Is it okay to give cows milk to my 10 mth DD???

[cc21]

DD is almost 10 mths now and has 4 meals a day (breakfast and a supper made up with cows milk usually) which I am certain are healthy and varied. She has always been difficult to get milk down since I stopped b/f at 6 mths, and currently only has 2 bottles a day usually about 5oz each time, once in the morning and once in the evening. Apart from this her main 'drink' is water from a beaker which she drinks very well for her age.

We are due to go on holiday shortly and I don't want to have to take tubs of formula, so was wondering if I can give her cows milk?? Or will I make her ill?? Also how does her body change so drastically when she's 12 months from what it is now?

Any advice/thoughts much appreciated as I really don't know what to do for the best!

It's certainly true that when I took my ds for a year check, the hv said it was fine to go on to cows milk. If I remember correctly, he was on formula milk until then, but took to the transition very easily.

Cows milk on holiday brings its own set of problems if it's particularly hot, because it goes off very quickly.

I would suggest you continue with the formula whilst on holiday .. unless you're somewhere with a fridge and you're going to stick to just morning and evening milk drinks.

It is only a guideline and what they want to get across is that cows milk is not nutritional enough as a drink under 12 month. It's up to you to decide if you want to make the transition early, personally I wished I did with my ds as when he got older he just refused cow's milk as a drink point blank. Do a gradual transition, check to see if she tolerates the milk (usually noticeable in poo nappies or general food intolerance checks.) Again. If you are unsure, consult your GP and get a professional opinion.

It's about the handling of the dairy and we actually weaned our lo onto it rather than just a straight switch. Using it in cereals/cooking etc is fine. Why don't you get the ready made cartons, then you don;t have to worry about taking cartons etc with you.

I would wait until 1 year, just to ensure the risk of an allergy or intolerance is lessened.

I gave my DD cows milk from 11 months old. I figured that if she'd been born a few weeks earlier I'd have put her on it at the same time anyway.

If you do do it then make sure she's getting lots of iron in the rest of her diet.

I am not sure where you are going on holiday or how long for, but in some places finding cows milk (as opposed to long life milk, 'slimming milk', etc. etc.) and keeping it cool would be more of a faff than bringing a bag of formula - presumably you wouldn't need to bring much formula if your DD is only on 2 bottles a day?.

I also think that it can be more difficult on holiday to ensure that your lo is eating a balanced diet, as I don't tend to plan my holidays around cooking and shopping. When DS went on holiday to Lanzarote with us at the same age he survived on a mixture of bread, spag bol and baby pudding from the small local shop, so it was a good thing that atleast his milk was designed for him!

The main reason for not giving cow's milk under 12 months is that it is not nutritious enough as the main meal for a child. 12 months is the age given because generally most children are eating a full diet by then. But of course some will be eating enough before then. If your dd is eating a varied meal I'm sure that giving her cow's millk instead of formula will be just fine. My ds went straight from breast milk to regular milk and never had formula. We started giving him regular milk to drink with his meals before 12 months. Also, there's also nothing wrong with using longlife (uht) milk if you can't find regular milk. Though I would, as someone else advised, try it out before you go just in case your dd decides to reject the milk.