Cows milk as a main drink at 10 months

[bobthebaby]

I've just got back from a mother and baby group, and one of the women there is giving her 10 month old 4 bottle of milk a day and has stopped giving formula. Now she has always been ahead of herself, forward facing in car seat at 5 months, on solids at 14 weeks etc.

Her boy looks about 18 months old, but surely age is more important than size or is it? I bf and therefore have no idea, but she seemed to be trying to get everyone in the group to switch to cows milk. What are the facts - I'm sure you will all know. I'm more curious than anything.

I'm sure when I see her next month he'll be toilet trained

AARRRRGGGGGHHHH! I say no more; let the more knowledgeable comment.

could be wrong but think you can use a small amount of cows milk in solid meals (ie to mix a cheese sauce) around the ten month point but I'm sure you're supposed to keep off the cows milk until a year. I think it's to do with enzymes (sp) and diigestion so I would avoid giving it until then.. Someone else will know the details.

Never mind the potty training - if he's been in a forward facing carseat for a while, she's probably applied for his provisional driving licence.

She's already chosen his single bed and his primary school. He's already on his second haircut.

The official advice is to stay on formula until the age of a year, but honestly, there is no real evidence that this is important. The difference between 10 mths and a year is pretty negligable. It's got nothing to do with enzymes or anything. The thinking goes that cows milk as a drink (cows milk in cooking from six months is fine) should be delayed until a year, because the baby needs iron....fill up the baby with cows milk and you run the risk there is no room in the tum for a wide variety of solids, and that might mean a drop in iron intake. Formula has more iron than cows milk.

This is why the follow on formulas compete with cows milk in their marketing.,

However, there was a study about four years ago in the BMJ that compared two groups of toddlers, one of which had started cows milk at eight months and the other of which had formula. There was no difference in their iron status .

If a baby is getting iron in solids then honestly I don't think there is any evidence you have to hold off until a year.

But the advice is not wrong - there will be babies who need that iron in formula until a year because they are slow in taking solids or being faddy. It's just a bit of blanket advice that makes sure everyone is 'covered'

She sounds hilarious, btw. I knew someone like this in my first antenatal group. I trust you look serenely adoring and keep insisting your little angel is terribly behind with everything but hey you just don't care, as that'll get her more wound up than anything else?

Bobthebaby - I switched DD to cows milk at just over 10 months. She was eating really well so I didn't think it important that she stayed on formula. Also, it coincided with me going cold turkey on bottles for beakers instead and it was easier to use cows milk than try to measure formula into an unmarked beaker.

She is 16 months now and absolutely thriving.

Thats okay then, wouldn't want the little chap to suffer from his mum's keeness. She did ask me "what is bob doing?" and I'm afraid that I did put my tongue in my cheek and say "why, he's sat on the floor playing" she said "no, what's he 'doing'?" I found her amusing this time, but when she gives her opinions on breastfeeding (she didn't) it's time for me to run for cover as I am the only one still doing it.

lol bob. this reminds me of a nightmare woman from hell I met at a local playgroup in london. She was quite a heavy woman, and had a pretty chubby and solid 5 month old called... wait for it... Amadea (she has since had another called Celestine). She aired her opinions freely but my terror of her superior knowlege on everything dissapated when she announced proudly, during a weaning discussion, that "Amadea has always had an excellent appetite, but I'm afraid at the moment she will refuse to eat anything except pizza! She certainly knows her own mind!"
Who the hell gives a 5 month old pizza?! Let alone decides that she won't eat anything else?! The rest of us were still on pureed carrots. No wonder the both of them were so enormous...

I have to say I put my DS1 on cows milk at 10 months. At the time there was quite a bit in the news about formula not being necessary from 9 months, I asked my HV (at the time believing every utterence from her mouth) about it and she said if he was eating well (which he was loads of fresh fruit and veg etc) then it would be OK. Glad to hear your comments Tiktok.

My dd is still on formula and she is 16 months! I heard somewhere that if they are susceptible to ecezma and allergies that it was better to keep them on formula for longer eg 2 years but is prob a load of rubbish. Am just trying to make up for guilt re not being able to breast feed I think

I must admit I put my dd on cows milk at around ten months,this was twelve years ago and I did it because we were travelling and it was easier.She didn't suffer at all.Must admit though I kept my ds who is now 16mos on formula until he was a year old.Couldn't bear all that measuring!

With dd's i waited until they were 12mths on the dot, but with ds3 i changed to cows milk at 11mths. Am glad i did too, as he drinks it alot better than formula

I didn't bother with formula at all with last ds - just moved gradually from bf to cows milk at around the 10 month stage - much easier than messy formula preparing.

The advice re allergies/eczema is that there is no difference between cows milk and standard formula milk as the formula is based on cows milk anyway.