Hey mamas! Did any of you start "practicing" with whole milk before your little ones were 1 year? I was thinking of starting at dinner since my 9 month old daughter despises formula! THanks for any advice!
You should definitely talk to her doctor first. She could have a severe reaction to it. They recommend starting at/after a year cause they can't digest milk properly. But then, my daugther started milk at 10 1/2 months. She wouldn't take formula anymore. Talk to her doctor and see what they have to say.
Hi, Serena!
B. here, a trained doula and mom to 2. My advice to you is NOT to rush the cow's milk. At 9 months, your dd's system is simply NOT ready to handle the complexity of cow's milk, most especially in the volume she would intake if you were to replace her formula with it.
Pediatricians now recommend that any cow's milk be whole milk from a cup after the first year and until the child is at least 2 years of age. This ensures that your child receives enough fat, which is essential to proper brain development. After the age of two, if growth is good, you can switch to low-fat or nonfat milk. Note: If your child is nursing, then remember that mom's milk is "whole" milk - the more breastmilk your child gets, the less need to worry about your child getting additional fat from whole milk or other sources.
As to your daughter's aversion to her formula -- Have you changed her brands recently? Also, here's a tip: Give her formula in a sippy cup while you eat dinner and she picks at soft finger foods. (At 9 months, that seems perfectly acceptable) Maybe she'll like the novelty of it being in a different container, and want to drink more.
Here's another link for you, pertaining to feeding 7 to 9 month olds, from the great (but never late!) Dr. Sears:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T030600.asp
Take Care!
If formula isn't going so well, I'd start with something else for a while first. Soy or Almond Milk are great alternatives and more easily digested. Goat milk is closest to breast milk and recommended by Dr. Sears as an alternative to cow's milk.
Talk to doc at the 9 month apt and see what s/he says.
we started at 11 mo in a sippy cup never a bottle and only at meal time by 12 mo she was off the bottle and only with the sippy cup
My son is 9 months now. My mom gave him cow milk and he loved it. He haven't had a problem with it. I was really paranoid at first, because everyone kept saying wait until he's at least 12 months. I'm still not sure if it's a good thing or not. But so far, so good. It's only been three days. He haven't had any formula with it either.
I gave my son whole milk at 11 1/2 months and for the most part it just came flying (literally) back up. Cows milk carries a high risk of allergies as well as not providing proper nutrition. You should talk to your pediatrician before doing this. If your daughter can tolorate it and you provide Iron supplements and a good multivitamin I don't think it would hurt especially if she hates formula.
On another note my son hated formula and my mom (totally went behind my back since she raised three kids and he was my first) put baby applesauce in his formula and he loved it. When I asked her why she thought he took bottles so well for her she came clean and it worked until we got him to about 15 months which is when the whole milk actually started staying down.
Let us know how things turn out.
