Hi! So my 12 mo girl breastfed til her 1st birthday and now she won't drink milk. She started drinking juice probably around 9 mos and tapered off breastfeeding, but I continued to her bday because I know you're supposed to try to do it for 1 year. But now I can't get her to drink milk. So far I've tried whole milk and vanilla soy milk, but she will maybe taste some of it if anything and that's it. She eats cheese and yogurt, but I am worried she is not getting enough calcium if she doesn't drink milk, too. I don't want to try everything unless I have to, because I know there's almond milk and plain soy, etc. but I don't know where to start since I've already had 2 strikes! Also I do not want to try formula because of the expense and even greater number of kinds we might have to try to get her to drink something. Thanks!
I also had a breastfed baby that wouldn't take milk (soy, almond, vanilla, chocolate, warm, cold, etc)...I tried a lot. She would happily take water out of a sippy cup though. I ended transitioning her up. I started with 1/2 cup skim milk 1/2 cup of water and would gradually add in more milk of higher fat concentrations. It took about 6 weeks to get her drinking whole milk, but now she doesn't have any issues with it.
Have you tried the organic "juice boxes" of milk? They come in vanilla and chocolate, I believe. My daughters will drink that over regular milk any day.
Don't worry about calcium. I'm sure she gets enough from what she eats. Give her water - best thing for her to learn to drink anyway.
No. Not formula.
Have you tried 2% milk? 1% milk? fat-free milk?
Do you give her a sippy cup?
As long as you've got the cheese and yogurt happening,
I don't think you need to worry too much.
Maybe wait a few days and try one of the less fat milks --
just an ounce or two in the cup -- and see how she responds.
Good luck.
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Angela reminded me of when I was a little kid.
My mother used to put a glass of milk over the pilot light on our stove
for maybe 10-15 minutes before she gave it to me.
You probably do not have a gas stove with a pilot light.
But there are various ways to take the chill off a glass of milk
before presenting it to your DD.
when switching to milk your pedi should have told you to mix the breast milk with the cow milk. i would try just one can of off brand formula. by the time that can is finished your child should be use to milk. i would also call your pedi and ask him what to do. good luck.
All I can say is keep trying- from what I have been told tastes can change. Though I'm convinced my daughter just doesn't like milk :)
Her doctor told us the same thing, keep trying but don't worry as long as she has a balanced diet she is getting all that she needs.
Good luck!
My 3 yr old won't drink milk unless it's warm. If you were nursing, she was used to having her milk at 98.6 degrees. So, when you think about it, it makes sense that little ones don't take to cold cow milk, soy milk or whatever they are being offered. If my guy is having 8 oz of milk he wants it in the microwave for 40 seconds. (I know the mocrowave is not the best option but that's what we do.)
Good luck. And don't stress too much about it, she will be fine!
My DIL is still nursing my 2 yr old granddaughter for morning and bedtime, but during the day since she's vegan she gives my granddaughter almond milk and she loves it.
If you do any health food research you'll quickly discover that pasturized cow milk is extrememly hard to digest, the calcium is difficult to assimilate, and it's very mucus forming for the body. Why do humans wean their young and then feed them milk from a cow? How odd. But then we've been incredibly brain washed. If there were any benefits to milk it would be in it's raw form before everything good is cooked out of it. Your little one has no need for cow's milk, there are plenty of healthier sources for calcium.
You can also add milk to oatmeal, to soups..
My boys would not drink whole milk (it was too thick) but the Dr. said it was okay to give them 2%. None of them are really big milk drinkers. We just have lots of cheese, pudding and yogurt to make sure they get it all in.
Like others said, it could be related to temp or the fact that breastmilk is sweeter than cows milk, etc. But there could be a biological reason for her aversion to milk such as an allergy or intolerance. I was lactose intollerant for the longest time, but somehow when I got prego w/#1, it cured itself... Anyway, I would have no problem eating dairy products, but couldn't drink straight milk. I still don't like the taste of plain white milk, but I can drink it without getting sick now.
A naturopath would be able to test for an intolerance or allergy without the invasive procedures an allergist would use. I've been to both.. the allergist put me through hell and only made me feel worse, but the naturopath actually has cured many allergies I've had my whole life. I'm now actually studying naturopathy myself due to the life-changing experience I've had with it. =o)
Will she drink formula? If so you can mix the formula with the milk and then gradually increase the amount of milk and decrease the amount of formula. Try 6 oz of formula and 1 oz of milk and every day change it an oz. This is the best way to wean from breastmilk/formula to whole milk. Also it could be the temp, have you tried warming it? I don't think it would take much formula if you buy 1 small can the expense wouldn't be that much, once she is weaned to milk you won't have to worry about it.
You also may want to ask your pediatrician if they have any ideas.
Good luck!
At 12 months she shouldn't be on formula anyway, so don't even try it. I would suggest getting some more whole milk and just keep trying. Have you tried mixing a little chocolate syrup in it, or strawberry? She needs the animal fat of whole milk until she is 2 for brain development. If she is a good yogurt and cheese eater, she should be getting the calcium she needs.
I just had this conversation with the pediatrician. My daughter is 19 months old and won't drink milk. She hasn't since I took the bottle away at 15 months. She eats cheese and yogurt, so I'm not too worried about it. Smoothies worked well for us- she loves them! The pediatrician wasn't concerned about the calcium, but the vitamin D. He said that I might want to try giving her a vitamin to supplement. You could also try the dreaded chocolate syrup if you really want her to drink the milk, but it depends on how you feel about sugar. My mother actually tried it behind my back and my daughter wouldn't drink the chocolate milk either. Good luck and don't worry, kids always seem to get what they need.
I breastfed our three older kids until around 18 months, and it took awhile for each of them to like milk. While our pediatrician was fine with offering chocolate (she said, and I tend to agree, that the nutritional benefits of milk far outweigh the little bit of sugar added in chocolate or strawberry syrup), I have often preferred to add Ovaltine to their milk to pack an extra nutrional punch. At the moment, my kids are really like strawberry-chocolate milk. :)
my daughter prefers almond milk over all the different types of "milk's"... make sure you get the unsweetened kind though.
Try chocolate milk! Make it yourself with Ovaltine so that it isn't as sweet/chocolate-y as store bought. This has worked for many of my friends whose kids had milk allergies and didn't like switching from soy formula to regular milk once they outgrew their allergies. The chocolate adds very few calories and Ovaltine actually has some good stuff in it-get the chocolate flavor not the original malted flavor. You can decrease the amount of chocolate over time and then you may find it easier to transition to plain milk. Good luck!
The milk is not an issue IF she is eating enough other dairy products.
Go to one of the online nutrition sites and calculate how much dairy she needs for her age/size then be mindful that she received enough of the cheese/yogurt items in her diet.
You can make any rice/oatmeal cereal with soymilk. I make oatmeal for the entire family with soymilk. No one even knows. You can make buttermilk oatmeal pancakes. There are also Calcium Gummy Bears you can supplement with. Just make sure to read the calcium component on labels, as rice/almond milks don't have near the calcium as soy and regular.
