Drinking cows milk for the first time

[user1465146157]

Hi - my LO is 11 months and exclusively formula fed, so at 12 months I'd like to stop getting the formula and change over to cows milk.

Is this the right think to do and how do we go about the use of normal milk -

do we use bottles?
do we warm it every time - surely yes and its not fridge cold

At 12 months how much milk should they be drinking?

I've read on here about putting it in cups - LO will probably drink from a sippy cup.

just a bit unsure about this whole thing - is it okay to just stop the formula they are used to completely?

thanks

Have you given cow's milk at all yet, maybe on cereal? Cold from the fridge is fine, just like tap water. I would put it in a sippy cup/beaker, signalling a change from formula in a bottle. Has your LO decreased their formula intake as they eat more food? My DC2 had pretty much stopped formula by 13 months by their own choice, and drank cold milk or water.

Thank you ThiswayorThatway - no never had cereal, they've had weetabix and i always make that with the formula milk but will start with cows milk now - didnt know they could before 12 months?

Yes milk has decreased in the daytime but night time feeds still feel the same. Will give cold milk a go soon..

Cow's milk is fine on cereal and in cooking after six months, just like other dairy such as cheese, yoghurt etc. Just not as a drink on it's own until 12 months. Cold will be fine, just like water. Give it a try, a little bit at a time. Don't be discouraged by any resistance at first, formula/breast milk is a little sweet in comparison.

They can have cow milk in food from 6 months. Formula is made from cow’s milk so if he had issues with cow milk you would proabably know by now.

At 12 months they should stop the bottle. If he is still waking at night I would keep using a bottle for nighttime feeds but soppy cup for the day. I always warm the milk slightly by my DD does not drink much anyway.

Is he on three meals and three snack? I found this reduced the number of night time feeds.

He needs 350mg of calcium a day. This can include yoghurts and cheese.

DD is the same age and still drinking 3 bottles of formula a day. I've started by swapping one of her bottles for a bottle of cows milk instead just so she gets used to the change in taste. I warm it slightly in the microwave just to take the edge off it.

She drinks water out of a sippy cup already so I'm assuming she will drink milk out of one too.

She has quite a bit of dairy in her diet already though, she has Greek yoghurt and granola for breakfast and a fruity yoghurt for pudding if she's still hungry after her supper. Lunch or supper usually has some cheese in it so I'm thinking she might just have a bed time bottle of milk still for a while even when we make the full transition to cows milk.

thanks all i will start introducing now in food then - LO has cheese and yoghurt and other things containing milk but i've never given pure milk e.g in cereal, in a cup etc.

will up my snacks too and see if this helps the night feeding!

When I moved my daughter (now 12) over to cows milk she hated it, refused it constantly. In the end we mixed it with the formula, adjusted it an oz at a time, 7/1, 6/2, 5/3, 4/4 3/5, 2/6 & 1/7 then the whole thing, only took about a week to get her over to it and she was fine.