On another thread I was quite surprised to find that research supports the fact that formula has risks in itself. Having done a fair amount of reading on the subject when I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to bf DS but made this decision on the basis that bm was best and not because formula was bad.
DS is now one year old and I am still bf-ing him but am considering what I should do going forward. He only takes milk twice a day now - first thing in morning, last thing at night - so it is hardly onerous but I am starting to feel that a year is a jolly good stab at bf and wouldn't mind being able to stop now so that DH and I could go away for the odd weekend etc.
My HV (who is incredibly vague and not terribly helpful) says that DS doesn't need milk anymore but that if I do want to give him some, cow's milk will do. Instinctively I am a bit nervous to do that. I'm not sure why - we don't have any major allergies in the family - but so many people seem to be lactose intolerant these days and I thought I would hold off on this until he is was about two.
My solution was therefore to replace these feeds with formula but - having read some of the posts on the other thread - am now having doubts. If DS has had the benefit of bm for the first year is it not ok to go with formula now? Or would it be better to go with cow's milk? Or should I just stick with the bf?