Why not give formula after 12 months?

[MeringueCloud]

What is the actual reason that they recommend that you replace formula with full fat cows milk at 12 months? Is it to save money? They have the same calorie and fat content, but full fat milk has more protein. Formula has more added vitamins and minerals.
Or is it just because of teeth/not using a bottle?

In France for instance, the advice is for all children up to the age of 3 to drink formula, not cow’s milk, which most of them do. Not sure why it’s different there?

@NoIdea1234

In France for instance, the advice is for all children up to the age of 3 to drink formula, not cow’s milk, which most of them do. Not sure why it’s different there?

Brilliant, I can pretend my child is French Do the use bottles at that age too?

My 21 month old still has 5oz formula (growing up milk) with 4oz cows milk every morning and before bed. He can be a terrible eater and this is the one thing I know he'll take.

Full fat until 2, the semi skimmed here. Growing up milk and not from birth formulas are just a way of the dairy industry continuing to cash in on not breastfeeding and getting around the WHO code.

@GlmPmum

My 21 month old still has 5oz formula (growing up milk) with 4oz cows milk every morning and before bed. He can be a terrible eater and this is the one thing I know he'll take.

But why do you mix them?

@MeringueCloud Yes they do, no one advises parents to drop the bottle. Most children still drink their morning milk in a bottle until the age of 3ish. Everyone I know in France is surprised when I say the advice here is to wean babies off the bottle quite early. They don’t get why - as long as bottles are only given in the morning or children brush their teeth after drinking their night time milk.

Cows milk is recommended because follow on milk/ toddler milk is a marketing con and full of added
Sugar. Have a look at some labels .

My DS is 11 months old and I won't be switching to dairy. The protein in cow's milk is much higher and also isn't processed as much so is harder to digest. Over the course of weaning we have noticed DS struggles with dairy in food so that's an extra reason. If they have 500ml or more of formula they also don't need any vitamin supplements, so I'd rather just keep him on a bottle with nap and a bottle with bed time and be happy. I also feel more confident letting him continue to experiment with food knowing he's getting that formula.

It will be cheaper anyway if you just cut down instead of switching :)

@lyinginthegutterstaringatstars

Cows milk is recommended because follow on milk/ toddler milk is a marketing con and full of added Sugar. Have a look at some labels .

This is misleading. Maybe some cheaper brands and perhaps unethical brands like nestle that might be true for, but I've just looked at 3 separate formulas and none of them contained added sugar in any form. Sugar content was solely from lactose just like in cow's milk.

What a weird thread. People do know that formula is processed cows' milk right? Why give a more expensive, processed version, when you give the fresh stuff at a fraction of the price?

My toddler is so fussy with food but loves milk so I’m considering going back to formula... he won’t even take multi vitamins 🙄

Again labelling something as bad because it is "processed" is bad. Formula has to confirm to strict regulations and has been created to provide nutrients that babies need to grow healthily.

There is no need to switch from stage 1 formula really. It's much more regulated than follow on formulas.

I wish people would actually research stuff before making sweeping statements.

@Countdowntonothing what total rubbish. Of course children are absorbing the vitamins and minerals from formula same as from any other fortified food. It’s frightening that you think such things. It’s totally made up and not based on science at all.

Studies in the developing world have actually showed huge benefits to health and development for fortified food for young children (versus non fortified). It’s usually flour but some studies have used fortified milk.

The anti formula dogma annoys me - we should treat it like anti vaccers. It’s a woman’s choice to breastfeed or not (or to stop breastfeeding at six months, one, etc) and formula milk is a very healthy food for babies and young children. Probably the healthiest food available in fact.

But after the age of 1 they dont need 500 mls of formula any more. Around 300/350mls is recommended so they dont fill up on milk and then have no room for solid food.

@VictoriasCousin - emm - growing up milk is actually tailored to have less casein and therefore should be less filling than cows milk. Also it has no more calories than cows milk. So it’s coincidence I’m afraid if your son got chubby at that age.

I sound like the milk marketing board (for the avoidance of doubt I’m not and I don’t even think it exists anymore) but it’s just that I have a bee in my bonnet about this rubbish.

@dementedpixie there was an interesting simulation study done in 2015 on what would happen if at 1 year we gave young children's formula instead of switching to cow's milk and they theorised that deficiencies in certain vitamins would go from a rate of 95% of children being deficient to under 5%. And you are right that the simulation used an amount of 300ml of formula. I have 500ml in my head because I've recently had this discussion for my baby's one year health check and she said as long as they are having 500ml they don't need supplements :)

I also years ago heard about a study stating kids should be breast or formula fed until 2 ideally instead of switching at 1. It made sense to me and mentioned something about "white matter" in the brain being more developed than in children who were switched to cow's milk at 1.

Each to their own of course and it's not gospel that it's better but I personally feel that studies (and rationale when you look at the nutrient profile of formula vs cows milk) favours formula over dairy milk.

And to be fair if you're giving 300ml a day then a tub of formula would last over 3 weeks so it's still much cheaper than pre 12 months.

@CayrolBaaaskin same. I sound like a bliody formula promoter but I hate misinformed lines against formula being trotted out time and time again - it's full of added sugar, it's processed rubbish, it's like junk food, it's just marketing and has no value, etc.

It's just not the case. If cow's milk is your preference and works for you that's great but none of the downsides being stated here are accurate and very few potential benefits shown in studies are being mentioned.

I suppose what bothers me so much about the demonisation of formula is that it’s more woman bashing. You should be breastfeeding, your toddler should be eating an array of fruit and vegetables like a mini gwyneth Paltrow and your a big failure if they’re not. Don’t give them the fortified drink with all the essential vitamins and minerals, no it’s poison cooked up by some sort of evil global conspiracy. Nooo, instead give your kids baby cow food. That’s all “natural”

@PearlescentIridescent - totally! I drink fortified non dairy milk as an adult cos I prefer it.

@FrozenCharlotte because it’s processed to be more suitable and nutritious for humans. You are aware that cows milk is processed anyway, right?

@Countdowntonothing

A lot of the added vitamins and extras in formula are just for show so formula companies can market their product for £££. They're not actually absorbed by the gut and are therefore 💩 out.

Our bodies are better equipped to absorb vitamins and minerals from food that is naturally in our diet. Growing up milk in a complete con and has no purpose other then to make money. Cows milk is sufficient.

I highly doubt this

I switched to cows milk and a vitamin drop at 13 months, worked fir us, I think that's the key. If follow on formula works for you and little one then that's great, HVs all seem to give different advice, no doubt if they recommended formula people would complain they were endorsing the pricier option. My HV said that either way fine, as long as we topped up with vitamins if going for cows milk.

*A lot of the added vitamins and extras in formula are just for show so formula companies can market their product for £££. They're not actually absorbed by the gut and are thereforeout.

Our bodies are better equipped to absorb vitamins and minerals from food that is naturally in our diet. Growing up milk in a complete con and has no purpose other then to make money. Cows milk is sufficient*

I am wondering here if you are getting a bit mixed up and are talking about prebiotic FOS and GOS and the newer HMOs. These are prebiotics so yes they do technically get "shat out" the fact that they are undigested and therefore move on to feed th gut flora is the whole purpose of them. Breast milk contains HMOS and studies show that babies fed formulas containing prebiotics have a gut flora profile much more similar to breastfed babies than babies fed formulas with them.

Very interested in this thread, I think I saw things in black and white (in my own way) and thought she likes formula, sleeps well...I’ll just carry on dds recently turned 2 and is still on growing up milk stage 3..aged 1-2.I’m tempted by the stage 4 2-3...she doesn’t like cows milk.

It’s packed full of vitamins (touch wood she’s never poorly) I breast fed first 4 months and then mixed fed until 6 months. When she was just taking formula she slept better ect. If I ever had another baby I would like to start off bf though.

Also price wise, a tub seems to last ages (she has two milks a day) so even over two weeks say it costs £1 a day for her two milks. I’m sure it lasts us 3 weeks.