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Formula v cow's milk v ready made follow on milk?

Hi,
We are in a dilema! Our lo is about to be 1 and I have been told to start introducing cow milk.
But when reading up about formula and follow on milk (she is currently on Aptamil) it says to use follow on milk, rather than cow's.
I have tried her on a little of both, she refuses cow's milk, but will take the follow on milk,,,,, what should I do?
If now is the time to have the follow on milk, then when should we start her with cow's?
What have you all done?
Thanks :\?
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Replies

  • hi, i kept my lo one aptimal growing up milk until she was two, it has all the vitamins and nutrients in she needed and she was happy on it, so if ur lo is happy on aptimal then carry on, its not going to hurt, and the growing up milk is designed for lo aged 1-3 yrs, if ur lo has a good varied diet and getting a range of protein, fats, carbs etc then cows milk will b fine. my hv told me to give my dd cows milk ,as formula is expensive but at the end of the day its entirely up2 u.
    xx
  • thats useful, thanks
  • I remember having this discussion with my health visitor coz you get so much conflicting advice & she said when they reach 1 to give them cows milk as long as they are on a good varied diet & that you only really need to use follow on milk if they are fussy eaters & not getting the nutrients they need through their meals alone.

    I dont think there is any right or wrong answer though & its down to personal choice. I put Amy straight to cows milk when she was 1 & shes never looked behind her.

    Hilary x
  • Thats great,
    How much milk and when does she have it?
    thanksxx
  • As everyone else said I think its personal choice. I tried changing my son onto Follow On Milk at 1. He was only having a nightime bottle by then of about 8oz. He hated it and he just stopped taking milk after that. He is 3 now and has never been a huge fan of milk. He never drinks it for me but takes it on breakfast, in omelettes etc. He also eats cheese and loves yoghurts so he gets his calcium that way. My daughter is 14 months and she too is down to one bottle before going to bed. She takes 8oz and for about a month now has been having cows milk. She loves it.
  • i have a 1 yr old, he wouldnt have cows milk, so i gave him follow on milk for 2 days then i changed it to cows milk and now he loves it!
  • i would say cows milk but totally your choice children tend not to take to it straight away cos it not sweet like formula but a couple of days on it love it!!
  • daniel wasn't a good eater at 1 yr old so i kept on with the follow on aptimal. like the others have said it's up to you really what you do but i think by 2 yr old they've gone onto cow's milk. i made the switch for daniel when he was 21 months old when baby 2 came along as i didn't want to pay out for 2 lots of formula. :\)

    daniel didn't have a problem going from follow on to cow's but he didn't like it when we swapped from stage to stage 3 aptimal. what i did was put 2oz of stge 3 with 5oz oz stge, then slowly over a couple of weeks add more stge 3 & less stge 1. :\) he took to it no probs. xxx

    [Modified by: wenders on October 17, 2007 06:27 PM]
  • hi, my lo was on sma gold til 6 months then the follow on milk til her first birthday then i put her on cows milk, it took her a few days to adjust to the taste but then she loved it.
    do what you feel is right for your babe.
    take care. xx
  • Thanks for the useful advice.
    Grace had her first birthday yesterday and we are starting he ron follow on milk, but are thinking to changing to cows milk as it is all so expensive!
    Jain xxxx
  • i know, the price of baby milk is totally disgusting.
    thats one good thing bout cows milk. xx
  • We have now put Grace onto cow's milk and she is totally fine with it.
    We saw the HV the other day for her 1yr jabs and they said cows milk is OK as her diet is good.
    They also told me to drop her afternoon mik and just have the morning and bedtime, she just has water the rest of the time.
    The HV also said to only use her bottle at night and to wean her off that, as 1yr old should only use a cup. As I have only just taken her off the afternoon bottle and she won't have her morning milk without the bottle, I will have to do this slowly over time, I think!
  • I do have the thought that all these follow on milks though are just a way to screw more money out of us parents. I mean, unless your lo has an insufficient diet due to medical reasons or due to fussy eating then I just can't any different benefit than cows milk, apart of course the benefit to the milk manufacturers purse strings

    Just get annoyed at how much everything costs anyway & then they start saying we need to be giving our babies special expensive formulas instead of the usual cows milk which has been doing them fine for years which in turns confuses parents into thinking that they are somehow doing something wrong if the don't give it to them. Sorry rant over.
  • Totally agree with you beebee. My other moan is with the processed meals and 'healthy' snacks on the market for children. A few raisins or a couple of slices of apple is far better than the 'organic crips' etc. I also hate the hip and trendy food gurus who put their name on the latest cup and bowl set to make us all rush out and buy them............ and I really hate the term 'yummy mummy' as it makes the rest of us feel inferior if we are not dressed in designer gear or send our child to the latest baby gym class etc................. I could go on!

    [Modified by: Mum_of_Grace_Mae on November 06, 2007 12:55 PM]
  • i know, the price of baby milk is totally disgusting.
    thats one good thing bout cows milk. xx
    LOL

    And breastmilk is FREE.image

    :lol:
  • quote; and breast milk is free.....

    yes, true but we can't all be fortunate to give breast milk and by the time the child is 1yr, children should be start to weaned off breast/formula milk.... at least that is what the HV told me...
  • my lo lost interest in breast at 11m but i would have happily carried on beyond a year and also offered cows milk image
    i still give ready carton formula if lo gets up in the night when he has had a no eat much day as i really cant be arsed to go down stairs and faff about warming up cows milk,lol xx
  • My lo is nearly a year old and I stil breastfeed morning and night. He drinks water with his meals and eats yoghurt, chesse etc but I wonder if I should start offering him drinks of cows milk during the day or just leave things as they are?
    My hv is of no use at all. She told me to give him treacle sponge at 7 months!! I work in a dentist and and if there's one thing my baby wouldn't of been eating at 7 months old it's bloody treacle sponge. Stupid cow!! lol lol
  • it might be worth trying a little cows milk in the day hun if only to c how lo likes it, then when the time comes ur no longer bf lo wont have the trauma of getting used to another milk drink.
    but i dont think its an absolout must if he is having dairy from cheese and yogs etc.xx
  • my son wouldn't have follow on milk at all but loves his cows milk, he has had that since his 1st birthday, he is 15 months now and still has three 5 oz bottles a day (morning, afternoon and supper). hv said i should be stopping it apart from supper but he eats plenty of food so i dont see what harm it can do?
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