Mixing Juice with Milk?

Have you tried different kinds of milk? Like whole, 2%, 1% or Skim. If you are using whole milk, it might be to thick for him.

I had the same problem with one of my children. Instead of juice, try the strawberry Quik (or one of the more nutritious versions) that are supposed to be mixed with milk. I then used less and less strawberry powder and eventually my son became a really good plain milk drinker!

Try putting the breast milk in a sippy cup or a cup with a straw. It is proabably the difference in the taste that she doesn't like. Avoid using the bottle if at all possible. My daughter weaned herself at 10 months - but went straight to a cup. Sure beat trying to wean from the bottle in a few months too!

my sister used to make "moo juice" for her kids when they were little which contains milk and grape juice. You can also google purple moo juice and find a recipe on the web. Never had it and have no idea if it will do anything to the milk, how long its good for, etc. Not sure if you are looking for ways for her to get her calcium (lots of good suggestions below) or looking for something to put in a cup while weaning. What about fruit smoothies?

Have you tried warming the milk? Other than that, I would just keep trying. The juice/milk combo sounds a little odd, but I guess whatever works huh.

Hi J.,

Mix your baby's cereal with juice only.

May be your little one will like buttermilk. Just a thought.

Good luck. D.

I give my girls strawberry milk. You could do chocolate milk, too. I only do strawberry because I like strawberry milk. :o) They also make vanilla, caramel, and I believe I've seen banana. Nesquik, Hershey, store brand. Doesn't matter. They're all the same. I usually buy the syrup because then I can use it on ice cream, too.

Bleeeccchhh! Sounds gross to me but if it doesn't bother her....
My son has always hated plain milk. What he DID like was a little bit of Carnation Instant Breakfast (vanilla) mixed with it. Just enough to flavor it. Like 1/4 flavored plus 3/4 regular. He now frequently drinks organic vanilla, strawberry or chocolate milk. He will eat milk on cereal & sometimes drinks the milk (if it's flavored from the cereal, or he will dunk stuff in milk, but is still a plain milk hater. (He's just like me, I HATE milk!) O. trick that might work, if you do slightly flavor it--is to call it something else. We called his concoctions "moo" and he still does. :-) Mind over matter.

While milk is the easiest way for you child to get the calcium they need, it's not the only way. Yogurt is a great source of calcium, just as good as milk, and has the added benefit of adding 'healthy bacteria' to their digestive system, which can be a great help as their diet become more like yours. As they get older, cheese sticks are a healthy snack that are a good source of calcium and protein. Broccoli is a good source, too, but don't overcook it. The some of the calcium will end up in the cooking water instead of in their belly.

Good luck

My now 7 year old never took a bottle, hated formula and took years to drink milk. He still isn't crazy about it so every once in awhile we offer organic chocolate milk. He gets his calcium through yogurt, cheese and broccoli. He will drink milk with his cereal but won't drink it to drink it. There are so many other ways to get the vitamins your daughter needs from other sources. You can even try calcium fortified orange juice.

Good luck!

I have always played stubborn with my children and not given them other things until they were forced to drink the milk becuase there was nothing else. However, my fourth child decided he was going to be just as stubborn back. He fought with me for two weeks, (not the usual two days it took my other kids), and was becoming dehydrated and lethargic and I decided enough. I went out and bought some nesquick chocolate powder (less sugar than syrup) and we've never looked back.

For months I felt like I had to hide the fact that my baby was drinking chocolate milk becuase what would mean I was a terrible mother! LOL! He's almost two now and he'll drink milk both ways, with or without nesquick but this is just a recent change. We get ours in bulk at Sams club as my other children have a glass each day as a treat.

Good luck
Mum of four, (almost 5), boys

My son was the same except he wasn't crazy about juice, he loved yogurt. He wopuld eat milk mixed with cereal and that was it. He never had a bottle much so I went straight to trying a sippy cup. Does your daughter like yogurt? YoBaby has a drinkable yogurt that I mix with his milk. I slowly added more milk than yogurt as.he got used to it. Gerber makes yogurt juice that you could try and as she gets used to it, start to add a little milk at a time. I also will add this to my sons milk. Once he was drinking milk in some form, I weaned him from nursing and he was fine. Hopefully this will work for you. I did everything you did and I was convinced he would never drink milk. Oh, I did mix milk and juice a bit too but it was usually when I was mixing the yogurt juice with it too.

Both of my boys (4 and 2) hate milk, except on rare occasions. Try other forms of calcium: choc milk, strawberry milk, cheese, yogurt, oatmeal with milk, calcium-fortified juices (not too much).....I also started mine on a chewable supplement at about 1.5 years to prevent a deficiency, but my pediatrician was not worried as long as they ate some calcium every day....you could also keep nursing for a while! Good luck!

well that is what happens as soon as your milk hits your stomach, so... if she digs it and doesn't have an upset stomach, why not?

good luck

I don't know about mixing juice with milk, but I do know that there is a big difference between breast milk and dairy milk. Breast milk is sweeter and body temperature. I nursed all 3 of my children and had the same trouble with 2 of them. What I did was to warm the 2% milk and added a little sugar to it. After a couple of days I would reduce the sugar and the temperature a little. I did that until they were drinking plain cold milk. It worked with both of mine, hope it works for you.

k.

Hi J..

I'm having the same issue with my 1 yr old. I tried mixing juice and milk, but unfortunately it did not sit well in her stomach.

As mentioned in other responses, there are many alternative sources of Calcium. It's the milk fat, which is important for brain development, that I struggle with.

Does your little girl like Yobaby yogurt? I've been mixing the yogurt with milk and my baby loved it at first! Now, I think she's bored... she's only drinking about half of what I give her. :( Yobaby also makes smoothies, but I'm not sure if it contains as much milk fat as the yogurt.

Hope this helps. I'd love to know if you find a solution.

Hi,
I know all kids are different, but I just thought I'd add that my son also would barely drink anything from a cup when he was one, and I was also trying to wean him from the breast. He had always refused bottles and sippy cups. He would drink sips of water from a regular cup that I held to his lips, but if it was milk, he seemed offended that I wasn't breastfeeding him. I was so afraid to stop nursing him because I thought he wouldn't get enough milk. Well, turns out that when I stopped breastfeeding him (which he didn't really seem upset about other than nighttime, to my surprise), he just started gradually taking more and more milk. I think while he was breastfeeding, he just wasn't thirsty enough to try anything else. He is almost two now and loves milk. Just thought I'd share my experience. I have no idea about the juice/milk thing except I might be a little concerned that she would never take plain milk if she was used to it being sweeter. Just a thought.

Good luck,
M.

I'm not so sure about the mixing juice with milk either. When I read your request I thought maybe you could try this. Mix the milk with those flavor packets that you mix with bottles of water. There are many brands to choose from. Benefiber, Fruit2O, Crystal Light, Kool-Aid, Gatorade, along with several generic brands make these packets and are available at any grocery store. There are also several brands that add vitamins and are natural products like Stevita. Most have very little, if any, sugar or sugar substitutes added so you won't have to worry about a "sugar rush", especially before bed, or her teeth getting damaged. I've tried several of these, along with my girls, and we all agree the Crystal Light ones are the best. They have a huge variety of flavors and you can also buy them in sugar free and in containers that are made for mixing with 2 pints (half gallon). After you find flavors that she agrees with, you could buy the bigger packs, which will save money, and mix them in larger quantities or half them and make only one pint at a time. They also make flavored drink mixes in larger containers like Tang and Country Time. I'm not so sure about how well they will mix with milk though.
I'm sure you've probably already thought of this, but if all else fails, you can mix it with products like Nesquik and Ovaltine. I have read on many sites, that although most parents are reluctant to give their children flavored milk, the benefits the child gets from the milk greatly outweigh the small amounts of extra sugar. Ovaltine also provides many vitamins and minerals your child needs anyway. Chocolate milk also provides slightly more iron and fiber than plain milk. You can purchase many flavors such as strawberry, vanilla and banana, too. They also make reduced sugar versions. If you prefer, with any of these options you can add less product than recommended. If it suggests you mix 2 tablespoons with an 8 ounce glass, mix one tablespoon instead. It will still add a slight flavor, but less sugar. Keep adding a little at a time until she will drink it. Hope you find something that works! Good Luck!