14mth old milk or solids breakfast first

[Mum2Connor]

DS is nearly 14mths and we still do milk (cows) in straw cup when he gets up at 7am followed by solids breakfast 1 hour later.  He really wants to have his milk and seems to enjoy a snuggle on my or DHs lap a bit a this time, even if only for a couple of mins till he really wakes up and then wants down and play. 

My question is, should we be switching him to have solids breakfast first?  He has 2 straw cups of milk p/day of approximately 230mls (plus other dairy of yoghurt and milk in meals)..

Sonja

[rinajack]

I am not sure of the complete right answer here, but will give you my gut feeling sonja

Take the cuddles, be happy he drinks milk - and as long as he is still happily eating all his meals, go with it.  If you notice he isn't eating solids great, then it might be time to change the milk situation.  Sounds to me like a lovely way to start the day - for your whole family

[Mum2Connor]

Thanks Rina for the very quick reply (and good to see you on here, miss you!).

Sonja A

[andibig]

Sasha still sometimes has milk before her breakfast.I agree if its not affecting his appetite for solids then don't worry.I have to have a coffee before even thinking about food

[newmaze]

Just to repeat, I just saw my doc for the 12 month checkup and he said the same thing.  View it as part of their dairy/calcium intake, and as long as it doesn't affect other foods or meals, then doesn't matter when you give it...

lol - TOTALLY agree about the coffee!! 

jen

[Mum2Connor]

Thanks ladies, we'll leave things as they are.  The cuddles are so nice, so I'll take them when I can get them 

Sonja

[*Natasha*]

We changed breakfast first at around 9months but at around 14months she decided she wanted her milk first and still does now. She still has a big breakfast an hour later so we don't mind. I know i want my coffee first thing in the morning before i have breakfast

[Mum2Connor]

Sorry this is long....

Well it's nearly a month since I posted about DS still having milk first.  We have continued this until today as the last 2 weeks or so he's been asking for more milk in the morning and we give him a bit more and he sucks this done quickly but he would still have a good breakfast.  I am concerned though that he would keep asking for milk and then fill up too much.

So this morning DH tried offering breakfast first (as I was getting ready for work) and milk in cup was on hand too.  DS was not happy, firstly cos DH took him out of his sleeping bag (usually in sleeping bag when having milk first & then we do nappy change & get dressed), then put pajama pants on him as cold here at present, then in booster chair, refused cereal, sucked down half of milk immediately, then ate a few spoonfuls of cereal and then cracked it completely .  DH took him to change him as was really wet in nappy and was really upset on the change table , I had to come in and help to calm him .

Eek what have we done and what do we do now (well tomorrow morning?) 

Do we switch back to milk first and just monitor the amount? (oh gosh that sounds mean, that's not what I mean - just don't let him fill up too much KWIM?). 

We also look like we're heading to the 2-1 nap switch so routine will be changing a bit over the next few weeks to sort out day sleep.

Any advice would be wonderful

Sonja

[rinajack]

Hi Sonja

I would just give the milk first, but then once he is finished the milk, if you are concerned about him having too much milk, when he asks for more, tell him he is finished his milk but he can have juice/water/dry cheerios/some other alternative.

Zara has gone back to having milk first, she is also downing it very quickly, then asking for more.  Unlike Connor, she doesn't eat her meals well, so I dont' give more milk, but I do the above, and she is satisfied as long as she gets Something!

Rina

[legend_018]

My LO hasn't been the greatest eater so she has to try to have some breakfast first and than milk. But, I have heard lots of people give milk first and than breakfast an hour later and everything works out great. I only limit my LO to 4 oz of milk after every meal.

[rinajack]

Haha- whereas I go with the other approach because skipping the milk doesn't mean a good meal, and at least that way I know some nutrients go in (we do toddler formula).

[Mum2Connor]

Thanks ladies .... we went back to milk first this morning and it was much calmer 

He seemed to ask for more this more morning by shaking the cup wildly and grizzling, I let him go for literally hmm maybe 10 seconds then just stopped and was fine  makes me think he's also testing me a bit  So didn't give him more and was ok.  Had breakfast 1 hr later and ate really well

Rina - I like the idea of saying 'finished' as it does finalise it.

Thanks
Sonja

[rinajack]

Yep, telling Zara her milk is all gone, but she can have X is working OK for us so far - it is the only way I can ensure a varied diet

[Grace's Mom]

Hey Sonja

glad you got some great responses. 

Not that it matters as you have your solution  .....Grace drinks a small sip of milk when she first wakes (or should I say, when we finally go in to get her up for the day) and then she as milk and breakfast together at around 6:45 (yes, it's very early, but it's 13.5 hours since she last ate so it's much needed  ).

Even when she was younger we really didn't separate her meals from her bottles all that much, especially in the morning.  She had her bottle and then 15-30 minutes later she had breakfast so for us it's usually been a all at one go type of thing 

Hi Rina 

-Mel

[rinajack]

Hi Mel