Cow's milk

NenaMarie84

Has anyone started their LO on cow's milk yet? I guess more specifically anyone under 12 months. With my drop in supply lately I'm thinking we may switch before 12 months. Our dr said we can at 10 months if she does good with other dairy products. Just curious if anyone has experience with this.

teacher0708

I have started giving her a little bit in a sippy cup. She likes it. I did this with my son as well. My dr is fine with it. 

NenaMarie84

Our Dr said she was okay with it at 10 months as long as she is getting a good variety of solids to give her the fats/nutrients she needs that aren't in the milk.

Rebis58

We're planning to wait until 12 months. I always thought cow's milk was a no-no before then? Hmm I'll have to ask at our 9 month appt next week.

Speaking of cow's milk - my SIL said that when we're ready to introduce cow's milk, we should use formula to transition her. She has two boys, so is more experienced than me, plus her mom is a maternity nurse so normally I follow her advice, but this seems unnecessary to me. Anyone else heard of this?

(I'm not sure if she went breast milk -> formula -> cow's milk or if she did breast milk/formula -> formula/cow's milk -> cow's milk, or what. It was a brief conversation and I kind of thought it was weird advice, plus we're nowhere near starting cow's milk, so I just dropped it)

mommygrams0730

We're fully on cows milk, I used my last frozen bag earlier this week, and he's just fine. I think I transitioned with my first around 11-11.5 months old and right at 12 with my second. My supply dropped and then pretty much went away after my miscarriage last month so I stopped pumping and my huge frozen supply went pretty quick.

babybuns2

My supply dropped when I got pregnant again, so I asked our pedi at her 9 month appt about cows milk/formula if my supply went completely dry. Our doctor said there is absolutely no reason to do formula for that short of a period of time, and if my supply were do go completely away, to just start cows milk early and it would be fine. She DID say to limit the cows milk to 18oz/day before 12 months because it can interfere with iron absorption or something. So the rest of her fluid intake would be water. She also said, as pp's have mentioned, to make sure her solids intake is enough and is rich in iron and healthy fats.

ETA: fwiw, my supply is still holding on, so we haven't actually tried cows milk yet. That's just the info we got from our pedi.

Lena122

I recently learned that in Canads it is reccomended to start CM before age 1. My oldest was FF and he started around 11 months. DD just turned 10 months and she's BF. I'll probably start offering a few ounces in a sippy a day around 11 months. I won't use it to replace any feedings until after she's 1.

km_md

Lena122 said:

I recently learned that in Canads it is reccomended to start CM before age 1. My oldest was FF and he started around 11 months. DD just turned 10 months and she's BF. I'll probably start offering a few ounces in a sippy a day around 11 months. I won't use it to replace any feedings until after she's 1.

That's not true of all of Canada. I'm Canadian and 12 months or later is the norm where I am. We are working with a pedi and a dietician for DD because of her reflux issues so I've been told that things are always changing but many still recommend waiting to introduce cows milk.

chicki1012

At DS 9 month appt. our dr gave us the ok to switch then. DS is on formula and I was thinking on doing half and half but I think I'm going to wait another month at 11mobths.

mkat10414

At our 9 month appointment we were also told to start introducing it around the 11 month mark and also to switch over to sippy cups and no more bottles.

MrsW062610

Our pedi originally said that we could switch from BM to cows milk at 9 months if I could BF til then. I ended up doing 50/50 BM and formula starting at 7 months. But we can introduce it at anytime now. I will probably wait another month.

cpm1223

Our pedi said no cows milk til after 12 months. I've never heard of anyone doing it before then so I wasn't surprised that she said to wait. I'm more surprised that some of you were told to introduce it now. I thought babies needed the added nutrients that are in formula or BM til 1

Rebis58

Lena122 said:

I recently learned that in Canads it is reccomended to start CM before age 1. My oldest was FF and he started around 11 months. DD just turned 10 months and she's BF. I'll probably start offering a few ounces in a sippy a day around 11 months. I won't use it to replace any feedings until after she's 1.

I'm in Canada and I've never heard or been advised to give cow's milk before age 1

Rebis58

itsmeally said:

Rebis58 said:

We're planning to wait until 12 months. I always thought cow's milk was a no-no before then? Hmm I'll have to ask at our 9 month appt next week.

Speaking of cow's milk - my SIL said that when we're ready to introduce cow's milk, we should use formula to transition her. She has two boys, so is more experienced than me, plus her mom is a maternity nurse so normally I follow her advice, but this seems unnecessary to me. Anyone else heard of this?

(I'm not sure if she went breast milk -> formula -> cow's milk or if she did breast milk/formula -> formula/cow's milk -> cow's milk, or what. It was a brief conversation and I kind of thought it was weird advice, plus we're nowhere near starting cow's milk, so I just dropped it)

I don't think that's true at all.  If you're on breast milk, you should be able to go right to a transition to CM, if you want to stop breastfeeding.

Here's a kelly mom link.

https://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/toddler-foods/#cowmilk

I didn't think so! It seemed silly to me to use formula to transition, and like a waste of money

LittleMommaBlueHen

With DS1 we started mixing donor breastmilk with whole milk 2 weeks before his 1st birthday per advice of the pediatrician.  DD didn't have any cows milk until almost 18 months old due to medical issues.  DS2 will probably not have any until he starts weaning.

mommabird77

When my son was a baby, they told us 12 months.

We go to a different doctor now, but at Viv's 9 month appt.  the pedi told us we can start to introduce whole cow's milk now (at 9 months).  Viv is fully on formula, so she told us to switch 1 bottle a day to a sippy with WCM in it.  She said over time, we can start upping her cow's milk, and lowering her formula.  Viv has no allergies, and is an amazing table food eater as well.

umma4babes

My pedi said to introduce dairy like yogurt and cheese but not necessarily replace formula with milk at this point since formula has more complete nutrition than cow's milk alone. DD eats variety of food well, but I'm not a nutritionist and worry if DD isn't getting all the vitamins and minerals needed.

That said, I have introduced goat's milk into DD's diet. DD is not allergic/intolerant to cow's dairy but she had been on Hipp organic formula (German but I get the UK version) forever which is a lot gentler than most other US formula. It's just been really difficult get shipments from UK lately and the times I gave DD US organic formula has been tough on her so I'm just a bit nervous. I did a lot of research and seems like goat's milk has more nutrients and gentle than cow's milk. She seems to love the taste. I have replaced 1/4 of her daily formula with goat's milk at this point. I will go up to 1/3 next month and so on.

Rebis58

esd said:

For those that are doing cows milk now or before 12 months - did your Drs talk to you about anemia/iron, vitamin, or sodium issues? Those are generally more of the concerns as opposed to lactose intolerance. I'm just curious if the thinking has changed. My pedi isn't ok with cows milk until 12 months - he specifically made a point to tell me BM or formula until then.

This is my thinking as well. I spoke with my doctor yesterday at DD's 9 month and she said that the reason "they" recommend waiting until after 12 months to introduce cow's milk (as opposed to yogurt and cheese, which is recommended before 12 months) is because breast milk and formula have vitamins and nutrients that babies need, some of which are not present in cow's milk. But maybe if they're having balanced foods for their solid meals that makes up for it? I don't know.

(That said, a friend recently told me she switched to cow's milk before 12 months and her toddler is very healthy - /anecdote - so I don't think it's really that huge of a deal one way or the other)

MissMeegs

Does anyone have good resources for nutrition? For solids we've pretty much just gone with a cereal/fruit/veggie/some meats plan, but I personally think DS gets way too many carbs (as in, the cereal and fruit aspects of his diet seem to far outweigh the better stuff at this point) and would like to focus on balancing his meals better before we switch to cow milk.

DH and I are both carb junkies, something I plan to work on with a nutritionist after I pop DS2 out next month (I'm 8 months prego, asking me to cut carbs now might actually kill me!). Would hate to start DS down that path! I was feeding him bits of my roll at a restaurant the other night and of course he went nuts for it. I felt like such a bad mommy, heh. Oh, the guilt. He also loves pasta pretty much more than any other food. I feel you, DS, I so feel you!

Rebis58

@MissMeegs I feel ya on the carb love! It's hard too because the carbs (fruit, bread, crackers, Cheerios) are so easy to prepare for a quick meal or quick snack for the babies, aren't they.

I've been wanting to add more veggies so what I've done is have veggies cut up in containers in the fridge so it's easier to prepare them in the moment. I just steam them or microwave them. I also bought frozen peas and carrots which are quick and easy to prepare and DD loves them. We gave DD quinoa recently (I know it's a carb but I guess it's a "better" carb option) and I was shocked to find out she LOVES it. Like, favourite food loves it. So random. And it's easy to make.

I am interested in other low carb suggestions because this is an area I struggle with as well!

SandFHasse

I won't switch him until 12 months, but he has had some. He likes to steal DD's sippy cup

MissMeegs

Arya808 said:

@MissMeegsHere is a resource that I have referred to in the past. It's actually meant for the WIC program but I found it really helpful.

Infant Feeding Guide

Helpful, thanks!

I don't want to be overly paranoid about the carbs, I mean who doesn't use Cheerios as a go-to baby snack--I just worry a little. DH and I both have weight problems and both have had them from childhood on, so I know DS has been dealt some bad genetic cards on that front and I'd love to get him hooked on good veggies and protein as early as possible!

mamatobe1235

I haven't heard of CM before 12m! Something I'll definitely have to ask our pedi next week. Harvey does so well with every other food we've tried so far, including cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products. Maybe we could start trying it in a few weeks.

NenaMarie84

I'm trying to figure out if DD's current increase in runny poops is from dairy or teething. How would I know? I'm assuming by stopping the dairy is the only way?

tesskerr

I was told formula till 12 months because it is a complete food for babies, BUT they can have cows milk as a "drink" before then. So LO has 3 meals a day, 3 bottles of formula a day, and a couple of snacks. But she will have cows milk on her breakfast, might have a few sips of my strawberry or chocolate milk (i know, so bad...) or share some icecream with me. She also eats cheese and yogurt every day. I will probably not buy another tin of formula though, she is nearly 11 months, this one will prob last another week or 2.