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For the first year of your baby’s life, most of their nutrients come from formula or breast milk. Even when they start solids, which is usually around four to six months old, food is at first more for exploration and learning, and less for nutrients.
However, once your baby is around 12 months old and starts eating more solids and drinking cow’s milk, they often receive enough of the energy, protein, vitamins, and minerals they need to thrive – and no longer need the supplemental nutrition from formula. Around this time, or before, is when you should start to wean your baby off formula.
Read on for more on when your baby is ready to stop drinking formula, how to wean your baby from formula, and the differences between formula and breastmilk that are important to know as you make the transition.
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How Long Do Babies Drink Formula?
Babies can drink formula until their first birthday. Formula, as well as breast milk, has the nutrients they need to grow as rapidly and drastically as they do throughout the first 12 months of life.
Once your baby reaches between four and six months of age, their bodies are ready to test out solid foods. Solids complement formula and breast milk with extra nutrients such as iron, zinc, and vitamin D. However, they aren’t developmentally able to consume enough solids to rely on them completely.
When your baby turns one, they often can properly chew, swallow, and digest enough of a variety of solids to get the additional nutrients they need without needing to supplement their diet with formula. This is also when they start to tolerate cow’s milk, which offers protein, vitamin D, and calcium, along with the healthy fats, they need to continue growing and developing throughout toddlerhood. There are non-dairy alternatives to cow's milk for babies who can’t drink cow’s milk. Experts may recommend fortified unsweetened soy milk, oat milk, and pea-based milk.
Another reason why babies should stop drinking formula around one is because of dental health. The American Dental Association recommends babies stop drinking formula out of a bottle by their first birthday to reduce the risk of tooth decay.
How Long Do Toddlers Drink Formula?
After a baby turns one and is 12 months old, they no longer need formula. Toddlers should get enough of their nutrients from cow’s milk, or a non-dairy alternative, and solid foods. Formula should be weaned out by their first birthday. However, it is normal for toddlers to continue breastfeed well into toddlerhood – but breast milk out of a bottle should be replaced with a cup.
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises against toddler formula, also called transition formula, as it contains extra sugar and has no proven nutritional benefit.
Signs Your Baby is Ready to Stop Drinking Formula
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the natural weaning process from formula begins when your baby starts solids, which usually happens between four and six months old. The more solids they start to consume, the less formula or breast milk they’ll naturally drink. The World Health Organization says the introduction of new textures is another natural way to wean your baby.
When you first start solids, your baby often won’t eat more than a teaspoon of food at a time, so you probably won’t notice a change is how much they drink. The amount they eat gradually increases once they start to master chewing and swallowing, and as they become more interested in food. This often happens at around nine months – pediatricians recommend an older baby eats typically 2-3 or 3-4 meals of a half a cup of food each day.
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Signs your baby is ready to stop drinking as much formula and start eating more solids include:
- can bring their hands or other objects to their mouth
- master pincer grasp
- finish the solids you’re giving them
- not drinking as much formula
- able to drink from a straw
Once your baby eats more, they may naturally start drinking less formula or rejecting it all together. You can offer small sips of water at meals from six months old, but don’t offer cow’s milk or another non-dairy alternative until their first birthday.
If you're breastfeeding, experts recommend you continue until at least their second birthday if you’re able, even if your baby is eating enough solid food. However, if you’re supplementing breast milk with formula, their first birthday is the time to stop and switch to cow’s milk.
Signs your baby is not ready to stop drinking formula
Speak to your pediatrician if you’re concerned your baby is not ready to stop drinking formula. Reasons your baby may not be ready to stop drinking formula can include:
- not gaining weight
- born prematurely
- not eating a balanced diet of solids
- Allergies
- certain conditions
How to Wean Your Baby from Formula
Some babies have no problem weaning from formula. Others struggle to wean from formula and need an adjustment period. Here are some ways to wean your baby from formula.
Focus on solids
Many experts say that starting solids between four and six months old is a natural way to start to wean your baby from formula. The more solids they eat, the less formula they naturally may drink. A variety of foods, textures, and flavors are also fun to explore – and part of helping your baby with their development!
By the time they are 9-12 months old and are eating larger meals (about ½ cup of food 3-4 times every day), the amount of formula they consume and bottles they have each day is likely way lower than before they started solids.
They may already be done drinking formula and bottles in general by the time you introduce cow’s milk from a cup around their first birthday.
Introduce cow’s milk
If your baby still relies on formula to fill their belly, oftentimes they will enjoy full-fat cow’s milk from the first sip and not need any transition period – makes sense, it’s sweet and yummy! It also provides the essential vitamins and minerals, and healthy fat, your baby needs for healthy growth and development.
You can start by switching one of their bottles with 2-4 ounces of cow’s milk to see how they do. If they enjoy the taste of cow’s milk, you can try offering cow's milk in a sippy cup or regular cup instead of a bottle for a feed, to help with bottle weaning. Your one year old should drink between 16 and 24 ounces of milk a day, or 3 to 4 cups.
Some babies may enjoy milk so much they don’t even miss their formula, or a bottle in general. This will make their dentist at their first dental appointment happy!
If your baby doesn’t do well with cow’s milk, you can try a non-dairy alternative that is also nutritious, such as unsweetened fortified soy milk or pea-based milk.
Switch from bottle to cup
Weaning off formula goes hand-and-hand with weaning off the bottle. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry says you should also transition your baby from a bottle to a sippy cup or regular cup around the same age and time you wean them off formula.
This is because drinking from a bottle can start affecting your toddler’s teeth. Frequent and prolonged drinking like your baby does from a bottle can cause tooth decay, and other teeth issues. Bottle drinking can also affect their hunger for solids, which can make it even more difficult to wean from formula.
Experts advise introducing a cup early, well before it’s time to wean, to get your baby used it. You can offer formula or water in small cups with meals to see how they do. Sippy cups often are easier for a baby to get used to since they’re like bottles, but regular cups and straw cups are better for their teeth.
You also can try to stop offering formula in the bottle for a feed and start offering it in a cup. They may no longer want to drink it! This may make the transition to cow’s milk easier, too.
Once your baby is weaned from formula, you can offer cow’s milk in a cup during mealtime, up to 16 to 24 ounces a day.
Dropping the Nighttime Bottle
When do babies stop drinking formula at night is a common question sleep consultants are asked. It’s important to know dropping that last bottle before bed can sometimes be extra tricky, and often the last bottle of formula to go. Babies often associate feeding with sleep and need that nighttime bottle to wind down to sleep. If your baby relies on a bottle of formula (or even milk if they are older) to fall asleep, download the Smart Sleep Coach by PampersTM app. The app is built by pediatricians and sleep consultants to offer parents personalized guidance on how to build healthy sleep habits in their children – and how to break bad ones. It also can help you create a new bedtime routine to help your toddler calm for the night, which no longer involves the bottle.
How to Transition from Formula to Milk
The American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Family Physicians recommend that from their first to second birthday, your toddler should drink 16 to 24 ounces of full-fat cow’s milk, or whole milk, every day. That is 2 to 3 cups of milk, preferably given during mealtime. Toddlers need all the good stuff that comes in whole milk – such as healthy fats, which are key in brain development.
While some babies love drinking cow’s milk from day 1, other babies may struggle with the introduction of milk and weaning from formula and need an adjustment period. Babies are creatures of habit (aren’t we all!?) so suddenly adjusting or changing their routine isn’t always welcomed.
Many experts recommend weaning your baby from formula by slowly introducing cow’s milk in their bottle – or better yet, a transitional cup that’s developed specifically to move your baby away from a bottle.
Schedule for introducing cow’s milk
If your toddler likes cow’s milk
Switch out one bottle with 2 to 4 ounces of cow’s milk to start to help them get used to it. Over the next week or two, start gradually switching out more bottles until they are completely off the formula. After they are off formula, you can consider only offering cow’s milk during mealtimes to help with the transition away from a bottle.
If your toddler rejects cow’s milk
If your toddler doesn’t like the taste of cow’s milk, try mixing it with formula in every bottle they drink to help them get used to it. Increase the proportion of milk in each bottle until they are drinking only milk.
- Day 1 and Day 2: 25% cow’s milk and 75% formula in every bottle or transitional cup
- Day 3 and Day 4: 50% cow’s milk and 50% formula in every bottle or transitional cup
- Day 5 and Day 6: 75% cow’s milk and 25% formula in every bottle or transitional cup
- Day 7 onwards: 100% cow’s milk in every bottle or transitional cup
If your baby continues to reject milk, you can try the following tips:
- Warm the milk – babies may like it better when it’s not cold
- Continue to offer milk in a bottle, just now only at mealtimes
- Offer other dairy products to ensure they get the nutrients they need
- Get creative! Try adding whole milk into smoothies or oatmeal
- Speak to your peditatrician for personalized advice
If you think your baby may have a cow’s milk allergy, talk to your pediatrician. There are non-dairy milk alternatives that they may recommend.
Since at one year is when dentists want you to transition your baby away from bottles, oftentimes experts recommend weaning from formula at the same time you wean from the bottle. If your now-toddler is excited about drinking from a big-kid-cup, it may make the transition easier.
The Differences Between Weaning from Breast Milk and Formula
Weaning from formula is different from weaning from breast milk.
There’s no need to stop breastfeeding at your baby’s first birthday. Oftentimes breastfed babies nurse well into toddlerhood – many experts recommend breastfeeding until your toddler is at least two years old if you can. Breastfeeding is also a way to comfort or emotional your toddler.
Formula, however, is no longer needed when your baby turns one because they get everything they need from cow’s milk and solid foods. if you’re supplementing breastfeeding with formula, you can keep breastfeeding and switch the formula to cow’s milk out of a cup.
Another thing to note about the difference between weaning from breast milk and weaning from formula is a baby who is formula-fed may have an easier time transitioning to a sippy cup or toddler cup, as they’re used to drinking from a bottle. If your baby is still nursing, you could try offering breast milk in a cup to get them used to drinking out of one, for when you do eventually decide to stop and switch to cow’s milk.
The Bottom Line
As your baby grows up and enter toddlerhood many things change – including their need to drink formula. While weaning your baby from formula may be a struggle for some, it’s a natural progression and will just take a little time for them to adjust.
By offering a sippy cup or regular cup before their first birthday, ensuring they have a variety of foods in their diet, and being thoughtful about how you introduce cow’s milk, your baby should have an easier time weaning from formula.
If your baby is having a hard time breaking the habit of drinking formula or from a bottle, or if weaning is affecting their sleep, download the Smart Sleep Coach by PampersTM app. Built by pediatricians and pediatric sleep consultants, the app creates a personalized plan tailored to your baby to help you build healthy habits in your baby, including when it comes to feeding and sleep.
