Whole Milk

heatherwhite1984 · August 2014

How much milk does your LO drink daily?
I feel like my kiddo drinks so much whole milk daily. Other than milk he drinks plenty of water and smoothies. We do not have juice, at a few parties we've been to, they have had juice and we offered and he denied. We don't go back to the pediatrician for a few more months.

greyt00 · August 2014

DS1 is 3.5 years old and drinks a lot of whole milk because he has ASD and has major issues with eating. For a long time, milk was his only source of protein. Things are slowly getting better. He drinks about 4 cups per day. DS2 is 2 years old. I switched him to 2% milk a few weeks ago since he eats enough and weighs plenty. I'm not sure how much milk he gets at day care (they use tiny cups). During the week he doesn't get a lot -- probably around 12 ounces, plus cheese. On the weekend he probably gets at least 18 ounces, plus cheese.

ashiscute · August 2014

DD is 3.5 and DS is 23 mos and they both drink 1% milk. DS drinks maybe 6 oz per day at the most but he doesn't tolerate milk very well. DD has maybe 8- 10 oz most days. Milk is offered at 1 meal (either lunch or dinner) and also in their cereal at breakfast if that's what they have. Other than that they drink water.

oliversmommy32912 · August 2014

DS gets a cup in the morning and a cup with dinner. Sometimes he drinks the whole thing and sometimes he doesn't. I would estimate he gets between 6 and 16oz but generally about 10 oz per day. We still do whole milk. He gets water the rest of the day.

DawnJM25 · August 2014

DD is almost 3 and DS is 20 mo. DD is in the 15 %ile for weight, and our pedi didn't specify a change from whole milk at her 2 year appt., and DS was preemie and still in the 1-5 %ile for his real age. Pedi DID specify at our 18 mo appt. for DS that he stay on whole milk. I am not opposed to switching to 1/2% but I'm waiting until the next checkups to ask about it. I'd prefer that they both drink the same kind.

sunnyday016 · August 2014

DS gets 2% milk at meals. I don't keep track of how much, but he usually doesn't finish his cup so we save it for the next meal. Is there a reason you're still keeping track? Does he eat a good amount of food?

heatherwhite1984 · August 2014

So based upon these posts, my kiddo drinks a lot of milk. He drinks on average ~30+ oz. I don't know the exact amount, but it seems like we are always buying milk. A while back, doctor was not concerned. LO does not eat much, so this is essentially the only protein he is getting. We tried stopping as much milk, but he still wouldn't eat much. And at that time we felt he was losing nutrients, so we picked it back up again. I will certainly be chatting with the pediatrician when we return. Kiddo urinates plenty with the milk and water too. And the way I see it, it could be worse, right?!

shannm · August 2014

DD is 2.5 and drinks about 12 ounces of whole milk. She also eats yogurt and cheese. All other beverages are water.

emberlee3 · August 2014

DD is 2 yo. She only drinks water. She had multiple food intolerance as a baby, so we were told to wait until 18 months to give dairy. She refused all non-dairy milk, and she won't drink juice. She eats cheese, but that's pretty much her only dairy except for what I sneak in when cooking.

sunnyday016 · August 2014

heatherwhite1984 said:

So based upon these posts, my kiddo drinks a lot of milk. He drinks on average ~30+ oz. I don't know the exact amount, but it seems like we are always buying milk. A while back, doctor was not concerned. LO does not eat much, so this is essentially the only protein he is getting. We tried stopping as much milk, but he still wouldn't eat much. And at that time we felt he was losing nutrients, so we picked it back up again. I will certainly be chatting with the pediatrician when we return. Kiddo urinates plenty with the milk and water too. And the way I see it, it could be worse, right?!

This is way too much. Obviously talk to your pedi, but the reason your LO isn't eating much is because they are taking most of their calories through milk. It may take a week or so to all even out too so don't just assume that he's not getting the nutrients he needs. Also, toddlers can eat a lot or like birds. They are good at self regulating. My DS usually has one decently sized meal per day and the other two he picks at or doesn't eat at all. It's fine and normal.

heatherwhite1984 · August 2014

Thanks everyone. Even when we saw the pediatrician, LO was not eating much. He said that we can certainly provide the milk, yogurt, smoothies and cheese that LO is seeking. We continue to offer meals. We took the child safety lock off the food cabinet in hopes that LO would go in there when hungry, as well as us going together to frequently visit the cabinet and fridge for snacks since we know he won't eat much at meals. LO eats more through his own decisions. Water is always available in his cup on the counter and I end up refilling it throughout the day.

SusieBW · August 2014

We never gave DD whole milk. Her pedi said it wasn't necessary. We started her at 2% when she started drinking milk (around 1 year old, I guess), and switched her to 1% pretty soon after that because we started getting milk delivered from the dairy, and our dairy didn't do 2%.

She mostly has milk with meals now, and even then, probably just 2/3 meals. Usually water in between. I have no problem giving her watery juice, either. At some point, her pedi told us to cut down on how much milk she was drinking, but I can't remember why. Iron, maybe?

greyt00 · August 2014

sunnyday016 said:

heatherwhite1984 said:

So based upon these posts, my kiddo drinks a lot of milk. He drinks on average ~30+ oz. I don't know the exact amount, but it seems like we are always buying milk. A while back, doctor was not concerned. LO does not eat much, so this is essentially the only protein he is getting. We tried stopping as much milk, but he still wouldn't eat much. And at that time we felt he was losing nutrients, so we picked it back up again. I will certainly be chatting with the pediatrician when we return. Kiddo urinates plenty with the milk and water too. And the way I see it, it could be worse, right?!

This is way too much. Obviously talk to your pedi, but the reason your LO isn't eating much is because they are taking most of their calories through milk. It may take a week or so to all even out too so don't just assume that he's not getting the nutrients he needs. Also, toddlers can eat a lot or like birds. They are good at self regulating. My DS usually has one decently sized meal per day and the other two he picks at or doesn't eat at all. It's fine and normal.

Some children have feeding issues and drinking "too much" milk is not the (only) reason they're not eating. For some, it's not as if you can suddenly and drastically reduce the milk and they will just start eating. My DS1 is one of those. We stepped up the milk because he wasn't eating. He is only eating more now because he is in a feeding program. He started eating more before we reduced milk. As he progresses we will slowly reduce the amount of milk we give him. I'm sure my son is the exception, but there can be other things going on.

If your child won't start eating, I would consider occupational therapy, and not just hope that he grows out of it.

greyt00 · August 2014

And I'm recommending occupational therapy if the child resists eating enough. Some pedis say the kid will grow out of it. Some don't and will make other recommendations. I'm making independent advice.

heatherwhite1984 · August 2014

We'll talk with the pediatrician first and then move forward. I know some OTs in the area, I'll consult a bit with them. Kiddo eats a variety of textures, of what does get ingested. We eat and offer the same meals.

MommyAtty · August 2014

We asked our doc how much milk was too much. DD didn't eat enough, and she's in the bottom 5th percentile of BMI. 90th percentile height, 26th weight. He said max 24 oz a day. She drinks 2% because whole milk upset her stomach. She did pick up on how much she eats when she stopped drinking an extra cup of milk a day. I don't think she's any less skinny but she is getting a better variety of nutrients.

DawnJM25 · August 2014

I guess I didn't answer your question before. I don't really keep track of ounces, but my estimation is that DD (almost 3) drinks 12-18 oz. per day and DS (20 mo) drinks closer to 18-24 oz. I'm definitely going to discuss this with pedi at our next well child visit. I've been concerned that DS fills up on milk. I hope it's not a sensory issue with food as some of the previous posts have discussed. DS was preemie and was in PT, but we recently exited the program. The developmental specialist that was part of the PT program did mention a possible sensory issue with DS but he was still so young they just gave us some activities to do with him. It was more with toys, I never thought about food. Thanks for posting!

zbeesma86 · August 2014

DD drinks a cup to a cup and a half a day. She drinks a lot of water and OJ in the morning.

She has milk sippy with lunch and dinner. Water with snacks and throughout the day.

RMama2012 · August 2014

He drinks 3 cups a day- about 20-24 ounces a day. My mil tends to give less but he eats chobani with her. I only give whole milk and have no plan to switch to 2 percent unless he put on significant weight. He is very tall and lean and extremely active.

ttimmerman · August 2014

One thing to consider is that sometimes kids will crave something that they actually have an intolerance or allergy to...like they'll crave milk and want to drink a ton of it but actually have an allergy to it. Or kids that always want bread and crackers and pasta may actually have a gluten allergy. My daughter was a huge milk drinker but as she got older and more verbal she complained more and more of stomachaches. We cut milk entirely and it took a little while, but now she rarely complains of tummy issues. I don't think she had a true allergy, but definitely an intolerance.

Just something to consider. I agree that 30 oz is WAY too much milk, so there might be something behind it.

sunnyday016 · August 2014

ttimmerman said:

One thing to consider is that sometimes kids will crave something that they actually have an intolerance or allergy to...like they'll crave milk and want to drink a ton of it but actually have an allergy to it. Or kids that always want bread and crackers and pasta may actually have a gluten allergy. My daughter was a huge milk drinker but as she got older and more verbal she complained more and more of stomachaches. We cut milk entirely and it took a little while, but now she rarely complains of tummy issues. I don't think she had a true allergy, but definitely an intolerance.

Just something to consider. I agree that 30 oz is WAY too much milk, so there might be something behind it.

I have never heard this before! Do you have any links or other info on it?

ttimmerman · August 2014

sunnyday016 said:

ttimmerman said:

One thing to consider is that sometimes kids will crave something that they actually have an intolerance or allergy to...like they'll crave milk and want to drink a ton of it but actually have an allergy to it. Or kids that always want bread and crackers and pasta may actually have a gluten allergy. My daughter was a huge milk drinker but as she got older and more verbal she complained more and more of stomachaches. We cut milk entirely and it took a little while, but now she rarely complains of tummy issues. I don't think she had a true allergy, but definitely an intolerance.

Just something to consider. I agree that 30 oz is WAY too much milk, so there might be something behind it.

I have never heard this before! Do you have any links or other info on it?

Sure:

https://www.allergyaware.org/articles/facts_about_food_allergies.html - #6

https://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=faq&dbid=30#why

https://whatscookingwithkids.com/2011/05/09/how-food-cravings-might-be-harming-your-childs-health/

https://www.cncahealth.com/explore/learn/nutrition-food/uncovering-hidden-food-allergies-and-sensitivities#.U_uDgsVdVBc - kind of a long article so here's the relevant part:

"Interestingly, often the foods you are sensitive to are those you tend to crave the most. It’s not entirely clear why this is, but one theory suggests you can become addicted to histamine or other chemicals that are released by your body’s allergic response to a food, causing you to crave more of it."

beaniousmaximus · September 2014

Our son just turned two and we switched him over to 2% milk. He used to be crazy about drinking his milk, but now he wont even finish a glass! We normally give him milk with his breakfast and dinner. He gets other milk products during the day; yogurt every morning and he often eats something with cheese. I don't know exactly how many ounces a day he drinks, but it's nothing close to 30oz. I've heard that you're suppose to limit their milk intake because it makes it hard for their bodies to absorb iron...so I'd definitely cut back on that.

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