When to Switch to Milk

Hi H.,
I switched my son from formula to whole milk at 12 months but at 10 months I switched him to next step formula for toddlers. All of my books and everyone I knew switched at 12 months so that's what I did. What I did do was that I would start to mix his cereal with whole milk and add a little to his bottles to get him ready for the transition. I started that around 10 months.

V.

Cow milk is really hard for babies to digest so you might want to try goat milk first. It's closer to human breast milk than cow's milk. Most people don't recommend starting babies on animal milk until they reach at least a year because of the high incidence of developing an allergy and digestion issues.

Babies digestive systems can't handle milk until they are at least 12 months old. The lack the necessary enzymes to break it down, & will usually just end up with horrible pain & explosive diarrhea. It can also predispose him to a milk allergy for later in life.

Hi, I would wait as long as possible to switch. Humans are not meant to drink cow's milk. If you switch too early you can cause digestive problems. I read somewhere that there is a very large percentage of adults that are actually lactose intolerant and don't even know it because they are so used to feeling bloated and gassy and uncomfortable after eating. I took my son off cow's milk and gave him soy milk. I switched myself too. Since my son started early it was much easier for him. Now he gets angry with me if he has to drink cow's milk, he loves the soymilk so much. I would go on the internet and try to find out more info. I found a few sites with some very interesting things to say about cow's milk and hormones, antibiotics, etc. I have also read that cow's milk does not help with osteoporosis, there is too much protein in it or something like that. It actually takes calcium from your bones. They have actually done studies on other countries that don't drink cow's milk that have less instances of osteoporosis. The U.S. is the #1 area for osteoporosis and we drink the most cow's milk. Thank you politicians for letting the milk industry fool us for so long. Sorry for all this but I just thought you should be able to make an informed decision for yourself and your baby. Whatever you choose I think you should have all the facts.

I switched my daughter to milk around 9 months but only because she wouldn't drink anything else. I strictly breastfed her and then she stopped on her own around 9 months. I tried formula in a bottle and in a sippy cup and I also tried pumping. She wanted nothing to do with any of it! So, I called her doctor and she said milk was fine since she wasn't taking anything else...aside from baby food and table food, of course. Normally, they recommend you wait until the child turns one because of allergies and such. Since neither my husband nor I are allergic to anything in terms of food, the pediatrician thought it was fine. I started my daughter with whole milk and she's been fine. In fact, she seems to prefer it to juice most of the time. She's 21 months now and doing wonderful. I'm expecting my second early this summer and, in the event this one stops breastfeeding early, I'll probably do the same thing and skip formula altogether as it's way more expensive than milk. But anyway, I would probably check with your pediatrician before actually making the switch yourself. Good luck!

WHEN MY SON WAS ABOUT 7 MONTHS OLD I STARTED WEANING HIM OFF FORMULA....I WOULD GIVE HIM 3/4 FORMULA AND 1/4 MILK IN HIS BOTTLE. BY THE TIME HE WAS 9 MONTHS OLD I WOULD GIVE HIM AT LEAST ONE BOTTLE OF MILK A DAY. AND BY A YEAR HE WAS DRINKING NOTHING BUT WHOLE MILK. IT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW COMFORTABLE YOU ARE WITH IT TOO. I NEVER REALLY FOLLOWED THE RULES WHEN IT CAME TO FEEDING MY CHILDREN.......THEY WERE EATING CEREAL AT A MONTH OLD AND BABY FOOD (AND SOME TABLE FOOD I.E. MASHED POTATOES, SOFT CARROTS, MUSHY STUFF) BY 3 MONTHS. I HOPE THIS HELPS.

I'm guessing you're talking about cow's milk, right?

12 months, and then only whole milk.

Cow's milk has larger protein which is harder for the little one to digest. Their digestive system just isn't mature enough and does not have enough of the correct bacteria to properly digest cow's milk. It will give your little one diahrrea at best and vomiting with diahrrea more likely.

I'd advise just to be patient and switch to milk at 1 yr.

I would wait till 12 months cause when I did it earlier with my boy he ended up being allergic and it was a big disaster.

We started introcucing whole milk when my son was 10 months old as my breast milk was not coming in as much as before and when I would pump I was not getting enough to fill a bottle.

We ok'ed this with our ped before doing it.

hetaher that's awesome so young to eat so well. i second the first post, 12 months is when you make the transition to whole milk. i specify whole milk per pediatrician's recommendation as small kids need that extra fat at least until the age of two.
good job mama
vlora

My doctor said not to do it til my son was 1 yr because their tummy isn't ready until then

whole milk is suppose to be introduced right around babies 1st birthday.
my son is big also, he was nursed until 16 months & supplemented with whole milk at 12 months.

Most pediatricians recommend starting cows milk at the first birthday. There is a stage 2 formula that is made for infants 9 months and older that is made to better suit their needs than the stage one, although most people stick with the same kind until the switch to milk.

You should gently introsucehim to cow's milk so not to upset his stomach or constipate him. I agree by the post about doing it 2 oz at a time mixed in with his formula.

One of the boys I watch just turned one year and is on cow's milk now. He weighs 28 pounds and had no problems with any of the foods but the pediatrician still wanted to wait until his birthday before the switch. Now if we could just get him to drink from a sippy cup...

Hi H., I wouldnt switch your son to whole milk until he is 12 months old. My doctor told me you should never switch before then. Your baby cant digest it properly and he can get sick.

Hello, I am a mother of 4. My oldest 2 who are 11yo and 9yo I switched to milk at 12 mo but it was a gradual thing. I slowly added in milk to their formula. So whenever you do want to do it you should ask your babies dr to be sure, but I know for sure 12 months is when it is definitely safe. But what I did was 1oz of milk to 7oz formula for about a 4-7 days and kept adding an ounce until it was all milk. 2oz milk to 6oz formula etc.
Good luck

I would not switch to milk untill he is 12 months old. My doctor told me if you switched to milk to earlt it could create problems with their stomachs and all kinds of stuff.

It isgreat to think about it, but if I were you I wouldnt do it until he is 12 months.I also wouldnt mix the two of them together.I would give him the milk seperate from the formula.At this time is your son on milk based formula?I had to switch to soy milk instead of whole milk because my daughter has a sensitivity to milk.She is not highly allergic, but she is sensitve to it.It is great that your son is eating his foods, and yours.LOL.Just remember if you do decide to give anything "NEW", give him time to show you if he will have any reactions.

I started with my younger 2 at around the same age. I did 2 oz. at a time, did that for a week then went up 2 more until theyw ere at 8 oz.

I'm a mom of three I waited until they turned a year old

I waited with my son until he as 12 months, too. I asked the pediatrician when we went for his 9 month check up because that is when I stopped nursing. I got pregnant again and wasn't producing enough milk...it was so heartbreaking. Anyway...I asked and she told me to put him on formula because he wasn't ready for cow's milk yet...she said 12 months. He's getting about 2 oz. of formula mixed with 8 oz of milk. He didn't take to the cow's milk right away. :)

Hope that helps!

Thinking about it now is GREAT I have a 11 month old and we are now doing half and half. Half milk and half formila, I find that helps with going to the bathroom. Become some childern have problems going when trying whole milk, but im also at the same time doing cups, I try to have my childern on milk and no bottles by there 1st b-day, and it work as of yet, this is my 3rd baby doing it this way, so hope that helps, and enjoy your time !

I agree ! The issues of switching early is that milk contains ingredients that they could be allergic too and by waiting till they are near a year this gives them the time needed to develop their system more to handle it. What I did with my twins was wait until 11 months..then on the 1st week of the 11th month I did 3/4 formula,1/4 whole milk - the 2nd week 1/2 formula, 1/2 milk, the 3rd week 1/4 formula, 3/4 milk and then the last week all milk. This will make it easier for your baby to digest as well as see if any issues arise by adding small amounts at first and not all at once.

You can actually start now but start with 2% since its thinner and your son should love it or you have the option of waiting until he's a year old.

My daughter also started eating lots of different foods early, but I waited until she was a year old to switch to milk, and then I did it gradually, mixing larger amounts with her formula, as well as in cups. She actually gave up her bottle on her own! I've heard from a lot of sources that waiting till 1 year can help prevent allergies, as well as giving the digestive system time to develop enough to handle milk.

As if you haven't gotten enough responses alreay, I'm gonna put my 2 cents in as well. Everyone's right about waiting till the first birthday an about only giving whole milk. It should also have vitamin D added. Taking away the furmula too early would be detrimental to brain development, cow's milk just doesn't have all the needed things in it like formula does. I would not recomment mixing with the formula, however do start out slow. Also, only put the milk in a cup. Juice should go in the cup as well. Once your child figures out that the good stuff comes in the cup, he'll have no trouble giving up the bottle. My son was drinking cups only during the day at 7 months and then gave up the nightime bottle on his own at 9 months. I don't know if it was anything I did or if I was just lucky. He also had GERD, so he was on a thicker formula, which was probably easier to drink from a cup than some of the thinner formulas are.

You can't switch until one year because their bodies cannot process the harsh cow's milk proteins. It causes intestinal bleeding.

I didn't put my kids on milk (and off the bottles) till they were both 1 year old. The day each of them turned 1, we said goodbye to the bottles and formula, and hello to milk and sippy cups.

I know that everyone is different and every doctor is different. I switched at 1 year and that is also when she was taken off the bottle. The formula has many things in it that the milk does not.