from formula to cow's milk.... Need Help!

My son will be a year on the 31st of this month and his pedi said that is when we should switch from formula to cow's milk.  When did y'all make the big switch? I read somewhere that they should be drinking whole milk, but i'm not sure if that is true. I know my his pedi will tell us more but I wanted to hear y'alls opinions and advice your all so informative and wise helpful... and your personal experiences if you don't mind sharing. I'm just so afraid to make the switch, maybe because he's growing up to fast idk lol anyways i'd appreciate your help =] thanks!

[CYW]

well ds has been on homo milk for a week and 2 days now.. he seen his pedi on the 7th and i asked by curiosity and he told me to give him half a bottle a day for a week and the rest during the day of formula(but do not mix them) and then the next week one whole bottle for a week then 1.5 bottle for a week then 2 and so on untl i have no more formula because i have a case and a few cans and a can of powder left so he will be off formula sometime around his first birthday.. just doing the transition right now and he loves his whole milk...

his pedi said not to do it cold turkey because his digestive system we dont want him to get a shock and have issues and its better for allergic reactions etc etc...

[Hope2OneDay]

We started giving him less and less formula instead of just suddenly giving him bottles of whole milk. Whole milk can be constipating, so their little tummies have to get used to it. I think we started out by mixing half formula/half milk at first, then started giving him 5 oz of whole milk at a time. He always got a full bottle of formula at some point during the day though. Within a week or so, he was on whole milk completely. I can't remember the exact measurement or science of how we graduated him from formula to whole milk, but it was something like that. We just kept giving him less formula and more milk until his last can of formula was gone.

(And if he DOES get constipated, we give him yogurt (the tiny snack size cups) to help counteract it. Only every two days or so, because it will definitely clear his pipes! LOL)

We started him on whole milk about a week before he was to turn a year old I think.

We're going to give him organic whole milk for the first year or two, though, so he won't be getting all those hormones and stuff that they give cows. So much of his brain and development is still going on in the first few years, that we feel it is a better choice. But that's another topic altogether. Just thought I'd share my opinion on that while I'm on the subject of whole milk! :-)

[tiredbuthappy]

my ped said we could start whole milk after her first bday. we have decided to continue to do 1/2 milk, 1/2 formula because like you, i was nervous about her not growing as well. in my opinion, 12 months isn't a magical number where they suddenly don't need the same nutrition that they did just a few days before. she's 13 months now. she takes 3 bottles of 1/2 whole milk 1/2 formula (1 when she wakes up, one midday, and one at night). She also drinks just plain whole milk at meals. when we're out and about and i don't want to worry about milk spoiling, i let her have watered down juice in a cup.

we did manage to quickly wean down the number of bottles/day with no problem. at 12 months she still had about 5 bottles/day. within a week or 2 we were able to cut it down to 3 bottles by encouraging larger meals in between.

as for how much- at 12 months, they are supposed to get 16-24 ounces of milk/formula per day. mine is still getting slightly more than that.

if your son isn't a huge eater you may want to continue with at least some formula to ease your mind. it is not necessary though.

[tiredbuthappy]

oh yea- i chose to do organic whole milk too. i don't buy anything else organic, but i don't want to risk the milk.

[casandbaby]

thank you ladies =] that helps so much. I'm glad you brought up organic milk. I was thinking of using it over the other. I def don't want to use milk with all the horomones and what not. has your babies gained significant weight on whole milk? I hope that doesn't make me come off bad. I only ask because i'm very strict when it comes to what he eats. Nothing fatty, sweet. I'm very reluctent(sp) about his first bday and getting cake eeekkk. I'm just in awe about the dramatic rise in babies who are obese. I'm going to give him whole milk, as it is the best for him. I know when I drank it i gained weight and lots of it!

Thanks again cyw, hope2oneday, and tired but happy. It helps to get actual experiences and such =]

[ma2isiah]

We also buy organic whole milk for dd (13 months). We started offering her whole milk just after her 1st birthday. She loves it. She was only breastfed before, but has weaned on her own and now has whole milk. She would drink it all day if we let her, but we limit her to 3-4 bottles a day (24 oz). She will drink water from a cup, but now refuses to drink milk from a cup. Hoping she will grow out of it soon. She also only likes her milk warmed, and will throw her bottle if it is cold, picky girl, maybe because she was used to only breastmilk which was warm?

[CYW]

it just goes to show how every dr is different huh? i was not not to mix formula and whole milk at all...that it just tastes nasty...and its not good for them...when i asked why not i got a whole speach about go to school for X many years and work in the field and then come and argue with me....lol but it all makes sense.. he is taking it very good.. he said because i have so much formula left to do it that way.. and its easier on them...but each to their own really right???

[carrie78]

i know when my daughter turned 1 we started her on whole milk.....the fat in it is for developement of the brain.....they are supposed to have whole milk(thats what i was told)now my daughter is 4 and i give her fat free milk(i drink it too)

[CYW]

one thing i noticed about DS is that he has alot more gas but doesn't really have cramping or so i dont think.. he does have more BM in a day as well...but he is teething right now too so the BM could be why...

[Hope2OneDay]

My son hasn't gained a lot of weight from it. You have to keep in mind that crawling and walking will burn off calories like crazy. They need the fat! LOL

[victoria83]

i tryed to do the switch about a week before my dd first bday. then when she went to the dr on her bday and i was telling her the one bottle of whole milk i was giving her she hated it, she told me to do half and half. then every day take on oz of the formula away and replace it with another oz of milk untill you are all the way down to a full bottle of milk. now she loves it. good luck.

[kjbutcher]

Kids need fat for their brains to develop.  If you are not giving him much fat in his diet, you may want to stick to whole milk for good because it is a GOOD source of fat for them.  The only problem with this is that if he starts eating more fats as an adult he will be a whole milk person by then and it will be harder for him to give up the extra fat from milk.   If he is getting fats from meats and other such foods I have heard that you start at whole milk and on each birthday knock it down a percent until at age 4 they are on skim milk for the rest of their life.  

[tiredbuthappy]

sorry- i thought you were worried about him gaining enough, not too much! kjbutcher and Carrie78 are 100% right- babies and toddlers NEED whole milk until 2 years of age for brain development.

[casandbaby]

thank you all =] I know they need whole milk for there growth and development. I read somewhere I can't remember where but it said that whole milk has its pros and cons, cons being constipation and lots of weight gain. Weight gain isn't a huge concern just that if it we're to be way to much ya know? like the babies you see on maury. Thanks y'all have been so helpful, i appreciate it much!

[motherofan18month]

my son couldn't hardly take any formula so he was on whole milk at almost 11 months and he did great......i just gave him a bottle of whole milk slightly warm and he loved it!