stopping formula

my son will be one June 19 and i am on wic which gives me 8 cans a month for the $26 a can formula!  they is no way i can go past one with this formula.  the problem is do you stop cold turkey or start milk here and there during the day.  dr said it was ok to give him some milk so i have but he is having a hard time going number 2.  so when he is off the formula what kind of milk should he drink to go.  do you stop cold turkey or wean.  i am so confused.  i can't afford to buy the formula there is no way.

[GNicole]

I started giving Avery half formula and half whole milk 1 week before she turned 1. That is what the pediatrician told me to do. I would fill the bottle with half milk and half formula then went to 3/4 milk and 1/4 formula then all whole milk. You could call your doctor and see what they prefer. This worked well for us, no problems so far. Good luck Kris.

[kris123]

does she eat well?  Ryan is a little burger when it comes to eating.  He won't finish a full can of baby food number 2.  if i am lucky he eats half of it.  does she drink lots of milk like she did formula

[GNicole]

She is a pretty good eater. She has 6 teeth so she is eating alot of what we eat now. She only eats baby food fruit. She only gets a bottle at bedtime and when she wakes up in the morning. The pediatrician said we should wean her completely off the bottle in the next couple of months. That will not be fun, I am dreading it! :(

[kris123]

my sister is the big problem and gives him lots of bottles.  he has 7 teeth and he likes what we eat too.  i am only sending he two bottle for the day now so she can't give him the bottle - he loves the sippy cup and does very well with it.  he learned by sucking on the straw.  but i got to watch him doing that cause he will take to much ;)

[newbie2b]

I'm going through the same issue now.  Soraya will be one on Wednesday and I still have her on formula.  I dont see her Dr. until this Friday so, I was waiting to talk to her. I'm not sure if I should just go ahead and switch her on my own or wait to talk to ther Dr.

Gnicole, did you switch before the 1 year visit?  If so, what did the Dr. say about it?

Thanks

[deanne11]

I would wean....a few weeks ahead if possible.  My DD really needed to be weaned.   She hates change of any kind.

My DS has digestive problems so he'll probably take a lot longer to wean.

[GNicole]

1 week before Avery was 1 I started the transition. Her pediatrician told me that I could. The transition went fine, no problems but the weaning off the bottle that should be fun! :( Happy Birthday Soraya!! yay!! :)

[Crritter]

I agree with the others, you need to make it gradual, and if Ryan has eating issues, I would call the Dr. first.  Cameron has really bad acid reflux and he was lactose intolerant.  We have slowly been working on dairy, but he cannot do the whole milk yet.  We did the formula for maybe a week after his 1st B-day as we tried to see what was best.  He is now on soy milk, which is a little spendy still.  Try backing off of the bottles and getting him to eat more food.  The milk will not have the nutrition that the formula did, and by 1 they should be eating pretty well on their own.  He will get there, but just don't do it cold turkey.  Start pushing the solids more and backing off of the bottle as the meal.  Talk to your Dr. and see what will be best for your little guy.

[kris123]

I have given him milk and he loves it i mean loves it.  maybe i can get the next step formula and i think maybe i will have to use soy because regular formula he can't poo.  i am only going to send one bottle to my sis.  she is famous for not feeding him like i want he to - it is to easy to stick a bottle in his mouth which makes me so mad - we have talked she hasn't feed him today only the bottle but he was sick last night and this morning but WTF just feed him - to make it easy on her i gave her the high chair and i got a little one at home - ryan loves chicken and apples baby food so we stick with what he likes and he likes to eat what you are eating.  

i will have to start the weaning now because his formula costs way to much for me and WIC only goes to one year :(  i feed him twice yesterday with no bottle.  

i still give him his acid reflux med - the bottle take away at night will have to come later.  i may keep some formula around for bedtime and morning that is it.  alimentum is what he is on sorry it is not spelled right what is one that is cheaper but almost the same i could try or maybe that would be to much for him at this point

[BearHitch]

One other idea for her problems going #2 would be to put prune juice in the bottle.  DS has problems with constipation alot, and we do that and it works like a charm  :)

[melissafoster]

My son also has relux and he didn't do to well on Alimentum so he is now on Nutragimen which is a couple dollars cheaper but a slightly smaller can.  He does very well on the Nutragimen!!