My son is 2, I know late for weening from a bottle but nontheless we did it and he does not seem as interested in his Milk which he enjoyed in the AM, at naptime and bedtime. I have given it to him in a sippy cup which works at night but not so great at naptime or in the AM. I am worried that he won't drink as much Milk that he did. Thoughts??? Jenn
J., It is ok. he will get use to the milk in the sippy cup. he was just use to the bottle. 1 way to get him use to it is to get sippy cups with the rubber on the mouth and that way his mouth don't slip until he gets use to how it works.
Good Luck
A.
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Hi J.,
I had a similar problem when I weaned my son off the bottle. one thing that worked for me was putting the milk in a regular "big boy" cup and letting him use a straw. It was a little messy and I kind of had to sit there and hold the cup for him but at least he drank the milk! My pediatrician also recommended supplementing the calcium with other things like cheese, yogurt, etc. That worked as well.
Good luck!
A. B.
I agree that it's normal for your son to drink less milk, now that he's older and not having a bottle anymore. Some children just naturally wean themselves off the naptime/bedtime milk as they get older. Try to consider yourself lucky that you don't have to fight that battle, too! Plan on his getting his fluids from his daytime meals, rather than as a comfort/sleep transition. Continue to offer him milk in his cup, continue to offer him calcium-rich foods, and try not to worry. Good luck!
There are other ways to get the nutrition into him - yogurt, for example. A lot of experts feel that cow's milk is over-rated - I heard one say that the purpose of cow's milk is to turn a 100 pound calf into a 600 pound steer in 6 months!
Also, you can try making pancakes with soy protein added to the milk (or using soy milk) - that really boosts the protein and my son loves them. I use whole wheat flour too, sometimes some oatmeal, etc. to get him in the habit of eating whole grains. I also put it ground flax seed to replace some of the melted butter or margarine - that gives him some healthy fats. Sometimes I add frozen blueberries or cut up banana. I make a big batch, freeze them between layers of waxed paper, and pop them in the microwave or toaster oven as needed. If he'll eat something like stuffed shells, you can use half tofu and half ricotta cheese - the tofu has no taste, so if you mix it with the ricotta in the food processor, you raise the protein level really high without changing the taste at all.
There are also lots of books with kid recipes - Rachael Ray has some on her website and also has a book, and you could try "The Sneaky Chef" or "Deceptively Delicious".
Hi J.,
I also have a 2 yr old, but she was weaned off the bottle at 12 months (cold turkey). She din't complain at all, but she had to use the sippy cups that come with a straw, versus the ones with a spout. She stopped drinking milk before bed and nap times at about 18 months. I just give her cereal in the morning, or waffles with milk, sandwiches, mac N cheese for lunch, and same dinner as me with water to drunk. I spread out what she drinks, milk for breakfast, juice for lunch and water for dinner (water througout the day). I also buy the Gummy Bear vitamins to help compensate for any missed vitamins in her food. I give her one after breakfast, and one after lunch, for a total of 2 per day. At 2 yrs, milk certainly is important, but not necessary to have more than 2 times a day. In my daughter's case, she only has it once a day. She's a little chubby, so I'm quite ok with giving her more fruits,veggies,and water, instead of milk. Try the cups with straw, that might help.
Give him milk in a cup with his meals and snacks, and give him water or very watered-down juice if he's thristy or if you are out and about and bring a drink for him. I agree with the previous post as well - cheese, yogurt, and other dairy foods will give him enough calcium and protein. When he had the bottle, drinking milk at the times he used to was likely a comfort thing, and now that the bottle is gone, he must not need that. This is a very agre-appropriate thing and very good!! Good luck!
Just give him water or other fluids (but not too much juice) and then give him cheese, yogurt, etc for calcium.
They only need about 16 oz of WHOLE milk per day until they are 2. So your son is 2 the answer is this no don't worry that he is not getting enough milk he should be fine & you can also switch to 1 or 2% since he is now 2. But you want to make sure he is hydrated through out the day so make sure he is drinking preferably water or juice diluted with water. 1/2 juice, 1/2 water & no more than 4 oz a juice a day!
Hi J.,
Milk does not have to go. However we are having the same issues with our 19 month old. We just last week "got rid" of the "Baba" and are having a hard time having her drink regular milk. We did some looking online to figure out ways to get her vitamins into her and cheese, yougurt, or other forms of dairy should make up for the vitamins your son is losing from not drinking milk. I would definitely continue to try giving him milk, but it's nice to know that there are alternatives to try as well. I just yesterday went as far as to give my little one straw berry milk (sugar free) to see if she would drink her milk and thankfully she did. I hate to have to give her flavored milk, but at this point, she isn't throwing it back at us which is a good sign. I also don't want her to not like milk as it's a very important part of a kids diet. I wouldn't worry too much as long as you try some alternatives and keep trying to give him some milk. :) Wishing you luck. J.
My two year old is allergic to milk and my concerns about her not getting enough were addressed by her Doctor. The Doctor said the only ones who need to drink cow's milk are baby cows. Our kids need calcium which milk is an exellent source for but not the only source, calcium is fouind in many veggies and we can get calcuim fortified orange juice as well. Alhtought my little on is limited to soy products yours can get calcuim thorugh yogurt cheese etc. A growing child only needs 1-2 glasses of milk per day and any less if they have yogurt and cheese etc...my daughter is super healthy and gets a lot of calcuim but no MILK at all. She was breastfeed for her fitst year and the doctor said that she is in excellent health because of it. Even Baby cows stop drinking milk at some point. My sons (who can have dairy)love home made frozen yogurt for a treat! I just take the go gurts that come in tubes and put them in the freezer. They eat them like the push up popsicles. I also put them in lunch totes like that so they remain good and cold. Yummy!
