12 month baby - formula or cow's milk

M

mrs

Registered User
my son is now 12 months and I am wondering if most mums switched their bubs to cow's milk or continued on formula. If you continued on formula did you switch to the 12 mth and up version? what's the difference or is it basically a marketing thing? what were your reasons for sticking to formula or switching to cows milk?
 
I switched to soy milk (son has dairy allergy) at 12 mos. By then, he had been introduced to all major food groups and he could get all the nutrients he needed from real food.

But he was not a picky eater, and ate a wide variety of foods, so if your bub refuses to eat a variety of foods, you might want to stick to a toddler formula just to be sure he's getting all his nutrients. but it's entirely your call I think.
 
I am also wondering about this...The reason I have delayed switching is that I'm not sure my son would get all the nutrients he needs from solids and cow's milk, if I replaced the formula with cow's milk. We are now trying to cut down formula and build up solids but will probably introduce one cow's milk feed this week. My son has been eating yogurt and cheese without problems so I'm not anticipating allergic reactions.
 
we switched both of our sons to cow's milk at 13 months without any problems. by 12 months, children should be getting all of their nutrients through their diet. my sons had been eating yogurt, cheese since 6 months so i knew they were getting their calcium and the worry of allergies was not really an issue. my american pediatrician advised me to just switch to cow's milk while my HK pediatrician told me to slowly wean it out (i.e. 80% formula, 20% milk until it's 100% milk). we decided to just give 100% cow's milk as per my US pediatrician. If they didn't like it, then we would mix it. Needless to say, it was not a problem and our kids just drank it up.

I am thrilled to be a formula free household now :).
 
It is purely a marketing thing- formula is mostly cows milk after all. As Southside852 says, after 12 months a balanced diet should provide all nutrients to your baby. Breastfeeding after 12 months is a different story, because it continues to provide your antibodies to your baby as well as offering comfort and nuturing through nursing. HK has obviously really bought the formula marketing (maybe due to a lack of availability of cows milk in the past or concerns about its safety- but formula isnt immune to that issue either!) but if you research there is no evidence to support that formula after 12 months provides anything nutriently that couldn't be obtained by a normal balanced diet.

I was concerned as neither of my children liked cows milk but was reassured by my Australian paeditrician that they would obtain sufficient calcium from the cheese and yoghurt they had in their diet.
 
TNT said:
It is purely a marketing thing- formula is mostly cows milk after all. As Southside852 says, after 12 months a balanced diet should provide all nutrients to your baby.
Click to expand...

Agree, but what if one is unsure one is providing the balanced diet or that one's kid is consuming it? At least with formula, you're kind of assured the nutrients are there. Like a vitamin supplement. So it's kind of an easy way out, though not sure how long it's advisable to continue.

Also, agree there's an overlap but does formula=cow's milk? As in, does cow's milk have exactly the same nutrients as formula. Apart from calcium, which my baby is getting from other sources anyway, does cow's milk have other nutrients like iron, zinc etc. in the same proportion as formula? If not, not sure what the point of replacing formula with cow's milk is... except that babies seem to like to drink something.

Genuinely asking as I'm a bit confused about this issue.
 
I didn't even switch over to cow's milk--we went with powdered goat's milk--so much easier for my son to digest and he stopped having constipation from there on out. Then we've given him soy milk as well and then sometimes cow's milk but we started with goat's milk when he was about 10 months-old (still gave him formula until he was about 13-months-old as well). Worked well for us.
 
For both our kids, we switched over to cow's milk at 12mths. They are both breastfed. The added vitamins and minerals in formula were not deciding factors for us. Instead it was more of a choice to feed them fresh produce, unprocessed food as much as possible. We make sure the kids are offered variety of food and dairy products. In fact, because we don't have any "backup supplementary plan" should they have poor diets, we try harder to make mealtimes happy and encourage the kids to eat. Im happy it has worked out for us.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using GeoClicks Mobile
 
my son went from BF to ows milk at about 11.5 months. He never took to formula and instantly loved cows milk - so the decision was his. our bub doesnt love food either - he eats normal regular food but is not very open to variety. he's also not interested in food per se (which i suspect he gets from me).

formula / bf / cows milk - in any scenario post first birthday milk intake should ideally come down to twice a day. nutrients and balanced diet would need to be tackled sooner or later. sooner is better because the rigidity increases as babies get older. it's much better to introduce them to wider pallette or get them used to eating good amounts earlier. i know it's easier said than done but nonetheless.
 
Depends on the reasoning for switching -
if for budget, then formula may cost more or less the same as cow's milk in HK
but it's definitely easier for you to go out with your little one with cow's milk (bring much less stuff and could buy the cow's milk)
And the formulars for 12+ and the new born one are different, even though some docotors said you don't have to switch... but it costs much less for a 12+! Hope this help.
 
My three boys started on cow's milk at 12 months. Cow's milk in the little UHT boxes are great. I get the ones from the USA at Prizemart for HK$3.
 
A number of the 12 month + formulas are very sweet and have added vanilla flavouring. I bought the cow and gate one and it absolutely reeked of vanilla so I threw it away. I believe this is a cynical attempt by the formula companies to get children used to the taste of what is essentially a vanilla milkshake twice a day so the switch to cow's milk, whenever it takes place, is a difficult one - I think most people would prefer a vanilla milkshake to a glass of milk!

This article is worth a read too http://www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/search/label/Follow On Milk
 
JVN, I think you are right about Cow and Gate being sweet...I figured all formula was though so continued with it. Fortunately, we just tried cow's milk on my son and he seems to be taking to it without a fuss. Yay!

Which formula did you opt for instead... something to keep in mind for number 2.
 
Hi Ladies
My daughter will be 2 next month. I did try breastfeeding initially, but my milk was very late coming on following a section birth. When my poor baby finally got the choice, she actually showed a preference to the formula milk anyway - so who am I to argue.
Hannah has gone through each stage of Cow & Gate milk without any fuss or upset tummies etc.
My daughter isn't a fussy eater as such, but because I know that the formula milk has all the extra nutirents her little body needs to grow it's reassuring for me as a Mummy - especially on those days when she just wants to eat crap, or just doesn't feel like eating due to being unwell. If its one of those days when it's difficult to get anything into her, I know she only needs two beakers of milk to sustain her... which is one less thing for me to worry about.
The great thing about the Cow & Gate Milk is that they also produce a formula using semi-skimmed milk - which can be used from age 2 upwards.
Yes buying milk is less expensive at face value, but if your little one is only drinking 2 beakers per day, a box of formula goes a long way and is great value. For me, also though, I can take formula out with me and mix the amount I need, or for little holidays and days out, I just buy the pre-made cartons...which has been a boon in getting her off the bottle.
I hope my ramblings have helped. Best wishes
 
we've actually traveled a great deal throughout Asia using the small UHT Pura cartons like a mom mentioned above. It's been soo easy and when have trips longer than 3 nights, we bring a couple of large UHTs in our suitcases. I personally think it's easier than formula. I hated mixing it with water, carrying all those bottles on flights etc...Our sons only drank bottled water when we used formula and it was just a pain. Now, we just bring on 2-3 small cartons of milk on flights and fill as needed.

I think you'll find more locals, keep their children on formula much longer. My local Singaporean friend had her child on formula until 2.5 years old.

I guess in the end, like most choices, you have to do what feels right for you and your family.
 
yes bonita- -that is correct, it's mind boggling to me. but i guess there are its pros, especially if your baby is poor eater. i switched to cows milk at 12mths for both my first two and plan to do the same with #3. it's just more convenient for me...didn't realize that formula was made from cows milk (at least some of them) cause one of the worries my sis has is that cows milk is filled with too many hormones and that kids in general should have less of it...what do people think of that? is that a valid concern?
 
Growing up milks aren't a marketing ploy...they can definitely bring more nutrients and benefits to my daughters diet... Yes, a varied diet can provide all of this...but my child is quite a small eater, and so at least by boosting this with a growing up milk, she's getting the best of both worlds. Another benefit of growing up milk, is great for when out and about, as you can just add water to the formula, without the need to keep refrigerated, as you would with cows milk. Works for us, and our daughter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top