Toddler Milk or Normal Cows Milk - Your opinion??

Hey all,

Just wondering your thoughts on the use of toddlers milk over cows milk. My DD is 1 year in the next few weeks and i was looking at the toddler formula today and it got me wondering if it's worthwhile...

xoxoxo :D

As long as your child is having a varied diet there is no need to waste your money on toddler formula.
Ive had 3 kids with 1 on the way and they have all had cows milk, never toddler formula.

Hi,

it's a category of food that is completely unnecessary. What your child needs is primarily normal food. If a baby is not having breastmilk, at this age cows milk is fine. Toddler milk is pointless and largely a marketing gimmick

Not necessary, despite what the ad's tell you! My MCH back in Perth actively discouraged their use unless prescribed by a doctor or peadiatrician. Cow's milk is perfectly fine. :)

As others have said cows milk if 1 year old isn't being breast fed is perfectly fine. Toddler milk is just a gimmick. Understand that only reason we see ads for it is because they are not permitted to advertise formula for children under 1. When DS turned 1 it was cows milk I gave him though did mix with formula for about 2 weeks to make sure he didn't have any reaction to the cows milk. Gradually built up the % of cows milk and then used it 100%

Hey hun,

I was wondering the same thing! Hope you don't mind me jumping it......my DS turned 1 last week and my MCHN said to go to cow's milk and ditch the formula. She told me that DS should be getting all the goodies that formula was giving him through the solids. I have now been mixing half formula, half cow milk bottles for 2 weeks, and just two days ago went straight to 100 % cow's milk. My DS was screaming in pain today as he was horribly constipated, I figured that b/c I have cut right down on his bottles (he was still getting 3 to 4 bottles of milk every day, and now he gets 1 or 2) he is not getting all the fluid he needs. He won't drink much of water/juice anyway, although I offer him water/juice after every meal. I had to put a gel cap in his bottom, and it all came out thank goodness. I have never had this problem and hated seeing his in so much pain :cry:

B x

As other people have said cows milk is fine, but it is important to introduce it gradually. I also chose to keep my DD on formula a bit longer and didn't bother with toddler formula or milk, just kept her on the stage 2 formula she was on for a few months longer and then slowly introduced cows milk with no worries.

I would/have go the cows milk.
They recommend start using small amounts of cows milk (in breaky etc) from 9months, and then move from formula to cows milk, I never did the half/half.

Awesome, thanks ladies...cows milk it is! Do you just use the normal full fat milk or has anyone tried the 'special calcium enriched' ones???

Also, my girl is on 3 bottles a day now - one mid morn, mid arvo and then night. She has her morning bottle from a normal cup so i know she can do this (with my help) and she also very competent at using a straw cup. Did you cut out bottles all at once or one at a time??? suggestions grateful!
xo

hi love, just go full fat cows milk. She should also be getting calcium from other areas of her diet as well.
My ds is 15 months and loves his milk - so he has one in the morn, one before his nap (just after lunch) and one at bedtime. But he also drinks plenty of water too. I"m quite happy that he drinks 3 cups of milk a day for many years to come (although we'll move to skim once he's 7 or so probably).

I don't think there's a right or wrong. So long as she isn't filling up on milk before a meal; is eating well and also drinking plenty of water - if you are happy to do 3 milk drinks then why not?!

That's just my opinion and experience, so someone will most likely know a lot better than me and probably correct me! lol. hth

oh and you'll love her going onto cows milk! so much easier!!!

I guess making a gradual transition would probably be easiest. One thing - you don't need to replace all the milk with milk (if that makes sense), they need food and milk is just a part of the diet. I've known peopel who have switched all the formula bottels for bottles of cow's milk and their kids just didn't eat as they got so full of milk. The milk isn't even essential, really, as there are other ways of getting calcium etc (if your child is like mine and refuses any milk but breastmilk :))

I'm another who says go for the cows milk. I was still BFing DS2 a couple of times a day when I began to "ease" him into a little cows milk (very slightly watered down to start with). He would have been about 11 months at the time. He was happy with the taste, and over a couple of weeks I stopped adding any water. Not suggesting you or anyone else needs to water it down a tad - I just found that approach worked for him. Having said that, I give DS2 full fat yoghurt and cheese most days (plus other "normal" food, so he doesn't have that much cow's milk. At most, even now that we stopped BFing, he has max 120mml twice a day.
DS1 was hooked on formula (stopped BFing 13 months, but he then had formula for another 12 months) - took AGES to get him off that an onto cow's milk. So I decided DS2 wouldn't have formula at all (though we did BF 15 months).
Both my boys drink heaps of water too - I prefer to keep them hydrated with water over and above anything else.

DS dropped his night feed randomly at age 1 ( I think he was 15mths) and all I had was milk. So that's what he got!

I had bought stage 2 formula (and used to mix this with his cereal). I've offered him formula in a cup - which he wasn't too fussed on and wouldn't drink and I've offered cows milk and he still didn't like it. DH picked up Bellamy's toddler milk by accident and well, the little one loves it! He will polish off a bottle in no time. I'm guessing it must have inordinate amounts of sugar or something else in the flavouring that he likes. I agree the whole thing is a gimmick and they don't really need it but, FWIW I would like him to have a cup of milk during the day and, there are worse things I could be giving him!

At the moment he's having 2 - 3 BFs a day. I give him some toddler milk when I feel like he isn't getting enough from me as it feels like my supply has dropped considerably.

Another one here for not bothering with the toddler formula.

We bought one tin, just to see what it was like. DH was making a bottle and decided to have a taste, cos he thought it smelt sweeter than the usual iron-y kinda smell he was used to. He thought it tasted just like normal powdered milk, so he didn't see the point of buying it, so cows milk it was. DD had no problems switching over.

normal milk. Might as well give her Milo if your going to get toddler milk. Its cheaper & probably has less sugar.

Cows milk here too. I let him have sips if I was having some from a cup first then gave DS his own. He only has it with breakfast tho, he's still a boobie man :)

None of mine have ever had toddler milk and all of them swapped straight to cows milk when they were about 12-13mths and we never had a problem.
I agree toddler milk is a sugary gimmick...if you are worried about your toddler's nutritional intake something like pentivite would be more beneficial but most toddlers don't need it.

Except for my youngest who is still on formula at 15 mths due to weight issues.