Now ds is one, how do I wean him onto cows milk?

[cleoowen]

Ds has two bottles a day. One of 7oz and a bedtime one of 7-8ozs. He guzzles both these down so don't think he's ready to drop or reduce them. Recently he dropped his mid morning one.

I want to wean him onto cows milk now he's one but have a few questions. Firstly, does cows milk fill a baby up as much as formular? As I am worried if I switch completely he will stop sleeping through.

Do I just carry on giving his milk feeds at the same time in the usual way but simply put cows milk in instead?

I know he should start having it in a cup so for his mid afternoon feed I gave him it in a cup but he didn't drink it all so I put the rest in a bottle and he guzzled it down. Is this right while he gets used to drinking it out of a cup? Btw he's used to using a cup for his water and can do it himself.

Should I switch his night bottle to cows milk immediately? Again I am worried it will affect his sleep. I thought I would keep this in a bottle for the time being so he drinks it and gets used to drinking milk from a cup.

Also is it ok to not sterilise the bottles anymore? I am sooo ready to stop bloody sterilising!

Just looking for bit of reassurance and wondering what everyone did/ is doing?

Cows milk is fine now. Full fat for a year. Give him a cup or bottle before bed. Don't buy the follow on milk. That's a waste.

Don't sterilise the bottles either.

They have a recommended amount if milk or calcium that they are meant to have, but this includes cheese etc.

To wean I was told
If baby has 7oz make 5oz formula and2oz cows milk then increase cow's milk slowly so they get used to the taste.

I just switched, DS had no problem.

You don't need to sterilise cows milk bottles, as far as I'm aware it's formula bottles as they can harbour bacteria.

Growing up milk is a con, and very expensive.

Thanks guys. Will try the mixing and see how that goes first before completely switching. He's had it in his cereal for a while but guess probably doesn't taste too strong in that.
Where can I find the recommended amount they are meant to have?

How do you store the milk in cups when you go out to stop it getting hot and going off? Have bottle holders but cups won't fit into them.

The HealthyStart website has the info about how much cows milk - about 300ml daily. The reason for this is to ensure that babies get enough calcium. So they could have less milk if they eat lots of cheese, yoghurt etc. There's no need to give much more than the 300mls as it can fill them up too much where they should be eating solids instead.

I just give cows milk cold, so I wouldn't worry about warming it if you're out. Also, you could just give water when out and about and save milk for home.

The recommended amount is at least 300ml and up to 500ml
more than that and they are probably filling up on too much milk and not enough solids. My DS is at the very lower end of that but he eats plenty of cheese and yoghurt so that all counts too for calcium. Milk on cereal also counts.

i think it is normal for them to take less from a cup than a bottle. You could offer the cup a third time, say mid afternoon. Or you could do cup in the morning and keep the bedtime bottle for another couple of months. If he wakes up hungry try a light snack with bedtime milk. Something like half a banana perhaps?