Hi mamas! My son (10 months) has been given the green light to go to whole milk when he's 11 months old (based on developmental milestones, height, weight, etc)....my real question is DOES it make a difference if he has whole milk at 11 months, 10 months 3 weeks, 10 1/2 months, etc? I'm trying to figure out how many more weeks I need to buy formula!
PROS of Formula:
1. Awesome source of nutrition for him (I realize they say formula/breastmilk is best for first year)
PROS of Milk:
1. Cheaper
2. More convenient....Easier to make / prepare
3. Have it places (parents, friends, out to eat)
I KNOW formula is best, but does a few weeks really make a difference? He's drinks about 25-30 ounces (most days, sometimes it's only 20 ounces) of formula each day, three full meals (table food), two snacks and sometimes water/juice. He's in the 90th percentile for height, 50% for weight.
What are your thoughts? PROS? CONS?
Personally, I don't think a few weeks will make a difference. How about mix it up and do half and half at home for a few weeks? If you're out at another place and they have milk--just give him milk. Good luck!
I would say that if your pediatrician gave you the green light, to go ahead and do it. You can mix 1/2 milk 1/2 formula till he's a year, if you want. He's taking an awful lot of formula. I would also try to cut back on that. If he drinks that much milk, he's going to be super constipated. Replace a few of the bottles with water. He might just be thirsty as opposed to hungry.
I started my son on cow's milk at 10 months, introduced over the course of a few weeks (he was breastfed or fed expressed milk -- I replaced one bottle every few days with cow's milk). We were ready to wean at that point but I didn't see the point of introducing formula for two months and then switching to cow's milk. My mom said when we were babies they gave cow's milk at 6 months or earlier. I don't think a couple weeks will make a difference.
My son is over 2 now and still drinks some formula (for toddlers), with his pediatrician's approval. It has a lot of vitamins and minerals in it so it is a good source of nutrition. I sometimes mix milk and formula too. Formula is handy sometimes while traveling etc, and sometimes milk is easy to just pour and give. I would say, you can do a little bit of both... and gradually switch to milk.
Well it really depends on how much you have left. I would probably leave him on it until 11 months, but a week probably isn't going to matter. Also, I agree that you should probably start mixing it with formula to see how he'll take it. My daughter didn't care one bit, I mixed it, but I don't think she would have cared. My son is only 9 months, but I think he's going to be more resistant to milk than his sister! I started with a 25% milk and eventually moved to 100%. I don't think at 11 months he's going to develop an allergy or intolerance to it. Presumably he's already been eating cheeses and yogurt and maybe even ice cream, so if he was going to develop something it would have happened.
I would wait until 11 months and then start to transition. I would recommend buying organic milk, if you don't already.
I would wait it out till baby is over a year.
This is taken from the article linked below:
Cow's milk is not recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for children under 1 year old. Infants fed whole cow's milk don't get enough vitamin E, iron, and essential fatty acids. They also get too much protein, sodium, and potassium. These levels may be too high for the infant's system to handle. Also, whole cow's milk protein and fat are more difficult for an infant to digest and absorb.
Cow's milk just isn't something infant's bodies are designed to handle. Clearly, cow's milk isn't going to give your developing baby what he needs until he is at least 1. You only have a few more weeks till baby is 1. Even at that I waited till my little ones were even over a year old to start introducing cow's milk slowly. It's not like *poof* they are 1 their body is ready.
The sooner you give him milk the more risk of him have an intolerence to it even if the doctor says they're ready...had this problem and ended up not being able to come off formula until 2 because milk made him so sick, then it finally went away. Just a warning, if you've decided to give it to him at 11months, I would actually wait until 11 months. A couple of weeks in your life span and development is nothing, but at these young ages, a ton of development happens each week.
In all honesty, it probably doesn't make a difference if you do it today or 3 weeks from now.
If it were my child, I'd probably wait just so I didn't have it on my conscience if something were to happen down the road, but nutritionally, you're probably OK if the pediatrician believes so.
We found that Costco's formula was cheapest when we had to switch our daughter from breastmilk so I could start chemo. We probably saved $hundreds by getting it in bulk vs. smaller quantities at Target, etc.
Our kids were both 90%+ in height/weight, but our pediatrician didn't give us the green light until after their 12 month well-baby visits.
If you continue formula (I actually did a milk/formula mix from about age 10m to 1 year), then do as another poster suggested and buy Kirkland brand from Costco or a store brand. Kroger Comforts and Target brand is GREAT and 1/2 the price of name brand formula! The FDA MANDATES that ALL formulas have the exact same nutritional value because it's unfair to cheat lower-income kids and families who have to buy store brands.
Since your child is where he needs to be, it probably doesn't matter, but it can't hurt to continue the nutrition of formula for a little while. You do say he eats well -as long as he's eating good, whole foods -proteins, veggies and fruits and grains, he should be okay.
If you got the ok I'd go for it. But if you're not sure he's getting his full nutrition from the food he's eating, though it sounds like he is, switch to a toddler formula it's cheaper and offers more fortification, including iron, than straight milk does and it's going to take you a little while to wean him from 25-30 oz of formula to the 16-24 oz of milk they should have daily.
