toddler and milk intake

[Anonymous]

Toddler need 16-18 oz of milk per day, how do you distribute those 16-18 oz throughout the day to ensure that they have appetite to eat real food? Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Hi Sharon –

Owen actually drinks more than this – which I guess could be why he’s not a huge eater. We just try to give him his milk with his meals – first thing in the morning he has cereal and fruit or some other odd food that he wants (like the chicken breast he decided was good breakfast food this morning) and a cup of milk. Just as an example, he had about 7 ounces of that this am. Then we send him to school where he usually has a cup of milk with his lunch. At home he’ll have a snack and dinner, usually with water or juice, and then before bed he gets a sippy of alimentum, again, about 7-8 ounces. So all in all he probably gets closer to 24 ounces of milk a day but it’s all given to him with his meals.

Do you typically give Brian a drink with his meals? That’s been the easiest way for us – then he drinks it just the way we would have a drink with lunch, etc.

Good luck!
Laura

[Anonymous]

Hi Sharon, who told you toddlers need 16-18oz of milk/day? I am curious, my GI wants Emma on only 12oz per day b/c she says they should be consuming more food than milk. She even told me if Emma was eating good she wouldn’t even need that much. I am all confused, that probably won’t change, LOL!

[hellbennt]

hmm…

jonah didn’t even like milk (whole milk) until he was about 18 months old & even then didn’t drink a whole lot…he did eat calcium rich foods and the ped said that was fine- cheese, yogurt, broccoli, etc…

[Anonymous]

Liza also did not like milk until she was at least 18 months old. I kept her on Carnation Good Start until 15 months and then just made sure she had cheese and yogurt most days to make up for the lack of milk.

[Anonymous]

I don’t worry about Hailey having X amount of milk. She drinks anywhere from 1-3 cups a day of milk (7-21 oz a day). I will say that if she has it too close to meals she doesn’t eat as much. She also has never gotten drinks with her meals, she wouldn’t eat otherwise. I generally offer her milk, juice or water after her meals.

[Anonymous]

I never heard that either about toddlers needing between 16-18 oz of milk. I’m going to check my favourite feeding book (Ellyn Satter, child of mine and see what she says). But our ped and feeding doctor always told us that after a year between 8-12 ounces of milk/dairy equivalents, mainly for calcium and whole fat. We were actually told that for children who eat less, the milk intake should be less because it will just cause them to take in less calories from food. But calcium and fatty foods should be offered. I think that all kids are different. As long as he’s getting those kinds of foods and still taking in an acceptable amount of milk then I would think it’s okay. Did you ask your ped about it?

[Anonymous]

Thank you everyone for the reply!

Brian’s ped and nutritionist told me that toddlers need 16 – 18oz of milk per day, so it is interesting to hear that they may not need that much. I offer Brian milk and yogurt as much as I can, because i am afraid he is not eating enough variety of food, but again he may take too much milk and yogurt and not wants to eat, I think it is a catch 22 thing.

Lori – Since you have experience with Sara, can you please give me some idea of high calcium and fatty food, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Sharon,

Yes, I have had experience with Sarah, but since she didn’t have reflux, it’s basically like having no experience at all that can be applied to a refluxer. Especially when you throw in a feeding aversion. Sarah always ate and drank well (volume wise, not variety). She liked what she liked and ate a lot of those things.

Regarding calcium and fatty foods, she was on whole milk, she ate TONS of cheese, she loved cottage cheese and minigo and yogurt, she also liked scrambled eggs (we gave her the omega 3 kind) and would make them with milk and cheese. High calories were never an issue for her, as she weighed almost 25lbs at a year. I wish I had something I could tell you, but other than full fat dairy products, I’m at a loss. Sorry. Maybe someone else can be of some help.

[Anonymous]

although I breastfed my older one til he was 2, after he turned one, it was mainly at night, he hated milk and never drank more than one cup a day…he was healthy, happy and just fine, now that he’s 6 he still never drinks milk..

[Anonymous]

Ashtyn rarely drinks milk much at all anymore. But, she gets plenty of calcium which is what they really need according to her ped, ped GI, & feeding therapist. She gets more than her share from food without even drinking milk.

[Anonymous]

Kaelyn just had her 2 year checkup where they asked about her milk intake. She averages about 8 oz of soy milk a day, and they said that was fine. If she drinks much more than that she stops eating.

[Author]

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