Changing from formula milk to follow on milk

[lisalisa]

How is this best done please? My dd nearly one year's old was BF for about 4 months then moved her on to SMA gold. Musing in the supermarket and picked up a tin of the follow on milk and seeing that it is higher in iron and vitamin D levels decided to move her on to that stage milk which is ok from 6 months.

I know the advice years ago used to be that the follow on milks weren't necessary and that they can manage beautifully on stage 1 milks but I bought it on spec that there was some benefit to be had by moving her on.

I think it also hit a bit of a nerve with me as I am iron and vit d deficient and addressing both factors at the moment so the opportunity to make sure dd is not deficient kind of sold it to me.

How do I make the change though? Just suddently change the milk?

Are you in the US Black?

oh yes, danone really have the health of all babies at heart!

JJJ beat me to it! That 'research' is funded by this lot. Spot a conflict of interest?

By the age of 1 most children are getting the majority of their nutritional needs met by solid food. 6 months + milk is marketed to get around the guidelines that ban companies from advertising milk to babies under 6 months. 'Toddler milk' is sold by playing on paranoia because the companies realised that people buy into the whole Stage One, Stage Two shit and that many children still have formuls over the age of 1.

whoathere - you've got to admire their altruism, always thinking of the babies

Do what you feel is correct. You are her mum and as we all know mummy knows best. If you have any doubts ask your health visitor or gp.

Follow on milks make me as mad as the devil! Sadly this is something which companys have produced to dupe unwitting parents in to believing they are doing some extra good for their children. The companys 'don't' care, they just want your money. The way the human body develops, as far as I know, hasn't changed for millions of years. It doesn't need extra 'fake' chemicals to enable it to develop and grow.

Do your child a favour and step away from the extra guilt purchases.....full fat milk is ALL that's needed, along with a healthy balanced diet.

I do wonder what crap they'll mass produce next

If for any reason your child was not eating much by the age of one or eating a very restricted diet then it wouldn't do any harm to keep on with whatever milk they have been using or to get vitamin supplements. There's no need from most one year olds to have special toddler milk though, and most would be fine with just cow's milk.

If your worried then check what she's actually getting now by looking up the nutritional info and work out one thing a day that would up her intake eg adding chick peas or lentils to a meal or having some tangerine at breakfast (vitamin C aids the absorption of iron.)

Black - the study you link to dies not need to apply to a baby of a year or to a baby who has not had cows milk as an infant/young baby:

"The study, done in 1993, looked at both the diets and the salt intake of more than 1000 eight month old babies (644 male babies and 534 female babies). 79% of babies in the study had their first solids introduced to them between the ages of three and four months, and though most at that time were still receiving breast milk or formula milk, 13% of the children received cow?s milk."

No one needs to worry about the sodium in cows milk for a baby age a year - and as for radiation levels.....if they're a concern, they're a concern in formula.

:(

OP, your baby will be fine on cows milk. Official guidance in the UK is that whole pasteurised cows milk is perfectly ok for babies of 12 months and more. Your HV can confirm this :)

Has anyone answered the question about HOW to change the milk?

I would give one bottle of gold and one of the new milk. It isn't advised to mix.

I know you initially meant to change to 6 month follow on, not the 1+, and you prob don't want to give cows milk UNTIL she is 1.

As I said before (and MildlyNarkyPuffin added to) is that 6 month + milk varies only slightly to newborn milk, but companies are not allowed to advertise or reduce the price of newborn milk due to World Health advice.

And, you can earn tesco points etc on it, which is a bonus.

Grainger, I don't think there is any real need for the approach you suggest when changing brand of milk for a baby of 1 who is eating and drinking other things. It would make more sense if you were doing this for a younger baby who was only receiving milk feeds, as there would be a risk of making up feeds to the wrong concentration.

lisalisa, sorry I went off on a tangent... bit of disagreement about the whole issue, personally I would stick with follow on over cows milk. While cows milk may be 'ok' from what I understand it doesn't have half the iron or vitamins follow on milk does. But just do what you think is best.

As for your original question - my experience is that if you're moving from the same brand of stage 1 milk to follow on milk, then your baby won't notice a taste difference if you simply switch rather than combine the two. The real problem at this stage is if you change brands and then your baby will not appreciate you meddling with the taste of the formula they know and like. If you are switching brands it's sensible to combine the two in ever increasing ratios so that your baby will slowly adjust to the taste change. HTH.

Blackswan at 12 months babies should be getting most of their iron and vitamins from solids so the fact that the follow on milk contains more iron and vitamins than cow's milk isn't really an issue and in fact could in some circumstances be detrimental.

BakSwan - so is it sodium levels or radiation levels you're worried about, or the fact that cows milk has less iron and vitamins in it than follow on?

Sorry to sound insistent on this, but people worry when they read stuff like this :)

No baby of 12 mths is getting only milk - milk does not and should not supply all his nutrition. Too much iron can be constipating (one of the major complaints about follow on) and the difference in vitamins between follow on and whole cows milk is very small - insignificant in a baby having a range of solids and getting out and about (for vitamin D - there are drops if there is concern about this).

Tiktok, all those reasons really. I assure you my son isn't constipated & I don't think the difference between the vitamin levels is inconsequential. Are you just happier to see people using cows milk cos it's unbranded? I think you are just anti-formula, is that right?

Hmm - thanks everyone for your valuable and considered replies. Now I don't know what to do!! Btw this is not baby number one - I have five other kids but bf them till about one mostly so didn't really do the formula thing.

I completely appreciate what you are mainly saying that follow on milk is a bit of an expensive con and they can go to full fat cows milk at one year. I also appreicate what Black is saying about the extra iron and vits that follow on provides though and what some of you are saying in resposne that with a varied diet this shouldn't be necessary. What a hard decision!

I'm going to sit on the fence for a few weeks and think about it. She's not yet one and eats a reasonably good diet.

lisa one thing to consider is that if you're looking at follow on milk only because you're wanting to ensure that your child gets the extra vitamins, it may be worth giving cow's milk plus cheap (or free if you're in the UK, from your health visitor or childrens centre) vitamin drops. Same effect. I think you also asked about the validity of the link to the Analytical Armadillo? She's a qualified breastfeeding counsellor and IBCLC which are highest levels of training in infant milk feeding that there are, and world-recognised qualifications. Hope that reassures you :)

If you want to change to another milk (whatever you choose) you might try mixing the old and new type together for a few days, then just moving to the new type so she gets used to the change of flavour - or she may just accept the new milk without a problem. Maybe worth just trying the new one and see how it goes rather than faffing about.

blackswan the iron in follow on formula can make babies/children constipated. Doesn't mean it always does. Excess iron can also cause micro-bleeding in the bowel which itself can lead to anaemia. Follow on formula is entirely produced for marketing purposes and is not required -full stop. A varied diet, or, for a child whose diet is limited, the addition of vitamin drops, has exactly the same effect for no cost, whereas the formula companies are trying to sell a processed food as a health food on high margins.

Tiktok anti formula???? . I think you'd be best to withdraw that.

BlackSwan - no, I am not anti-formula.

I am, however, against poor information which confuses and undermines people, and if they take it seriously, can actually scare them.

I am referring to the sodium and radiation bollocks you seem so fond of. The iron and vitamins stuff is just you believing marketing myth, and I think many people fall for that one - easy enough to counter. But you raised an issue to do with sodium (for a child of a year - not a concern) and radiation (irrelevant, as radiated cows make formula milk!).

BlackSawn - "I don't think the difference between the vitamin levels is inconsequential". You'll have some evidence for that, have you? That not giving follow on formula with its vitamins has consequences?

(Apart from to your wallet, I mean :))

Rather than, for instance, the evidence that GIVING FO formula can lead to problems.

The adverts always compare the vitamin/nutrient content of follow on milk to cows milk. Of course it has more iron. The point is that for a 1 year old the milk no longer needs to provide full nutrition. Because the child is eating solid food. Which is (for the vast majority of children) their main source of nutrition by the age of 1.

Cow's milk is much higher in calcium than water. I don't drink cow's milk, I drink water. It doesn't mean I'm not getting enough calcium, because I get it from food!