What are the rules with WCM?

[Deleted]

If it smells bad, I throw it away. That's my rule.

[Deleted]

I do what @fivedogs says. I offer a straw cup of milk at meals. Once he gets down from the table, if there's still milk in the cup I put the cup in the fridge and offer it at the next meal. At the end of the day the cup gets emptied and washed. I don't leave the cup out, or let him graze on milk. I do that with water.

[Jalapeñomel]

Dec 20, 2014 11:18:39 GMT -5 @fivedogs said:

They should not be sipping from a cup of milk all day - it's not good for their teeth. Basically you give it to them and when they are "done," you can put it back in the fridge for a bit. Don't leave it out/accessible to them all day. You can do that with water if you want.

Start with small amounts of milk in a cup and then you won't have to deal with unfinished milk as much. You can always give more. Then gradually increase the amount as he gets better at drinking it.

My sippy cup seems to be hard to get milk out of, because D takes forever to drink it (and I tried it, it's hard). Is this true for all brands?

[cricketwife]

Can I add a question? Do you just replace formula with WCM ? DS takes 5 bottles of formula --does that just become 5 sippies of wcm?

[winemaker06]

Dec 20, 2014 14:55:45 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Dec 20, 2014 11:18:39 GMT -5 @fivedogs said:

They should not be sipping from a cup of milk all day - it's not good for their teeth. Basically you give it to them and when they are "done," you can put it back in the fridge for a bit. Don't leave it out/accessible to them all day. You can do that with water if you want.

Start with small amounts of milk in a cup and then you won't have to deal with unfinished milk as much. You can always give more. Then gradually increase the amount as he gets better at drinking it.

My sippy cup seems to be hard to get milk out of, because D takes forever to drink it (and I tried it, it's hard). Is this true for all brands?

Every brand is different!
I have a huge bag of different cups from a friend and some are way more difficult than others. There are even 3 different types of Tommee Tippee and all are very different (some with a valve and some without).
Dr. Browns is by far the worst. DH had trouble with it, lol.

We tend to give him the easier ones with milk, harder ones with water.

[vmars]

Following.

Also for day care -- how much wcm do you send?

[mae141]

Dec 20, 2014 15:54:02 GMT -5 vmars said:

Following.

Also for day care -- how much wcm do you send?

I'm wondering this, too. DD is a great eater, but I have no idea how much food to send in her lunch, and how much wcm to send. And do I keep doing bottles? She was a rock star with a straw cup for a while, but lately she just likes spitting out whatever she sucks up, no matter what it is she's drinking. So many questions. 

[lilac05]

Dec 20, 2014 13:50:32 GMT -5 @supergreen said:

I do what @fivedogs says. I offer a straw cup of milk at meals. Once he gets down from the table, if there's still milk in the cup I put the cup in the fridge and offer it at the next meal. At the end of the day the cup gets emptied and washed. I don't leave the cup out, or let him graze on milk. I do that with water.

Same at our house.  Two added bonuses:  you can use the Take & Toss cups because you don't have to worry about leaking and they're easy to clean AND (most importantly to me!) you run zero risk of you or the baby finding a cup filled with week-old milk.

Neither of my boys drank much milk.  I forced myself to not keep track, but sometimes it was less than a few ounces in a day.  I just made sure water was available, high liquid foods were plentiful (fruit was great for that), and I offered a well-balanced diet with other good calcium and protein sources.  Americans frequently give their babies WAY too much milk, in my opinion.  Then they fill up on milk & don't want to eat other things.

[sent]

Dec 20, 2014 15:22:32 GMT -5 cricketwife said:

Can I add a question? Do you just replace formula with WCM ? DS takes 5 bottles of formula --does that just become 5 sippies of wcm?

I asked my pedi this question this week because DD takes around 6 bottles, 4 oz each throughout the day and sometimes more.  That's 24 oz or 3 full cups of whole milk!  She said DD should drink 16 - 24 oz of milk, with 24 oz being the max.  She can have some water if we'd like.  

But then what do I do in the MOTN when she wakes up and usually chugs a bottle?  

The pedi said she needs to eat more solids so she doesn't go over 24 oz of milk.  I have been following DD around with a spoon and snacks since Thursday.  

I'm not ready to leave formula behind!  

[thebreakfastclub]

Dec 20, 2014 15:22:32 GMT -5 cricketwife said:

Can I add a question? Do you just replace formula with WCM ? DS takes 5 bottles of formula --does that just become 5 sippies of wcm?

In our case, no. 5 bottles became 3 meals and 2 snacks. IMO milk is just a beverage choice for a couple of those meal times.

DS might have milk at breakfast and snack #2 and water the rest of the time. I tend to forget milk at home because I am not a milk drinker.

DS might get 8 oz a day.

[halfpint]

We still nurse on the days I'm home, but basically do milk when waking, milk before and after nap, milk as a snack around the time I'm off work, and milk before bed. If I'm home, the cup of milk is just the afternoon snack, and we nurse the rest of the time. If I'm at the office, the pre/post nap and snack milk is all WCM. Each cup is maybe 3-5 oz, and he finishes it in one sitting. We offer water the rest of the day and with meals.

[Deleted]

Dec 20, 2014 17:08:41 GMT -5 sent said:

Dec 20, 2014 15:22:32 GMT -5 cricketwife said:

Can I add a question? Do you just replace formula with WCM ? DS takes 5 bottles of formula --does that just become 5 sippies of wcm?

I asked my pedi this question this week because DD takes around 6 bottles, 4 oz each throughout the day and sometimes more.  That's 24 oz or 3 full cups of whole milk!  She said DD should drink 16 - 24 oz of milk, with 24 oz being the max.  She can have some water if we'd like.  

But then what do I do in the MOTN when she wakes up and usually chugs a bottle?  

The pedi said she needs to eat more solids so she doesn't go over 24 oz of milk.  I have been following DD around with a spoon and snacks since Thursday.  

I'm not ready to leave formula behind!  

If you cut back the milk a bit, she'll be hungrier and eat more. That's probably easier. I'd offer more water and less milk.

MOTN you can cut back 1 oz at a time, or water it down until it's only water.

[sent]

Dec 20, 2014 18:11:02 GMT -5 @fivedogs said:

Give her water in the MOTN.  It's better for her teeth anyway, and hopefully she'll eat more calories during the day and she won't wake up at all.  That much WCM is also constipating for a lot of kids.  

I'd aim for 16 ounces of milk instead of the max.  Then you have some wiggle room if she really wants some before bed.  

DD1 has never wanted to drink water, so I consistently dilute milk 50/50 for both of them.  Then they get extra water and fewer calories from milk.  

She doesn't have teeth either!  I was going to continue formula MOTN just so she can have the calories until she does get teeth.  What she drinks MOTN varies from 2 - 4 oz and whether there are 0 (rare), 1 or 2 wake ups.

The constipating part of the WCM is what I was worried about when I asked the pedi.  So far she hasn't really had issues with that.  

[Velar Fricative]

dupe

[Velar Fricative]

DD always took 30 oz formula when we went to EFF at 8.5 months - she never decreased that amount after a year. I gradually replaced with milk and then realized that she really doesn't need 30 oz of WCM. Over the last few months (DD is 14.5 months now), we've gradually lowered her WCM intake and for the last month or so she's only been drinking WCM with meals, and water the rest of the day. I have wondered if her love of WCM is why she is eating poorly but even decreasing the amount in each cup doesn't make her eat more. She's just being a picky toddler, I guess. But toddlers really don't need an ounce-for-ounce switch to WCM, but I admit it was weird when I realized this because I got so used to her liquid intake being so important that it just didn't feel like she was consuming enough in general without all that liquid!

Also, I just put unfinished milk in the cup back in the fridge and give it to her later or the next day.

[lilac05]

Dec 20, 2014 21:48:42 GMT -5 mekiakoo said:

Dec 20, 2014 17:06:47 GMT -5 lilac05 said:

I thought take & toss meant disposable cups lol.

Ziplock Take & Toss, packs of 4, 1/4 the price of any other option!  In theory, it does...but they're also dishwasher safe.  I use mine forever, but it's nice that you don't have to worry if when they lose a cup anytime you leave the house!

We use the sippy and straw lids.  The straws are nice because my 4 year old still likes using them sometimes because they're not "baby" cups.

[Jalapeñomel]

Dec 20, 2014 20:44:27 GMT -5 sent said:

Dec 20, 2014 18:11:02 GMT -5 @fivedogs said:

Give her water in the MOTN.  It's better for her teeth anyway, and hopefully she'll eat more calories during the day and she won't wake up at all.  That much WCM is also constipating for a lot of kids.  

I'd aim for 16 ounces of milk instead of the max.  Then you have some wiggle room if she really wants some before bed.  

DD1 has never wanted to drink water, so I consistently dilute milk 50/50 for both of them.  Then they get extra water and fewer calories from milk.  

She doesn't have teeth either!  I was going to continue formula MOTN just so she can have the calories until she does get teeth.  What she drinks MOTN varies from 2 - 4 oz and whether there are 0 (rare), 1 or 2 wake ups.

The constipating part of the WCM is what I was worried about when I asked the pedi.  So far she hasn't really had issues with that.  

D has zero teeth and eats everything. But he also drinks way too much milk (I make if 40/50 WCM and almond milk and 10 prune juice), because no matter how much water I give him, he won't drink it. I've tried diluting fruit juice, and he hates that too.

I didn't realize that milk was bad for your teeth. I was always under the assumption it was good for them.

[sent]

Dec 21, 2014 7:57:29 GMT -5 Jalapeñomel said:

Dec 20, 2014 20:44:27 GMT -5 sent said:

She doesn't have teeth either!  I was going to continue formula MOTN just so she can have the calories until she does get teeth.  What she drinks MOTN varies from 2 - 4 oz and whether there are 0 (rare), 1 or 2 wake ups.

The constipating part of the WCM is what I was worried about when I asked the pedi.  So far she hasn't really had issues with that.  

D has zero teeth and eats everything. But he also drinks way too much milk (I make if 40/50 WCM and almond milk and 10 prune juice), because no matter how much water I give him, he won't drink it. I've tried diluting fruit juice, and he hates that too.

I didn't realize that milk was bad for your teeth. I was always under the assumption it was good for them.

Milk is good for your teeth, as in it's a good source of calcium to allow your teeth and bones to develop.  What isn't good is to have your teeth coated in milk all day and especially at night because milk has sugar in it which causes decay the same way sugars from other foods do.  I recall learning in school to even wiping your child's teeth with a wet gauze or washcloth helps remove the milk/juice from sitting on the teeth for hours.