Cow's milk for under 1s.

[reddaisy]

DS is eight months old and bf and we are doing blw. He has always refused a bottle and formula. DM had DS for the day for the first time and she ended up giving him a bottle of cows milk to soothe him when he didnt want anything else.

I know it isn`t recommended for under 1s but would the odd bottle from time to time be a problem?

Odd bottle from time to time no problem at this age - the point of the recommendation is to ensure no baby has cow milk as 'main drink' under the age of a year - this is because some babies under that age are not established on a range of solids, and they could be filling up on cows milk which does not have the same spread of nutrients as breastmilk (or formula). An odd bottle occasionally is not giving it as a main drink.

Check with your HV and combine that with your own judgement :)

Thanks tiktok. That is what I was hoping as it is v rare for him to be offered anything other than bmilk or water anyway. No idea who my hv is anymore as my last and lovely one left so I will trust your advice and make sure he never goes overboard on it.

DD is coming up to 9m old

she loves drinking from her sippy cup, and at tea time (about 90mins before bed time) i often give her a cup of milk instead of water, just because i prefer her to fill her tummy with milk rather than water so close to bed time.
(she probably has about 100ml)

In this hot weather i have given her water instead though

basically she wont take a bottle, she has never tried formula, and in 5 and 6 weeks time she will be left for the day and the evening while we go to childfree weddings, so i need to know that she will take at least some milk some how

i have a friend who run a BF support group who is a peer supporter who assured me that so long as BM is the main drink, they can have a little bit of full fat cow milk from 6m, but i didnt actually give it to her in her cup until 8m

she has it in sauce / cereal / custard etc too

I've no idea how true this is but 2 midwives told me that a baby under 1 doesn't have kidneys which are formed enough to cope with the quantity of sodium in cows milk. They told me it tears little holes in the kidneys causing pain and other problems. Apparently before formula lots of infants died from being given cows milk. Based on this information (as I say I've no idea how much truth there is in it) I did not give DS cows milk as a drink until he turned a year.

If it is true I think that even being shy of 12 months by a few weeks might make a difference, that's a lot of growing/development time in a baby's life. Even if it's not true, I'm pretty sure all cartons of milk have a warning on them that says "not suitable for children under... " I think it's 1 year for whole milk, 2 years for semi skimmed and 5 years for 1% fat.

Ultimately its your baby, your decision but I'd get the advice of your GP or HV before giving it on a regular basis just to be sure

kellymom.com/nutrition/milk/milk-supplements/

I think the midwifes may have been exaggerating somewhat to you nicecupoftea, as it doesnt make sense that cows milk on cereal or in other dishes is fine by NHS at 6 months if it 'tears little holes in the kidneys'

I bfed and blwed (closet hippy that I am ) and so saw no need for formula or bottles. Both my kids had small amounts of cows milk from cups, i offered them no more than I would have put on their cereal and the both loved to drink the milk out their cereal bowls!

They are now 6 and 4 and seem to be fine, but agree if your HV is sensible then you should chat about it with her, though I would take tiktoks advice over any HV anytime!

Thanks for the replies. NiceCup - that is what someone in RL said or something similar that babies can't break down cow's milk properly. It would be a very occasional bottle as DS is bfed around the clock mostly but I do want a bit more freedom but not at the cost of damaging his health

i was EBF until 9m then i drank full fat cow milk (as per the guidelines then) I am fine and my kidneys are fine

yes its the sodium content of cow milk that makes it unsuitable as a main milk drink before 1 year (and completely unsuitable before 6m)

however from 6m babies can cope with a small amount of sodium, hence they can have a bit of cow milk too.... along with bread / baked beans / cheese etc etc all of which contain sodium