Transition to cows milk

[MummyKP]

I know they say not to give. I'll until 12 months, but I'm just looking for some advice on the transition from formula bottles to cows milk in a beaker. She drinks water great out of a free flow TT beaker, and is on 3 bottles of formula, morning, afternoon and night. How and when did people make that transition? I'm thinking of introducing it in her beaker to begin with, maybe a couple of weeks before her 1st birthday. I know they also say that they shouldn't have bottles with a teat after 12 months, so how did you get them off their bottles? I'm worried about the bedtime bottle more than anything as when she has that it's the biggest sign of it's bedtime, goodnight. I'm going to try take her afternoon bottle off her soon, then I'm thinking of swapping her morning bottle of formula to a beaker of cows milk. Then to tackle the evening bottle! Any advice you've got would be appreciated!

 

[MindUtopia]

We approached the transition from formula to cow's milk and bottles to cups as completely separate. You might find it's no big deal to do both at the same time, but we found that ours wasn't ready for milk from a cup at 10 months which was when we first started to occasionally offer small amounts of cow's milk. So we didn't push it and just stuck with the bottles. She happily switched to a cup around 13 months, which worked great. There's no rush to do either so I would pick the one that seems the easiest if at first it seems like too much change and focus on that first.

We started to offer small amounts of cow's milk in a bottle with an afternoon snack at about 10.5 months. So it didn't really replace a bottle as she'd dropped that bottle for a snack, but it was just a way to start introducing a little bit of pure cow's milk so she could get used to it. From 11 months, I switched out 1 bottle per day each week. So she was having 4 bottles a day at 11 months, so 3 of them were formula and 1 was cow's milk. Then the following week, 2 were formula and 2 were milk. We switched completely to cow's milk at 12 months. That worked well for us. She did have a bit of tummy upset and loose stools, but she was teething at the same time, so no idea what really caused it. It was fine after a couple weeks (also when the teeth popped through).

For switching to cups, I just periodically offered milk in a cup from about 9 months. She might have a few sips but mostly completely refused it. At around 13 months, I offered it one morning (in a straw cup, not a beaker) and she took it happily. After that, we switched all her daytime milk to cups (morning and afternoon milks). I kept the bedtime one in a bottle as she was usually very sleepy and I didn't feel like she was quite ready to manage a cup for bedtimes yet. At 15 months, I switched the bedtime bottle over to a cup and it was fine. I think just taking your time with both transitions is key and if it's really not working, don't push it and make it stressful. Give it a few weeks and try again.

 

[MummyKP]

Thanks so much for your tips and experience MindUtopia, it really helps hearing how others have done it. I'm still not sure how to do it, whether to mix her formula with cows milk (say 4oz formula 2oz cows) for her afternoon bottle, and slowly increase the cows milk and decrease the formula, or whether to just offer her a little cup of cows milk with her snack and do it that way. At least I haven't got to rush it as we are just 10 months, and I'd like to start soon with it, although I am finding myself worrying about introducing it so much early than they suggest!

 

[jessmke]

Does anyone have advice for introducing cow milk to a breastfed baby?

 

[MummyKP]

I imagine it would be similar to the transition from bf to formula but probably best to go straight to a cup if you plan on breastfeeding until 12 months? When we transitioned from bf to ff I just changed one feed at a time, once a week. So I replaced the bed time BF with a bottle of formula.
Does your LO take a bottle jessmke? If you are wantin her to have a bottle of cows milk then perhaps just try her on a small bottle, say 4-5oz during the day? My child would take breast milk from the boob or bottle so we didn't have issues with that transition.
I gave my LO some cows milk in a cup yesterday (a different cup to what she has her water in) and she loved it but needs to practice using the cup a bit more as its not the same as what she is used to).

 

[jessmke]

My LO will drink out of a cup, so maybe when the time comes I will just start by giving her small amounts in a cup and increase the amounts slowly. I am hoping to BF for at least 2 years, but she will be a year old when I go back to work so she will go onto goat milk (because that's what we drink at home) when I am at work and the BF when I am with her.

 

[Spudtastic]

It can be really stressful trying to do everything by the book.
If your little one enjoys an afternoon bottle I wouldn't worry about weaning her off just yet unless of course you need to for you (got to look after mummy''s too).

The reason for not giving cows milk is that it can be hard on little tummies. Babies and young kids tend to be intolerant to milk. If you do want diary a full fat natural yoghurt is good.

If you're worried about calcium you can get it through other foods too.

It sounds like you are a great mum and doing an awesome job.

 

[noon_child]

My LO will drink out of a cup, so maybe when the time comes I will just start by giving her small amounts in a cup and increase the amounts slowly. I am hoping to BF for at least 2 years, but she will be a year old when I go back to work so she will go onto goat milk (because that's what we drink at home) when I am at work and the BF when I am with her.

My LO refused any type of milk when I went back to work. She just ate more food and breastfed when we were together. She didn't take to animal milk till she was around 20months I think.

 

[noon_child]

The reason for not giving cows milk is that it can be hard on little tummies. Babies and young kids tend to be intolerant to milk. If you do want diary a full fat natural yoghurt is good.

Also, depending on how well your child eats, they may need to remain on formula/breast milk for their nutritional intake. Most babies take a while to get used to eating and digesting solids and so an immediate transition to cows milk to replace all milk feeds, when first weaning, would leave them malnourished. Setting the guidance on a year ensures that most children will be nourished enough from food to be fine drinking cows milk (plus formula is expensive).

 

[SandraM]

Most babies between 6 and 9 months are ready to start drinking from a cup, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Most doctors recommend introducing a cup around the time a baby is 6 months old and by 12 months of age, most of babies have the coordination and hand skills needed to hold a cup and drink from it. It is always better to start weaning from bottle to cup from 6 months because use of a bottle till the age of 2 is more likely to be obese. I would recommend to begin the process slowly by nixing your child’s afternoon bottle first because at this time he/she may be more open to try new things and more alert.