Formula past 1 year

[Littlelighthouse]

DD is 1 in August. She has cut down her bottles a lot for her and now has 2 in the day, and one for sleep at bedtime (was not too long ago having 7-8 bottles a day). These daytime bottles don't concern me as I know we'll be able to wean her off them.
However, she still wakes once throughout the night for a bottle, anytime between 1am and 4am. Very occasionally she will wake twice. The health visitor told me we really need to stop this because she shouldn't be having formula past 12 months. We've tried following HV advice of offering water or just cuddles, but she will not settle until she's had some milk. To me, that says she needs it, but I know it could also be a comfort/routine thing for her.
So my question is, does it really matter if she's still having that one bottle of formula during the night past 12 months if she needs it? It's not dangerous to their health? I know these may sound stupid questions, but as our first baby passed away we are quite conscious of doing things 'by the book', but obviously DD hasn't read the book that says she shouldn't have formula past 12 months 😂 don't really want to ask HV as I know she'll tell us again that we need to stop it.
Thank you for your help x

Don't worry, she won't turn into a giant bottle of formula or anything.

I'd say the majority of babies I've known have a had formula or breastmilk until about 2 years old.

Could you try her on cows milk? My one year old has a bottle of cows milk when she wakes and just before bed

Mine switched to cows milk but had it if he woke at night until 18-24m ish regularly. My eldest still asks for warm milk if he wakes now at 5.5. hasn’t done them any harm.

@Hiddenvoice I could try that - thank you!
Do you give your little one the same ounce of cows milk that you'd give if it was formula? Apologies for the probably stupid question, very new to this 🤦‍♀️

I think the HV concern maybe around the bottle themselves. I would work on swapping the morning bottles for a cup of milk. If you’re not already you need to start offering snacks too.

Hi OP! I have 4 kids, all of them still wanted some night milk after 12 months, all fine and healthy so don’t worry about that. All I did was switch from formula to cows milk to save £££ and slowly over time I did half water/half milk, and gradually more water, less milk until they couldn’t really be bothered to wake just for water 😆

1 year olds are still babies, don’t worry about it.

1 year is still so little! I’d personally try and shift to cows milk but only because it makes it easier and cheaper….but I gave my 12 month old formula until she was 14 months old. I had a baby just before she turned one and it just wasn’t something I was going to push when she had so much else to deal with.
I find that health visitors can be so inconsistent - one will firmly believe no forumula after 1 and another will be more relaxed.
Do what feels right for you and is working for your baby. It’s not bad for her at all and when she’s 4 and started school no one will say what! You still had some formula until you were two???
It’s so hard when they’re this young, you don’t need to rush this one. Phase it out to cows milk gradually if you feel ready and offer maybe 120ml in a sippy cup at night if that’s gets them back to sleep and you back to sleep.
At night I would offer as little as seems to satisfy them just so you can gradually phase it out to work towards sleeping through x

Can you not give them cows milk instead? We did a straight swap.

I'd change to cows milk and ignore any 'follow on' formula marketing, it's not needed.
Be aware that milk has sugars in it so need to be wary of impact on teeth - this might be why HV is suggesting not to feed milk at night? Make sure you clean teeth/gums after a night feed.
DD is 4 now but I think she still had a bottle of milk each morning until she was 2 - helped her chill in our bed while we were getting up and ready. We transitioned to a sippy cup and then phased it out altogether.

I think most people are keen to stop because of the cost mainly. As I understand it, it's more that babies don't need formula after 12 months rather than that they can't have it. The only downsides (besides cost) I can think of are the potential for dental damage if it's given after teeth are brushed, especially if it's in a bottle not cup, and I would think a bottle of formula is quite filling so you just want to be sure that your little one isn't filling up on it and not eating enough solids. By 12 months they should be eating a reasonable range of solid foods and getting more of their nutritional requirements from solids rather than milk. But I can't imagine it being a major issue to give some formula provided baby has a good intake of solids too.
But all these dates are guidelines not strict rules anyway. Nothing magic happens on the dot of 6 months, 12 months etc. I think it's better to think of it as you can phase formula out at around 12 months, not that you must never give it once baby is 366 days old. It's probably a good idea to start reducing the amount/swapping to cows' milk and using a cup not a bottle, but it doesn't have to be done overnight so don't worry.

Thank you for the helpful replies! It's really helped us and we will begin making the transition to cows milk from an open/sippy cup. She already uses these for water at meal times, so they're not a new thing for her. Thank you 😊

My son is 19 months and sleeps ok now but if he does wake I still give him formula in the night. I was told the same as you but if I give him only water n cuddles he would have just screamed the house down. Unfortunately for me he’s a fussy wee monkey and will only entertain cows milk so is on toddler formula. Which everyone reminds me that he doesn’t need to be n it’s a waste of money, I am aware but fussy chops will not have it ! I just don’t bother telling the health visitor ! He will grow out of it eventually !

I'd be worried about teeth if they are having a bottle in the night

I still use a bottle for her milk in the morning and night. They don’t need as much milk if they are having a balanced diet. My little one eats far more solids now so isn’t overly interested in milk. I just offer her a few ounces on the morning and then at night. She had yoghurt during the day too so it all adds up.

I started mixing a small amount of cows milk with her formula and overtime used less formula and more cows milk. This was to help her get used to it. I used to warn the milk but now she enjoys just drinking it cold. We use her normal milk bottles as we use an open cup for water during the day.

Go with what works for your little one. If they still want more milk then that’s great and can still offer it throughout the day.