Once a baby gets older and starts eating food, the time has come to introduce cow’s milk. The National Institutes of Health recommends that all children between one and two years old drink whole milk, because it is good for their growth and brain development. Teaching a baby to drink whole milk is not difficult, but it does take some time.
Step 1
Wait until your baby turns one year old to introduce any cow’s milk. Most pediatricians agree that a younger baby’s body is not ready to drink any cow’s milk, according to BabyCenter.com. Once your baby has his first birthday, you can start introducing a small amount of whole milk, 1 or 2 oz. at a time. This way, the baby’s stomach will have time to get used to whole milk.
Step 2
Use a sippy cup to give your baby milk, rather than a bottle or a regular cup. The bottle may encourage your baby to drink too much milk. A regular cup may be too difficult for your child to use, and she may spill it or get frustrated. A sippy cup allows the baby to suck when she wants to get more milk, but won’t spill if she drops it.
Step 3
Slowly decrease the amount of formula that you feed your baby, if you use formula. Each week, replace 1 or 2 oz. of formula with the same amount of whole milk, until your child has made the switch. If you are breastfeeding, continue to breastfeed, but only after the child eats food or drinks cow’s milk.
Step 4
Work your way up to giving more whole milk each day. BabyCenter.com states that 16 to 24 oz. is the recommended amount of whole milk that a one- to two-year-old child should be drinking daily. It may take several months before your child is used to drinking that much whole milk. Offer about 2 oz. more each week, until your baby is drinking the recommended about of milk daily.
Step 5
Add just a little bit of flavoring to whole milk, such as a chocolate-flavored nutritional powder, if your child does not like the taste of whole milk. Gradually decrease the amount of flavoring you add to the milk each day, until your baby enjoys drinking plain milk.
Things You'll Need
- Whole milk
- Sippy cups
