Gone off formula milk at 10months - what should I do ??

[Elixir]

Can anyone help , my DD has been drinking about 16oz of milk a day - 6oz in the morning, 4oz in the afternoon and then about 6oz at bedtime .She has now completely gone off the afternoon drink - managing normally only 1oz and if I'm lucky at bedtime she'll take 2oz !!! She is not drinking large amounts of juice or water during the day and seems to be eating relatively well !! Is this normal ??? What can I do to get her to take more milk again ... or shouldn't I bother - as she is eating plenty of cheese and milk. She was breast fed until 6 months and has never drunk formula milk with gusto, but she has never drank as little as this and I'm concerned that she should be - Any suggestions ??

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Have you tried offering her normal full-fat cow's milk? If she eats a well-balanced diet I doubt it would amke much difference. I get bored with making formula and have introduced cow's milk earlier and earlier, all have been fine.

my dd was also off milk for a short time, she was taking about 8oz in the morning and 5 before bed. Then at about 10-11 months she would only take 5-6 in the morning and next to nothing in the evening, she would not even touch the bottle.
I kept offering her the bottle every night and afetr a couple of months she started drinking it again. Not always as much as she used to but at least she's drinking some.

So, my advice is persevere, it might just be a temporary thing.

good luck!!

My ds did the same exact thing. I just gave more dairy products in place of it. I gave a serving of orange juice with the same amount of calcium as milk. Plenty of cheese etc. When she starts filling up on meals then she probally wont drink as much since its not going to be her main source of food anymore. Thats pretty much from my doc why the milk intake goes down.

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My DS - at the same age - much prefers goats milk to formula. With formula he'll often leave some, but I've never known him not to guzzle every last drop of his goat's milk. Might be worth a try anyway (don't worry too much about switching to milk from formula, as goats milk is more easily digestible than cows milk).

Anyone else got a 10 month old whose milk intake is going up rather than down? My DS, having been down to about 12oz/day at one point, is now adamant that he wants more milk all the time - offer him juice or water and he just throws the cup down, but he'll guzzle his goats milk like there's no tomorrow. He's now having 5 x 9oz a day, which seems an awful lot, but as he's also having 4 meals a day and is still struggling to gain weight as fast as the charts suggest I don't think he's having too much.

GillW, can you really have too much milk? I feel as log as a child is not putting an excess amount of weight on then its ok. Theres even low fat milks with the same amount of calcium for those who use cows milk. Milk is a lot better then sugar drinks. Parents are lucky to me if their kids love nothing but milk. I wish mine would drink mostly that.

I'm just curious I suppose - I see/hear so many people saying that they're struggling to get their babies to take the 20oz/day that's recommended, but I've never heard anyone else say that they've got one who's drinking at least 2 and a half times the recommended amount.

GillW - When my ds was nearly 3 he went through a stage of wanting 2-3 pints of milk a day. As he ate well and drinks nothing but milk and water I presumed it was ok, but read in Annabel Karmel that more than 2 pints a day inhibits the absorption of vitamins from other foods, I then got concerned and reduced it to 1 1/2 pints a day. I know your child is much younger and probably needs more milk, but it might be worth remembering when he's older.

GillW - I disagree with threeangels for what it's worth.
I believe milk does fill you up so not sure more is best... I think veggies and fruits are better (as long as you get 1 pint - which isn't difficult in your case). If you drink too much milk you aren't as hungry and may not been keen to eat a proper diet. Also milk is quite sweet - so whilst it does not contain sugar it does promote tooth decay (I believe?) and certainly gives a sweet tooth.

When does he get his milk ? As he is still quite young I don't think it's a major issue but you want IMO avoid to have this become a "problem" later...

Pupuce, I do agree 100% with the milk filling you up. I only thought that GillW child was fine drinking that amount of milk because he is eating a normal diet and it was not interfering with his meals. I would defanatly slow down on milk or any drinks if it was taking away my childs appetite. When all my kids were at that age the doctors were always stressing I think around the 16-20 ounce mark for milk intake daily. When you think about it its only 2 1/2 bottles full if still on the bottle.

Pupuce - he usually has milk first thing in the morning (about 6.30), last thing at night (9 ish), and during the day late morning (11 ish), mid afternoon (3 ish) and teatime (6 ish). He's also having a meal in between each of these (toast + cereal & fruit for breakfast, savoury + fruit for lunch, sandwiches and other finger foods for tea, and savoury and/or fruit for supper. So I don't think the milk intake is affecting his appetite as he's probably eating more than you'd expect at his age, not less.