Hiya, my 13 month old is refusing breast milk (direct from me and EBM from a cup), if she doesn't go back to it then how much cows milk does she need? She has never had cows milk as a drink (never needed to before) and she is not keen to start now. Do I need to push it or can she do without?

Thanks

I'd have thought that as long as they're getting enough calcium through food - e.g. spinach, dairy products etc then they might not need to have milk as a drink. Milk jelly is a good way to get them to take milk if they're not a drinker (instead of water to mix jelly, top up with milk instead) plus mixing it into mash is another easy hidden way to up dairy intake.

If you include plenty of calcium in her diet that will help, but I would've thought she would still need to drink milk of some sort at that age. Something like 14oz per day is the ideal I think? Have you tried altering the temperature of the milk - my nephew likes his fridge cold, but my niece likes hers nice and warm. If you're not too vigilant about sugar you could try adding a tiny bit of milkshake flavouring, which might make it more popular too.

We had exactly the same issue with Aisling just a couple of weeks younger! I put milk in a cup and she refused it, warm or cold. We then started adding a few spoons of yoghurt and she started drinking a bit of that (breastmilk is sweet so it makes sense) and then started reducing the yoghurt til it was all gone after a few days.

I think you can get away with no milk, you'd just need to be vigilant about making sure she gets her calcium through other means which is easier said than done with a fussy toddler refusing food! Aisling has milk with each meal, sometimes drinks loads, sometimes hardly any, I trust her to take what she needs, much like bfing. She doesn't have any separate milk feeds anymore like she used to.

I spoke to my HV when G dropped his mrning BF and halved his bedtime and she said not to worry as he eats a lot of dairy in his diet. He has however started to drink the milk from his cereal bowl (daddys influence )

I have been draining the milk from her cereal bowl so she doesn't spill it everywhere, maybe I should leave it in there and see hwat happens!

For the moment I am just gonna make sure she gets plenty fo dairy and let her have milk if she wants it throghout the day - see how we go.

Thanks for your replies

Shiv, I was poking about on the weaning section at CNT and someone posted this:




Amount of calcium in common food

How much calcium do I need?

Infants up to 12mths.......525mg.....................three quarters pint of milk
Young children..............350-550mg................half to three quarters pint of milk
Adolescents.................800-1000mg...............one and a third to one and a half pints of milk
Adults........................700mg.....................one pint of milk
Breastfeeding women......1250mg....................one and a half pints of milk

But rather than getting all your calcium from milk you can also source it from common foods:

Milk, all types...............200ml.......................240mg
Cheddar.....................1oz/25g.....................180mg
Edam........................1oz/25g.....................190mg
Cottage cheese (plain).....small tub 125g.............110mg
Yoghurt......................small pot 150g.............150mg
Greek yoghurt...............small pot 150g.............150mg

Sardines......................half small tin 100g........500mg
Salmon........................half small tin 100g.......95mg
White bread..................1 large slice...............35mg*
Wholemeal bread............1 large slice...............20mg
Baked beans/other beans...1 small can 200g.........110mg
Brocolli........................small portion 2oz/50g...30mg
Cabbage......................small portion 2oz/50g....25mg
Spring greens................small portion 2oz/50g....45mg
Oranges......................1 whole orange............75mg
Eggs, cooked.................2 eggs......................60mg
Ice cream, non-dairy........2oz/50g....................60mg

how interesting that edam has more calcium than other cheeses - I want to do some research into which cheeses have the least amount of salt and the most calcium, as Sophia really likes cheese!

I'm sure I read somewhere that parmesan has the most calcium of the cheeses, but you perhaps wouldn't want to use too much with its strong flavour!