{"id":17981,"date":"2019-11-21T14:52:59","date_gmt":"2019-11-21T19:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.andiemitchell.com\/?p=17981"},"modified":"2019-11-21T14:53:05","modified_gmt":"2019-11-21T19:53:05","slug":"our-transition-from-formula-to-whole-milk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andiemitchell.com\/our-transition-from-formula-to-whole-milk\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Transition from Formula to Whole Milk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This post is sponsored by . All opinions are my own. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our first year of feeding James was a bit of a bumpy ride. First, I couldn\u2019t produce enough milk so we switched to formula. Then, we had to find the right formula for him, which took a few tries. And the little guy would spit up so much after every meal that he basically wore a bib whenever he was awake. His doctor confirmed everything was fine; he just had to develop a stronger esophagus\u2014which he did, after nine months. It\u2019s worth mentioning that formula can be expensive, too. I say all of this to give you an idea of how much we were looking forward to the switch from formula to whole milk, which happens for most children at 12 months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sure enough, at James\u2019 12-month appointment his pediatrician told us that he was ready to make the transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what we learned: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use Whole Milk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When transitioning your baby to cow\u2019s milk, it\u2019s important to give him or her whole milk because that higher dietary fat content is beneficial for brain development (skim, 2%, and non-dairy alternatives like almond milk aren\u2019t recommended). Whole milk also has plenty of protein for muscles and calcium and vitamin D to develop strong bones. , the beloved dairy brand here in New England, believes that the milk we give to our little ones matters. That\u2019s why they have high standards of quality and don\u2019t add any artificial growth hormones or antibiotics. Hood milk provides nine essential nutrients per serving along with 8 grams of protein and the fat necessary for brain development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Make the Transition as Gradual as You Want<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are different ways to make the switch and they range from very slow to a quick, cold-turkey swap. Some babies need to be gradually transitioned to cow\u2019s milk so that their digestive system can get used to it. And even if that\u2019s not the case, some babies are sensitive to change in general, so you might also take a slower approach and begin substituting whole milk for some of the formula in their bottle, increasing the amount of milk over a period of a few days or weeks, depending on how your child responds. For example, you\u2019d start by mixing 6 ounces of formula with 2 ounces of whole milk, then shift to 4 ounces of formula with 4 ounces of whole milk, and then to 2 ounces of formula with 6 ounces of whole milk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Another way to make the switch is to completely swap out the formula for whole milk in one or two of your toddler\u2019s daily bottles, eventually phasing out the formula bottles altogether. This is the approach we took, at the recommendation of our pediatrician, knowing that James doesn\u2019t have any allergies. Thankfully James didn\u2019t have any issues making the switch and seemed to love it right away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Warming the Milk Helps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Whole milk out of the fridge is cold, obviously, which might be a little jarring to your baby, who is used to warm or room temp formula or breast milk. Warming it up slightly (by placing the filled bottle in a bowl with warm water for a few minutes) helps to make it more like what they\u2019ve grown accustomed to. Note, though: you don\u2019t want to get into the routine of warming every<\/em> bottle, so do this sparingly to avoid creating another habit you\u2019ll have to later break. For us, warming the first and last bottles of the day seemed to be a soothing way to transition James.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now our goal is to phase out the bottles completely, in favor of sippy cups, which seems to be going well so far but I\u2019ll report back! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can find in your local dairy aisle. Or go to Hood.com to find out more information and find stores near you.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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