BFing 11 month old on demand. Pretty sure he's not getting the 'recommended' pint per day.

[SpawnHorcrux]

DS (11 mo) has on average about 3-4 feeds a day, none of which are very big (even taking into account that babies get more efficient at BFing). I'm pretty sure he's not getting any where near a pint of milk per day. He eats reasonably well and drinks diluted orange juice at meal times.

So, do you think this is a problem? He's not at all keen on yoghurt, and will only eat dry breakfast ereal (no milk), so I'm a bit concerned about calcium intake. And obviously orange juice is low in calories compared to milk.

I suppose I could give him cow's milk to drink (in addition to breast-milk) after he turns one, but I like him to have orange juice with meals to help with iron absorption (we're vegetarian). What do you think?

Also interested in this - my daughter (9mo) is formula fed but now she eats so well there's barely enough time in the day for her to get through 1 pt of formula. She normally has 6oz in the am and 7oz at night. I really don't want to force feed her any more than that as she is at the top of the centiles for weight and her diet is so varied in terms of veg, meat, fruit etc that it seems daft to worry about it.

If she was going to have more milk I'd have to cut back on her meals and she really enjoys her meals and it seems right to encourage her to eat a range of foods, not just milk.

She usually has cheese and yogurt every day. Should I worry about this?

Sorry, that seems like a hijack! Same question really.

Citrus juices can cause tummy upsets in babies so be careful if you go down that road.

If his weight is okay, he's lively etc, I wouldn't worry too much. Dark green veggies have more calcium in than milk products. If you are worried about getting calories into him, how about making up a mild lentil curry with cream or coconut milk in?

Honestly you can worry too much about these things, both your children sound like they have varied stable diets, and show no signs of being malnourished. There is also some evidence that we eat too much protein and that calcium from some (animal based) foods actually isn't that absorbable anyway.

If you are really worried though, you can ask your HV or GP to look through a food diary.

My ds stopped b/feeding at this stage and never had formula or milk.
I never worried.
You don't have to give formula anyway,ordinary milk is fine at this stage (and cheaper)

Moondog is right and can I add FOLLOW ON MILKS ARE A CON.

Sorry just got a long lecture from mum of baby same age as DD who is FF about how I'm 'depriving' her of vital vits (she read it on her follow on milk packet .

Choc,that is bloody ridiculous.What did you say?

That's interesting moondog - so did you actively encourage your DS to eat other calcium-rich foods (dairy or otherwise) or did you just provide a generally balanced diet and let him get on with it?

I won't be buying follow-on milk, but I was wondering of others thought I should maybe a) offer cow's milk at meal-times, or b) not offer any drink at the table but perhaps BF him immediately after (which would be a bit of a faff tbh).

wondering if

I'm not really into milk (apart from the human kind) so it is never offered as a drink in our house to anyone.Big fan of cheese and palin yoghurt and generally eating well. We have a lot of veggie food (although we do eat meat) and I just knew that there was no way in the world that he was/is deprived of nutrients.

Milk vastly overrated as a necessary food for small children.

I pointed out she was feeding her baby the juice of a cow and that as babies were designed to drink what their mums drank, clearly she was claiming bovine DNA.

Then I legged it!

I think I worry too much. In fact I know I worry too much. I get terribly hung up on The Rules. Wish I had the knack of seeing the overall picture, like you moondog

WMMC - lol!