Cows milk Questions

[Deleted]

I let DD try a little cows milk today from H's glass. She absolutely loved it. I've heard that the 12mos+ baby formula is just marketing and serves no real purpose, but have you heard anything different from your doctors on the subject?

I'm thinking of jumping her straight to cows milk at 12 months when she is at daycare instead of pumped BM or formula and then just continuing to nurse her when I'm with her. But I know that the baby formula is fortified with all kinds of stuff too...

Also, do you do organic cows milk? I'm not a big milk drinker and only put it in my breakfast cereal when I don't have yogurt.

What age can you stop giving daily bottles/glasses of milk anyway? Assuming the child has calcium from other sources, I wouldn't think milk is a necessary part of the diet.

[starlily]

My doctor never suggested the 12+ month toddler formula. We just went straight to cow's milk. We EFF prior to that.

I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with milk, or a reason to exclude it from our diets, so I'll continue to offer DD1 a choice of milk or water for as long as she likes milk.

[h]

All my kids drank WCM starting at 12 months. I thought going to WCM at 12 months was standard absent an allergy, intolerance, or a medical issue necessitating formula or an alternative milk. I would absolutely not feel compelled to send formula or breastmilk to day care for a 1 yo unless your doctor says it is necessary.

We use organic milk. I offer milk to my kids, and they generally drink a glass or two of it a day, but I don 't push it or stress if they don't want it. They eat plenty of cheese and yogurt, too.

[Jalapeñomel]

D started drinking a little WCM starting at 11 months, and then transitioned to half cows milk/half almond milk when he weaned around 12.5 months.

[Deleted]

Jan 31, 2015 10:41:47 GMT -5 h said:

All my kids drank WCM starting at 12 months. I thought going to WCM at 12 months was standard absent an allergy, intolerance, or a medical issue necessitating formula or an alternative milk. I would absolutely not feel compelled to send formula or breastmilk to day care for a 1 yo unless your doctor says it is necessary.

We use organic milk. I offer milk to my kids, and they generally drink a glass or two of it a day, but I don 't push it or stress if they don't want it. They eat plenty of cheese and yogurt, too.

In France they really push the 'Lait de Croissance' which is basically formula for toddlers. I think it has extra vitamins and possibly extra fats. I think it is a marketing ploy here, but I'm not sure if it is uncommon in the States or not.

[Pilsy]

Nobody I know uses formula past 12 months, if that helps.

We aren't there yet, but I plan to stop pumping at 12 months and will nurse her when I can but will otherwise give her WCM.

[cricketwife]

Definitely WCM at 12 months. Some people start a little earlier if they finish their last container of formula or if they stop nursing/pumping and don't want to introduce formula for such a short period of time. We went about two weeks past because I was trying to finish what we had. DS drinks about 15 oz of WCM a day now. Like you, I'm not a milk drinker at all, but I will give him milk as long as he wants it.

eta: we do organic milk. I'm not convinced that not also a marketing ploy, but somehow I feel better about it. 

[Deleted]

i am also in france and our pedi told us to continue with the lait croissance until age 2... so that's toddler formula, even though she eats everything. i didn't even know it existed in the US because all i knew was that people started their toddlers on WCM at 12months, and then recently my mom told me she saw an ad for toddler formula in the Target flyer. my understanding is that if your toddler eats well, lots of veggies/fruit/etc then the toddler formula isn't totally necessary. i am just doing it because pedi said to. i dropped my toddler down to 1 bottle a day, just the morning one with formula, at 9mo and then switched from a bottle to a sippy cup with the same formula at 15mo. the second serving of dairy for her is yogurt instead of a milk bottle, in the afternoon, which we started at 9mo.

[penguingrrl]

The only kids I knew who were on formula as toddlers were preemies who had had some health issues and would benefit from the extras in the special formula or kids who ate few to no veggies and in those cases they were on regular formula not the toddler version. Everyone else I know either kept nursing, gave WCM or eschewed milk and made sure to give a diet that provided the calcium, fat and protein WCM gives.

[Deleted]

My kid still had formula after 12 months but he was a crappy eater and small for his age. But in your case I see no issues - go for it!

[ringstrue]

If you are nervous about vitamins you can do the baby vitamin drops. Also the baby cereals are fortified with iron. WCM is pretty nutrient filled tho.

We did organic milk when DD first switch but eventually I went to the less expensive hormone-free milk that most companies adhere to now.