Transitioning to Whole Milk

My LO's will be 1 on Thanskgiving Day. We had a WIC appointment this morning and I got confused with what she was saying. I thought we were getting formula for November and then Whole Milk for December. Somewhere along the way we got all messed up and we got two months worth of the Whole Milk and no formula. I still have quite a bit of formula left that SHOULD make it to close to Thanksgiving. I really don't have the $$ to pay out of pocket for it if we run out before. I was wondering if it's ok to start the transition before they turn a year so I can try to stretch out the formula as long as possible. If so, what's the best way to do the transitioning so they're still getting the amount of calories and all that they need. How much whole milk do they normally drink once they're all switched over also?

 

We started the transition about a week before mine turned one...so I don't think you will be doing any harm in starting before Thanksgiving. I started off with a formula/milk mix (I did half and half) and gradually lowered the amount of formula until we were all out of it and they were on all milk. My twosome needed to put on weight so our pediatrician wanted us to make sure that they were getting 24 oz a day, by 15 months, she was pretty happy with their weight and said 16oz a day is good. The first couple of days of pure milk, they did not drink as much (the same went for when we dropped bottles) but within a couple of days, they were drinking milk like champs. Good luck with the transition!

 

I switched my older 2 kids at 10-11 months, both were big, healthy kids and our ped had no problems with us switching early.

I plan to switch the twins at 10 months as well as we are traveling just before they turn 11 months and I don't want to mess with formula on an airplane or using water they aren't used to.

With my older kids I started with 1/4 milk to 3/4 formula, then half and half, then 1/4 formula to 3/4 milk and then whole bottles of milk. I did it with the last can of formula I bought

 

My ped recommends 9 months, which I know is not the norm, as most recommend 12 months. That said, switching them a few weeks early really won't do any harm as long as they are healthy/growing well. They really only need 16-20oz of milk/formula from 9 months on. I think I switched them by doing 1/2 and 1/2 first, and then once I knew they were tolerating it well, we went to all milk. GL!

 

I mixed it with half formula for the first little bit with Luke & Lila too. I don't think it will be any big deal to switch them before a year as long as they are healthy & have no weight issues.

 

We are actually starting to wean bottles and formula next week! We are starting with the lunchtime bottle and just going to offer them the sippy of milk. Next week it will be the morning bottle and last but not least that wonderful bedtime bottle!!!
Mine eat a decent amount of table foods and I know my Ped counts yogurt, cheese and the like as a serving of milk too...so if they boycott milk you could give them some cheese to make up for it

 

My daughter refused to take her formula when she turned 9 months. Just would not drink it anymore. It happened overnight. Her pediatrician suggested to try to switch over to whole milk, but start with organic yoghurt first and see what happens.
I mixed the milk with water. Half and half first. Then gradually I took the water away.
My daughter has no allergies whatsoever.
I think a few weeks won't make a difference.

 

Thanks so much everyone!! This makes me feel better. I'll see how far we can make it with what formula we have left and start transitioning them when we get down to the last 3-4 cans or so.

 

The only reason they tell you to wait till a year is that the milk has no iron in it. If you switch early, just make sure they are getting iron fortified cereal, breads, etc to make up for the lack of iron. There is no reason to have to do 1/2 and 1/2 or anything like that unless you want to. Some babies will switch without any prob and some like milk better and take to it right away. You can use the switch to milk as a way to get off bottles and offer only formula in bottles and milk in a sippy so that when the formula is gone so are the bottles. The best way to give milk is to offer it with meals and with bedtime snack (4 x 6-8 oz = 24-32 oz/day) and to give water all the other times they are thirsty (or occasional juice but it is just sugar so limit to 6 oz/day). Also you can experiment b/c some babies will only take milk warm but others will drink it right out of the fridge.