Switch to formula before or after holiday abroad?

[sharond101]

Off to Gran Canaria in a months time with dd who will be 1 year old. Currently bf and getting one bottle of formula per day. She has a dairy allergy and I am dairy free to accomodate her as it passes through my milk. It's a nightmare eating out with the restrictions on what I can eat. I need to gain weight urgently and it's not happening giving the feeding and diet restrictions. I have been holding out switching to formula dur to the holiday and faff with flying with formula, sterilising, making up bottles and the heat etc but the weight is a real issue and would be much easier eating out and not being dairy free. Any adivce?

At a year old you don't need to sterilise bottles just give them a really good wash like you would with her utensils / plates etc.

You've said it's difficult to eat out being dairy free, I would imagine that will be tenfold abroad where there will likely be a language barrier to contend with.

You can order formula into boots in duty free which I think means you can carry it on rather than packing it into your suitcase (I'm not a seasoned flier so might be wrong on this).

If it were me, I'd switch now so you can put some weight on, eat a few holiday ice creams and not worry about your diet being contaminated and dd being ill.

At one surely she can go onto a dairy free everyday milk rather than formula? Almond or soya milk?

No she can't penny. She needs to stay on dairy free formula until the age of 2 due to issues with getting enough calcium, which aren't as available in other 'milks'. There are also issues with soy and rice milks as a drink in young children.

I would switch. I wouldn't sterilise bottles either at 1.

If the bottles contain powdered formula, you should sterilise. The age of the child is irrelevant. I would continue to bf and switch after you get home.

Depending on your child you may have no choice - the dairy free formulas taste interesting so she may not accept it. It may take some time to get her onto it. Fortunately my DD loves her special formula but it did not go well with baby rice or baby muesli. She does like it on weetabix fortunately!

I'm still mix feeding as I'd need to prepare dairy free meals for her so I might as well just do them for both of us!

She takes the formula ok now. We went last year and the eating out was doable but very limited, still enjoyable though. My weight on the other hand is atrocious. I look skeletal and am very anxious about being seen in a bikini.

If she's one, and eating ok, and takes the formula, and you need to start thinking about your health, I think switch now. She's not tiny and she'll be fine.

I see no reason to put it off, tbh.