How do I cure my little milk addict?

[Carys' mom]

My dd (just over 2 years old) is a milk addict. It's practically all she wants to eat/drink. It's getting worse now that we switched her to 2 percent milk instead of whole. She obviously gets hungrier because it's not as filling. We hoped that would mean she'd eat more food, but she just asks for more milk. I try my best to get her to eat something else, and sometimes am successful, but today hasn't been so good. She's a very picky eater in general, so I'm at a loss as to what to do. Any ideas?? How can I get her to eat more food? I am so frustrated!

[Carys' mom]

Hi Stacy,
Thanks for your reply. She drinks from sippy cups, and it has normally been at set times: one cup when she first gets up for the day, one cup at 11am, and one cup at 5pm. But now she wants milk after she wakes from her nap and throughout the day - whenever she's hungry. I think I know that the problem is that she drinks the milk BEFORE her regular meals, so she's filling up on milk and not eating enough food. I'm not sure how to go about changing it though. Should I just change it to having milk WITH the meals all at once, or just try switching it one meal at a time? My dd is not fond of change, and I know will throw a fit. I'm not looking forward to this .

[Lana]

I used to limit Ewan's milk to only 16oz per day, once he drank that then he only got water.

I would also do the meal first and then the milk but be prepared that she may get pretty upset about it at first.

[Mom to M&M]

We limit Marisa's milk intake to 16 ounces unless she's had a great eating day and wants a little more close to bedtime. I know that someone else here used to water down the milk if her son wanted more. Marisa has milk upon waking in the morning but only 4 ounces tops. She still eats a good breakfast this way and can have more milk after if she wants. She also gets milk with lunch (but only 3 ounces which she usually has first) and then has as much milk as she wants AFTER dinner (usually about 3-4 ounces). She also gets about 3 ounces with a small snack after her nap.

[tylersmommy]

We water Tyler's milk down...half milk, half water. He refuses to drink anything other than milk, so that's our solution. He doesn't know the difference!

[dkjokisch]

FYI - At dd's two-year check-up, our ped said to increase her milk intake to 24oz per day - they've upped the recs.  And we found that not allowing milk in the two hours before a meal helped immensely with getting her to eat.  She gets milk with meals, after her nap, and right before bed if she asks; otherwise, we only offer water.

[Carys' mom]

Thanks everyone for your replies . I appreciate the advice!

FYI - At dd's two-year check-up, our ped said to increase her milk intake to 24oz per day - they've upped the recs.  And we found that not allowing milk in the two hours before a meal helped immensely with getting her to eat.  She gets milk with meals, after her nap, and right before bed if she asks; otherwise, we only offer water.

Our ped said anywhere from 16 to 24 oz is OK. So right now, I'm going to try to just stick to 24 oz (right now she's drinking more than that). I think I'll still give her milk upon waking in the morning, just not as much. And then I'll aim to give her some after her nap, and some with dinner. She drinks water just fine, and occasionally juice, so that's one positive I guess. Wish me luck - and sanity. I have a lot of tantrums to look forward to .

[Lana]

Good luck and remember that as long as you stay consistent and are confident in your decision then she will adapt quickly

[TDR'smom]

We water Tyler's milk down...half milk, half water. He refuses to drink anything other than milk, so that's our solution. He doesn't know the difference!

Once Tyler reaches more than 20oz...that's what we do. 

[kate585]

Good luck, Melanie.  We'll be making the switch from Whole to Fat Free milk in a few weeks.     I'm just sure he'll be starving, but he hasn't seem to notice on the few occassions that I've run out of whole and swtiched to skim.   

FWIW, this is how we do it now:
Wake and breakfast at 7 or 7:30
Milk (6-8 oz.) at 8 or 8:30
Lunch at 11:30 or 12
Milk at 12:30
Snack and Milk at 4:00
Dinner at 5:30 or 6
Tank up Snack at 7  (this is a new addition since we've had early wake ups lately.  Seems to help)

I would get NO food eaten if I gave him the milk before meals.  Today he REALLY wanted his milk before lunch and I asked him if he would eat his food if he got his milk first.  He said he would and he did.     I think it's because he drank it as he ate lunch and couldn't get too full from drinking it before, iykwim.

I am trying to respect his needs and wants with my knowledge of what he needs.  It's not an easy balancing act, but it's worth it!  We're both happy this way.