Day 363- Switching from Formula to Milk

Today's first time parenting tip - Switch your infant from formula to whole milk gradually.

If you've got a good natured baby that takes well to change, switching from formula to whole milk for their second year of life cold turkey might be a good approach. But if you've got a fussier baby or one that's more resistant to change, going gradual might be a good strategy.

Here's how to do it:

• Start with the middle of the day, and work out. Most infants will resist giving up their morning and bedtime bottle the most


• Mix 2 parts formula and 1 part whole milk into a sippy cup for the first few days. If your baby doesn't want to drink out of the cup, then try just focusing on the whole milk part.


• Add more and more milk in three day increments, until your infant is drinking a whole serving of milk


• Replace another feeding and give it another three days or so. By the time you're done, your child should be drinking 16-20 oz. of formula


• Serve the milk how you'd drink it yourself. Cold milk might put off some children, but you also don't want to be warming glasses of milk up for the rest of your life either. Try it both ways and see what happens


• If you've successfully made the switch and your baby starts to refuse milk, don't go back to formula. Try other dairy products like cheese or yogurt.

What's your success story with making the switch?

Parenting, Milk, Formula, Switch, Whole

Day 356 - 1st Year Round Up - How Much Should Your Baby Drink

Today's first time parenting tip - At 12 months, your baby "should" be drinking about 2 cups of milk or formula

As part of the first year round up, I'm going to look at taking stock of where your baby is at. Keep in mind that these are averages, and they could fall above or below these ranges and be perfectly fine. The numbers are meant to give you a general idea of what your baby should be doing.

Even though they may be eating a hearty share of fruits and vegetables (how much is enough?), your baby still needs a good portion of his diet to be good old breastmilk or formula.

About 2 cups a day will do the trick, and you can add in yogurt and cheese as some additional dairy foods in their diet. If your baby drinks more or less milk from day-to-day, don't sweat it too much. You should be looking at your baby's diet from a week-long perspective at this stage to make sure they're getting the right amounts and a good variety.

Parenting, Formula, Average, Milk

Day 355 - 1st Year Round Up - How Much Should Your 12 month old be eating

Today's first time parenting tip - Serving sizes for a twelve month old are different than adults

As part of the first year round up, I'm going to look at taking stock of where your baby is at. Keep in mind that these are averages, and they could fall above or below these ranges and be perfectly fine. The numbers are meant to give you a general idea of what your baby should be doing.

Your baby's eating patterns have probably changed quite a bit over the last year. They went from all breast milk to fruits, veggies and crackers in no time. So how much is too much? At this age, your baby is still probably too young to eat just for the sake of eating.

If he's hungry, he'll eat. If he's not, he'll stop. If you think your child has a weight problem, first take stock of what you're giving him. Is it unhealthy foods with lots of fat and sugar? Or is it healthy fare, like veggies and fruits.

If that's not the problem, your baby could just be naturally bigger. You should never underfeed your baby or try to put them on a diet. At this age, they still need a high-fat diet for brain development, so consult your pediatrician before making any diet changes.

Here's how much your baby should be getting from each food group:

• 3 oz. of grains (1 slice of wheat bread = 1 oz, and 1/2 cup of cereal or pasta = 1 oz)


• 1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables


• 1 cup of fruits or fruit juice


• 2 oz of meat/beans (2 tablespoons of lean meat is 1oz, and one egg is an ounce

Parenting, Food, Average, Vegetable, Fruit, Diet

Day 326 - How to Wean Your Baby Off the Bottle

Today's first time parenting tip - Wean your infant off his bottle when you're good and ready

There's no right or wrong time to wean your baby off the bottle. And your way of attacking it can be as gradual or as cold turkey as you want. My advice would be to go with as stress free a method as possible.

The bottle is often a comforting device for babies, so the more they're stressed out, the more they're going to want to go back to that comfort device. Your baby will let you know what they prefer. If your son is easy going and adaptable, you may be able to just hand him a cup and he's off to the races. A fussier baby might need a more "hands-off" approach, where you simply offer a cup as an alternative and let them explore on their own.

Here's our plan.

We've been letting him drink from a cup in his high chair since he was 6 months old. Once he started walking around, we keep a sippy cup with water or diluted juice out for him so he can graze and sip as he wants. Now that we're trying to wean him off the bottle, we have day care give him a sippy cup of milk at each meal.

He eats enough food and will drink enough out of the cup that he doesn't need his usual follow-up bottle. We still give him one in the morning and at night, the wake-up and bedtime bottles are probably going to be the hardest ones to kick.

Once we do try tackling those two bottles, we'll start off with a cup and move to the bottle if he gets to fussy. Hopefully he drinks more and more out of the cup and less and less out of the bottle. Keep you posted as we go.

Parenting, Wean, Bottle, Cup, Milk