1 yr old ... Milk or Formula?

[bensmuma]

I've been reading many posts where a lot of you are saying your lo's are down to two bottles, morning and bedtime. But are you giving whole milk or formula in those bottles? I've just dropped the 2 midday bottles and am transitioning to whole milk by replacing 2 oz's at a time in the bottles. But now I'm reconsidering giving whole milk in the bedtime bottle. One, it's cold as anything and two, I don't want my ds to have a belly ache. Is it ok to keep the bedtime bottle as formula and the am bottle and day sippys as whole milk??

[clazzat]

I never gave dd1 formula - she went straight from bm to cow's milk at about 14 months.  We never had any problem with it, so unless your lo has a reaction then you might not need formula at this stage.  Don't really know about combining them.
Cx

[Mimi 2]

You can combine the formula and whole milk until he is used to the taste or just go cold turkey.  I transitioned dd from formula to whole milk within a 2-3 week period by 12 mos and ds (bf'ed) was given straight whole milk.  It's fine to warm up the whole milk if he likes it that way.  As for the bottles, you can still keep them or slowly transition him to take his milk in a sippy/cup.  It is not bad if he still has a bedtime bottle past 12 mos.  The main concern with bottles is that some toddlers sip on them all day long and this can cause cavities but if he only needs it just before bed then it's fine. 

FWIW DD had a bottle until she was 18 mos.  DD likes her milk cold and ds likes his warm. 

[Texomamama]

I echo Mimi 2's comments.  I had a lot of people (including my pediatrician) suggesting we make the change cold turkey b/c DD "would like the milk much more than formula since it is sweeter".  She did not.  As with all things, making changes slowly seems to be best (at least for us).  Beginning at about 13 mo, I started adding 1-2 ounces whole milk in lieu of formula until she was at all milk.  It took only a couple of weeks.  The harder transition was from bottle to sippy cup, but still by 15 mo, DD was off the bottle completely.  Like Mimi says, the concern is that baby is going to bed with the bottle and having milk pooling in their little mouth.  BTW, I still warm up the milk at night (I think it helps DD with the whole bedtime routine), but not in the morning.

[bensmuma]

Sounds great guys thanks! I've dropped the two midday bottles for milk in a sippy with snack but he really doesn't drink much. I'm at 50/50 am bottle before breakfast and am keeping formula for the bedtime bottle for the 1 yr growth spurt. I guess when I transition the bedtime bottle to whole milk I'll keep it warm so it's still comforting. I feel like I never want to give that one up though, sounds crazy right? I just love our bedtime routine which includes the bottle in his rocking chair. What do I do without the bottle???

[Texomamama]

I know how you feel.  When I stopped the before bed bf (at DD's prompting when she was 7 mo), I was sad.  It was our special time and I loved how she would fall asleep in my arms while nursing.  When we moved to bottle, it was not as special, but still nice and quiet, just she and I alone in her room.  Now, she has her sippy cup while running around the living room.  No more quiet, snuggly time, she is constant motion.  That's what happens when they get older I guess.  I can't wait until she gets a little older and understands snuggling a little more, so we can hopefully get that time back.  In the interim, I just go upstairs sometimes and watch her sleep

[clazzat]

When I dropped the last bf in the evening, I replaced it with a cuddle in the dark.  Now that dd1 is 28 months, we have a story, then turn out the light and cuddle in the chair before I put her in bed.
Cx

[sanrega]

My son has just turned 13 months old and for the past 4 weeks has been drinking
fresh organic cow's milk without any problem.
But he drinks it on a cup 3 times a day. No more bottles!

[heartforall260]

My DD quit the breast at 1 year.  She wouldn't take cows milk or formula...only water.  She still won't drink milk but she is healthy and has always been in the 50th percentile.  She did eat solids really well.  I think at that age it's really down to preference.