no point in introducing formula for a few weeks. He is awesome with the sippy cup already - he literally guzzles water from it - so I think he'll be easier to transition off the bottle than DS1 was (that kid was a bottle addict and it was at least 15-16 mo before we were successful). DS2 has been so thirsty recently because of the heat, and I think he's really only nursing for comfort instead of hydration at this point.

We did something similar with DS2 to avoid the hassle of using formula for just a couple weeks.  He was drinking 100% WCM by 12 months. FX the transition this time goes better!

[cara]

I've been really behind the game with sippy cups. I need to do a better job. I give her one here and there but haven't even started with straws. I need to pick it up. However, she seems to get sips here and there and can do it when she has it. She doesn't take a lot when she has it. I'll probably start to try and introduce WM within the next few weeks.

[cornflakegirl]

I gave DD WCM in a sippy with her lunch today. She drank it no problem.

[pbandjelly]

I gave DD some WCM is a straw cup and she also took it without issue. DS didn't transition this easily at her age.