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Your child’s development is exciting, nerve-wracking, and astounding all in one. The fact that every child develops at a different pace makes things even harder to predict and handle. If your baby is getting older you may have started thinking of transitioning them to whole milk or toddler formula. But when exactly is the right time to start getting the little one away from formula and on the road to solid foods?
There are various theories on when the right time is and what exactly you should do, but none of it is going to be about your child specifically. The best thing you can do is to monitor your child and compare them to some of the averages for their age range. This is not going to be an exact science, but it will give you a better idea of when the right time is going to be.
Keep on reading and you will get all the info you need on when your baby needs to start transitioning from baby formula.
Is There An Average Age?
While there really is no average age for a baby or toddler to start transitioning to milk and soft solid foods, a lot of experts will agree not to do it before their first birthday. When a baby is under a year old their bodies require a much different nutritional complex than when they are a little older. It is important to keep them on formula or breastmilk until at least one year or you may end up with developmental complications.
Any time after their first birthday is the ideal time to start trying milk and softer solid foods. Your baby is going to let you know pretty quickly whether they or ready or not. Your goal will be to introduce them to these things and not force it on them. Babies take time to get used to new things as they try to understand them, so be patient and start slowly with this. Who knows, maybe your child will surprise you and take to it right away?
What About All These Bottles?
After your little one turns one, you may start to realise that all those bottles you collected over the last year are going to be redundant. While not every baby will be ready at this age, some will start to be able to drink out of sippy cups with handles. Normally once they get used to these it is near impossible to go back to a bottle.
If your baby hasn’t shown a lot of signs of fussy eating over the first year it may be an easy transition. You can just start putting whole milk in their cup and they may not even notice the difference. Solid foods may take a little longer to introduce, but it is about getting them comfortable and used to things. If they aren’t getting enough nutrition from solid foods you can easily give them some toddler formula so that they meet their daily nutritional requirements.
Transition At Your Own Pace
There is no need to worry too much if your baby taking longer than you would like to start transitioning from baby formula. You can rip it off like a plaster, or you can slowly wean them with a bottle or two a day. Whatever works best for you and your child is exactly what you should do. Just keep in mind that babies can be fussy for no reason, so, if at first, you don’t succeed, you should try and try again.