Getting LO to drink WCM

Beth.1212 · January 2014

My little guy still nurses, but he won't take any kind of milk out of his straw cup - neither breast milk nor cow's milk. He loves yogurt, so this morning I mixed yogurt and WCM (half each). I gave him a few spoonfuls to make sure he liked the ratio, then I put it in the straw cup. He took a mouthful and made the most disgusted face! Apparently, it's okay on a spoon but awful through the straw. Go figure.

I'm thinking maybe some kind of flavoring might make it more appealing? Then once LO is happily drinking the milk mixture, I can cut back on the flavoring gradually until he's drinking WCM plain. I searched online and saw a suggestion for ovaltine, but I'd love something that was a little bit healthier. Any suggestions? Or alternative methods to get the little guy on WCM?

Beth.1212 · January 2014

DaisyBlinks said:

He doesn't need it. If he doesn't want to drink it, I would just keep giving him yogurt and offer the milk every so often. I don't think getting in the habit of flavoring his milk is a good idea.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm not sure i completely agree with your stance, but I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I think that milk will probably be an important part of his diet, and I want the option of cutting back another nursing session. I really want to get him drinking milk now, when he's more open and impressionable. I know that once he hits two, he'll be less willing to expand his palate. If I was less eager, I'd be more inclined to take the "try every once in a while, and just wait and see" approach.

I'm sure that there's evidence on both sides of the aisle, as it were, but here's a release about an interesting study supporting milk consumption. It indicated that children who drink flavored or plain milk consume more nutrients and have a lower or comparable body mass index (BMI) than children who don’t drink milk. https://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=12136

Theresa, thanks for the recommendation on the sippy vs straw cup. That's something I'll keep in mind.

Beth.1212 · January 2014

Laura, that's a fair point. I know that one can make do without milk, but I think milk is a good source of nutrition and would like my LO to drink it. The same can be said of fish - one can live without fish, but the right kinds of fish are very nutritious, so I am making an effort to acclimate my son's palate for fish. It's just that fish is less important to me, so I'm ok with the "give an occasional taste and see how it goes" approach there.

If anyone has any other suggestions on how to encourage my DS to drink milk, I'd love to hear them. If not, that's fine too! People are of course welcome to respond to this thread however they'd like - I've read such interesting posts on these boards! - but I really do know that it isn't essential for a child to drink milk, so future posters don't need to mention that. I appreciate the reassurance of previous posters about that, though.

Thanks again!

APendola · January 2014

Will he drink water from a sippy? If so, let him drink water and get the nutrients from snacking on things like yoghurt. You can also mix milk into his food.

My DH wanted to flavour DD's milk as well...but I think that will just get them in the habit of preferring the flavoured milk. My DH still drinks strawberry flavoured milk in his 30s, lol.

I nurse my DD too, and it took her a while to get used to drinking milk in the sippy but she does it now. Just keep offering it...they will get used to the cup and the taste of the WCM.

My DD does better with a sippy when I am not around. When I am there, she tries to nurse. Maybe have someone else help him get used to a sippy.

If you plan to continue nursing for a bit longer, then it's not a rush...give him time to get used to it.

salbabe79 · January 2014

If he doesn't like cows milk have you looked into other options? goat, rice, almond, coconut? Miss Eva could not handle cows milk (neither can mommy or daddy) so we started with rice milk. she loved almond milk but would get flushed by the end of the day. so now she drinks coconut milk.
and try different types of cups.

pb_bride · January 2014

My thought, as PP said, would be to try other milk alternatives such as goat milk or soy milk or almond milk? I think goat milk is just as nutritious, though not the others (almond/rice/coconut milks has less protein).

DS is almost the reverse - he refuses to eat yogurt, after he was eating it daily for 6 months. So I mix yogurt with WCM and frozen fruits to make him smoothies. He loves it. Can you try doing that to see if your LO likes smoothies?

hilsy85 · January 2014

My LO hated WCM when I introduced it; I tried smoothies, with yogurt, milk, and fruit, and he would drink those. HOnestly, though I tried not to stress about it--they don't need milk as long as they're eating other foods high in fat/calcium/etc. He eats a ton of yogurt and cheese. I do continue to offer WCM and he will often have maybe an oz or two but rarely more than that in a day.

twinkletoes3126 · January 2014

When my son started WCM he wasn't much of a fan either. I quickly discovered it was a temperature thing and he didn't like the cold of the milk. We warmed the milk and put it in the straw cup for about a week and he then would drink it. We spent another week or so gradually decreasing how much we warmed it. Now, at 16 months, he loves WCM.

RoryorHenry? · January 2014

I sometimes blend frozen blueberries with milk and my daughter loves it. And blueberries are so healthy you wouldn't have to worry about cutting back. Other fruit like strawberries and bananas might be worth a try too. Good luck!

RoryorHenry? · January 2014

I also wanted to add that my daughter loves to drink out of a big grown up cup, especially if it is something I'm drinking. You might try drinking milk yourself and then letting him drink from your cup. Anything on my plate or in front of me is better than what is on her plate. If you have that same problem maybe you could use it to your advantage.

ashiscute · January 2014

How long have you been trying to give him WCM? It took my DS about a month to really drink it. I just kept offering in a straw cup that is easy to drink from so he didn't have to work for it. If you are nursing and offering other dairy then I would just give him more time. Each kid takes to things differently. My DD took to milk right away.

I understand wanting to drop feedings but maybe 1 more week will make a huge difference for him. I wouldn't offer flavoring either.

Want a personalized experience?

Getting LO to drink WCM

Re: Getting LO to drink WCM

Choose Another Board

Search Boards