Deciding Between Weaning to Milk or Formula Before Traveling to Dominican Rep.

Go to whole milk - the reccomended age is 12 months, but if she is been having formula for a couple of months with no reaction she will be fine - I have helped moms through a support group for five years now and this question has come up many times.

Hi!

We traveled to the DR just after my daughter turned 1. I kept her on formula because the resort offered filtered water and I was unsure of the milk situation.

It worked out great. We took playtex nursers with drop-ins and a bunch of extra nipples to mimize the need to wash/sterilize bottles and nipples. We got boiling water from the kitchen and cleaned the nipples that way.

I think that changing to milk before the trip would be easier. Then you wouldn't have to worry about making bottles and the water, and what if you run out of formula? will they have it there??

You are better to make the transition now as opposed to a month from now, in my opinion. You can't trust the water there AT ALL. In fact, it was only a few years ago that formula companies urged mothers there to quit breastfeeding, and use formula only to find out the majority of the children died. Go figure. So, you can't rely on having access to good water there. Not to mention, what if you get stuck somewhere and she wants milk? All your bottled water is gone???? So, I think you have the right instincts about this. Go ahead and make the switch.

Not to mention, other countries do sell the ultra homogenized milk.

In regards to giving your little girl milk or not: It is not recommended that cow milk, goat milk, soy milk be given to infants under 1 year of age. Here are a couple of links you can use to help your decision:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002448.htm

http://www.saanendoah.com/compare.html

I've traveled with my son since he was 4 months old. I suggest you bring a bag full of your daughters favorite books, toys, and be prepared to get up a few times to go to the bathroom with her; it gives us you and your little one a change of scenery.

I hope some of these suggestions are helpful.

~A. Asuncion Higgins

Would you have trouble getting milk while you're there that would be considered safe? I'm thinking cows are raised differently than in the states.
You definitely can wean your 11 month to whole milk. I did it that early as well.
I would advise that you bring "Horizon" shelf stable milk with you in case you worry about the safety of the milk.

(I'm really not an advocate of Horizon since they really are not an organic company, but they have the best shelf stable milk boxes out there)

I traveled with a three month old to Aruba and used a combination of nursing and formula. For the formula, I bought bottled water and the baby was fine. And, formula is easy to travel with.

Me personally i would go ahead and give her milk and see if she tolerates it well. Becuase you could get somewhere while your there that you don't have bottled water and you would be safe if you already have given her milk before. You can normally give milk anywhere after 9mo. as long as you don't suspect an alergy. I would also offer it only in a cup. The more options you have on the trip the better. You don't want to get somewhere you can't get water or maybe you run out of formula and you need another option. The more the better.

Hi, my daughter is going to be 1 on the 18th and we are going home on the 15th for 3 weeks..so b/c of this I switched her to milk a little over a week ago. It just seemed easier to switch her before we went on vacation b/c I thought it would be too much for her to go to a new place and change over to milk. I switched her a little early just to make sure that she was alright on it (I gave it to her in a sippy cup from day one so no more bottle!! I wanted her off the bottle as soon as possible..try Playtex transitional sippy cups). The pediatrician told me it was fine to switch her over a little early, too. Plus, I remember traveling with her when she was 3 months and having to have formula and bottles and clean water on you in the airport (which by the way you can't carry water on..or at least they wouldn't let me..so we had to buy it in bottles from the airport)was just a pain..I had like 3 carry-ons for her!! It just seems easier to me to have a cup of milk and then food and snacks for her to have on the plane. But its all about what you feel comftorable doing..I would definately used bottled water though!! Oh, and have fun!! My husband has been there before..he said its beautiful!!

I would make the transition now, so she is accustomed to milk before you go. I don't know if you use bottles, sippy cups or cups with straws, but when we traveled with my 14 month old son, I was sorry that I hadn't trained him to use a straw. We had to keep cleaning the sippy cup over and over and when I forgot to take it with us it was just trouble. You can get a cup with a straw anywhere. Just something to think about....

Just make sure you have a bottle of something and a pacifier for the plane trip!! My daughter was breastfed and we only had troubles after she was weaned because she didn't take a pacifier or bottle! The sippy cup didn't pop her ears and we had a terrible int'l flight. While I was still breastfeeding she was a piece of cake.