Transitioning toddler from formula to regular meals

[TheTresMarias]

My 1-year-and-10-month-old relies heavily on formula for her nutrition. While she enjoys snacks like biscuits, cookies, chips, and fruit, she shows little interest in regular meals such as rice or vegetables. She used to eat baby cereals quite well when she was younger (around 6-8 months), but now she doesn’t like them anymore. One exception is chicken meat, which she willingly eats as part of a meal.
I understand that every child develops unique eating habits, but I’d love to hear from other parents about their experiences. How have you encouraged your toddlers to eat more balanced meals? Are there any specific tips or strategies that worked well for you? I’d greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions!🙂

I graduated my son down slowly. So if he normally had 7oz...I did 6 days at 6oz, 5 days at 5oz, 4 days at 4oz...etc. The eating just stepped itself up.
The final couple of days I did 2oz milk, then 1oz of milk followed by 1oz water. Then just the 1oz water.

How much formula is she having @TheTresMarias?

Stop giving snacks then she will be hungry at meal times.

Whatever you do you should be offering food at least an hour before formula.

Personally

• structured meal times
• I'd offer a range of things and I'd be very relaxed about it.

Pieces of ham, meatballs, cheeses, bread, peas, carrots, pasta plain or with sauce, baby potatoes, crackers, rice, cut up fruit
-I'd sit with her and eat the same things and have a chat / sing songs.

• if she doesnt eat or like dinner or lunch (porridge / wheetabix is a perfectly valid alternate and can be served with normal milk not formula)
• Reduced snacks

I really like this style of plate too

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Munchkin-Splash-Toddler-Divided-Dining/dp/B07HZBFD67/ref=ascdfB07HZBFD67?mcid=e237a0e36b3e3d49a942012c2504f3ac&th=1&psc=1&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696352643970&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12427535505265663587&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9193121&hvtargid=pla-577597046821&psc=1&gadsource=1

How much formula is she having? At one year 10 months I don't see a need for formula, normal milk is fine. At her age, most of her nutrition should be coming from food not milk. If she's in the habit now of not eating proper meals and just filling up on milk then it's probably why she isn't eating. Have you tried cutting down at all.

At her age, my son just had a cup of milk (150mls), in the morning and then another cup about 250mls at night. If you're wanting her to eat meals then you're going to have to cut right back on the milk.

Tbh I’m surprised you’ve gone this long. Ofc she’s not interested in proper meals if she’s having loads of formula and lots of snacks!

She really needs to getting her nutrition from food and proper meals. You need to stop thinking of her as a ‘baby’ and give her actual meals.

Cut her bottles right down, then an hour later a proper meal. Snacks only occasionally.

My 12 month olds typical day is:
wake, breastfeed
45 mins later - porridge with fruit, nut butter, chia seeds
Lunch about 12:30: a range of things, but could be falafels and fruit, cheese on toast, pasta etc
4pm: snack (cheese, or fruit, crackers)
6ish: dinner, just whatever we’re having.
Breastfeed before bed.

How much formula is she having? At one year 10 months I don't see a need for formula, normal milk is fine

I totally misread the OP and thought that we were taking about a 10 month old.

Agree that there is no need for formula after one. If you're in the UK then the guidance is full fat or semi-skimmed cow's milk from 12 months and no bottless*. The recommended amount is 300 ml/10 floz and this can include milk in things like cereal, fish pie and custard.

I'd also recommend having a read of this guide from the Caroline Walker Trust on feeding 1 to 4 year olds as it gives sample menus and suggested portion sizes.

It must be costing you a fortune in formula!

Is there a particular reason why your little one is still having formula, just incase it changes the responses you get?
I would probably get rid of the formula and start with giving a structured breakfast, lunch and dinner with a snack and a cup of milk in between lunch and dinner. Things like fusilli pasta with hidden vegetable sauce go down well in our house, cheese and crackers, weetabix, hummus and cucumber dip.
Just let little one try a bit of everything and see what she takes to. My LO has weeks where he’s like a bottomless pit and then a few weeks where he lives on fresh air, so it’s very up and down.

Thank you all so much for the helpful advice!

Apologies for not being more detailed earlier. I can't respond to each of your questions, but I’ll try to cover everything here:

She’s having 4-5 formula feedings a day, 8oz per feed. I’ve discussed this with her doctor, and he said it’s fine to continue with formula (since it's a formula suitable for 1-3 years), BUT she should also have regular meals and a balanced diet—which is where I’m struggling a bit right now. Our current setup is to always have some chicken on her plate to spark her interest, but she refuses to touch anything that isn’t chicken. So I'd play with her a little and would successfully sneak in other foods, but she loses interest after just 2 or 3 very tiny bites. She’s not a fan of veggies, but she tolerates squash and potatoes just in small amounts, and sometimes she’ll eat fish.

She had no trouble with regular milk, and I really plan to switch to that—formulas cost a fortune! I guess I just want to make sure she’s eating meals in appropriate amounts for her age before I do.

Thanks again for all the insights—I’ll keep working on these tips with my little picky eater!

So she's having up to 40 Floz of formula a day? Are you in the UK OP? I can't believe a Doctor said that was ok.

Agreed, does the doctor actually know how much formula she's consuming?

Your daughter is nearly 2 she shouldn't really be having any formula at all, there's no medical need for it and she won't eat properly whilst she's getting such huge quantities of milk.

I think you need to make another appointment, keep a food diary and take it with you so you can clearly discuss her diet and get some proper support.

It's a vicious cycle I'm afraid, they won't start eating properly until you cut down on their milk.

Ditch the formula cold turkey and switch to full fat milk (ideally in a cup not a bottle). One cup in the morning and one in the evening, max 350ml in total.

Then give 3 meals a day, plus healthy snacks if needed.

Unfortunately by continuing to give that amount of milk you risk your child becoming anaemic (if they aren't already) so you really do need to sort it out.

At almost 2 I think I'd make a big fuss of a 'big girl cup', one that looks fun, and it wouldn't have a baby bottle spout - and bring it out a couple of times a day with semi skimmed milk in or full fat, and just accept this might be hard work .

This. I mean this kindly but the milk amounts your daughter is having and the type of food, reads more a child at the start of their weaning journey, not for a child who is almost 2. I'd be worried your daughter isn't getting enough iron, protein or any nutrition given the milk she is getting. By her age and additional needs aside, I'd expect her to be on 3 proper meals a day and snacks. Not just given bits of food to play with.

Is there any reason why she's not progressed with her weaning and having so much milk? Have you been given any proper advice on weaning. I can't imagine a GP advising for a toddler almost 2 that having that amount of milk and little food is fine without some sort of referral to a dietician. You're really just going to have to cut right down on the milk so she is actually eating proper meals.

The bottles and formula need to go OP. She is full up on formula and has no appetite for normal meals. You need to transition her to eating three meals a day now (with a snack if needed) and only water in a cup.

I find it really hard to believe that a doctor said it's ok for an almost 2 year old to have that amount of formula to be honest. Start slowly reducing the formula and snacks so that she's hungry for meals.

No formula needed at all for this age. Small cup of cows milk in the morning or evening is all that's needed.

She won't need to bother eating solid foods if she's always so full from milk. If someone gave me x5 milky hot chocs or drinks each day I assume I'd also eat very little!

This has to be a Xmas holiday wind up !

No gp in the U.K. would say this was good …..this is a wind up post

I'm a bit confused by this. Babies over 1 don't need bottles of formula. They do need dairy but can have it from a cup and/or yoghurt/cheese etc. I would cut all daytime bottles (gradually every couple of days) and give her 3 meals, and 2 snacks a day. This should mean she's hungry for her meals.

I think you may have slightly misinterpreted your doctors advice. There is no harm in her having formula at this age in itself but the problem is that she is filling up on formula milk and then had no hunger or interest in food.

I assume this is also still on bottles which really aren't recommended either (particularly not to the extent she is using and she won't be chewing much if not really eating) for facial muscle and mouth development.

You need to provoke her hunger to gain interest in food. You could move to two bottles a day at first (morning/night). Then drop bottles or if you think you could switch to a cup of milk instead of bottle which will naturally decrease amount she drinks of milk. I would do such you cows milk as a seperate step once you have dramatically cut down on milk.

Add a multivitamin if the nutrition aspect is the worry that has kept you offering so much formula

I think you may have slightly misinterpreted your doctors advice. There is no harm in her having formula at this age in itself but the problem is that she is filling up on formula milk and then had no hunger or interest in food.

I agree. Did the Doctor say that it was ok to have the formula in such huge quantities or did they simply say that the milk was suitable at this age?

Have you tried dropping a bottle yet?