13mo - just not interested in milk - problem?

[Tutter]

still offer a bottle first thing in the morning and at bedtime, but he rarely takes any - maybe one or two ounces in the morning. pushes the bottle away, turns head, etc. have tried it chilled/room temp/warm, cow's milk/formula and in bottles/beakers but nothing makes a difference. just now refused milk completely but drank water thirstily straight afterwards.

i give him at least 2 or 3 yoghurts a day, grated cheese wherever possible and try to make sure he has a full serving of something (usually weetabix) with full fat milk at breakfast - but still nowhere near the pint a day that is recommended for his age.

anyone any advice/words of reassurance? tia.

ps he was never a very milky baby - always felt that he fed for survival rather than enjoyment/comfort - while other babies fed for 45 mins at a time he was a power feeder - 2 mins each side, job done.

Cheese has, IIRC, more calcium per portion than milk. I was told that a matchbox-sized portion of cheddar supplied an adult woman's daily calcium - no confirmation of this though. But I should have thought that if he takes dairy in other forms he should be OK.

Sardines are a good source of calcium because of the bones.

What about fruity milkshakes as pudding. When my two went through an anti-milk phase I used to make them smoothies (deliberately didi't call them milkshakes) with, say an apple, a pear, a banana and several scoops of follow-on formula. Got fruit into them that way too!

I'd ditch the milk. Speaking as somebody who HATED milk as a child, and was FORCED to drink it in infants school, I now don't eat any dairy at all and feel much better for it. He's old enough to get all his nutrients from food, and liking water is a very good thing. There are plenty of other sources of calcium, etc, not just dairy.

TT - me too - hated milk as a child - especially the bottles at primary school with solidified cream at the top - euch.

it would be great to just not bother any more - tbh it stresses us all out - ds gets bothered by the bottle, and dh and i dread the "how much did he take?" question after feed time.

he does love water. and loves yoghurts. but don't want to give him more than 2 or 3 yogs a day because of the sugar (and yes, have tried natural yog with fruit - not so keen).

p.s. from 1 year the minimum recommended is around 350mls (12 ounces) and this can be from milk with cereal, in foods, dairy products, etc rather than as a drink.

Tropicana also do a calcium fortified fresh orange juice which you could use at mealtimes as a substitute (also helps with iron absorption)

Tutter, perhaps the fact that you don't like milk means your body doesn't need it, and your ds could be the same. Incidentally, people are starting to think that dairy products are overrated and actually contribute to some problems such as osteoporosis, so your ds is wise.

They do bottled water with calcium in although by the sounds of things you are making sure that ds is getting his dietry requirements met anyway. My 3 got very particular about what they liked at this age too so it is quite normal. take care xx

My DS2 stopped b/feeding at 16 months, he had never taken cows milk or formula as a drink (spat both out). I just made sure he got yoghurt every day, loads of cheese and like your DS he would take milk in his weetabix. He is a strapping 4 year old now who will occasionally drink milk, especially if everyone else at nursery is drinking it but so far it has done him no harm.

dd has just refused her evening bottle and its not the first time, sometimes she will drink it and like tonight she won't and i try not to stress too much coz we also give her yoghurts/cheese etc.

DD was like this. I used to put the bulk of her milk onto weetabix, I would cook lots of her meals in milk and and add cheese and of course give her yoghurts.

I had this problem when I dropped all but one BF when DS around the same age.

My HV gave me an information leaflet with a kind of points value for different dairy products with a recommendation of the number of points a child should have - it was really useful.

I think I did a post on it before, will have alook.

Copied from a previous thread!

"My HV gave me a useful leaflet with values for different foods according to their calcium content.

E.g. a child between the ages of 1-8 should have 600mg calcium a day.

Typical amounts stated are:

1/3 pint (190ml) whole milk provides 225mg calcium

1oz (28g) cheddar cheese provides 210mg

5oz (150g) yoghurt provides 270mg

4oz (112g) baked beans provides 50mg

3 large slices of bread provide 100mg

2oz (56g) sardines provides 310mg "

HTH!

just found this and i felt better after reading it won't worry so much now and the sentence at the end made perfect sense to me!

This is an extract from the babycentre website:

Your toddler's diet can be both good and mixed enough without having to include all the foods that are conventionally considered "good for her". The value of any one food lies in the use which the body can make of its constituents, so no food is magically good-in-itself, only as good as the sum total of what is in it.

Furthermore, anything that is in one food will also be in some others so no single food is absolutely necessary. A generation ago milk, for example, was thought essential for children. Now milk is recognised as a food that some children are far better off without; even for the rest, it's only an easy-to-take package of useful nutrients. The valuable proteins, minerals and vitamins that milk contains are in other foods too, especially the many foods made from it. There's no virtue in a cup of milk that isn't in a cup of yoghurt, any more than there's especial virtue in an egg gazing one-eyed off a plate. The milk and egg in the pancake your child enjoys is just as good.