How important is daily milk intake for the under 1s?

[EvanMom]

I have recently posted about weaning my 8 month old off the breast. I have now found something else to worry about .

If my 8 month old has two breast feeds a day morning and night (no idea how much milk he takes) and then small amounts of formula milk and water from a cup during the day (he loves sipping water from a cup, but not so keen on taking formula) then he is not really having four good feeds a day. How important is it that he has at least a pint of formula a day? I doubt ds is getting that.

There is iron in formula milk and what Tiktok and I (and the World Health Organisation) are saying is that breastmilk and formula milk are recommended until one year. Follow-on milk does not need to be given at all. It does have more iron in it, but that iron cannot be absorbed by the baby. Breastmilk has less iron in it than formula milk but that iron is in a more absorbable form.

However, my own opinion is also that there is no need to give a baby a pint of milk a day to drink as long as they are getting calcium from other sources. My kids didn't like milk as a drink but they got it in other ways. The earliets I stopped breastfeeding was 10 months and there was no way on this earth hat I was going to start formula then. DS had milk in foods- he is a strapping 14 year old now.

thanks mears. The reason I was curious about the iron is that the official guidance (from the FSA website) says cow's milk isn't recommended because it doesn't have enough 'iron and other nutrients' - so I thought the iron was a key factor. Obviously cow's milk has calcium in it so from that point of view its no different from formula.
I know views on iron are shifting (for example iron supplements no longer recommended if breastfeeding beyond 6 months).
I guess there might be a problem if a 6-12 month baby was drinking large volumes of cow's milk rather than breast or formula - presumably a non-milk drinker would be eating more and getting what they needed from food.

A couple of breastfeeds a day at least is ideal but if a baby has weaned themselves off the breast and is taking solids at 10 months, there is no way I would start faffing about with formula.

If aptimil follow on milk is substantially cheaper than the aptimil first, even if this is just a marketing ploy, why is it such a bad idea and "no point" in switching when they reach 6 months?
From looking at the box and the lists of ingredients, they look fairly similar and if the extra iron can?t hurt but could benefit slightly, I don?t see where the problem is in using it? Please put me straight if I have missed some crucial element here as I am slowly coming to the end of one box and need to make a fast decision here!

I think it is more expensive because of the scoop size you would need to use although it appears to be cheaper it actually works out to be more expensive.

thanks Hercules - had no idea about that. I have bought a trial box so will check out the scoop and do a comparison.
I was getting really frustrated because everyone was quite rightly saying that it could be seen as a marketing ploy but no one was actually saying what was wrong with it.

by that I mean wrong with the milk from a health a dietary side rather than moral argument over advertising

Hi Stripymouse,
I asked exactly the same question further down and got the same answer, so I compared them and the scoop size is definitely bigger.....

BR

thanks bunny - not reading threads carefully enough, sorry I missed your earlier post. ;(

Can I ask your advice about my daughter? She is seven months old, breastfed, and on three big meals a day. She is a good eater! She is starting nursery next month for four days a week. At the moment she has milk in the morning, at threeish and before bed, with water out of a trainer cup with her lunch (11.30ish) and supper (6pm). Should I give her milk to take to nursery in the afternoon or should I try and replace the 3pm milk with a solid snack? And if milk what milk as I can't FACE expressing so regularly.

Thank you all wise mumsnetters in advance.

Mrs Curly (first post!)

Personally i wouldnt bother expressing or sending milk. As long as she eats food with dairy and has bf when you are with her she should be fie. I was going back to work at 6 months and was advised by 2 bf counsellors that no need to express.

Thank you!

That was my gut feeling.

ok - sorry to go on about this follow on milk versus first milk argument, but it is bugging me and so i have done my own little bit of research (sorry for boring you all, but I reckon it is still worth further discussion).
I was concerned that the arguments against follow on milk were a bit vague and wanted to have some real reasons why not to switch as it seemed a cheaper deal, quite frankly. However, if there were any health reasons why not to switch, or if the finances were misleading then I wanted to know so that I could stay on first milk instead.
True, the scoop is bigger - subtley misleading - BUT after a bit of basic maths, i still think that the Aptimil Forward works out cheaper. Using Tescos prices (£6-97 for 900g First milk and £5-47 for the Forward) I worked out that per scoop the Forward is still cheaper despite the size increase (5.2g instead of 4.5g).

This means the following:
Using the average suggested amount (5 lots of 7oz feeds for 6 month old):
First Milk is £1.22 a day, £8.54 a week
Forward Milk is £1.10 a day, £7.70 a week

Now I know there isn?t much in it, but the Forward is definitely cheaper. If there are any other reasons why not to use the stuff, please let me know but I have to admit that i think i will switch from the research I have done. Surely I can?t be the only one to switch, despite what this thread is beginning to suggest? They wouldn?t make the stuff if someone, other than me, considered using it? (right, I will shut now!)

oops - meant to type "no one" rather than someone in that last sentence.

StripyM: I only breastfed, anyway, but had I FFed, personally I would choose to use Follow-On milk rather than cow's milk, too. Regardless of what others on this thread have said.

Stripymouse,
Switched DS to F0llow-on about 6 weeks ago, (before this thread started). I have no intention of switching him back.

BR

stripy I think there's no reason not to switch, and I don't think anyone has argued that there is any specific argument for individuals not to use follow on rather than first milk (unless it doesn't agree with your baby of course!)
The arguments against follow on are broader political ones - producing an unnecessary product in order to circumvent advertising restrictions and raise brand awareness.

That's right, elliott! Nothing wrong with follow on as a drink for older babies, and individuals can choose what they want to do for the best and for preference

Sorry, neglected to answer some of the Qs....the studies show that on a population level, there's no advantage to older babies of getting follow on instead of cows milk, but at individual level, you have to judge as individuals. I don't think there is any prospect of the govt. guidelines on cows milk (as a drink only after 12 months) changing, because some individual babies prob do need formula and not cows until that age, because of the wide variation in the amount of iron-rich solids babies between 6-12 months take in....the 12-montth rule is a reasonable insurance policy to take in all babies, given there is no harm in recommending follow on (except to those who get constipated on it, and they are prob better off on regular formula).

I have nothing against follow on except the reason why it was invented : )

I switched my six month old to sma progress only two weeks ago because she had gone off her milk in preference for solids. I thought maybe it might give her more nutrition in the small amounts I could give and she guzzles it down so I don't know if it tastes different but it worked.

I have realised during the last four years of being a mum that raising children is all trial and error. Sometimes you get it right first time other times it takes a while but you get there in the end and look back and think why was I so stressed out about that.

I have switched to the Aptimil Forward now (despite the advertising as I think that the companies making the stuff might be a bit underhand but if I was that against them I wouldn?t use the First milk either). So far so good - she is drinking it quite happily and no signs of constipation or effect on appetite.

As you say, I guess it is up to the individual baby what food and drink is suitable. Why is everything to do with bringing up a child potentially so complicated?! I feel like every decision we make concerning our two girls is a long drawn out difficult affair with a lot of soul searching and attached moral, social and/or political connotations! It was easier to choose a house than it was to choose what to feed them - let alone the time it took to decide what nappies/cot/highchair etc... and as for the pushchair/double buggy deliberations...wow. We must have too much time on our hands. We used to be so spontaneous and carefree....

DS went to mixed feeding at 15 weeks. At 6 months went to all formula. Didn't put him onto follow-on because at both points he became constipated and I thought the extra iron could only exacerbate this. Also DS was a good eater so plenty of yoghurt and cheese sauce and pureed apricots (the smell....) to give him the required nutrients.