Why do we have to use formula?

[SnowyBoff]

I am thinking of putting DS3 onto bottles next month, as he'll be nine months old and there are various medical and social reasons on my side to stop now (the main one being that I have to go to France for a bit without him).

I was investigating formula and reading the labels, and noticed that they all contain palm oil and other crap. Now I don't want to feed him palm oil. It's not milk and it has a huge carbon footprint.

Theoretically speaking, is it scientifically possible to develop your own formula by using cow's milk at an appropriate dilution supplemented with vitamins and minerals as required? That way it would be possible to bypass large corporations producing formula and use local doorstep milk.
He's a good eater in other respects and I'm pretty good at following scientific protocols. I am loath to ask the HV about this as I'll probably be roundly patronised and told to feed him palm oil-contaminated milk.

Oatly
Sorry that's from ocado - but they have it at tesco, too.

Most formulae are made from cows' milk. A few are made from goats' milk and then you have the special ones that are hypoallergenic for children with cows' milk protein alllergy.

So the guidielines about not giving cows' milk is more to do with the nutritive value of cows' milk, rather than the allergy potential.

Boffinmum, the large carbon footprint from cows is not just cutting down rain forests it is about their immense farts and burps. they are the biggest contributor of methane in the atmosphere, second only to CO2, that other greenhouse gas.

Fair point well made, Foxy.

Well, having now read the WHO report it seems logical to use formula if you are an affluent Western person who can't bf any more. So DS3 has now been offered some Hipp formula at every feed.

Only problem is that DS3 is refusing it. He looked at me in good humoured disgust as if to say, "Mummy, you nurtured me on Krug and now you are giving me Tesco Value Cider". He spends his time burrowing his face into my front whilst complaining loudly. Yesterday in the middle of IKEA he assertively pulled down my v-neck top and stuck his face in my cleavage in an attempt to get at the source, so to speak. He is a man on a mission, and formula ain't it.

I did bf him a couple of times today so he wouldn't get dehydrated, but obviously this is going to be a bit of a problem if I am trying to wind down the bf to just one feed a day at bedtime or some such. I don't know what to do really.

Give some oatly a try... then maybe mix some formula in or gradually replace it? IME and IMO and IM DS' O oatmilk tastes more similar to breastmilk.

jsut back from Yorkshire. That sounds tough, boff - impressed at staying power so far. Commuting with coolbag no fun. Good luck w everything.

Cheers, onebat. It is tough. I wish he'd drink the formula.

Quote: "You don't cut down rain forest to make cow's milk."

Yes, rainforests are cut down, and woodland in Britain, to make way for cows - livestock grazing is one of the main reasons for de-forestation.

The scale is surely very much smaller, and we are talking about completely different types of trees, as well as forestry practices that are very much more reversible, surely? The issue with the rain forests is that swathes the size of England are chopped down with gay abandon every week/month or so, as I understand it. And these are ancient forests with particularly finely balanced ecosystems and biological diversity, so this is not easilt remedied.

Over here, on the other hand, we chopped down most of Britain's ancient forests centuries ago, mainly as a consequence of inventing the plough and wanting to grow more cereal crops. Without agricultural development this country would only ever have been able to support around 3 million people, if that. However even though we have done this clearing, we are in a position to replant indiginous trees relatively easily, which only require a few decades to get us back more or less where we were (from what the local Woodland Trust have put up on a big chart in one of their plantations near here).

So it's chalk and cheese, I reckon.

at plough

I used goats milk from about 11 months with DS2... no problems at all, in fact he still has it at age 9, although we ditched the bottles

Well, DS3 has now had three bottles today with a lot less fuss. I hope this carries on.

glad all going well BM.