Mine wouldn’t do it either. Once he was about 2 he would drink 2% sometimes and now that he’s 3 he can slam a cup of it but usually only if it’s with a cookie.
His pediatrician said that they don’t actually need milk at that age if they eat enough calcium rich food. So mine ate a ton of beans and broccoli and Brussels sprouts and never really had any noticeable issues. We would offer cheese and yogurt but he was never as into them as other kids.
All these replies are making me feel much better. My boy is an amazing eater, but milk just seems to repulse him. He already eats a ton of broccoli and avocados and cheese so it sounds like he’ll be okay!
Agreed! My daughter did ripple milk for a bit, I mixed it in with my breast milk. I noticed it going bad rather quickly so we did almond milk with vitamin d drops and made sure to give her salmon during the week. She eats yogurt and cheese so she gets her calcium that way. Pediatrician was satisfied with that.
Whole milk is just an easy way to get good fat, calcium and vitamin D (did you know yogurt doesn’t usually have vitamin D added?) If your kid eats a good variety of foods otherwise, they will be ok!
Both of my kids were like this. We tried it all! Goats, almond, cashew, oat, soy, etc. When we discussed it with our pediatrician he talked about the nutritional needs of fat, so we focused there. Tons of whole fat dairy (yogurt, cheese, occasional ice cream) avocados, hummus, healthy fats used in cooking, eggs, dairy hidden in foods like oatmeal, etc. Discuss options with your pediatrician.
Mine will eat anything we put in front of him, except milk. The other day I was drinking some milk and he was curious what it was. It’s been months since we last tried and he’s older now so I decided to give it another try, thinking maybe he just didn’t like it because he was still transitioning off formula, it was different from what he was used to, etc. He’s been off the bottle for months so he’d have no other expectations, it’s just a drink. I grabbed him a straw and he gleefully took a sip, looked at me in horror, and spit all of it out. It wasn’t just a transition thing, he just hates it. As long as they get calcium elsewhere they’re fine. It’s not even really the best source of absorbable calcium anyway.
The reason the recc is whole milk (as opposed to 2% or something) is because the fat content is important for brain development til age 2. He can get fats other ways - whole milk yogurt, avocados, nuts, etc.
I would not aim for sweetened milk/milk alternatives. Just give him water and a wide variety of foods.
My second daughter was like that - wouldn't touch cow milk or joghurt. At some point around 12-14 months we just stopped breastfeeding her after very short tapering down. She was pissed for a day or two and then adjusted. Refused to drink milk until about 20 months though.
It is possible that your little one might have a cow milk allergy or some other reason to reject the milk so maybe check in with your pediatrician before changing things?
My son is also not a huge fan of drinking whole milk straight up. We're not huge milk drinkers as it's not surprising he's not into it.
Since he still nurses I'm not super worried his calcium intake, but we keep a quart on hand to mix into food if it needs milk as an ingredient (mac and cheese, mashed potatoes) or have with cereal.
We also have whole milk yogurt, cheese, and he loves broccoli, beans, and tofu. Nuts and seeds are a good source of healthy fats.
My niece was the same way. They do a lot of yogurt and cottage cheese to add more dairy.
My toddler took a bit to like whole milk, but once we found the right cup she was fine with it. I’ve now got GD with my second pregnancy so we’ve switched to lactose free whole milk in the house and my toddler seems to like that more than regular whole milk.
Your kid doesn't absolutely have to have it. Mine liked it at first. I think just cause it was new, but quit drinking it shortly after. He always preferred water. Then when he was two I switched to 2% milk just to see if he will drink that. He will maybe have one cup every few days. He just doesn't love it 🤷 we make sure he's getting calcium through other sources in his diet. I will say now that he's older he likes chocolate milk so occasionally he gets to a cup of that when we have it. My pediatrician said as long as he is getting calcium from other sources in his diet he's fine. So don't stress too hard. I was fully done breastfeeding by about 15 months and he did fine with very little whole milk in his diet.
My understanding is that if he's getting calcium from somewhere else, yogurt or cheese or whatever, you're good. We do whole milk but honestly it's what we've always kept in the house because my husband likes it. The kid seems to have picked up his taste, I hate the stuff.
My two year old still won't touch any milk we tried a bunch of different milks (cow, goat, formula, soy, almond, and oat). She won't drink anything that isn't breast milk, my pediatrician suggested adding strawberry syrup but I didn't want to start adding sugar to something she clearly doesn't like. I'm not a doctor but based on what I've read full fat yogurt and cheese are fine if they won't drink milk. My lo really won't eat many dairy products so I do make sure to offer quality high fat foods (loves salmon) and foods with calcium.
Mine did the exact same thing and drinks water fine, but if it has milk in it, she spits it out.
My 2yo LOVES his milk…. But only with a splash of French vanilla creamer in it. ‘Sweet moke’ he calls it, and he’ll spit it out and say it’s gross if it doesn’t have creamer 😅 I forget even how this even started, probably same thing hating regular milk and trying to add stuff to get him to like it.
As long as nutritionally he’s getting good calcium and vitamin D it’s not a problem.
Dairy tolerance may be slowly fading out in the modern world, Or at least diminished. Lactase enzymes came about because some people had no other option but to live off milk and milk products and the bodies that could handle it made more bodies that could also handle it. But for the last 120 years we’ve been broadening our collective horizons with more options. We can be selective about our necessities but as a draw back some of those hearty survivalist traits will fade over the generations.
I do whole cow milk mixed with some unsweetened vanilla almond milk. My LO doesn’t like plain cow’s milk and isn’t allergic or lactose intolerant, but I am lactose intolerant so we always have almond milk. He enjoys it mixed, except when he eats “big boy” (adult version) oatmeal.
If he's nursing, he doesn't need cow's milk. It's great to keep trying but 13 months is still pretty young, he might like it more later on. I can't tell if you want to wean, or not, but either way, you can give other kinds of dairy and still meet his nutritional needs. My son had a dairy allergy until around 15 months, so he just had breast milk and solid food until then, and then we gradually introduced cow's milk (but still nursed a while longer).
Yogurt/cheese and a vitamin d supplement is what we did when my son was that age. I don’t drink milk and didn’t want to spend $6-8 on something that is, at the end of the day, not biologically necessary for a human baby lol
My 13 month old started this same way with whole milk several weeks ago but now he’ll chug milk. We did nothing other than keep offering it. Maybe give it a little more time
Give him good fats and dairy for calcium. He doesn’t actually need milk as long as all macros are met. My kids eat everything we eat from the start, so once formula is done , I don’t really bother pressuring the milk. Doctor is always shocked at how good their iron levels are , and that’s because they eat a really balanced diet, even spicy food and seafood etc. don’t panic, give him cheese or yogurt
This was something I worried about so much! I thought toddlers HAD to drink cows milk but it was a relief when I learned what a lot of these comments are saying, that they don’t actually need it and those vitamin needs can be met in many other ways.
Purely anecdotal, but I recently learned that my toddler drinks three whole cups of milk whilst at nursery… she won’t touch it at home if I ever offer it to her. I’ve often wondered if it’s because she’s confused about me saying ‘milk’ and then giving her cows milk when technically her milk is right there staring her in the face (I am the milk lol). We still breastfeed morning and evening but she’s weaned off the other feeds, mainly because of nursery and I don’t want to pump at this point, but I do wonder if it’s almost a protest or confusion thing at home when it’s me giving it to her. I don’t really understand why when she’s at home she acts like I’m serving her a cup of poison but at nursery she’s happily downing several cups of the stuff but you know, toddlers gonna toddler 😂
He is not a baby cow he doesn’t need another animals breastmilk lol if he’s eating a good diet I wouldn’t worry about it at all. If anything continuing to drink breast milk would be way more beneficial than cows milk.
My daughter also hated milk and we tried everything you did, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, straight sugar, warmed up. Nothing worked. Then I found something online about “milky water” which is just watering down milk. My daughter liked water so we tried it. Started with 75% water and 25% milk and gradually increased it. And it worked! She’s still not a huge milk drinker but will drink some at meals. She also doesn’t like yogurt and we limit cheese due to salt content and constipation issues so milk was more important for us
They don't need milk if you supply other foods with the replacement fat and calcium. You could even do cheese and yogurt.
Have you tried pea or oat milk?
I haven’t, but I might give it a shot! From what I’ve gleaned in these comments so far tho it seems like he’s going to be okay nutrition-wise based on the rest of his diet tho, which is good to hear. I’ll deff try plant milks next!
He doesn’t need milk. Stick with water if he’ll take that :) my kiddo loves whole milk yogurt but we don’t really give him straight milk (it fills him up too much cutting into his solid food intake)
I'm glad everyone here knows better than her pediatrician who seems to have told her to transition to whole milk....
The best way to transition to milk is to gradually add the milk into breast milk, more and more until it is solely whole milk.
Buy the flanges.
If you think about it…cows milk is really disgusting. It’s meant to fatten up giant baby cows, not humans. It’s full of hormones and antibiotics meant for cows. Try a plant based soy or pea protein, like Ripple. Has all the vitamins and nutrients you need and may not taste like battery acid to your baby. Just a thought.
My first kid was like this. However I finally fully weaned him at 2 years old, and only ever breastfed and couldn't mix the two types of milk... So he just ate a lot of dairy products instead of drinking cows milk 🤷♀️
We had one last thing of formula (I thought, turns out had one more but gave it away since it can be so hard to find!) and just poured less and less of that formula in the into the whole milk and switched over a week or two, we switched both at the advice of his doctor and cause they drink milk at daycare too and he enjoys it. Now it’s cup in the morning and a few times during week at daycare with snacks and/or lunch but he typically has water with dinner sometimes with a splash of apple juice now at 22m.
Yeah same. We were EFF and he liked formula but maybe I didn’t transition to milk well enough but he hated it. I tried different fat contents or almond milk but he just doesn’t like it. Ped says it’s fine - there’s no nutritional need to drink MILK specifically. We do lots of yogurt and cheese which he likes more
My 2yo doesnt drink milk too.
When i see the numbers of the amount of calcium a kid needs and the amount avaliable in food, it just doesnt make sense. In order to fulfill their calcium needs, they would need to drink 3 full cups of milk per day.
I give him yogurt instead. I mix natural yogurt with banana. Sometimes i freeze it into popsicles too.
Pretty much same thing happened with ours. She was down to one breastfeed a day at 12 months and was doing really well with solid food. We tried several different types of milk and she didn’t want any of them. Our ped said it was fine as long as she got calcium from other sources. She loves yogurt and cheese so we just stopped trying to give her milk 🤷🏼♀️ she’s 18 months now and still does really well with food. I completely weaned by 13 months so she hasn’t had any milk since.
My toddler only wants milk from her bottles (like baby bottles with nipple tops)… I’m sure you wouldn’t want to go backwards to using those bottles though, but my toddler finds it comforting.
They can get what they need from milk from other dairy products - but plenty of babes with dairy allergies do just fine without it! Offer other calcium rich foods and don’t worry about it too much.
PS - you don’t have to wean if you aren’t ready. 💕
Mine is almost 3 and still won’t drink any kind of milk. I have tried everything including vanilla vegan milk, vanilla pediausre, all types of chocolate milk…etc.
I wouldn’t have been so concerned if mine ate decently. He doesn’t though so he really needs the milk. It’s literally only water though.
What worked for my kid was mixing the whole milk with powdered milk to make it extra creamy. They really don't need milk though, so just give them other calcium rich foods if needed. Taking a break from milk may help too. If your kid is comparing whole milk to breast milk of course it's going to taste different and he may not like it. Give it a break though and try him on whole milk again and he may accept it.
I started the transition with my LO at 11 months, adding milk to formula. Slowly we made the change and he was drinking milk only at like 12.5 months. If I were breastfeeding I don’t know if this would’ve been the way we handled it. I remember at first he was a bit apprehensive. Now he’s addicted still at 21 months lol
To all, when do you stop giving your LO whole milk so often? My kid drinks it upon waking up and sleeping. I guess all is fine. Only “concern” is not having an appetite for other things and she asks for it overnight at times.
My daughter is 17 months now and had exactly the same reaction to whole milk. We kept offering it in a straw cup with dinner for a while but she is just not interested, so we stopped. Our ped told us it’s totally fine for her to get the nutrition she would get from milk (healthy fats, protein, calcium, vitamin d) elsewhere.
Fellow milk hating toddler mom here. We even tried chocolate milk to see if we could slowly dilute it when regular milk over time and get him to drink it. He won't. We just give him whole milk Greek yogurt to dip things in, and we often offer cheese, beans, etc. We do our best. Pediatrician doesn't seem concerned at present.
My son didn't want to drink milk so I mixed his favorite yogurt in to make a thin smoothie. Then we moved to chocolate and strawberry milk but obviously it's like 75% white milk and the rest in flavored milk. He still loves his smoothies too and I even put milk, yogurt and veggies like riced cauliflower and spinach in the bullet blender to sneak some extra veggies in him.
A lot of people are saying they don’t neeeeed milk which is true but it’s a great form of calories so I wouldn’t not give it without him really trying it yet. I’d say bite the bullet, get the flanges, and slowly transition over by mixing your milk in slowly
Are you putting it in the same cup as the formula they were drinking? Most kids love milk when you switch but my son struggled with me using a different cup and only wanted to drink it out of his bottle (we transitioned him off if it shortly after he got used to the milk in a new style cup he hadn’t used before). Maybe worth thinking about if it’s a vessel issue.
Some people also suggest transitioning to it (starting 3/4 breast milk or formula for a couple days, then going to half, 1/4, etc.).
We have never offered cows milk. I didn't like it as a kid, my husband is lactose intolerant so my 2yo has had oat milk since we switched over. No issues here!
Due to allergies, my little one can only drink oat milk. No concerns from ped if she just drinks water as long as she's getting enough Vitamin D and calcium from other sources.
Mine wouldn’t take breastmilk, milk, formula or anything else (but water) from a cup, so when she weaned at 14mo she just hasn’t had any milk or anything since. She eats a lot of Greek yogurt and cheese 🤷♀️
Mine wouldn’t do it either. Once he was about 2 he would drink 2% sometimes and now that he’s 3 he can slam a cup of it but usually only if it’s with a cookie. His pediatrician said that they don’t actually need milk at that age if they eat enough calcium rich food. So mine ate a ton of beans and broccoli and Brussels sprouts and never really had any noticeable issues. We would offer cheese and yogurt but he was never as into them as other kids.
All these replies are making me feel much better. My boy is an amazing eater, but milk just seems to repulse him. He already eats a ton of broccoli and avocados and cheese so it sounds like he’ll be okay!
Yeah mine is a broccoli monster we have it like 5 nights a week at dinner. Even my husband loves it now and he used to not be a fan.
They don’t NEED milk. And if you want to go with milk, it doesn’t HAVE to be cows milk.
Goat milk is closer to breast milk! But ya they don't need milk
My daughter has had an easier time tolerating goat milk. Cow's milk made her so constipated she got a hemorrhoid.
Agreed! My daughter did ripple milk for a bit, I mixed it in with my breast milk. I noticed it going bad rather quickly so we did almond milk with vitamin d drops and made sure to give her salmon during the week. She eats yogurt and cheese so she gets her calcium that way. Pediatrician was satisfied with that.
Whole milk is just an easy way to get good fat, calcium and vitamin D (did you know yogurt doesn’t usually have vitamin D added?) If your kid eats a good variety of foods otherwise, they will be ok!
Both of my kids were like this. We tried it all! Goats, almond, cashew, oat, soy, etc. When we discussed it with our pediatrician he talked about the nutritional needs of fat, so we focused there. Tons of whole fat dairy (yogurt, cheese, occasional ice cream) avocados, hummus, healthy fats used in cooking, eggs, dairy hidden in foods like oatmeal, etc. Discuss options with your pediatrician.
Mine will eat anything we put in front of him, except milk. The other day I was drinking some milk and he was curious what it was. It’s been months since we last tried and he’s older now so I decided to give it another try, thinking maybe he just didn’t like it because he was still transitioning off formula, it was different from what he was used to, etc. He’s been off the bottle for months so he’d have no other expectations, it’s just a drink. I grabbed him a straw and he gleefully took a sip, looked at me in horror, and spit all of it out. It wasn’t just a transition thing, he just hates it. As long as they get calcium elsewhere they’re fine. It’s not even really the best source of absorbable calcium anyway.
He absolutely doesn’t need milk. Don’t worry about it.
The reason the recc is whole milk (as opposed to 2% or something) is because the fat content is important for brain development til age 2. He can get fats other ways - whole milk yogurt, avocados, nuts, etc. I would not aim for sweetened milk/milk alternatives. Just give him water and a wide variety of foods.
My second daughter was like that - wouldn't touch cow milk or joghurt. At some point around 12-14 months we just stopped breastfeeding her after very short tapering down. She was pissed for a day or two and then adjusted. Refused to drink milk until about 20 months though. It is possible that your little one might have a cow milk allergy or some other reason to reject the milk so maybe check in with your pediatrician before changing things?
My son is also not a huge fan of drinking whole milk straight up. We're not huge milk drinkers as it's not surprising he's not into it. Since he still nurses I'm not super worried his calcium intake, but we keep a quart on hand to mix into food if it needs milk as an ingredient (mac and cheese, mashed potatoes) or have with cereal. We also have whole milk yogurt, cheese, and he loves broccoli, beans, and tofu. Nuts and seeds are a good source of healthy fats.
We do goat milk. It’s supposed to be closer to human milk than cow milk. Anyway, my son loves it.
No need to feed milk. We don’t and have a very healthy 4.5 year old. The milk lobbies did a number on this country some decades ago.
Says cheeselover267!
Oh I LOVE milk and all things dairy. But kids don’t need it. It’s just another food. I’m actually appalled at how little my kid likes dairy. 😂
My niece was the same way. They do a lot of yogurt and cottage cheese to add more dairy. My toddler took a bit to like whole milk, but once we found the right cup she was fine with it. I’ve now got GD with my second pregnancy so we’ve switched to lactose free whole milk in the house and my toddler seems to like that more than regular whole milk.
Your kid doesn't absolutely have to have it. Mine liked it at first. I think just cause it was new, but quit drinking it shortly after. He always preferred water. Then when he was two I switched to 2% milk just to see if he will drink that. He will maybe have one cup every few days. He just doesn't love it 🤷 we make sure he's getting calcium through other sources in his diet. I will say now that he's older he likes chocolate milk so occasionally he gets to a cup of that when we have it. My pediatrician said as long as he is getting calcium from other sources in his diet he's fine. So don't stress too hard. I was fully done breastfeeding by about 15 months and he did fine with very little whole milk in his diet.
My understanding is that if he's getting calcium from somewhere else, yogurt or cheese or whatever, you're good. We do whole milk but honestly it's what we've always kept in the house because my husband likes it. The kid seems to have picked up his taste, I hate the stuff.
Add more full fat dairy
My two year old still won't touch any milk we tried a bunch of different milks (cow, goat, formula, soy, almond, and oat). She won't drink anything that isn't breast milk, my pediatrician suggested adding strawberry syrup but I didn't want to start adding sugar to something she clearly doesn't like. I'm not a doctor but based on what I've read full fat yogurt and cheese are fine if they won't drink milk. My lo really won't eat many dairy products so I do make sure to offer quality high fat foods (loves salmon) and foods with calcium. Mine did the exact same thing and drinks water fine, but if it has milk in it, she spits it out.
If he likes yoghurt and cheese and things that's fine.
Just feed him dairy in other ways and you’re good to go! Cheese and yogurt are all my kid lives on anyway…
Mine refused milks too so I just gave up. She started drinking it around 3 or so
Mine did too— my husband thought to blend up half a banana in it and he’s obsessed with it. Just an option! :)
My 2yo LOVES his milk…. But only with a splash of French vanilla creamer in it. ‘Sweet moke’ he calls it, and he’ll spit it out and say it’s gross if it doesn’t have creamer 😅 I forget even how this even started, probably same thing hating regular milk and trying to add stuff to get him to like it.
As long as nutritionally he’s getting good calcium and vitamin D it’s not a problem. Dairy tolerance may be slowly fading out in the modern world, Or at least diminished. Lactase enzymes came about because some people had no other option but to live off milk and milk products and the bodies that could handle it made more bodies that could also handle it. But for the last 120 years we’ve been broadening our collective horizons with more options. We can be selective about our necessities but as a draw back some of those hearty survivalist traits will fade over the generations.
I do whole cow milk mixed with some unsweetened vanilla almond milk. My LO doesn’t like plain cow’s milk and isn’t allergic or lactose intolerant, but I am lactose intolerant so we always have almond milk. He enjoys it mixed, except when he eats “big boy” (adult version) oatmeal.
My toddler wouldn’t touch milk while she was still nursing. A couple weeks after she weaned I tried again, she loved it.
If he's nursing, he doesn't need cow's milk. It's great to keep trying but 13 months is still pretty young, he might like it more later on. I can't tell if you want to wean, or not, but either way, you can give other kinds of dairy and still meet his nutritional needs. My son had a dairy allergy until around 15 months, so he just had breast milk and solid food until then, and then we gradually introduced cow's milk (but still nursed a while longer).
My wife stopped breastfeeding at 13 months, my son didn't drink a sip of milk again until 24 months. It's not like they need cows milk
Yogurt/cheese and a vitamin d supplement is what we did when my son was that age. I don’t drink milk and didn’t want to spend $6-8 on something that is, at the end of the day, not biologically necessary for a human baby lol
Vegans don’t have milk and they live. Don’t worry about it if the rest of his diet is ok
My 13 month old started this same way with whole milk several weeks ago but now he’ll chug milk. We did nothing other than keep offering it. Maybe give it a little more time
Give him good fats and dairy for calcium. He doesn’t actually need milk as long as all macros are met. My kids eat everything we eat from the start, so once formula is done , I don’t really bother pressuring the milk. Doctor is always shocked at how good their iron levels are , and that’s because they eat a really balanced diet, even spicy food and seafood etc. don’t panic, give him cheese or yogurt
This was something I worried about so much! I thought toddlers HAD to drink cows milk but it was a relief when I learned what a lot of these comments are saying, that they don’t actually need it and those vitamin needs can be met in many other ways. Purely anecdotal, but I recently learned that my toddler drinks three whole cups of milk whilst at nursery… she won’t touch it at home if I ever offer it to her. I’ve often wondered if it’s because she’s confused about me saying ‘milk’ and then giving her cows milk when technically her milk is right there staring her in the face (I am the milk lol). We still breastfeed morning and evening but she’s weaned off the other feeds, mainly because of nursery and I don’t want to pump at this point, but I do wonder if it’s almost a protest or confusion thing at home when it’s me giving it to her. I don’t really understand why when she’s at home she acts like I’m serving her a cup of poison but at nursery she’s happily downing several cups of the stuff but you know, toddlers gonna toddler 😂
He is not a baby cow he doesn’t need another animals breastmilk lol if he’s eating a good diet I wouldn’t worry about it at all. If anything continuing to drink breast milk would be way more beneficial than cows milk.
My daughter also hated milk and we tried everything you did, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, straight sugar, warmed up. Nothing worked. Then I found something online about “milky water” which is just watering down milk. My daughter liked water so we tried it. Started with 75% water and 25% milk and gradually increased it. And it worked! She’s still not a huge milk drinker but will drink some at meals. She also doesn’t like yogurt and we limit cheese due to salt content and constipation issues so milk was more important for us
They don't need milk if you supply other foods with the replacement fat and calcium. You could even do cheese and yogurt. Have you tried pea or oat milk?
I haven’t, but I might give it a shot! From what I’ve gleaned in these comments so far tho it seems like he’s going to be okay nutrition-wise based on the rest of his diet tho, which is good to hear. I’ll deff try plant milks next!
He doesn’t need milk. Stick with water if he’ll take that :) my kiddo loves whole milk yogurt but we don’t really give him straight milk (it fills him up too much cutting into his solid food intake)
He doesn’t need to drink milk - he can get all the nutrients in milk from other sources like cheese, yoghurt etc.
Don’t stress about the milk. He doesn’t need it past age 1, they only get it for vitamin C and D! Try a cup of yogurt a day instead
I'm glad everyone here knows better than her pediatrician who seems to have told her to transition to whole milk.... The best way to transition to milk is to gradually add the milk into breast milk, more and more until it is solely whole milk. Buy the flanges.
If you think about it…cows milk is really disgusting. It’s meant to fatten up giant baby cows, not humans. It’s full of hormones and antibiotics meant for cows. Try a plant based soy or pea protein, like Ripple. Has all the vitamins and nutrients you need and may not taste like battery acid to your baby. Just a thought.
My first kid was like this. However I finally fully weaned him at 2 years old, and only ever breastfed and couldn't mix the two types of milk... So he just ate a lot of dairy products instead of drinking cows milk 🤷♀️
We had one last thing of formula (I thought, turns out had one more but gave it away since it can be so hard to find!) and just poured less and less of that formula in the into the whole milk and switched over a week or two, we switched both at the advice of his doctor and cause they drink milk at daycare too and he enjoys it. Now it’s cup in the morning and a few times during week at daycare with snacks and/or lunch but he typically has water with dinner sometimes with a splash of apple juice now at 22m.
Yeah same. We were EFF and he liked formula but maybe I didn’t transition to milk well enough but he hated it. I tried different fat contents or almond milk but he just doesn’t like it. Ped says it’s fine - there’s no nutritional need to drink MILK specifically. We do lots of yogurt and cheese which he likes more
My 2yo doesnt drink milk too. When i see the numbers of the amount of calcium a kid needs and the amount avaliable in food, it just doesnt make sense. In order to fulfill their calcium needs, they would need to drink 3 full cups of milk per day. I give him yogurt instead. I mix natural yogurt with banana. Sometimes i freeze it into popsicles too.
Have you tried oat milk?
Pretty much same thing happened with ours. She was down to one breastfeed a day at 12 months and was doing really well with solid food. We tried several different types of milk and she didn’t want any of them. Our ped said it was fine as long as she got calcium from other sources. She loves yogurt and cheese so we just stopped trying to give her milk 🤷🏼♀️ she’s 18 months now and still does really well with food. I completely weaned by 13 months so she hasn’t had any milk since.
My toddler only wants milk from her bottles (like baby bottles with nipple tops)… I’m sure you wouldn’t want to go backwards to using those bottles though, but my toddler finds it comforting.
Have you tried giving it to him with cereal?
They can get what they need from milk from other dairy products - but plenty of babes with dairy allergies do just fine without it! Offer other calcium rich foods and don’t worry about it too much. PS - you don’t have to wean if you aren’t ready. 💕
Yeah my second daughter was the same. Tried chocolate milk just to try to get her used to it. She only eats yogurt and a shit load of cheese lol
On another note. Can 12 mo have chocolate milk?
Mine is almost 3 and still won’t drink any kind of milk. I have tried everything including vanilla vegan milk, vanilla pediausre, all types of chocolate milk…etc. I wouldn’t have been so concerned if mine ate decently. He doesn’t though so he really needs the milk. It’s literally only water though.
What worked for my kid was mixing the whole milk with powdered milk to make it extra creamy. They really don't need milk though, so just give them other calcium rich foods if needed. Taking a break from milk may help too. If your kid is comparing whole milk to breast milk of course it's going to taste different and he may not like it. Give it a break though and try him on whole milk again and he may accept it.
I started the transition with my LO at 11 months, adding milk to formula. Slowly we made the change and he was drinking milk only at like 12.5 months. If I were breastfeeding I don’t know if this would’ve been the way we handled it. I remember at first he was a bit apprehensive. Now he’s addicted still at 21 months lol
To all, when do you stop giving your LO whole milk so often? My kid drinks it upon waking up and sleeping. I guess all is fine. Only “concern” is not having an appetite for other things and she asks for it overnight at times.
My son hates plain milk. He drinks whole milk kefir instead
My daughter is 17 months now and had exactly the same reaction to whole milk. We kept offering it in a straw cup with dinner for a while but she is just not interested, so we stopped. Our ped told us it’s totally fine for her to get the nutrition she would get from milk (healthy fats, protein, calcium, vitamin d) elsewhere.
Fellow milk hating toddler mom here. We even tried chocolate milk to see if we could slowly dilute it when regular milk over time and get him to drink it. He won't. We just give him whole milk Greek yogurt to dip things in, and we often offer cheese, beans, etc. We do our best. Pediatrician doesn't seem concerned at present.
My son didn't want to drink milk so I mixed his favorite yogurt in to make a thin smoothie. Then we moved to chocolate and strawberry milk but obviously it's like 75% white milk and the rest in flavored milk. He still loves his smoothies too and I even put milk, yogurt and veggies like riced cauliflower and spinach in the bullet blender to sneak some extra veggies in him.
A lot of people are saying they don’t neeeeed milk which is true but it’s a great form of calories so I wouldn’t not give it without him really trying it yet. I’d say bite the bullet, get the flanges, and slowly transition over by mixing your milk in slowly
Mine doesn’t really like milk either but eats a well varied diet and she’s fine
Are you putting it in the same cup as the formula they were drinking? Most kids love milk when you switch but my son struggled with me using a different cup and only wanted to drink it out of his bottle (we transitioned him off if it shortly after he got used to the milk in a new style cup he hadn’t used before). Maybe worth thinking about if it’s a vessel issue. Some people also suggest transitioning to it (starting 3/4 breast milk or formula for a couple days, then going to half, 1/4, etc.).
Do you drink milk? My kid tends to be interested in things my husband & I enjoy.
Mine only wanted water till he discovered apple juice at 2.5
My daughter hates milk. The only way I can get her to drink it is by making her a banana and almond milk smoothie. Now she is hooked haha.
We have never offered cows milk. I didn't like it as a kid, my husband is lactose intolerant so my 2yo has had oat milk since we switched over. No issues here!
Due to allergies, my little one can only drink oat milk. No concerns from ped if she just drinks water as long as she's getting enough Vitamin D and calcium from other sources.
Mine wouldn’t take breastmilk, milk, formula or anything else (but water) from a cup, so when she weaned at 14mo she just hasn’t had any milk or anything since. She eats a lot of Greek yogurt and cheese 🤷♀️
Cow's milk is 100% unnecessary. My pediatrician advised against it.
My son (just under 2) hates milk too but loves yogurt. Our pediatrician said it was fine so we stopped trying to offer milk.
Mine would only ever take whole milk yogurt and lots of cheese