Milk Intake

a_m_brown

We decided to drop bottles cold turkey as of yesterday (she only had a mid-morning and mid-afternoon to get rid of).  She still nurses when she wakes up and before bed, but I'm sure she doesn't get much.  I know it's going to take a few days for her to get used to it, but I'm worried she won't come close to getting the same amount of milk (~10 oz) she was getting from her bottles.  She loves yogurt and cheese, so I'm not too worried about the amount of calcium in her diet, I just want to make sure she stays hydrated.  Our plan is to do milk at meals and water at snacks, but she rarely takes more than a few sips.  She had fewer wet diapers yesterday but was still soaked when she woke up this morning.  How do I know if she's drinking enough?

Amberrrr

Just a word of advice, I've found my little guy is more willing to take WCM if I warm it up in the microwave for him. 

They are supposed to get 16-24 ounces a day.

If she is still nursing in the morning and before bed and taking the WCM during the day, I Wouldn't be too worried about it.

It will take some time for her to adjust though, I'm sure. 

jmccall79

My ped said that 12 to 15 oz of "milk" a day is sufficient at this age. I give Ian a sippy of milk in the morning, about 6oz. Then he gets a sippy of water available to him throughout the day. Then in the late afternoon he gets another sippy of milk. The sippy of water usually gets refilled at dinner time. My ped also said that at least 3 wet diapers a day means they're hydrated.

MollySm

We give Lucia about 15 oz a daythough now that we aren't mixing with formula we don't measure it out all the time. 3 cups, 5 oz each. But she doesn't always finish it all. The rest of the day we try and have a sippy of water around on the floor she can drink from, and we offer her water from our cups. As long as she has some wet diapers, I think she's okay. If it's available to her, she will drink if she's thirsty. I wouldn't limit water to just snack time.

jssica1013

When we first dropped Brayden's daytime bottles it took a couple of weeks before he was taking a decent amount of WCM in a sippy, I think there is an adjustment period. He now takes a WCM with meals and water with snacks and throughout the day. I think unless the amount of wet diapers have dropped drastically I wouldn't worry.

a_m_brown

Good point about not limiting water to snack time, Molly.  We'll keep a sippy around for her to have water while she's playing at home, but that'll be tougher at daycare.  Hopefully she'll catch on to drinking milk with her meals over the next week or so.  Thanks, ladies!