Continuing with formula past 1 year

[LearningToDrive]

Our HV suggested keeping going with formula and bottles for a few months past 1 year because we were in the process of moving house, my going back to work, and DS starting nursery all at once, and she thought if he found comfort in it, it would help through the transition. So we kept up formula, usually offering a bottle after meals and before bed.

Now at 15m we are reducing his formula intake. Unfortunately this has coincided with a period of fussiness - he'll taste vegetables but spits them out, including anything in vegetable sauces. He'll eat lots of meat and bread but not much else. He's even gone off fruits he used to love. I'm despairing at his intake but I know this is normal. I'm going to keep looking at new recipes and ideas, but I was wondering if we should offer a cup of formula before bed instead of milk to ensure he gets a wider variety of nutrients in. There doesn't seem to be downsides apart from cost and inconvenience (I'm well fed up with preparing it), but we have tons of formula left anyway, we may as well use it.

Are there any reasons we shouldn't?

[stealthbanana]

We used formula sometimes from 12 to 18ish months (particularly when travelling) - our doctor said no downsides. Why is it a faff to prepare? It’s not like you need to sterilise anymore and not even really important that the measurements are exact. Just throw the powder in, add approx the right amount of milk and shake.

Alternatively, just give your child a good multivitamin and don’t worry about it. Ours never seemed to mind if he had breast milk formula or cows milk (although wouldn’t take anything other than breast milk from boob pre 12 months!) so we just mixed and matched depending on convenience.

[dementedpixie]

I'd use up the formula you have left and then switch to cows milk. It's advised to supplement vitamins A, C and D up until age 5 so cows milk and vitamins should suffice

[loveautum]

We are still using hipp organic at 14 months, but that's because my DD was very slow to wean and only started eating past 1 year. She also was a slow weight gainer and ended up dropping across 2 percentile lines so I happy to stick with formula until 18 months/ 2 years. Also seeing a dietician who happy to continue with that approach. I guess it just depends on your child and there is certainly no harm in continuing with formula as long as you need too.