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12mo has no milk at all

13 replies

ShushBaby · 21/02/2011 12:08

My one year old stopped breastfeeding a couple of weeks ago. The amount of milk she was taking from me had dwindled to virtually nothing (2-3 minutes, twice a day), so I just stopped, and she didn't bat an eyelid.

The thing is, she won't drink cow's milk. She just isn't interested. I'm concerned that she needs milk for fat, calcium etc, and have never heard of a young toddler having none at all. Milk seems to be regarded as a staple for little ones so I feel like she should be having some. Other babies I know are have big bottles of milk before bed, for example (and I'm wondering whether my lo's fondness for waking up at 5.30am is linked to a lack of milk at bedtime!).

She does have milk in food. In a normal day she will have a bowl of porridge, one or two portions of yoghurt, and often a portion of cheese or cheese sauce.

She drinks water, not loads of it but she does have regular wet nappies.

Has anyone else been in the same boat? I'm wondering whether I should have continued breastfeeding, or whether I should be trying harder to get her to drink cow's milk.

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Tortoiseonthehalfshell · 21/02/2011 12:15

No, you're fine. It's not uncommon at all - every toddler/baby book I've read deals with this eventuality, so it can't be.

As long as she's having calcium elsewhere, and the cheese and yoghurt sound great, it's fine. And milk in food - her diet sounds brilliant.

I envy you, in a way; my 2.3 year old prefers milk to all else, so if I don't ration it I never get anything else down her.

ShushBaby · 21/02/2011 12:26

Thanks tortoise. It's never straightforward is it, this parenting lark?

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Octaviapink · 22/02/2011 14:36

My DCs have never had a bottle of milk to go to bed with, but like yours they eat lots of yogurt, cheese etc. As long as they're getting the calcium it doesn't matter.

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Spandangle · 22/02/2011 14:46

i gave my dd1 soya milk because she didnt like cows milk

BringOnTheGoat · 22/02/2011 14:56

Personally I'd keep offering cows milk as a drink in case she starts to drink it, as it may help her sleep longer having milk before bed. Agree that they don't NEED it as much as HV's, etc make out - it's vital they get calcioum but sounds like she has lots of dairy.

mnistooaddictive · 22/02/2011 14:58

Dd2 was like that but once a day I offered milk instead of water. At 2.4 she now drinks milk with that meal but still prefers water. She eats lots of cheese and yogurt and loves porridge and weetabix with lots of milk for breakfast and she is fine!

Elk · 22/02/2011 15:08

dd2 didn't have milk as a drink from about 8 months onwards. She had milk with her breakfast cereal and a petit filous/yoghurt with her lunch. She is now 5 and still won't eat cheese but does have the occasional glass of milk.

temporarystate · 22/02/2011 19:11

neither of my boys will drink cows milk once they stopped BF'ing / bottle feeding.

I too make a point of giving them cheese and yoghurt every day, celery also contains lots of calcium so blend/ chop and mix it into all the dinners :0)

Spandangle · 22/02/2011 20:29

and brocilli has a lot of calcium too. my doctor (homeopathic) totally poo-pooed the idea that kids need milk; he said yes it is a great source of calcium, but so is chalk and we dont give our kids lumps of chalk to eat!!

PurpleCrazyHorse · 22/02/2011 22:40

DD didn't like cows milk either when I stopped BFing but did drink water. We mixed 1/2 milk with water to start with and slowly upped the milk content. We never forced her to drink it but she loves it now and it gives her more variety to drink than just water (as she doesn't like juice/squash)

ShushBaby · 23/02/2011 15:45

Thanks for all the replies! It's a relief to know that this, if not the norm, not totally weird either.

Good tip re broccoli and celery- I had no idea veg could have calcium in it until I read these replies. I've now done some googling and apparently avocado also has calcium (and everything other good thing you can think of) in it. Since dd pretty much lives off broccoli with pasta and cheese sauce, and avocado (sometimes she has a whole one for lunch and nothing else), I now feel somewhat better!

I am, ahem, a "keen" eater who will try anything and everything, as is DP, so it gets a bit of getting used to, feeding a little one who is a bit more selective....

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MoonUnitAlpha · 23/02/2011 15:51

Between 12-24 months I think the need about 350ml of milk a day - so if you add up cereal, milk in cooking, yogurt and cheese she might be having near that without any as a drink.

Guildenstern · 23/02/2011 15:54

Both my kids went off milk when first weaned.

The good news is that they went back on to it aged around 2, and will now happily drink it in volume.

Don't worry about it. :)

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