Confused by my pediatricians advice - formula till child is 2 years old?

D

dcthk

Registered User
Hi,
I took my daughter for her 1 year old check up yesterday and was very surprised by what her doctor told us. According to him I should continue to give my daughter formula and no cows milk till she is 2 years old. I am very confused as I know all my friends in the States transition their one year olds to full fat cows milk pretty much as they turn one.

Is this what your pediatrician has advised as well and is this a Hong Kong specific recommendation or should I be seeking a second opinion.

Thanks for your inputs.
 
is there any special reason for sticking with formula till 2yrs old? I transitioned to full cows milk at 1 years old, but my daughter didn't have any allergies nor was there any history of allergies in the family...is he trying to be cautious? I know of some families that give formula till 4-5yrs old since their children are not good eaters and the formula contains all the vitamins you will need. it's not normal for pediatricians to give that advice - at least from what I know.
 
hi dcthk,

unfortunately that seems to be quite the thing with hk docs (in particular hk-chinese even if educated abroad). my doc advised me to supplement bf with formula right from 3 months on and kept handing us samples till 1 year :) he is a good doc otherwise - never diagnosed our child wrong, never over-prescribed medicines, never given antibiotics and quite reassuring tone.

i dont know if it's the fact that locals want to give formula in any case OR commercial tie-ups OR some research linking cow's milk with harmonal imbalance (?). all i can say is take this advice with a pinch of salt and start cow's milk if you want to. see if your baby can handle cows milk and likes it - and continue by all means. my son was exclusively bf till 11 months and has been on cow's milk since then. or you could take advice at the mother-and-child-health government centers - they are really good and the advice is very very pro bf and cows milk.

regarding lack of nutrients - by one year your baby should be having two milk feeds only. milk would be a very small portion of his diet and solids would be most of it. one year olds can have most normal foods that adults in their family have. if you are very concerned - you could ask the doc to prescribe vitamin supplements.
 
thanks. i think i will take your advice and seek a second opinion. the mother and child government health centers - are those the well baby clinics at canossa, matilda etc? or are you referring to something else?

thanks again

shuchisingh said:
hi dcthk,

unfortunately that seems to be quite the thing with hk docs (in particular hk-chinese even if educated abroad). my doc advised me to supplement bf with formula right from 3 months on and kept handing us samples till 1 year :) he is a good doc otherwise - never diagnosed our child wrong, never over-prescribed medicines, never given antibiotics and quite reassuring tone.

i dont know if it's the fact that locals want to give formula in any case OR commercial tie-ups OR some research linking cow's milk with harmonal imbalance (?). all i can say is take this advice with a pinch of salt and start cow's milk if you want to. see if your baby can handle cows milk and likes it - and continue by all means. my son was exclusively bf till 11 months and has been on cow's milk since then. or you could take advice at the mother-and-child-health government centers - they are really good and the advice is very very pro bf and cows milk.

regarding lack of nutrients - by one year your baby should be having two milk feeds only. milk would be a very small portion of his diet and solids would be most of it. one year olds can have most normal foods that adults in their family have. if you are very concerned - you could ask the doc to prescribe vitamin supplements.
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dcthk - here's the link: http://www.fhs.gov.hk/english/centre_det/maternal/maternal.html

these places are govt run; we went here for our child's vaccinations. they also have periodic growth and development assessments. we were quite impressed with how good these centers are - nothing glamorous, just very thorough and professional. they are also very encouraging but at the same time realistic about feeding, bf, formula etc. (we went here on a recco and would have continued with our private pead otherwise).

but the first time you go there you have to finish registration which will take time. if that is a pain factor you could try one of the expat senior docs (like thondup) who are pro bf / cows milk. they could atleast could give a frank feedback.

all the best.
 
My sons doctor also recommend giving formula till 2, since it has more minerals and vitamins. My son is a poor eater, doesn't like fresh milk and I find formula convenient so I'm happy to stick with it. But I'm giving him stage 2 ones as I found the ones for older kids way too sweet. I'm sure you will find argument either way just decide for yourself =)
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I don't think you need to get a second medical opinion on it because I don't think there really is a right and wrong answer for this. It's really up to your preference and your child's preference. For example, my 1.5year old son hates cow's milk so I'm still giving him formula. Formula does have more minerals and vitamins added - but some people don't like that and want to give fresh organic stuff with no additives. By 1, your child should be getting most of her nutrition from other foods and not milk anyway.
 
hey... i am by no means anti-formula. i would happily have given my baby formula at six months but he refused - and a number of brands and types. at the end of the day it's a very personal choice.

all i am saying is that some docs here are almost obsessively pro-formula. and if the ONLY thing that is keeping you from giving your baby cow's milk is your doctor's advice; then a second opinion would help put your mind at ease.
 
I agree with FutureHKmom. I think this is a personal preference thing and it also depends on whether your child is a fussy eater; thus, each doctor's recommendation to each child may differ. As for me, my older son (2.5yo) is a fussy eater. So, to get the best of both worlds, I've been feeding him both formula and organic fresh milk since he was 1 yo. One feed of formula in the morning (since he doesn't eat much breakfast before school), and 1+ feed of fresh milk during the day /before sleep.

Most ppl I know who are from US/Canada prefer to go on full cow's milk after 1 yo. However, I'm not sure whether this has something to do with the fact that the diary industry has brainwashed ppl there to think that milk is the best thing for you. After reading Skinny Bitch Bun in the Oven and many other articles on this topic, I have a hard time believing cow's milk is really as good as they say..
 
Unless there's any specific medical reason I agree it's a personal choice, there are pros and cons to both formula and cow's milk after 1 year old which the other posters have covered, ultimately you won't do any harm either way.

I agree with you about the follow on milk though baffely, dreadful stuff - if I wanted to give my baby a vanilla milkshake twice a day I'd take him to Starbucks!
 
Transitioned both my boys from breastmilk to cow's milk with no allergy issues. I find it easier to carry UHT packs of cow's milk than to mix formula, so I never went that route. Also, formula tends to be sweeter than cow's milk, so I know plenty of friends that have difficulty moving their children from formula to cow's milk later - even at 4 or 5 years old! If you do have a picky eater, you can always give them a supplement that won't get confused with milk, such as Pediasure or a vitamin. My paediatrician actually tells me to dilute the Pediasure to half the recommended the strength, since children don't need all their vitamins in one serving anyway!
 
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