Replacing formula with cow's milk in 11mo?

[snugglejunkie]

Basically DS is 10.5 mo and I am half way through a box of 6mo+ formula. I'd like this to be the last box.

Weaning has, fortunately, gone brilliantly. DS eats a healty and varied diet - and lots of it. Using yesterday as an example:

• Small breastfeed when woke up
• Breakfast of fortified cereal with banana choppped into it & full fat milk. toast.
• Mid morn. 4.5oz formula
• Snacks: a plum & half a homemade flapjack
• Lunch: pasta spirals with hidden veg tomato sauce & cheese. 1/2 a peach sliced in yogurt.
• Mid afternoon. 4oz formula.
• Snacks: other half of flapjack, couple of segments of (my!)satsuma, bite of pear, half a packet of toddler crisps.
• Tea: chicken casserole (with veg potates etc). rest of the peach & bit of yogurt
• Bedtime 6oz formula.

Am I right in thinking it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to just have cow's milk when he starts nursery in just over 2 weeks time? He will be going for 2 full days a week.
Why do we 'have' to give formula until a year? Is is the vitamins? Calories? Should/could I give vitamin drops instead?

I would (personally) be happy to give him cows milk. Iron is one reason to give formula but a balanced diet will also provide that. You can get vitamin drops from Boots specifically for babies.

I am thinking the same my 11 month DD2 is a good eater and I am not sure when to switch to cow's milk. With my DD1 I did it at 11 months.
I am quite tempted to try Aptamil follow on milk as they say it is nutritionally superior but I also can't wait to get rid of formula off my grocery bill!

No problem with switching to Cow's Milk...it looks like he's eating plently.

Only thing I would say, is that Cow's Milk doesn't seem to fill my DD up in the same way Formula does. We made the switch a couple of weeks ago. But she then suddenly became a nightmare to put down for the night. She was having a full bottle 9oz of Cow's Milk, but just would not settle until she had even more. And even then she wouldn't always settle. We switched back to formula for the bedtime feed and she's back to being satisfied after 7oz!