My Two Year Old Is in Love with His Formula. Is This Normal?

Sounds more like the main issue is not the milk or the bottle but the comfort item that he uses when he falls back in the tired mode. One of the big things I have found is to just casually "forget it" when you go through a routine. If you don't think it is a big deal, then they won't either, or offer a different form of the same thing (IE in a sippy instead of a bottle, or real milk in a bottle instead of formula.) Try also giving him an empty bottle to play with througho out the day so that the bottle itself no longer becomes a special privledge. Otherwise, get rid of them, (While he is watching!) so that later he will believe you that they really are all gone and that it is not a mom vs kid power struggle.

M.,

You'll have to get rid of all bottles in the house in order to wean him from using a bottle. That way you don't cave in to him when he begs for one.
Next, put his formula in a sippie cup and let him know that is his only option. Formula is good for him, so its definately not hurting him. It's actually a lot better for him than cow's milk. Cow's milk is meant to feed a 300 lb. calf, not children. Goat's milk is actually a much better choice for children. It's more like human milk than cow's milk and it won't put too much weight on them. However, if he is not interested in anything else, let him continue his formula, just not in a bottle. Every now and then put a 1/2 oz. of goat's milk or cow's milk into his formula and continue doing so over a long period of time, gradually getting it to 100% milk and 0% formula.
He will eventually acquire a taste for it. Don't worry, though, the formula will not hurt him, rather, it will keep him healthier than milk.
Oh, and when he sails it across the room, let him know that he may go pick it up when he is thirsty and that the next time he throws it, you will pick it up and he will not get it back. Then, follow through.
Take Care,
T.

Sounds like you need to stop giving him the bottle. Your doctors may agree that the formula will not hurt him, but your dentist will tell you that he should have been taken off the bottle (method itself) quite a while ago. If he still wants the formula and you want to give it to him, go ahead, but use a sippy cup. If you want to avoid further issues like this down the road (and as he ages the "issues" will become bigger deals than this) then you need to "step up to the plate" (your analogy) and become the parent. Right now it sounds like he is in charge, and if you don't correct that, he will be throwing temper tantrums the likes of which you will WISH you had never seen. The only way to "be done with" the formula, is for YOU to stop buying it. The end. He'll get over it. And you'll be glad that you (the parent) are making good and proper choices for your child (that's what parents do). I know we all as parents want to make things easy for our kids to adapt to change. But the only easy way to teach adaption to change is to actually change things. So go for it. He'll have you right there and he'll be fine. Sure he might get mad.. but, well, kids get mad when they don't get their way... now is a FINE time to teach him how to deal with that anger about being told "no".. Best wishes!

It's time for both the formula AND the bottle to go!! It will be a week of torture for both you and your son, but it will be over and done with. It may even take a few days. He is learning that if he throws a fit, you will give in! The older he gets, the hard it will be for YOU to be the parent.

My son stopped drinking milk at one point so I added Nurtipals to his milk. It gives him added nutrients without the sugar of chocolate syrup. It also helped him go from 27% in weight to 50% (which is average for his age).

So, suck it up and be the parent. The longer he is on the bottle, the more chances you will have of "bottle rot"...aka tooth decay in toddlers!!

~Lacey
Mom of 5 1/2 year old daughter and 3 1/2 year old son (all boy...very strong willed), and former In-Home Daycare provider. I've helped a few mom's wean their babies off the bottle!

You could try watering down his formula VERY GRADUALLY... so eventually he is basically drinking water. Then at that point milk might taste pretty good! Just make sure you are supplementing the need for calcium, like a cup of yogurt a day.

Also, you could try adding a tiny amount of chocolate syrup to the milk to make it tastier. Some days my son doesn't want ANY milk at all, on those days we give him the "special treat" of chocolate milk (it's really a minimal amount of chocolate, but does the trick.

Good Luck!

--P. M.

My son is almost two. We switched to milk and got rid of the bottle before his first birthday. The longer you wait to get rid of the bottle the harder it will be to wean him off of it just like with a passy. Try mixing the milk and formula eventually using less formula. Definately get rid of the bottle!!!

Hi M.,

I agree with your doctors. My last 2 children (b/g twins) also wanted only formula at bed time. They took a morning bottle and an evening bottle until they were almost 3. I did not let them take it to bed or hold onto the bottle after they were done. They just liked this comfort when they were first awake & to calm down for bed. I personally see no problems with this, as long as you are not inviting your son to take it to bed. We are all creatures of habbit & when we find something we truley love, we stay with it. Your child is no different. That said, you should always try to give him something else to ween him, but until that weening takes hold, do not stress over a little formula. Also try diluting it, a little more each time (I also did this) it worked. I started diluting it and by the end of my 3rd month, we were off.

I hope this helps, but only you know your child, you will know when enough is truley enough.

Have a blessed day!!!

I would hope and think that the doctors are correct. If your child is developing well than I wouldn't worry either.
I would just make sure that he is getting enough calcium and other nutrients during the day. Good luck.

HI M.,
If it ease your burden any...I hated milk growing up! So my parents let me drink soy/formula until I was NINE YEARS old....at that time I just stopped and drank chocolate milk (because soy formular has a sweet taste to it)....and I've turned out just fine! :)

I agree with others who state to give him the formula in a cup. If it is truly the formula that he wants, he should be okay with that. I also like the idea of gradually adding a little milk to the formula.

Ha I went throught the same thing. Our life was all about the bottle/formula - one night I just had it so we had a bottle party the next morning and threw all the bottles and forumula away. We tried it once before and I didnt stick to it - bad move, so this time I stuck to my guns, kept reminding him that he was a big boy now and didnt need a bottle/forumula. He was totally okay with it after a couple days. Now he looks at his sisters babas and says "Im a big boy, I dont need a bottle!" Its cute... I hope this helps...

M.
Have you tried slowly & I mean slowing slipping whole milk into the formula? At first juat add less than a 1/4 cup to his regular amount of formula & keep it that way for a few days & when He stops noticing a difference slowly increase the amount of milk eventually getting to a cup of just milk? try it it may work or you can jsut go cold turkey, but that's the hard way. I ended up buying vanilla flavored milk for my 18 month old. Who is now 4 & does drink regular milk finally!

If it's OK with you and your doctors, keep giving it to him. If you want him off the formula and bottle, you have two options. One is to slowly wean him. Try going to a cup, or gradually adding more water and less formula. If he's very attached, he may notice the change and reject the cup/bottle. In that case, I would go with option 2, which is to take it away. I agree that the best way to try to do this is just not to mention it or offer it. If he asks, tell him that he is a big boy and boig boys don't drink out of bottles. He's only 2 years old - he won't remember the bottle forever. Even if he throws a tantrum, I've rarely seen that last more than a couple of days. If you can stand it for that long, it will be over quickly. Just like ripping off a Band-Aid.

Hi M.,
My sons are 3 1/2 & 2yrs old. We have had them on the similac advance 2 until up about a month ago when we ran out one night and decided we were just gonna give them warm milk (still in the bottle). I am not concerned about them still drinking from bottles at bedtime and usually in the morning. I know they won't do it forever. We would of kept them on the formula longer because it has so many vitamins in it, but with a third baby almost here and the cost around $20 a can, we decided to try the milk, and they drink it, so whatever works for you and them. Good Luck. L. Z

Ps. If he doesn't like the milk , warm it and say this is all we have. They will drink if given no other choice.

My first question...is he looking more for the bottle or for the formula? Try to ween him off one and then later off the other. Maybe try putting his formula in a sippy cup so that he still gets his regular bedtime routine but it's not the bottle ~ You may want to SHOW him that you are putting his "milk" into the cup because he may assume that their is something different in the cup. To ween him off the formula start adding a tablespoon of milk, once he gets used to the first tablespoon start adding 2 tbsp. and so forth until it's all milk.