Putting 9mo on cows milk? Formula too expensive Advice please

[WhiteBow2223]

Hi all.. My 8mo DS is drinking formula milk however with prices gone so high we are really struggling to make ends meat on our low income and with winter bills coming in its such a squeeze we have to cut spending alot. 3 tins lasts us about 8 or 9 days at 17.50 euro a pack. I can't afford it anymore and am thinking of switching him to full fat cows milk at about 9 months old. Stating watered down and increasing milk content from there. Has a home made the switch this early? My grandmother fed her babies cows milk from birth I think her kids are okay. Surely cows milk will be okay from 9 months along with solids?

*Lactose (milk), vegetable oils (palm, rapeseed, coconut, sunflower), demineralised whey (milk), skimmed milk, galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), potassium citrate, calcium citrate, emulsifier (soya lecithin), fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), fish oil (DHA), magnesium chloride, L-phenylalanine, sodium chloride, sodium citrate, calcium phosphate, vitamin C, arachidonic acid-rich oil (AA), choline bitartrate, taurine, ferrous sulphate, L-histidine, inositol, zinc sulphate, antioxidants (ascorbyl palmitate, tocopherol-rich extract), vitamin E, L-carnitine, niacin, pantothenic acid, copper sulphate, vitamin A, thiamin, vitamin B6, manganese sulphate, riboflavin, folic acid, potassium iodide, sodium selenate, vitamin D, vitamin K, vitamin B12, biotin.

UPFs??*

Don't be silly. It’s a nutritional reproduction of women’s breastmilk at different stages as far as possible. Add in antioxidants as it has to be stored. That’s it. Composition of formula is mandated in order so that it mimicked the nutritional composition of breastmilk. If you removed nutritional components baby would be deficient. You can’t remove the antioxidants or the formula would spoil in the tin.

I made the switch to cows milk a little bit too early and it gave my son a bad tummy and he had diarrhoea worst mistake felt so bad and I switched around 8/9months too but every babys different if you give your baby cows milk in cooking and they are fine with it I would slowly start mixing cows milk in with formula don't listen to anyone on here do what you want it's your baba only you know what's best for them

Can everyone just stop with the advice based on anecdotes!? Clearly, OP baby's need for nutritional supplementation from formula is going to depend on the rest of its diet. None of us have that basic information, let alone qualifications to make that call. What our babies did or didn't do is completely irrelevant here.

I don’t know where you live, but where I live in € it’s also super expensive for formula for big brands like Hipp, Aptimal, nestle. Some brands that you might be able to get access to that are often way cheaper ( about half)

Bebita (bipa)
Aldi/ hofer own brand
Lidl own brand
Baby love (dm)

Also check local charity shop. Many here are totally free and on donation based payments only. Our local has small food bank each week and I often see things like baby formula or nappies. If you need them you can ask and they would def make sure to put some by for you.

I think by 9 months it’s only 2-3 bottles a day by the side of the tin recommendation also. So double check

but the question isnt about doing what is best for this baby. It is about doing what is cheapest. Very much not the same thing.

As an aside, the sleep on your front advice was 19 years ago. I know from experience with my cousin!

My bf baby had one bf a night at this age. The rest was cows milk, whether on cereal, in a sippy cup as a drink or part of a meal.

Can you still buy formula for one or two feeds a day? But use cows milk for all other drinks? Seems like a good compromise.

No it wasn't. My dd is nearly 20 and the advice was to put them on their back to sleep.

3 tons every 8/9 days sounds loads. How much is he drinking a day? Are you using cows milk in his cereal ?

Make your cuts elsewhere. Starving your baby isn't the way to save money.

No it wasn’t. The advice dates back to the early 1990’s and followed a campaign by Anne Diamond who lost her child to SIDS. My eldest was born in 2000 and it was well known by then to put babies to sleep on their backs.

Your experience with your cousin wasn't as their parent. The advice was back sleeping then.

My sister and niece point blank refused formula from about 8 months. They went on full fat milk along with increasing their weaning meals to having more variety of foods with high nutritional content.
Both turned out absolutely fine.

Please please speak to your health visitor. There is help available with the cost of formula. Infant mortality was much higher when your grandma was having babies. You don't have to struggle or give your baby non ideal food. Talk to them, they will help.

As an aside, the sleep on your front advice was 19 years ago. I know from experience with my cousin!

My two are 26 and 30 and it was well known that your baby should sleep on their back, it was well established by then and I don't know anyone who had babies around that time who had their babies sleeping on their fronts.

It was 1991. Some parents continued front sleeping for a few years. My sister was born 1991 and I remember putting my dollies on their front presumably like I'd seen my mum do. But 2004 was definitely sleep on the back!

No child ‘ needs’ UHP ‘formula’ milk - we are being guilted into using it by manufacturers 😐i have always given my children/grandchildren Jersey milk - all are rudely healthy 👍🏿☘️ Also re lavender 14’s assertion re intolerances to cows milk - Jersey milk contains different proteins etc to Holstein cow’s milk so fewer intolerances. It’s not the cheapest milk but by far the best in terms of nutrients ☘️👍🏿

I wouldn’t swap to cow’s milk this early OP. How big are your tins? It’s the sheer amount of cow’s milk that would concern me if you swapped like for like, as sounds like you’re still using a lot.

Definitely reach out to food or baby banks, but also, I think a PP’s advice about swapping to follow-on formula milk is good, as it can be on offer. Unless the marketing rules are different where you are.

In the UK 30 years ago the advice was back to sleep. Even before the back to sleep campaign HV were recommending no tummy sleeping, I know as one of my kids is 33 and that was the advice I had.

Could you give your 9 month old more food and less milk? I think it's around 3 bottles of milk a day for a baby older than 6 months. Could you opt for a more affordable formula milk brand? 3 tins of formula in a week is a lot for a baby who is weaned - unless these tins are really small?

Just make the switch, its cows milk from 9 months here, and looking at the population they’re healthier than the average Brit.

Speak to your health visitor, my little boy had a check up with ours at 10 months and she said he could go on cows milk we never looked back! He started sleeping so much better.

I really wouldn’t do this without consulting your HV first. They may also be able to signpost you to other agencies for financial support if you’re really struggling.

Also, please don’t assume that cow’s milk will be loads cheaper. I was expecting a big saving but it wasn’t that big, if any at all. The number of ounces that a whole tin of formula makes is a lot, whereas a four pint bottle of full fat milk doesn’t stretch that far. You’ll easily need to buy one every other day. Probably levels out to be the same or very similar. That’s what I found anyway.

Also, just to say three tins of formula per week is an awful lot! How much are you feeding him every day? Are you making more bottles than you actually need? At that age a tin would easily last me a week. And, as you introduce more solids, this should decrease.

I moved my child to full fat cow’s milk at 11 months and by that age a tin was lasting 10 days. So, at £12 every 10 days versus a four pint bottle of milk every day / every other day at £1.90, the savings were minimal.

I’m very sorry to hear that you’re struggling, OP. I hope you’re able to find a solution, but your son’s milk intake really should be the very last thing you compromise on. At 8/9 months, it’s very much his primary source of nutrition and you shouldn’t be watering anything down.

The tins might be smaller? Most where I live are around 500g. Where as most uk formula is 800-900g.