How much cow milk is your one year old drinking?

[papal]

We started Leela on cow milk after her birthday.. she did not like the diluted with water versions (50/50 or 75/25) so on the third attempt we just gave her 100% whole cows milk. Anyway, how much should she drink? The ped said for her size about 12-15 ounces a day... the girl loves her cow milk and guzzles about 20 ounces total during the day and nurses at night and in the morning. Cold or warm, she likes it all. Is she having too much?? Should I cut back? How much is your 1 year old drinking?

Thanks!

[JElaineB]

My ped always said around 12-16 oz. a day is good for a 1 to 2 year old. Jacob was drinking just about 16 oz. when he was just over a year old (he hardly drinks any anymore). The ped told me several times though that most kids drink WAY more than 16 oz. so I think they say that to keep the estimate on the low side since so many kids go over anyway. I think since it is just a few ounces over I wouldn't worry about it, especially if she is eating solids fine.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[egoldber]

My ped also recommends 12-16 ounces of whole milk for over one year olds. But DD did drink more than that. I didn't really start to actively limit it until she was 2. One reason they say this is because some kids will prefer to drink their calories as milk rather than eat them as solid food. So just something to be aware of. But as long as DD wasn't gaining weight excessively, I didn't really worry about it too much.

HTH,

[sntm]

There can be problems of anemia related to drinking too much cow's milk, plus the worry that she will get too high a percentage of her calories from cow's milk, which is not nutritionally complete. I'd try to cut her back a little. Breastmilk is so different from cow's milk that I don't include that in the recommended amounts.

Jack drinks only an ounce or two a week of cow's milk, actually.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03
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Breastfeeding 16 months and counting

[jubilee]

My ped said 16-20 ounces at one year, and then at 18 months he said 16 ounces- and if my son doesn't drink all 16 ounces we are suppose to give him Yobaby yogurt to make up the difference.

[kijip]

I try and hold Toby to 16-20 ounces/day but if left to his own devices I swear he would drink 50 ounces! The whole organic milk we give him is very tasty in his opinion.

We have had some luck with giving him small portions (2-4 ounces) and then seconds so he feels like he can ask for more. And we only give him milk at 3 times during the day...not a munchie or snack food. I am going to wean him down to 2 times per day since his preference seems to be a lot at one time. So maybe 2 3-4 ouncers 2x per day. Seriously he would take 2 8 ounce glasses 3 times per day if left unchecked. I have made a point of limiting other dairy foods so that he gets most of his calories from non-milk related sources.

[papal]

For the last two days I have cut back.. now she gets 3 cups a day (4ounces each).

This is her food routine (i am writing this more as an archive for myself than anything.. feel free to ignore!).

--
She gets a cup the very first thing in the morning (6am) because we hope she will sleep for another 2 hours, which NEVER happens.
Then her morning breakfast which is usually a banana around 8am and then she naps.
Then some cheerios around 10.00am.
Then lunch around 12.30pm
Then toast with butter and cheese and a cup of milk around 3.00pm (after she wakes up from her nap)
Then dinner around 5.0pm and milk again at 6.0pm. And she goes down for the night.

There are brief nursing sessions as soon as she wakes up and when she goes to bed, but nothing significant in terms of quantity (at least I don't think so).
--

[Java]

Rashimi - how did you get her to love milk? Kael doesn't seem to care for any liquids besides water. He'll drink water until he's bloated but will refuse milk, juice, soy milk. He'll take a few sips just because - definitely not in the ounces category.

He's still nursing but not really. It's more like comfort nursing than nutritive nursing.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

[new_mommy25]

I'm lucky if Noah will drink two ounces of cows milk. He still nurses up a storm and prefers water when he is thirsty. I've been putting a small spoonful of Ovaltine into the milk to make him drink more but it's not really working. Anyone have any advice?

[papal]

We did not do anything special really. Just gave her cows milk (Horizon Organic Whole Milk) in her usual sippy cup (Take N Toss). First time we gave 50:50 (water:milk), she did not love it... neither did she like 75:25. But 100% cows milk was a hit. I also used to heat it up to blood warm (now i don't need to). I alsi held her like I was nursing her and offered it (more for my own sad feelings of giving her cows milk!) and she took it. Now she walks around and drinks it.. does not have to be held. Honestly though, she has been always eager about food in general so it was just another food to try for her I guess.
I wish I had better advice. Maybe try adding milk to the water, slowly increasing the quantity?

[papal]

Angie, have you tried heating up the milk so it is blood warm? Have you tried Organic milk.. i don't drink milk so I don't know but dh swears it tastes better than regular store milk. Maybe a lot of hooting and hollering when he does drink it?

[alkagift]

Hmmm. I'm not sure he's going to want that imitation stuff as long as he's getting the real thing! ;-) Honestly, my DS was only interested in milk after I started the weaning process of dropping a nursing session, specifically the one closest to the evening meal. As I dropped sessions, I added milk. Then he was more interested--although he didn't really come close to drinking a full 16 oz in a day for a couple of months. These days DS gets milk with the three main meals but not snack time. Rashmi's idea of warming it might work too. I was resistant to starting that since I thought it was a bit of a hassle. I thought Lori said once that she put a bit of juice in her son's milk as a way of making it sweeter.

Allison
Mommy to Matthew Clayton, 5/19/03

[new_mommy25]

What I've been doing is offering milk with meals and snacks. I usually offer it two to three times a day. During one meal he gets a water/juice combo because he takes iron supplements and the juice helps with absorbtion. Though he really doesn't drink the juice either. During the day I always have a sippy of water out so he can take a sip whenever he is thirsty.

I realize that he is not drinking the milk because we are still nursing so often. But I'm afraid if I cut down on nursing he still won't drink milk and that could lead to problems. I know they need the fat from milk so I have been trying to offer alternatives. Usually it is in the form of cheese which he loves. He also hates yogurt. I've tried many different brands/flavors/mixtures and he rejects all of it. Lately he has been into scrambled eggs which I make with butter to add more fat. I hope I am doing the right thing.

[TraciG]

My doc just told me just dont go over 24 oz so I think you're fine, tomorrow we're trying all milk, the last few days we've been giving half formula half milk with no problem .

[todzwife]

Angie- you are doing almost the same thing I am doing with Dallin. He doesn't like milk either. I buy a quart each week and he *maybe* drinks a third of it. I am going to splurge and get organic to see if that helps. It also helped when it was at room temp. He hates anything cold.
Right now he's nursing in the AM about 6 AM (then goes back to sleep most of the time)
Breakfast at 8 (a pancake, toast or some fruit)
Snack after morning nap (yogurt, fruit)
Lunch at about noon-usually a grilled cheese sandwich cut into small peices as he only has 1 tooth right now...
Very short nursing session- sometimes
A snack when he gets up around 2ish- usually cheese or a cereal bar
Dinner is usually what we are eating, ground up in the food processor
Snack in the bath tub (don't ask :P)- fruits :) at 7:30
Bed at 8
I am still waking him at 11 before I go to bed to nurse, just to top him off...when I find more things he likes to eat, I will drop that nursing sessions too...

[papal]

Scrambled eggs sounds like a great idea.

I make toast, put lots of butter on it and then grate some cheddar cheese over it. She loves it.
Or just get a stick of cheese from the block. Again, she loves it.
Bananas are an easy and nutritious breakfast. Does he like bananas? Maybe you can smoothie them into the milk and see if he will take that? Last night I put some rice cereal into her milk and gave it to her.. she really liked that too.

Just some other ideas.

[new_mommy25]

Lol! I'm just imagining little Dallin in the bath tub munching on fruit!! That is so precious. I hope you have a picture :)

[netne]

Noah didn't really get into cow's milk until he weaned. About 13 1/2 months he just decided he was all grown up--started walking, stopped nursing and started drink 12 ounces of milk a day from his sippy cup. It's funny how those things happen, and sometimes they just decide what they're ready for and when. Until then we just tried to make up the difference with yobaby and cheese to get enough calcium in his diet. Cheese on everything, yum! We always made his cereal with milk (no water) to sneak in a few more ounces.

[essnce629]

Conner will be 15 months old this month and I haven't given him any cow's milk yet. I was told that as long as he is still breastfeeding there's no need/rush to introduce cow's milk. He still nurses 3 times a day and loves his yogurt and cheese so I haven't really thought much of it yet. I planned to wait until he was 15 months to introduce cow's milk in order to avoid any digestive problems, allergies, etc. I did try to give him a little goat milk a few weeks ago since I heard it's less allergenic and has more nutrients, but he would just spit it out (I don't blame him, it smelled like powdered milk!) I just barely started giving him juice with his breakfast (about 2oz mixed with 2oz of water) and the rest of the day he has his sippy cup filled with water to drink whenever he likes. I also plan on buying the organic whole milk when I do introduce whole milk. Most people tell me it tastes better than the non-organic. I don't plan on mixing it with water.

***Latia
Conner 8/19/03

[andie16]

Another one-year-old (well, 13+months now) not really drinking any cow's milk. She gets some in her cereal at breakfast and at dinner and she loves her yogurt and cheese, but she will not drink the milk from the cup. I have tried her regular sippy cups and some straw cups too. She'll take a sip and then when she realizes it's milk and not water she lets it dribble out and then throws the cup on the floor. She's still nursing so I guess that's it, but like some other PPs said, I'm reluctant to wean her from the nursing until I'm sure she'll get enough calcium by drinking milk. I think part of it is that I'm just not ready to wean her yet and that's fine because it's still working for both of us.

Andie and Daisy (9/23/03)

[essnce629]

Andie-- Conner did the same thing as your dd when I tried to give him the goat milk. He'd take a big sip and then let it all dribble out of his mouth and down his chest when he realized it wasn't water!

***Latia
Conner 8/19/03
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/aug2003angel
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[iriebride]

DS is 16 mos old and his ped recommended 16-20 oz of whole cow's milk. We've been giving DS milk since 2 days after his 1st b-day. He actually made a face when he first took a sip and refused it. The next day we tried it again. I warmed it up in the microwave just enough to knock the chill off. He drank it all. The next day DS went to DC and drank 3 bottles of milk.

Right now, we're giving DS a sippy cup of Parents' Choice vanilla flavored protein drink once a day. He drinks a sippy cup of milk at lunch and dinner. The whole day he drinks water...which he loves! He doesn't drink any juice. The only time he drinks diluted white grape fruit juice is when he's constipated (which is rare nowadays).

I agree, don't give too much milk or else it'll take away from solids.

Good luck,
Joyce
Zerick 7-3-03