Converting to Cows Milk before 1 year

[Spillage]

My son is 8 months old taking sma progress. However, he keeps becoming constipated and my mum tells me that I should switch to cows or goats milk. Can anyone give me their views please as I know in days gone by cows milk was introduced as early as 6 months. Can I even juggle with cows milk and formula? I'm sure he will not have a reaction because I put milk in his cereal anyway. I am finding it a real nail biting decision. thank you

Cows milk is great for baby cows but not so good for baby humans:

Infants fed whole cow's milk receive inadequate amounts of Vitamin E, iron, essential fatty acids, and excessive amounts of protein, sodium, and potassium. These levels may be too high for the infant's system to handle. Additionally, whole cow's milk protein and fat are more difficult for an infant to digest and absorb.

The most dramatic effects are on iron levels in the body. Infants fed breast milk or iron fortified formula have normal iron levels. Recent studies show infants often have depleted levels when started on cow's milk at six months of age.

havent read all the thread and i see its about formula and constipation but at 8mths i presume he takes cereal, and if he takes or would take, porridge add some pureed prunes to it about a tsp and oyu'll see movement. u can buy in a tin in natural juice just simmer and puree quite swett and oyu could add some pureedpear to if u needto disguise the prunes but my ds took it no problem.
porridge is a great mover too!
or prunes in his fav yogurt

my dd1 was on cows milk at 6 months and dd2 at 8 months and both started to eat and sleep better when on cows milk

While some children seem to tolerate cows milk ok, it is the unseen risks that are problematic (the health risks as explained by other posters below).

How long have you been putting cows milk on your child's cereal? Do you know that COWS MILK and BANANAS are the most common causes of constipation in infants (do a google search for more info). By increasing the cows milk content of your child's diet you might be increasing the constipation problem.

Also, by putting your child on cows milk before one year there is a much higher risk of them becoming lactose intollerant (which means you'll have to cut dairy products out of their diet). Of course, not everyone becomes lactose intollerant - but for those who do it is a really serious problem.

Goats milk can be equally or even more problematic in terms of the content being unsuitable for infants.

WHO (the World Health Organisation) does not recommend cows/goats milk for children under 1 year.

If it was me, I'd go back to the formula that did not make the child constipated. Diluted apple or prune juice can also help with constipation (or pureed apples/prunes).

i switched dd to cows milk at 10mth because she refused to take formula, so what else could i do, and she now putting weight on better because she'll drink near and sometimes above what she's supposed to. it does depend on the baby, but some milk is better than none!

cows milk should NOT be given as a main drink because it contains TOO MUCH SODIUM for theere little kidneys to cope with

but is it better for her to have a bit much sodium or not to drink any milk at all???

TBH staceymum its like saying my child only likes potatoes WITH salt, or cornflakes with sugar on...

WHY give such a young child things that potentially damage them in the first place?

spillage, I agree to hold off on the cow's milk. Ds had constipation problems at this age too. I just adjusted his diet and it worked itself out just fine. The problem is that a lot of recommended first foods such as rice cereal, applesauce and bananas are also consipating. Peas, prunes, peaches and pears are a wonderful remedy.

i breastfed my twins until nine months and decided not to transfer onto formula and with the support of my hv went straight onto cows milk. think it is a decison you have to be happy making in yourself, if you're not happy then don't do it xx

Spillage, my DS had very bad constipation problems through out his first year, then we switched to cows milk and hell went loose, it was much worse! Now we know that it was cows milk in formula what was causing most of the problem.

Now, if it helps... we found out, that from all the formulas we tried Aptamil was the one that he was less constipated with. If your DS (or your family) have a history of allergies, I would recommend you wait until he is at least 12m old, though may be a bit more would be better.

no its not like potatoes with salt on or cereal with sugar on, my dd wouldnt drink formula yet she will drink cows milk, she wasnt putting weight on and the hv was worried, it was better to put her on cows milk two months early than have her not put on weight and lag behind. i made the right decision for my daughter