Cow & Gate follow-on-milk

[clare458]

My dd is 7 1/2 months. She is fed Cow & Gate infant milk, which I've been really happy with.
I began the weaning process at around 5 1/2 months. She has lunch & tea and around a pint of milk a day. I can't squeeze breakfast in without reducing her milk as it's just too much for her.

Anyway her eating is a bit hit and miss at the moment, some days she eats brilliantly and other days she's not so keen. I was wondering if I should give her the Cow and Gate follow on milk? If so, should she have just one bottle of this per day and the her usual milk.

I'm under the impression that you don't use this as you would infant formula?
She has always gone roughly 3 hourly, sometimes 4. Now that I'm weaning her feeding routine is like this:

7.30am-Between 7/8 floz of formula

10.30am/11.00am- 6/7 floz of formula

1.00pm- Lunch

4-4.30pm- Tea

Around 7pm-7floz of milk

Or should I leave her as she is? She's a content baby but I'm just concerned as to whether she's getting enough nutrients. Also she doesn't always finish her bottles.

Follow on milk is just first stage milk with some tiny changes to allow the companies to market it with adverts (which they are prohibited by law from doing with first stage milks). It was invented to be advertised and increase brand awareness.

There is really no need to change to a follow on milk - unless you are particularly keen to (I think I've heard it is cheaper?). I don't know much about amounts, times, etc for ff, but unless there is a problem with any of that, I would stick with what you are doing and allow your daughter to take the lead in upping her solids and reducing her milk over the next few months.

Thanks, I'll stick to what I'm doing then. I don't feel she needs the hungrier baby one, because she's happy enough., just felt whilst we are weaning, maybe she'd benefit! I won't bother!

My HV told me to give DD infant milk as well to take to nursery. She told me unless you have a toddler that's severely malnutritioned, don't bother. Basically infant milk is the one that mimics breastmilk, and the WHO recommends us to continue to at least 2 years. So I'm guessing it means even after 1, infant milk is good enough!

I mean don't bother with follow on.

she is having a pint+ a day which should be plenty

agree no need to bother with follow on. 1st milk is fine and what NHS recommend

Formula milks don't mimic breastmilk - they can't, as there's too much in breastmilk that can't be made artificially. But infant formula milks will give a baby the food she needs to grow, which is a large part of what's in breastmilk (just not all of it).

But follow on milks do have stuff added, like extra iron, to make them slightly different so that they don't fall within the advertising laws which stop them advertising infant formula milks. Often the stuff that's added isn't necessary (too much iron is a risk) and can cause problems so sticking with infant formula is likely to be the healthiest option.

The WHO recommends breastfeeding for 2 years or beyond - not giving formula milks for this long. Once a baby hits around a year old she can get what she needs from regular cow's milk and a varied diet. Formula/follow on/growing up milk etc is neither required nor necessarily healthy. And it costs a fortune. None of these milks has the immune support antibodies and the specific human fatty acids that is in breastmilk, and these are the main components which are the reason for the recommendation to BF for 2 years or beyond. That's why there is no benefit to giving formula over a year or to comparing the WHO's recommendation to BF for 2 years+ to giving formula for that long.