Confused about not giving cow's milk till 1....

[mumtosp]

Hi all,

Can someone please tell me why I cannot give DS (9.5 mo) cow's milk till he's one, given that it's OK for him to have cheese and yogurt ??

I'm trying to get DS to take formula during the day as I need to be back at work in 2 weeks... till now we've had no success. So I was wondering if I can give him cow's milk ? DS will be breastfed morning and evening and also every 2 hours at night (that's a completely different thread!)

Also, can DS have normal adult yogurt or should I be buying something special for babies? I'm getting different answers from different HVs
DS has always had plain adult yogurt... infact he loves it so much that he needs a few teaspoons of yogurt after every meal... but today a different HV told me that I should be buying baby yogurt for him.... so I'm a bit worried as DS has been having loads of adult yogurt... have I harmed his health in any ways ?!?

Thanks in advance for all your help :)

You shouldn't be giving cow's milk as a main drink as it's not as nutritious as breast milk or formula milk. You can give it in cereal, recipes, etc.

As SpooMoo says, it's not that you need to completely avoid giving cow's milk and cow's milk products until one year, more just that it's not to be given in place of breast/formula feeds because it doesn't contain enough iron and other essential nutrients.

I wouldn't buy baby yoghurt, it has loads of added sugar! Plain natural yoghurt or greek yoghurt is fine.

As said, cow's milk can't replace breastmilk as a main drink like formula can. If he's breastfeeding 6-8 times a day anyway, he might not need any formula - I think my DS was only breastfeeding 4-5 times by that age (though all in the day time).

Babies can't digest cow's milk as completely or easily as breast milk or formula. Cow's milk contains high concentrations of protein and minerals, which can tax your baby's immature kidneys. In addition, cow's milk doesn't have the right amounts of iron, vitamin C, and other nutrients for infants. It may even cause iron-deficiency anemia in some babies, since cow's milk protein can irritate the lining of the digestive system, leading to blood in the stools. Also, cow's milk doesn't provide the healthiest types of fat for growing babies.

For proper development, your child needs the fat calories provided by full-fat dairy products until age 2. Choose pasteurized whole-milk yogurts (not reduced-fat or fat-free) that are either plain or naturally sweetened.

If you're wondering why yogurt gets the okay ahead of milk ? it's because the active bacteria in yoghurts breaks down the lactose and makes it easier to digest. The process of making yogurt also modifies the milk proteins, making them easier to digest.

We struggle to get our almost 10 month daughter to take enough milk through the day. She's formula fed and has been since day 2 (lots of reasons).
Now, rather than stress, we give her children's vitamins and hide the formula in as much food as we can: breakfast, 2nd breakfast and supper, as well as the odd 2-3oz through the day.
Our eldest was the same. He's 2 now and still not that keen on milk so we still do the same with him (just with cows' milk rather than formula).
They both have yogurt after most meals as well as butter in mash and beans and on spuds, occasional icecream, hot chocolate (made with formula for the little one) and milkshakes. Not the best but better than nothing.

DD2 was (still is) BF. She was a bottle and formula refuser. I went back to work when she was 9.5 months old.

She would have a feed in the morning, nursery would offer her 3 oz of formula in the morning and 3oz in the afternoon, but more often than not she would refuse it or only drink a 1 oz or so.

We also used to take in a pot of plain greek yoghurt and they would give her a few spoons of that periodically throughout the day.

She would then have a couple of feeds in the evening and two or three during the night.

We switched her over to cows milk at 11 months (on the advice of SIL who is a Health Visitor) and she drank a lot more of it than the formula and dropped the yoghurt.

If your Lo is that old and you bf the rest of the time, its fine to offer some full fats cows milk and solids while you work. Both of mine were formula and bottle refusers but would take a little cows milk from a sippy cup while I was at work.

You might want to talk through returning to work with a BFC in the morning. Have you got the helpline numbers?

Thanks all :)
The difference between yogurt and cow's milk makes sense qnd now I get why cow's milk may not be suitable... I wonder why the HV said normal yogurt is not fine

JJJ i'veady spoken to a BFC about going hack to work ... Their advice was to offer formula if pumping at work wasn't an option... Which it isn't...

Thanks again :)

Did she say that some cows milk is fine at this age if you are bfing the rest of the time? They usually do

I went back to work with dd being 9 months. She drank (non dairy) milk from a beaker and I bf the rest of the time (I went back 3 days a week until she was 1).

Have you tried in a beaker or just a bottle?

Will your DS drink cows milk? All you need to do is dilute a bottle of cows milk with formula and reduce the proportion of cow's milk a little each day until he gets used to the taste. It should only take 3-4 days - if you're still breastfeeding too first thing and last it should be fine.

I did this the opposite way round (changed them from formula to cow's milk) with all my three and it worked really well.

Good luck

Baby yogurts are full of sugar. Plain natural or freezing yogurt is so much better. And you can do so much more with plain yogurt so it's better value than the over sweet pots of fromage frais. Don't know why your hv said to get them.

JJJ No - she said I should use formula... didn't mention anything about cow's milk..

Anyways, today DS took 3 oz this morning and 3.5 oz this afternoon - so he's finally getting used to formula. If this continues then I can keep away from cow's milk till he's one...

On a different note, how do you cope with weaning your LOs off breastmilk ?? I know I haven't weaned him off completely, but I've kind of been mourning the whole day today... first I was complaining that he isn't taking any formula and going back to work will be difficult.... but since I only fed him this morning and just now before bed time I've missed feeding him during the day :( I think he's coping better than I am... I just feel like I'm missing him... although he's right there !! Is something wrong with me, or did you all react like this ??

Thanks again for all your help advice .... MN as always rocks :)

I was a bit worried about starting cows milk before 1 in foods too because of allergies etc. then my HV asked me what I thought the formula I was feeding my baby was made from? When she pointed is cows milk with lots of good stuff added I felt strangely shocked, but stopped my worry in its tracks!

If you go down this route I was also advised to stick to stage 1 formula until 1 and whole milk after this as they should be getting their nutrition from solids after 1.

My breastfeeding adviser told me as long as 9 month old DS is getting about a pint of breast milk per day overall, and plenty of dairy, he would be OK to just have water at nursery. So I wouldn't need to send him with expressed milk. I just make sure he has a good feed before and after, but then he doesn't do a long day, he's there about 7 hours.

If your baby is feeding two hourly at night he'll be getting a good amount. Poor you though, that must be knackering! Maybe more milk in the day would help him sleep better? But I'm guessing you've tried everything?

paperclips it has been very tiring... But thanks to MN I've received some excellent sleep advice over the past few days (look at the thread about 9 mo sleep issues) and DS is already settling better... Fed him only once last night !! :)