to switch to follow on milk

[buildingafootieteam]

Right I'm not promoting FF dissing BF or anything, I'm weaning ds3 (slowly) from BF to FF as he I very attached to me and I need to get him ready for me not being around when I go back to work by leaving him with DH, DM, MIL etc for a bit. Never used FOM for other DC so no experience with it but in supermarket yesterday I paid €13.49 for first milk. However if I bought the FOM I can get it when it's on special and get points for my shopping etc. Also can get FOM in aldi where I do most of my shopping. Is there a significant difference between the two milks? Am I over thinking things (again)????

Follow on is fine, I did the same because it was a bit cheaper. If you want to cut back on breastfeeding, do it.

Wouldn't pumping be cheaper if you just want bottles?

Not everyone gets on with expressing, if the OP wants to give her 6+ month old baby formula then it's up to her!

We switched DS to follow on around 6 months and he was absolutely fine. It might not seem a lot for some but when we were buying multiple tubs of formula a week saving £3 -£4 a time was quite helpful. I spoke with our health visitor and she had no concerns with us doing this either. Good luck with whatever you choose

The follow on milk will be fine.
( 6 dc over 24 years here).

Think Op wants to remove some of her dc dependance on her so its not just an issue of ff.

Either way Op dc will be fine

CatsMeow

Here we go

Not everyone gets on with expressing, if the OP wants to give her 6+ month old baby formula then it's up to her! Since she's mentioned that cost and time away form the baby are the important considerations, it's an obvious suggestion. Unless I've missed something...

Think Op wants to remove some of her dc dependance on her so its not just an issue of ff.

Damn 6 month olds wanting their mum. Tell 'em to sort themselves out and get down the pit. Big jessies.

You can ask for free local donor milk at Human Milk for Human Babies on Facebook.

We used follow on milk (Aptamil) for both our DCs after 6 months - absolutely no problems.

Follow on milk is fine. As is ff from the start. Do whatever you feel is best, for you and your dc, OP. Formula and follow on milk are not poison, as some will have you believe on here.

I'm not saying formula is bad or whatever, just saying if she can hang on a few months she can go straight to ordinary milk which is waaaaaaaaay cheaper.

Damn 6 month olds wanting their mum. Tell 'em to sort themselves out and get down the pit. Big jessies.

My 6 month olds were lucky enough to have two parents and grandparents capable of caring for them!

I'm with witsender. Just because someone suggests BF meets someone's stated requirements better, doesn't mean we think formula is poison. It's free, it's fine to be left in a bottle (way more easily than formula) and is safe. All the things the OP wants.

Damn 6 month olds wanting their mum. Tell 'em to sort themselves out and get down the pit. Big jessies.

Disappointedone OP is going back to work. Heaven forbid she should want her child to be less distressed when she does. Please don't try to make her feel guilty about it.

I think you'll find I suggested a practical way to do just that, duck.

I was considering this. Purely on a cost thing as I'm on nil pay now. I had a look at a tin of SMA today and it says only 3 bottles a day. I don't know how strict that is so I just left it and will go onto cows milk in a few weeks anyway! I'd ask your HV if there's a clinic on. I'm sure it would be fine lots of people do it!

Very helpful, DisappointedOne
How to make a mum trying to do the best for her baby feel bad.
Well done

Report from the WHO on follow on milks:

"The World Health Organization (WHO) has reiterated its position that follow-on milks are unnecessary for 6-24 month old infants and said they are nutritionally dubious."

“Current formulations lead to higher protein intake and lower intake of essential fatty acids, iron, zinc and B vitamins than those recommended by WHO for adequate growth and development of infants and young children.”

WTF?! Would you like to read it again and see what I actually said?

I suggested she start leaving baby with others and going out for longer and longer periods. That's a sensible and gentle suggestion for both of them.

Feeding is a different issue. Baby may not want feeding while mum is out and be happy to top up feeds when she's at home. If she wants to stop BF - and she hasn't said that she does - that's different!

DS1 bf until 5 months with the occasional bottle of Stage 1 formula. Started with stage 1 when we moved to bottle feeding then stage 2 when he was about 7 months. I read that it contains more iron; at the time DS wasn't eating great so I figured it would be better. At 12 months we moved to cows milk. MN is full of people harping on about how you should stick to stage 1 - I'm sure stage 2 isn't harmful?! Surely products fed to babies go through some kind of testing....as long as you're following the age guidelines, sounds fine OP. Don't overthink too much!

First ingredient in SMA follow on milk is Palm oil.

So it's as I said, Disappointed
Make anyone who's struggling feel bad by listing an ingredient in follow on milk with a sad face. How is that helpful?
How old is your baby/child just out of interest?

Actually the first ingredient listed is lactose, then vegetable oils including palm oil, just the same as SMA First Milk.

Maybe aptamil that's palm oil first then. I checked both.

Punk My DD is 5. She had formula to get mucus out of her tummy when first born, then I exclusively expressed for her for 8 months. Eeked out the freezer stash with a bit of formula till 12 months, then onto cows' milk.

Is that enough of my parenting CV for you?