Worried about milk/calcium/fat intake

[~Sara~]

DS has his 18 month well-child appointment last Thursday, and while we didn't tell our ped that he's still doing milk from bottles twice a day (shh!), we did tell her how many ounces he's drinking.  We offer 2 bottles with 6 oz each, one first thing in the AM and one before bed; sometimes he will drink all 6 oz and other times he might only drink 3.  There's no rhyme or reason to it, and hunger apparently isn't an issue to the amount consumed.  So, 12 oz total but could be as little as 6 oz for the day. 

Our ped seemed concerned by this and really stressed that he get other dairy foods throughout the day.  DS LOVES yogurt and normally gets either 4 oz of "kid" yogurt (20% calcium but only 4g of protein) or 4 oz of greek yogurt (10% calcium with 10g of protein).  He also LOVES grilled cheese sandwiches and has that 2-3 times per week.  DH normally gives him cereal every AM, so that helps, though the milk mostly dribbles out   Or pizza or pasta with cheese...

We've tried to get him to drink his milk in his sippy cups, but he won't even drink two whole ounces with his meal; whereas with water, he'll drink a whole cup.  I'd like to wean the two bottles...there is no attachment issue, so maybe I shouldn't bother?  But I'm afraid that if he doesn't drink milk from the bottle, he won't drink it at all.

I know how important milk is during the first couple of years because the fat, protein, and calcium help their little bodies and brains to grow.  His diet consists primarily of pasta/bread, fruit, and melted cheese/yogurt.  He is very hit or miss with meat and spits out any veggies...unless it's marinara sauce   He's growing beautifully: 75%ile for weight, 95%ile for height...something's going right, but I do worry about him getting what he needs from his diet if the bottle milk is cut out.

So I guess after all of that, I'm left wondering 1) would he still be getting enough milk/calcium/fatty goodness if the bottles go; and 2) is it possible that he's just not a milk drinker and will drop it altogether?  Anyone have any experience like this?  Did you supplement in some way?

[Lolly]

Sara - DD is only having 1 bottle a day so we offer 8oz at bedtime and she sometimes drinks it all and mostly leaves at least 2oz. She gets milk on her cereal (will he eat a cereal like porridge or weetabix that soaks up more milk?) and she gets a sippy of milk mid morning and one with tea so probably drinks maybe 6oz on a good day. She also has some yoghurt and cheese on pasta, cheese spread on toast etc. She is also  growing well, 91st for weight and 75th for height so must be getting what she needs too! Our pead has been trying to get us to reduce milk because of her reflux since about 6 months which I have been reluctant to do because of the fats etc.

If he isn't attached to the bottle then I would keep it for now until he starts refusing altogether. You could also keep offering milk in his sippy at meal times and keep water for inbetween meals which is what we tend to do.

Laura

[teilvnav]

Sara, Nathan absolutely refuses to drink milk out of anything other than a bottle, so we are still on two a day. I am afraid that if I cut them he won't be drinking any milk at all! He takes about 6 oz before his nap and 8 oz before bed, and just drinks water or diluted juice from his sippy at other times.

A's calcium intake sounds great, even better than Nathan's really is. I am going to start making oatmeal for breakfast for both of us make with milk rather than water... healthy for us both, I think. But yeah, I would say that Aaron is getting lots!

[Tweakster]

Finn just dropped his last bottle on his own.  It was like getting to be hard work to get it into him before bed (it felt like we were twisting his arm!) and so one night we just did bedtime routine without it and now there's no more bottle. 

So now I am worried because he was guaranteed to take a full 6-8 oz of milk in a given day and now I'm lucky if he'll take 1 or 2 oz from his cup.  So we do the cheese, yogurt dance too.

We are having better luck with an open cup really.  He'll gulp quite a bit down that way. And he does ask for his milk more now than he did when it was bottles.  Bottles were more like served to him, this way he has to ask for it and so he's taking interest in drinking it.

I think if you keep offering it only in a bottle, due to fear of the unknown, then there's no incentive for them to take it any other way.  Not that there's anything wrong with that...at all...when you decide you want them to drink out of cup only then you have to offer the cup ONLY.  'There is no bottle, bottle fairies took them away, here's your cup of milk'  Eventually they will drink it...

[clazzat]

My dd2 doesn't drink milk very often and won't eat cheese (unless it's hidden in things - we make a lot of cheese scones and pizza!), so all of her dairy intake is through yoghurt and milk on her cereal - although she has soy as she doesn't seem to tolerate milk particularly well.  I have decided that I can't force her to take it so I don't stress about it - she is happy and healthy and growing well (and weighs a ton!) and that's what matters to me.

So I would say don't stress it - if you want him to have milk and he will only take it from a bottle, that's no big deal; if the bottles bother you so much that you have to get rid of them, then trust that he will manage to get what he needs - either by giving in to the cup or eating more yoghurt etc.