When to offer milk (in sippy)?

[carasmom]

We are in the process of eliminating bottles... right now, dd still has one upon waking and before going to bed.  She is losing interest though, and it seems like now is as good as time as any to drop them completely.  I tried when we transitioned to whole milk, but it didn't work as she wouldn't drink any milk out of a sippy. 
I'd like to get the milk in well before bedtime, but she wants water with her meals and then doesn't take milk out of her sippy throughout the day.  At 3:30 she will usually drink about 3-4 ounces with her snack, but that is because I keep  offering it over and over.
So, when should I "push" her to take the milk in her sippy?  With meals, between meals, or whenever she will take it?  I read through the 13 month+ routines, but still need some help and direction...please let me know what you think works best and why.
thanks,
Trish

[deenz]

We give the milk in a cup/sippy at meal times only.  We try and save it for after dd's eaten, but we are finding that she is starting to drink some milk, then go back to her meal, then back to the milk etc.  We started with the whole milk in a cup from her first birthday.  (She was/is bf).  At first she wasn't interested in the whole milk, but now she loves it.  I know they're supposed to have 500ml a day.  We offer it at meal times only since milk is so filling - don't want it to ruin her appetite for food (quite a picky eater).  Between meals she drinks water.

[carasmom]

Thanks for taking the time to reply.
We always had to separate formula from meals by about an hour- since she had reflux, that much food and liquid didn't sit well in her tummy.   So while the transition to milk was easy, she actually likes it much better, it's been hard to get it in with the meal.  The last two days I have been offering only milk at lunch, but she will only take a few sips.  She usually drinks about 4-5 ounces of water with each meal.  So I have had to offer some water before nap,  from which she will guzzle about 2-3 ounces. 
Any ideas for transitioning the meal time drink to milk?

Thanks again,
Trish

[deenz]

Sounds like you are on the right track.  I can't remember how long it took dd to take a substantial amount of milk, but it was quite a while.  In the mean time I just tried to make sure she was having lots of other calcium-rich foods, like cheese etc.  That's great that your dd loves water so much!!

[LukasMom]

I see she is over a year old.  My mom taught me a trick: try giving her a straw.  There are also sippies available that have a built-in straw.  They snap shut and are very handy for travelling.  You want to supervise her of course.

My lo drinks a lot more milk when a straw is offered to her.  She either can't see what it is, or maybe she just likes sucking on the straw.  Any baby that can suck on a bottle should be able to suck on a straw!  I did not know this until my mom gave my lo a straw one day and she immediately started to use it.  This is also a great trick for restaurants when you don't have a sippy available.  Good luck! 

[carasmom]

Argh... it's just so frustrating- she completely snubs the sippy when it has milk in it.  I keep acting like it's no big deal and putting it in front of her at meals, but she won't drink from it.  (And then I end up giving her some water after the meal is over- she keeps signing for and asking for sippy, getting more and more frustrated until she gets the one with water in it.) I am still getting 3-4 ounces at snack, but just barely and it takes a lot of work.  Should I try dropping another bottle or stick with the morning and evening one until I get her drinking more milk during the day?

I will buy some with straws... thanks for the idea- I am willing to try just about anything!  (Strawberry Quick didn't work... I thought for sure she'd go for it, but she didn't!)
Trish

[Seona1973]

I personally wouldnt offer milk at meals if she does not normally have milk then. When my dd turned 1 she had only 2 bottles as well, morning and night. When we transitioned to a sippy cup I first dropped the morning bottle and offered the milk in a sippy along with her breakfast (this is the only meal she gets a drink of milk with). At that point she still had milk in a botle at night. After a couple of weeks of her getting used to having milk with breakfast (ps I only offer a couple of ounces as she normally has milk on her cereal anyway), I started offering milk from her sippy instead of a bottle at night as well - I kept the same routine but offered out of the cup instead of the bottle. Her intake did drop for a few days but then improved again. She was off bottles totally by 14 months.

She now has an open top beaker of milk along with her breakfast and a small avent magic cup of milk before bed. Sometimes I give her the cup of milk to hold and drink from half an hour or so before her bath and she will drink most of it then and then finish it off after her bath while getting stories before bed.

Milk is not so important now and (in the UK anyway) the minimum recommended intake is only 350mls (about 12 ounces) inclusive of milk used in cooking, foods, etc along with other dairy products. They really dont have to drink much milk now as long as they are having other sources of calcium, etc

Seona

[LukasMom]

Yes, you could try giving her ricotta, cottage cheese, or creme fraiche among other things.  My lo eats so much cottage cheese I really don't worry about her calcium or milk intake.

[carasmom]

Denise,
I am curious... did your lo always take milk and meals together?

Lukas mom,
I tried the straw today- she couldn't get it and got frustrated, so we will have to try again tomorrow.  Creme fraiche...  is that whole whipping cream?

Seona,
Thank you for another perspective.  Our dr. says 16 oz of milk as a minimum, but she's not getting that right now.  We are doing lots of cheese as that is by far her favorite, but I feel like she's missing some of the proteins and fatty acids that whole milk can give her.       Our dr. also says no more bottles after 12 months, but that's not happening either. 

Today she was signing for and saying ba-ba when I kept trying to get her take her milk in a sippy,  I think she would probably drink it if I gave her the bottle... ho-hum.  I never give juice, but I gave some prune/apple juice after lunch to get things moving, she loved it and guzzled almost  4 ounces, before I decided that was enough and took it away- she was pretty upset with me for a little while.  But... my point is that she will definitely drink other things in her sippy besides water!

 I guess it's starting to look like I just don't have a milk drinker...

Thanks for all your help,
Trish

[deenz]

Yes, dd has always taken her milk with meals pretty much.  Since she was bf it was a bit different I suppose, as obviously I took her out of her high chair to then go and bf her after the meal.  After dinner she had her bath before the bf.  Since starting cow's milk at a year, I've really only offered it at meal times.  Occasionally I do give her some milk mid-afternoon, if she's not had much at lunch time.