Self-weaning toddler won't drink milk
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jls8209
Posts: 450 Member
Hey mamas! My nearly 14 month old has been showing signs of self-weaning for about a month or so, and we've gotten to the point where I need to give her milk because her feeds are minimal and growing short. I started trying to introduce cow's milk on occasion at 12 months, but didn't really push it at first because she was still breastfeeding well. The past few weeks I've been trying to get her to drink milk every day, but nothing seems to be working She drinks water from sippy and straw cups like a champ, but she just will not drink anything else. I've tried cow's milk, breast milk in a cup (made her gag!), older baby formula (she had formula a few times in the past without any problems), vanilla flavoured Gerber toddler drink (getting desperate!), and she won't drink any of it. She will some times take a swig, then gag or screw up her face, and the cup ends up on the floor, or just being played with for the rest of the meal. I've also attempted to give her a bottle since she's had them in the past, but she didn't go for that, either. Any suggestions?
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As long as the rest of her diet includes a variety of foods, she doesn't technically need a replacement for breastmilk if she doesn't like any other kind of milk. With that said, what temperature is the milk? My son won't take anything (even water) cold because he's used to warm breastmilk, but if the water/whole milk is room temp, he loves it.0
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The cow's milk temp is always cold, from the fridge. I've tried mixing the formula and the toddler drink with both warm and cold water, also thinking it might be a temperature thing. She'll drink water at any temperature.
I was kind of wondering if she really NEEDS the milk, as long as she's getting calcium elsewhere. She loves to eat cottage cheese, hard cheese, yogourt, broccoli, and salmon - all good sources. Our doctor gave me the go ahead to stop giving her rice cereal at 12 months (good for iron) since her diet is quite varied, so I'm wondering if he'd say the same about milk. On that note, I also tried mixing rice cereal and milk together, but in addition to hating the taste, she also has little/no patience for being spoon fed anymore!0 -
I think she's good without milk based on the diet you described, but you could always double check with your pediatrician. Was the breast milk in a cup cold as well? When we started giving my son cow's milk, I put some in a little dish with some frozen blueberries. I heated it up so it was room temperature and spoon fed him the blueberries with some milk and that helped us transition. If she doesn't want to be spoon fed anymore, though, that might not work...but it's worth a try using some fruit that you know she likes because the texture/taste of the fruit might help her not gag on the milk. If she got used to the taste of milk that way, maybe it would help her take it from a cup more easily - it just might take awhile to get there!0
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Would she drink a smoothie made with milk? It doesn't even have to be an icy one.0
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I think you are definitely good! It doesn't have to be milk, Your toddler eat variety of other dairy product.
I am thinking about weaning ( weare down to feeding 2 times anyway) , and I have the similar problem. I am not willing to try the gerber toddler milk after I read the ingredients at the store.
My problem is the my baby barely wants to touch ANY dairy product. Yogurt, cheese only occasionally very minimal. Based on what I read, dairy is not even necessary. It just easier if you have it.0 -
I agree that if baby is getting what she needs elsewhere drinking milk is not necessary. If she eats other dairy products or will accept milk as an ingredient like in cereal or angel delight that's even better and I certainly wouldn't worry.0
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Thanks, ladies!
@ FitMama, I'll try your suggestion about the blueberries and milk. She does occasionally let me spoon feed her, but it's pretty random! Also, I think the breastmilk was cold as I'd let it defrost in the fridge. I'll try again with room temp!
@ RBX, I wondered about smoothies, too, but she won't drink ANYTHING but water from a cup. I tried giving her apple juice a few weeks ago when she needed help in the poop department, and she didn't go for that, either. Another thing to keep in mind, though.
@ redheadmommy, I felt the same about the Gerber Toddler Drink, but I was getting desperate! It's pretty much formula, but vanilla flavoured (thankfully not sweet, like I'd expected). I'm not a huge fan of giving formula since I EBF for so long, but I've reached the point where I'm willing to try anything.
My hope was to find a flavour that she likes, then slowly dilute it with milk until she got used to 100% milk (just like some parents bribe their older kids with a splash of chocolate milk in their regular milk - a tactic I hope to avoid!) 0 -
My now 3 year old did the same thing, just wasn't interested in cow milk. We used soy milk which he still prefers. I also got the ok from the ped not to stress about it because even though he was never close to the amount they want a kid to drink he made up for it with other sources of calcium. Sounds like she has a great and varied diet, I wouldn't stress.0
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My son is wishy-washy about milk. He's also around 14 months and breastfeeds 3-4 x a day. If he won't drink milk from his sippy and I'm not around to nurse we also keep toddler formula on hand or he also will drink almond milk. However, I don't worry about drinking milk too much because he LOVES dairy products. I will usually at least once or twice a day give him cheese, cottage cheese, or even greek yogurt. Hopefully some of those ideas help
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