moving on from formula to cow's milk... How did you do it?

[MiauMau]

My LO is going to be 1 in a couple of weeks time :) and I was wondering if you lovely ladies could give me some advice on how to transition from formula onto cow's milk.
I know that it has to be full fat and the consensus seems to be 12oz. per day (please, let me know if I'm wrong), but how did you actually do it?
Did you just switch cold turkey from one to the other?
Mixed them?

I just switched. He didnt even notice! But first time was in the morning, just in case he didnt like it. I didn't want to mess up bedtime. Some friends did half and half, then quarter to three quarters etc, but I couldn't be faffed.

I did the morning milk first and left the other one as formula. After a few days I switched the other to cows milk too. I just gave the same amount of cows milk as I was giving of formula

I just switched and neither of my babies batted an eyelid! They need to have a multi vitamin supplement once they're not on formula any more, too. I was also using cow's milk in their cereal and cookery before a year so that might have helped. Good luck!

I tried cold turkey but DD wasn't keen on the cows milk and wouldn't drink it. So I mixed them for a few days, reducing the formula until she'd got used to the cows milk taste. Worked a treat and she guzzles it down now :)

Really, Bristols? I've never heard this. Surely if they're having a balanced diet there's no need for vitamin supplements?

I did a bit of mixing for a couple of days and the couldn't be bothered so just gave them cows milk! Same volume given - cheese and milk in cooking counts towards allowance ( i think a portion of cheese is about 2oz equivalent). Full fat cows milk until two - but Im sure you already know that. XX

TheOneAndOnlyAlpha, its the latest department of health guideline. www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/02/vitamin-d/ Children under five are identified as an 'at risk' group once they are having less than 500mls of formula per day.

My HV has never mentioned this!

I just switched, and DD1 dumped BF the same day She preferred cow milk to mine (though mine was better than formula). I kept giving her the occasional bottle of aptamil 1+ stuff so she would keep the taste for it for when we travelled.

DD2 also made an easy switch to cow milk but without dumping me quite so quickly.

She should have done! The letter went out to all health professionals a few months ago now

Thank you all for your advice.
bristols any multi vitamin that you could suggest would be really great.
I give my LO about 20oz-23oz a day between the formula, yoghurt and milk in his cereal.

I give DD Abidec in her morning drink - the syrup or the drops. They're on offer in ASDA 3 for £10.

We swapped a week (we started swapping at 11 months), he has 4 feeds a day, he was fully on cow juice by 1.
I've always shoved some of the vitamin syrup in his weetabix/porridge.

Another one here who just switched. I just went cold turkey from bottles and formula and DD got cows milk in a cup.

I just switched from formula to cows milk no problem.

Never been told about supplement thing. Always been told by HVs and doctor that if kids eat healthy diet no need for supplements. Recall their was a couple of threads last year that got quite heated on whether kids should have vitamins/supplements or not.

When we took DD to the doc last year he said he recommends vitamin supplements for all under 5s. Make sure it's got vitamin D as that's one many kids are short of. We give her Wellkid Baby & Infant.

Are you really allowed to mix it? Have a 12mo and I'm not sure when to change or quite how to do it, though she has our semi-skimmed on her cereal and has tried a bit as a drink too, so doesn't seem to have a problem with it.

Formula is pretty convenient because she still has a drink at the CM's in the afternoon and I don't think there are any other babies there on milk, DD is also there at different times on different days depending on our shift work, so we'd be carrying 4oz of cow's milk around rather than the CM just having some formula to make up.

I used to mix a bit of formula in with the cows milk so that it didn't taste so different then slowly replaced the lot, he didn't even notice!

I was wondering this too.

Tried DS on cows milk at 12 months but he just refused it so we went back to follow on milk, but cows milk with his weetabix in the morning.

We tried again recently but he refused the cows milk (although he is also currently refusing formula )

To be honest, the formula we buy is no more expensive than cows milk, and it doesn't go off so is practical when DS is ill and refusing milk etc.

Might try and mix the cows milk in with the formula so he gets used to the taste.

I live in France though and we're told to give follow on milk until age 3 years.

I just switched too. So far dd2 doesn't care either way. I still carry the little bottles of follow on milk in my bag because it doesn't need refrigerating although in this bloody weather neither does cows milk!

My son drinks am awful lot more cows milk than he did formula. Never really got used to it after bf for 9 months I think. I just switched one day when he was about 11 months. He always had the vitamins though.