Introducing formula to an older baby

[Annette123]

My daughter is 11 months and has been breast fed. About 5 weeks ago she stopped bf during the day and only feeds at night.

I thought this was fine until I went to get her weighed and was told she had lost weight and I was advised to offer her formula.

The problem is I don't know where to start. What formula do I buy. Do I need to sterilise? Do I discard the milk after she has a few sips and give her fresh milk each time?

It seems so complicated. Please help :-( xxx

Hey, I use aptamil although my ds is only 4 months. I'm still on first milk.

You don't need to sterilise just thoroughly wash bottle/sippy cup.

Not sure whether you use first milk or maybe use follow on.

They recommend the milk sits no longer than 2 hours. But again I'm not 100% sure at 9 months if its any different.

At 11 months I would offer cows milk and extra food. Has she been ill, has she lost weight or has weight gain slowed down? It is pointless to give formula for 4 weeks and then switch. Also means no need to sterilise.

Annette, did the clinic not suggest you simply bf her more often?

If you are happy to do this, it's a perfectly logical way of responding to a perceived need for extra calories, if that's what is thought she needs.

Offering formula is only one option. As well as bf more often, you could offer calorie dense solids.

Up to you - but I agree that offering formula at this late stage is an odd suggestion :)

Maybe they have a good reason for this being the only suggestion???

Thank you for all your responses.

If I try and bf baby bites me of gets distracted. She only bf at night when she is sleepy. She drinks a lot of water in the day and they say this could be why she doesn't put on weight.

I don't like the idea of giving her cows milk as a drink as I've seen what goes into it now days and its bad for adults so would only want to only use it in food.

Why do you think formula would be better? Have you see the ingredient list? And if you don't like cows milk, then, are cheeses and yoghurts ok? Surely they are still the same thing?

For what it's worth, DD was given cow and gate carton to take to nursery when I went back to work at 7mo. She stopped taking them by 9mo. And she started cows milk at 11mo. She doesn't drink a lot of it until well over 1 year old.

Actually thinking about it, I think what you want is calorie rich food. Is she good with solids? Have a look at

kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/babyfoodcalories/

Does she like avocados, bananas or sweet potatoes? The list doesn't include meat (guess they are americans), but a burger would be very calorie rich.

Formula because its got better nutrients. Don't get me wrong I'm a firm believer in breast milk and am disappointed that my baby has decided that she won't be fed anymore in the day.

Cows milk makes you contipated too. She won't drink cows milk anyway. She doesn't really want any milk in the day and is happy with just water. But apparently she needs some kind of milk as a drink.

Ah I see, I thought you mean it's contaminated or something. Then stage 1 milk will be fine. Remember the tins actually have expiry dates. I worked out it was about the same price for me to buy a tin vs 5 cartons a week for nursery. And it saves me the hassle!

She doesnt really need milk as a drink if she is getting the same nutrients through her food. Cows Milk has never caused constipation in either of my children and is what formula is made of.

If she doesnt want to drink milk then offer dairy products and calorie dense foods instead.

At eleven months (assuming no other health issues) a balanced diet with some cow's milk - if you want - will be fine, or don't bother with milk. By eleven months my DS was just on a balanced diet, and he did have serious health issues earlier which he had recovered from.

There is so much marketing pressure about what is suitable for babies, seriously, its just to get you to spend money its a load of B

So would you not bother offering her formula and offer cows milk instead?

I'm just concerned as she has lost a lot of weight since she has stopped feeding in the day

Annette, formula milk is a more highly-processed product than cows milk - formula is cows milk, of course, with the protein partially broken down to make it more digestible; with much of the fat taken out of it and then calories added again in the form of vegetable fat; with some added vitamins (because some of the vitamins are removed when they remove the fat). Those are the main differences.

This all makes it more digestible and more suitable than cows milk for a young baby, but by the time a baby is a year old current guidance is that full-fat cows milk is fine and nutritious as a main drink.

Maybe ask again at the clinic what to do? Use formula if you want to, of course, but it seems a hassle! If she does not like it (and the fact she refuses cows milk indicates she might not) then you could ask about calorie dense solids.

You can also ask how seriously the weight gain should be taken - usually babies don't lose weight, of course, but maybe this is just a minor blip and she will regain what she lost. Could even be the scales, or incorrect reading, or incorrect writing, or incorrect translation from metric to imperial.