OH gave 7mo DD a bottle of cow's milk to drink - what's the worst that could happen?

[1Catherine1]

Due to work commitments I was forced to be out an extra 2 hours longer than I usually do at work. This 2 hours included me leaving early so DD had not had her fill of mummy milk before I went.

As a result my OH thought she needed milk and although she has always refused formula she has taken well to having a small amount of cows milk on her breakfast. Using this reasoning he assumed that it would be fine to give her a drink of cow's milk from a bottle. To my surprise (she has always refused a bottle in the past) apparently she drank a whole bottle (7 oz). He told me this when I got home and I informed him that she shouldn't have cows milk as a drink until she is 1 but couldn't give any reasoning to it apart from "because the HV said...". So now he knows but I'm left wondering... what harm could come to my DD as a result? Is she more likely to be sick? Or is it just that for today she hasn't got as much nutrients as she should have?

My health visitor said it was fine for ds2 to have cows milk as a drink as long as he was having at least 4 bfeeds in a day

No harm will come of it - plain cow's milk just has too little iron and too much sodium to be a "main drink" under 12 months.

Cows milk has been linked with very small intestinal bleeds (hence why it is not suitable as a main drink for the under 1s as it can lead to anaemia) BUT I really have no idea how many feeds it would take (if indeed this small bleeding would happen with every baby that drank cows' milk) before that happen.

It is also too high in salt for the under 1s so limiting salt intake by avoiding high salt foods for the rest of the day might be sensible (e.g. cheese, meats like bacon/salami/ham/etc, non-baby cereals, bread, etc). 7oz of cows milk has approx 0.25g of salt and a under 1y/o should have no more than 1g of salt.

Could you contact NHS Direct or HV for further information as it relates to your DD?

If DH runs out of ebm again, he can give water and extra foods to tide her over until you get home or if it was comfort DD needed perhaps carrying her in a sling or cuddling her in bed might help. It also might be worth while having a small emergency freezer stash or a few ready made cartons of formula stuck in the cupboard.

I wouldn't worry. As a one off it's not going to do her any harm and she is already used to dairy. My grandmother has told me in the past that my uncle was allergic to everything they tried - including Carnation milk - and in the end he was fed almost from birth on diluted cows milk. Gave me the eeebie jeebies!

oh ok. Thanks for putting my mind at ease. DD doesn't usually take anything but water and solids through the day and eats lots when I get in. Just those 2 hours made a massive difference to her. I don't express anymore as the expressing and working full time was making me ill from exhaustion. He has in the past offered formula and she has refused, I guess he didn't today as he assumed because she has it on her breakfast it was fine. He knows now.

Thanks again all.

I wouldn't worry- my sister wouldn't take formula but weaaned herself overnight at 9 months and drank solely cows milk. My DD stopped bf in the day at 8 months, HV said give cows milk as I got no-where with formula. She suggested cows milk smoothies, cheese etc as substitutes for breast milk, so the sodium can't be that much of a problem. I'd say an occasional cows milk bottle has more nutrition than water so I'd definitely give it.

As an occasional drink it is fine, so don't worry. Wasn't that long ago that babies were fed cow's milk from 6 months anyway!