Because we had to supplement the girls’ diet with formula from Day 1, there was no “transition” to speak of when we moved to formula.
But when our pediatrician spoke those magic words at the girls’ one-year checkup, “You can move them to whole milk,”…when my mental calculator began to whir with the sound of savings…I had no idea what I was in for.
We used the remainder of the formula we had on hand, and the girls had their first taste of moo-juice in their nighttime bottle a week or so after their first birthday.
Baby B made a little face and fussed for a minute, but she ultimately drank her entire bottle that evening…and she never looked back.
Baby A, on the other hand, took a couple of sips and began to scream! She steadfastly refused to drink any milk. We had no formula remaining, so she went to bed without a bottle.
The next day, I decided to play tough. Milk, it was! But by the end of the day, when she had not had one drop of liquid, I relented and made a quick trip to the grocery store for another can of formula.
I remember that the poor baby didn’t believe me when I offered her a bottle of formula. I finally had my hubby give it to her before she would take it!
We went a few days with Baby A drinking formula again, as I felt I had to regain her trust. And then, ever so s…l…o…w…l…y… I began the transition again.
In a 120mL bottle, I literally started with 110mL formula and 10mL of milk. I went with this mixture for two or three days, and I would increase the milk by 5 or 10mL.
It took a full month or so before I could finally sever my ties with the Formula League and pledge my allegiance to Bessie the Cow.
Fast-forward 10 months, and I find myself sweating again. The pediatrician directed us last week to move the girls from whole milk to 2%.
At first, I was paralyzed.
I bought another gallon of whole milk and began to contemplate a game plan and give myself pep talks. A couple of days ago I bought another gallon of whole milk, along with a half gallon of 2% to begin the transition.
Before bed last night I gave the girls about 3/4 whole milk to 1/4 of the 2%. Holding my breath, I handed the girls their cups. Success!
By this evening, I decreased the ratio to 2/3 whole milk. So far, so good.
Fingers crossed that the switch continues according to plan…as just the thought of that prolonged transition a year ago makes me want to pour myself a mixed drink!
Ticker
11 comments:
I have to admit that all my kids are still on the full-cream dairy. I just can't justify the extra expense of the low-fat with the amount they go through. They grow at a rate of knots and are not the best eaters. So far, not a fatty amongst them so I am safe, but I reckon I should make the switch. I hope your transition continues to be smooth...
I remember those days so well - that is exactly what we had to do. We went from special formula to soy milk to Vitamin D Milk. My girls are 5 and still ask for milk every morning. Best of luck!
I was shocked to realize that a) the formula to milk transition was painless for us and b) my girls just drank more milk, and ended up consuming exactly the same number of calories. It made me kick myself for giving them that high-calorie formula junk, which is made "high-calorie" with the addition of high fructose corn syrup.
Since my girls are so little for their age, I've kept them on whole milk. Our diet is pretty low in saturated fats, and kids need more fat than we do anyway.
Hey, you're not nursing! Go for the cocktail, and add an umbrella while you're at it!
LOL that sounds like how I had to reduce Connor’s night time bottles to get him to sleep through – it took us about 3 – 4 months.
How interesting, so 2% from 2 years? Currently we buy 3 types of milk (and it drives me crazy as I like my fridge organized nicely – if you search on my organizing blog for inside my fridge, you will see what I mean – yes, I label the shelves) – full cream for babies, 2% for D and skim (fat-free) for me. A big old schlep.
I think you’ll be fine though – the girls sound like they’re adjusting beautifully and 2% less fat is really not that much...
What do you and J drink?
Lboy HATED whole milk! He wouldn't drink it! He only was breastfed or drank water. The whole milk was too thick, he wasn't a fan. BUT, he would drink 2%. I had to wean him before he would even do that!
I told the doctor that I knew Lboy wasn't 2 yet, but could he please drink 2%. I was begging! lol He told me it would be okay, so fortunately we missed out on the transition thing.
Good luck!!!
We keep our kids on a "whole food" diet, and fresh or raw whole cream milk is all they drink. The lower fat ones are processed and altered in order to remove the fat, which makes it less healthy and fake. We did a ton of research before choosing this diet for our family, nothing processed gets in our babes bodies (except for super special occasions). My mom had cancer and her doctor recommended going to whole foods only and avoiding anything altered. The pediatricians, unfortunately, don't always study up on these kinds of things and don't always make the best suggestions. One of my favorite books was "Real Food, What to Eat and Why."
So funny! I had to heat the whole milk a bit to take the chill off for the first few days, but other than that, the transition went well. Our ped. just says whatever milk the family drinks at age two, and I am definitely looking forward to 2% milk. I hate whole milk, so my dairy consumption is way down...we don't drink enough to justify two different kinds.
Do you feel like they are such big girls now that they're TWO? : )
Good luck! I am pretty lucky in that department. Todd and I drink skim milk....so I was pretty afraid they wouldn't have anything to do with it. Sure enough they went cold turkey from whole to skim with no looking back. This totally is off of the milk subject, but still on dairy. Molly loves yogurt, so when I discovered the drinkable yogurt it was a God send. She drinks one everyday, so if you feel like your girls aren't getting enough dairy you may try it. Anyways, I hope the birthday party plans are wrapping up for you. I am sure the girls will have a ball. I can't wait to read your post. Take care!
This is all so damn hard! I give you credit for being a nice Mommy...I don't know if I would have done it!
I was terrified to give Adam milk. He was breastfed and the one time he had formula (I just mixed it into his cereal once) he broke out into hives...so I was worried there was something in cows milk that he would react to. We took it Veeeerrrrryyyy slowly as he transitioned from breast milk to whole milk...but thankfully his body did fine and so did he!
I was nervous about our transition from breastmilk to whole milk, but it went pretty smoothly. I'd heard of other moms whipping up mixed drinks, as you described, but my guys, like Baby B, accepted the whole milk pretty much right away.
They're still drinking whole milk (at almost 3), because our pediatrician wants them to have the extra fat and calories that whole milk provides (them being on the small side and all). However, they are not picky at all when it comes to moo-juice. We've been in out to place where they only have 1% or skim, and my guys drink it without any issues. That's made me feel a little better about keeping them on the whole milk longer, because I know they'll transition fine to something else when the time comes.
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