11 month old move to cows milk annnd sterilising questions??

[MrsMuskett]

Hi guys, my lo is 12 months in 2 week, and I'm not sure about how to change to giving him cows milk, do you swap straight away? Do I stop giving him his bottles? (Currently giving 1 in the morning and 1 before bed)
Also when do you stop sterilising everything? And when can he have water straight from the tap and not boiled first?
I've tried to read up online, but its just confusing me, and friends and fam telling me different things so I'm really not sure and don't want to do the wrong thing for him.
Thanks xx

You can stop sterilising now and give tap water. I've been doing this since 6 months. Thought that was standard advice? Dishwasher or hot soapy water is fine.

You can encourage him to swap to a cup instead of bottles but don't stress if he prefers his bottle for a bit lot longer.

My dd is 12m in 3 weeks. I've been giving her tap water since 10m. She's already having cows milk in cereal so I know she can stomach the milk. I will probably just change her to cows milk when her last box of formula finishes. You can stop bottles if you wish, but I find it easier than a sippy cup as I know she's drinking a whole bottle, whereas she plays with the cup.

I never sterilised anything with all 3 of my children . You should be able to stop now definitely though.

Oh, and lots of mums slowly switch formula to cows milk by mixing them and reducing the amount of formula while increasing the cows milk.

You can stop sterilising now and give tap water .

As for the cows milk . I give dd cows milk in her bottle and she took it fine . However ds threw his away . So I had to change his an oz at a time . So the first night I put 8oz formula and topped up with 1 oz of cows . Next night 7oz formula 2oz of cows and so on . So if your dd doesn't take to it you should try that (lovely MNers gave me that advice and it worked a treat!)

Oh wow thanks for all the quick responses.
Didn't know u could stop now, thought I had to sterilise till 1 but wasn't sure.

I will try adding some milk to his bottle tomorrow and see how he takes it, I've got a lactose intolerance so am a little apprehensive to try him, he has had some within cooking though so I try the slow switch approach.
Xx

Also what temperature does your ds usually like his formula ? My ds nearly 2 still won't take milk unless it's warm enough . Some just taking the chill off it is fine , some like it warm . Don't can't remember when dd started just drinking it cold she's 9 now my memory ain't that good !

Yea he likes it room temp or warm, thought cold might b a bit much on his belly x

You should sterilise bottles for as long as you give formula in them, due to the nasty bacteria that can be present in formula - way nastier than general household germs. No need to sterilise them when you move to cows milk. And no need to sterilise other things like dummies, utensils etc after 6 months.

Yes, tap water is fine from 6 months.

There's no need to sterilise bottles past 6 months. Just make sure you wash them properly as you would with anything.

The nasties are in formula powder and dealt with by making bottles with water that's over 70 degrees. Sterilising the bottle makes no difference to this.

I stopped sterilising at 6 months. He's still alive!
I swapped my DS onto soya milk due to cow's milk allergy. He's now grown out of it but I can't get him to drink cow's milk!!!

My understanding of the reason it's advised that bottles used for formula are sterilised is this: Bottles are really hard to clean completely and traces of milk can be left in crevices eg the teat hole. Any bacteria in the milk traces eg if anything wasn't completely killed during preparation, could multiply rapidly when the bottle is sat at room temperature between washing and use. It's a small risk, yes, but I didn't find it too much hassle to sterilise a few bottles so preferred to play it safe.

So just jumping in here as I am at exactly the same stage with DS and would appreciate some advice.. does it matter if the milk is whole milk/ semi skimmed?? And is goats milk/ soya milk just as good? Questions questions!!!

It should be whole milk until they are two when they can move to semi skimmed, and it can be goats mikl (which is what we have). Soy milk has some issues I think as there is some issue about it having too much oestrogen like stuff in it especially for boys (might be worth googling this as I can't remember what the exact issue is).

Thanks! Really helpful embarrassed!!

So my boy is 1 in 3 weeks....and doesn't want baby milk anymore... he can't drink full fat as it makes him constipated. .. so I've been giving him semi skimmed for the last week and he seems fine.... the only thing his nappies have changed the last couple of days should I try full fat instead

Apparently you should sterilise bottles that have been used for formula but I stopped sterilising altogether at 9 months and my dd continued with formula until 12 months. At first she rejected cows milk so I continued with formula for another month then tried again. I dropped bottles in the day at 13 months following her lead but she still has one if she's really grumpy/ill or needs comfort at 15 months. I've no intention of dropping the bedtime bottle until she's ready as she doesn't have dummies or any other comforters

Zombie!!!