weaning 12 month old - is it best to introduce formula or regular milk?

Hi,

I am wanting to move towards weening our DD.
I would love to BF for longer, but we are also wanting to TTC and I have to go on fertility drugs for this to happen.

SHe is not much of a lover of EBM - I have tried every bottle & cup etc known to modern man! LOL! But they have had *some* success at Day Care. As she is now also almost one, I was wanting to introduce regular milk. So at the moment, as of the last few days, she has on her cereal and in her bottle 50% EBM, 25% regular/cows milk and 25% water, with the aim of gradualy increasing the cows milk/decreasing the breast milk.

However, I have since been "told" by another mum (with a bub same age, who is also starting IVF and has to wean) who saw one of the nurses at community health, who told her that she should not give cows milk until 2 and she should have either soy milk or formula.

I dont like the idea of soy milk, and I would have thought that cows milk was a more natural alternative than formula, and given that she is 12mo would have been ok??? any ideas on this???

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However, I have since been "told" by another mum (with a bub same age, who is also starting IVF and has to wean) who saw one of the nurses at community health, who told her that she should not give cows milk until 2 and she should have either soy milk or formula.

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So so wrong. Cows milk is fine for 12 months. I'd very quite surprised if her maternal nurse gave her that information but I guess sometimes you never know.

Good luck with weaning.

i agree, unless there is some sort of allergy then no reason not to go straight to cows milk. i thought the only stipulation was that it should be full fat until they're 2.

Both my boys went onto cows milk when they were weaned at 13 and 14 months respectively. DS2 wasn't keen to give up the boob so I tried formula thinking it might have been the cow's milk he didn't like, but he refused the formula completely. Can't blame him... it tastes horrible!

My understanding was that they can't digest cow's milk protein very well early on so you introduce it later. If your DD hasn't shown any igns of intoleranceor general digestive issues then I wouldn't think it was a problem.

I agree with Fiona. I'm pretty sure the current advice is that cows milk is fine from 12 months. Certainly that's when I introduced it to DS.

Personally, if you're not already using formula for top ups etc I would steer clear of it and simply wean to cows milk but that is just my opinion. You could call the ABA as they would have up to date research-based advice/recommendations for you.

Gee I have never heard to wait until 2, both of mine have gone onto cows milk at 12 months. I guess introduce it slowly and watch for any allergies, intolerances, etc, etc.

Hi,
Definitely no need for formula. Also, don't feel you need to replace all breastfeeds with milk. They just need food at this age, including calcium (which they can get from other things as well), so milk can just be a part of their diet, not a major component of it.
The ABA will have advice on how best to go about weaning too

I'm not sure what kind of drugs you need to take, but you might find THIS THREAD interesting. I didn't wean when I did the IVF cycle my DD was conceived on.

All the best!

Thanks ladies - I had thought that 12 months was fine for regular/cows milk, but had a bit of a panic after my friend told me what the CHN told her. I myself have been giving the CHN a wide berth after a VERY bad experioence, so have been muddling along on my own - and with help from BB of course ;)

thanks Mad for that link - very interesting. I will be taking Clomid (well that's what I took for DD) but I really don't like the idea of DD getting even any of it. And she is still a 5 or 6 times a day feeder so not sure how I could stagger it and feeding, and how she would cope with a decreased supply. Which brings me on to the next bit.
After putting the post up (even before reading that thread Mad, but it did re-inforce my decision) I decided that I am NOT going to force wean my DD for that sake of a "possible pg" - so we will just go with BF for now. Fingers crossed it happens on it's own (both the pg & DD weaning).

Yay! Hope that works for you both Milly. You may find a big change in feeding habits even within the next 3-6 months. :goodluck:

I think cow's milk is preferable to *toddler* formula from a teeth point of view - the formula is very sweet and more likely to cause cavities.

I have read that toddlers shouldn't have more than a certain amount of milk a day - this is because the very high calcium content of cows milk can block iron absorption and lead to iron deficiency.... I can't remember what that amount is though! Definitely food should be the primary source of nutrients, including calcium if possible (though it is hard to get toddlers to eat enough broccoli, etce tc for that to happen often!)

Good luck ttc!

The OP have said everything I was going to say regarding cows milk V formula etc.

Just a thought on how to introduce some regular milk .. we give DD a warm "frothy" every morning ... she does not actually like the froth but I call it a frothy because I make the milk with the coffee machine. When I cut out the "breakfast" feed I gave her warmed milk and it worked for us.. We give her, her breakfast about 30 min after her milk.

HTH
Nae x x