How do I get toddler off baby milk and onto cows milk?

 Hi, I have an 19 month old girl who is still taking her bottle through the day and night. We are still giving her sma milk as I have tried to give her cows milk but she wont drink it. My Mum works beside a health visitor who has advised us that Hannah should be off baby milk and only drinking cows milk and she shoud deffinately be off her bottle. I can't even get hannah to drink her baby milk from a cup! i am totally confused and stressed out by all of this. I don't even know where to start. I know we have probably done the wrong thing by still giving her baby milk but as a first time mum i never really knew when i was supposed to stop giving her baby milk.  I have always struggled giving her cows milk. she takes it in cereal but will not drink it as she knows the difference between the two milks. Is it ok if she doesnt drink cows milk if she is getting her calcium elsewhere? or getting the cows milk in food? Should i just concentrate on getting her off the bottle through the day? Another problem i have is that hannah uses her milk to go to sleep even in the afternoon. Help I really need it. 

S

HI S

 This a a tricky one and I find it hard to advise cause JT was so amenable she didn't even notice what it was or what it came out of as long as it was wet!!

Can your health visitor be of any help?

I've probably been quite tough in my approach and never really given in when trying to get JT on to the next stage of something. It might take a few days or week or even 2, but I wonder if eventually she will forget what it tasted like and drink what you give her. If she doesn't drink milk for a short time I'm not sure it'll do any harm. so you could go cold turkey on any kind of milk for a period of time and then introduce Cows milk only.

Try and find another routine for her day time nap, a story or song, or a different kind of drink. Perhaps take her out and get her to choose a new 'big girls' cup with her favourite character on it and make a big thing about it.

It might be unsettling and a bit painful for a while but I have found they do adapt eventually.

P 

 Thank you for your advice. I have decided not to give her any milk through the day (sma milk) and only give her her milk at night. Then I am going to mix the two milks until she is taking the cows milk only, then i am goin to deal with the bottle at night, try and get her to have her milk in a cup before bedtime. Through the day I will just need to find another way of getting her to have her nap. Someone also told me that if they dont like the taste of cows milk to try goats milk as it is a little sweeter but not sure myself. Another thing i was going to try was adding some milk to a yogurt drink and eventually have more milk than yogurt in it. hannah seems to really like the yogurt drinks. I will let you know how i get on.

S

Hi, I had the same problem with my son. He was still getting baby milk in a bottle until he was over two. He point blank refused to drink cows milk. I gradually added cows milk to his bottle over a period of about two weeks, starting at one oz cows milk to 7oz baby milk, and every couple of days putting the cows milk up an oz. He now drinks all cows milk and has no problem with it. The only thing is he will only drink it warm and from a bottle before bed. He does not drink it cold or through the day at all. Thats why I still give it to him though because he doesnt drink milk through the day. If anyone has any ideas how to resolve that problem I would be delighted to hear them!!

Hi all

 When this was happening to me, I thought I was the only mummy with the only toddler doing this!! It seemed everywhere I looked there was a toddler drinking out of a cup! I also felt I was being judged by other people.

Aaron loves his milk. Hot or cold but he gets it hot at nightime. At first he didn't want to drink cow's milk, but as LTC said I started to add cow's milk to his formula and gradually he went onto just cow's milk and didn't seem to notice.

As for getting them off the bottle, that's not so easy! Aaron is 20 months this month and although will drink from a cup during the day (just started this in the last few weeks) he always has a bottle to get him to sleep at night time. I have got to the stage that I am doing what is right for my baby and every child is different, for example Aaron never liked a dummy so his comfort is his bottle. He does look for it if he's not well or very tired. I don't care anymore what other people think, they are too quick to judge!

The only thing I worry about is when we go on holiday, as it's a cruise it's the UHT milk they have onboard and not fresh milk, so I am going to have to try and get him to sleep without the bottle at night!

The joys of being a mummy!!!!

Hi,

My soon to be 1 yr old has managed the cows mlk by mixing it gradually with her formula and I'm down to 2oz in an 8oz bottle. She is ok with a beeker for lunch and dinner with water but every now and again I try to put her milk in it and she flatly refuses and looks at me as if I'm crazy! I tried an avent bottle/beeker that has a soft spout and wasnt cheap but she didnt like that either, she only wanted to play with it and chew it.

I've read that I should not be giving her any milk before bed, can this be right? I remember having milk before bed until I was about 7 yrs old (granted not in a bottle). To quote 'your baby should have enough food/drink/nutrients during the day to sustain her'. Yeah right!  Thats a battle I can do without.

 Any idea's ?

Di, Mummy of two (7yr old and soon to be 1yr old) 

Hi, my daughter is 21 months and still has cows milk in a bottle three times a day aswell.

She drinks water from her cup at lunchtime but refuses to drink more than an ounce of milk from a cup. She has a 7 oz bottle when she wakes up, one going to bed and a small 5oz one before her nap in the afternoon.

However its really important at bedtime to always brush her teeth after her bottle as it can cause teeth cavities if children go to sleep with a bottle of milk. I know from experience with my ten year old who used to go to bed with his bottle and ended up with fillings the dentist told me its very common!

How can drinking lots of milk each day be a bad thing. My dilemma is that it takes the edge off her appetite so she doesnt eat very large meals. But I would rather she was drinking as when I have cut down the milk she then suffered with constipation.

As mums we just have to do what is best for our own individual children and I think its best to just 'go with the flow' and let your child follow their own pace. There is no point causing problems just for the sake of keeping up with what is supposedly 'normal'

Like Dianne I have bought loads of cups and beakers to encourage her to drink more but it hasnt worked. I am hoping to be able to use them on her younger nine month old brother who also seems to have a preference for his bottle!