Most newborns spent the first several months of their lives subsisting on primarily--if not exclusively--their mother's milk or formula. Usually around their first birthday, though, many babies are ready to transition from breast milk or formula to cow's milk or another type of milk. Depending on your child, this can be a very easy process or one that takes time and adjustments. Ease your child into drinking milk to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Step 1
Meet with your child's pediatrician to make sure your child is ready to transition to milk. Even if your child is at the usual age for switching to milk, you still want to make sure he is healthy and physically ready. Some pediatricians choose to keep infants on formula or breast milk for a longer period of time for a number of reasons, particularly if they were born prematurely.
Step 2
Mix whole milk into formula or breast milk to help your child acclimate to the new milk. Fill a bottle three-fourths full with breast milk or formula, then fill the remainder with whole milk. Feed this mixture to your child until you're sure that she seems comfortable digesting it, usually a period of a few days to a week.
Step 3
Fill a bottle halfway with whole milk and half with breast milk or formula once your child has adjusted to the mixture in Step 2. Continue feeding this mixture for about a week or until your child has acclimated.
Step 4
Adjust the mixture's contents to include three parts whole milk and one part breast milk or formula. Feed this to your child every day until she becomes comfortable--again, approximately a week.
Step 5
Transition fully to whole milk once your child is comfortable with the ratio of whole milk to breast milk or formula served in Step 4.
Tips and Warnings
- Do not transition to milk at the same time that you wean your child off a bottle, because it will only make your job harder. Give your child his milk in a bottle, then transition to a sippy cup later. Extend your transition time by continuing to mix regular milk and formula until your formula is gone. It won't inhibit your child's acclimation to regular milk, and it will prevent expensive formula from going to waste. If you have served breast milk or formula to your child at a certain temperature, continue doing that as you transition her over to whole milk. If your child repeatedly throws up the type of milk you are feeding him, try a different type of milk, such as soy or goat's milk, to see if he digests a different type better. You can try to transition to whole milk again later, once your child has adjusted to non-breast milk or formula.
