Too much milk?????

[alyssa1]

Hi there,
Any advice on the milk matter.  My son is almost 18months old and absolutely loves his milk.  I'm just wondering if there is such a thing as too much?  He generally eats well - fruits, veggies, cheese, yogurt, breads, pastas...etc.
Right now his milk and food intake looks like this:

6am - wake, 8oz bottle of milk
7:30am - breakfast - fruit, yogurt or some cereal
10:30am - snack - juice, fruit or bagel
11am - 8oz. bottle before nap
11:30am - 1:30pm - NAP
1:30pm - small lunch - grilled cheese, kraft dinner, fruit..etc. and sometimes he asks for more milk, so we give him some more - maybe 4oz.
3:30pm - small snack if he asks for one - crackers, cheese
5pm - dinner - veggies, small bowl of food - bottle of milk (6-8oz)
7pm - small snack and bottle (8oz.)
7:30pm - bed and he will sleep through till 6:30am.

So, he is having 3-4 bottles of milk a day (8oz x 4 = 32oz. of milk).  He will literally go to the fridge and say milk please.  I have found that it has increased over the past few weeks when his room moved and teeth have come in.  Some days he asks for 5-6 bottles.  I offer water and juice to him as well through the day, which he takes.  He is very healthy but just wants milk all the time.  I have watered it down a little bit when he wants one at odd times so that it doesn't affect meals and food intake but should I have any concerns on the amount of milk he's taking in?
Any advice would be great!

[sa]

this is what my mum always says, milk is healthy, if baby wants milk, give it to them ..
he is not asking for a soft drink LOL... so i think go for his appetite.

i think only restrict milk if it affects his solid intake?

[tylersmommy]

From what I understand, there is such thing as too much milk. The main issue is usually that it's very filling and can replace other foods, but it looks like your DS is still eating a good variety so that's not a factor. Another thing to consider...the calcium in dairy products inhibits the body's ability to absorb iron, which is a vital nutrient for a toddler's developing brain and central nervous system. So giving lots of milk may be okay, but you may want to think about how you're timing when he gets it.

Tyler's a big milkaholic, so this is how we've handled it. We don't offer milk until mid-morning at the earliest, lunch if he doesn't ask for it. We offer his iron foods for breakfast, like iron fortified cereals, oatmeal, etc. Vitamin C helps the body absorb iron, so we'll give him watered down orange juice to drink with his breakfast. We also do what you do...we'll water down his milk during the day if it's interfering with his appetite or he's constipated (another side effect of too much dairy). HTH!

[alyssa1]

Thanks for the reply.  It doesn't seem to be bothering with his intake of other foods as it is always offered to him after his meal and if he does ask for it before the meal we do request that he has something to eat first.  He has always had a bottle first thing in the morning when he gets up but that does not stop him from having fruit/breafast an hour later (7:30am).  I think I will still give him the usual bottles and when he asks for more, just water the extra down.
I really appreciate the input.