How Long Should I Use Formula?

They can't drink cows milk until after 12 months, so that's how long you'll need to keep her on formula regardless of the kinds of solid foods she eats. Solid food is not even necessary until after 12 months...she is just practicing the mechanics of eating with the solids at this point. If cost is your biggest concern, you'd be better off nursing until 12 months.

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hi,

i know i'm coming in a little late and what i have to say is different from everyone else. BUT. my ped (who is considered the best in west volusia) told me to start integrating milk to my daughter when she was 9mos. she never went back to formula. my son i did also at about the same time. they are both VERY healthy, hardly ever sick. have only had maybe 1-2 colds a yr. as long as the baby is eating and getting all the other nutrients she needs from jar food or homemade food then she shouldn't need the formula. dr's are now changing what they have been telling us for years and (from what i read) going from whole fat milk to 2% until kids are 2 bc of the obesity problem. i used enfamil with my daughter and she was going thru about 2.5 cans a week by the time she was 9 months. (but she didn't like jarred food at all. and i used the parents choice walmart brand with my son. and both of mine had dairy (ie, cheese, yogurt, ice cream) before they were 12mos. if you are giving her milk based formula she should have no reactions to dairy. but remember she should only be drinking about 12-16 oz a day of milk if you decide to give it to her.

Formula should be used at least until 11-12 months old. Then put on organic almond or other kind of milk, not cow's milk.

I'd take her right off formula right now-barley water is a great thing- barley pearls soaked in water in the 'frig for 1-2 days- amazing stuff- the Roman army used this- and hey look at what they did!
Good kiefer is another thing , and you can make that too.
best,k

they need breastmilk or formula until they are 12 months old. some cannot even tolerate cow's milk at 12 months old- the age of 12 months is just an estimate...my son would not drink cow's milk until 18 months old.

I would continue brestfeeding and then try introducing cow's milk at 12 months.

research this.
talk to your pediatrician.
look at www.askdrsears.com

Until her 1st birthday

She shouldn't have milk until one year. Try Parents Choice formula from walmart. It is half the price of name brand formula and is exactly the same thing. She should probably still have four bottle of formula a day.

Since formula is indeed so expensive, I'm curious why you are wanting to wean her, especially since she's on solids. Her breast milk intake will decrease as she approaches her first birthday anyway because of the additional foods and drinks you can begin offering. I breast fed my babies, but introduced water in a sippy cup at 6 months. By 10 months or so, I began introducing juice but with a little water added because juice is so sweet. If your wanting to be done with breast feeding at this point, your baby needs to be on formula until her first birthday. By then, you can switch her to whole milk. I would not offer cow's milk just yet. I began offering yogurt and cheese around 6-7 months but I'd hold off on cow's milk until her first birthday.

6 or 7 months is way too early to be weaned from breast milk or formula. There's a lot of things baby needs that she can't get from cow's milk. I was all about weaning the bottle/formula to save money right after my son turned 1. What I didn't think about was how many vitamins and nutrients he was getting it from it. I wish I would have at least given him half milk/half formula in a cup or bottle. He eats lost of cheese, yogurt, and chocolate milk but doesn't care much for regular milk.
The next time you see your pediatrician, talk to her about how many servings she wants you to give your daughter. She should take your child's height and weight into account.

Hey D.! Breastfeeding is free and breastmilk is FAR superior to formula, so I would highly advise you to keep doing a great job of breastfeeding her. It will be less expensive and you will know for sure that she is getting all of the nutrition she needs. It really is nature's/God's perfect plan. When I was ready to wean, I went to La Leche meetings to get some good advice on a slow weaning process that would be easy on both me and my daughter, I highly recommend! Also, I would do some research online about giving cow's milk to your one year old before you do so. I read a lot of good information and decided to take a different route adn feel like it has really made a difference in my child's health. From ages one to two she never had as much as a runny nose, seriously! I can hardly believe it myself, to be honest. She has never had an ear infection or needed to be on antibiotic in her life. I am sure that is due to many things, but I really believe in my heart that all the good stuff in the breast milk that she got and the lack of tons of dairy in her diet ( I still do yogurt and keifer adn sometimes cheese) is the biggest factor. Good luck, you will figure it all out!! Also, Kellymom.com is a great reseource.

She will still need formula at least until she is 12 months old and then she can try whole milk. This is becasue her body is not able to digest this until they reach about 12 months of age. My son was on formula around this time and he went through about 11 cans of formula a month although he is a very big baby and needed alot to keep him full. He was onbly on formula and did not have any breastmilk. Also I believe around five months it may be hard for them to digest meats or cheeses and (yogurt can only be given if they have diarrhea) (they have a baby yogurt in the baby isle). For now the fruits and veggies should be okay to be starting. I would also reccommend giving her rice cereal to keep her full if you mix it with the fruit they are more likely to eat it... I usually gave my son cereal with fruit and 2-3 oz of milk before bed so he would not wake up as often in the middle of the night hungry... Good luck momma hope this helps.

She needs formula the first YEAR of life, and how much is up to her, if she wants ten bottles a day, that is what her little body needs, give it to her. Before your daughter is one (or close to it, like a couple of weeks) her body is not ready to digest cows milk, yogurt, etc...

You should use formula at least until she's a year old. You cannot give her milk, yogurt or any other dairy items until she's a year. She needs calcium and other nutriets from formula that she cannot get from food. Also, you should limit the water you give her to make sure she still drinks a formula bottle every 3-4 hours or so... The formula is expensive but it is crucial for her development. There are many other things you can do to cut expenses but that should not be one of them. Her health should be the most important concern.
Good luck to you and your girl.

She still needs her formual until her first birthday.

Hi D.! Your baby needs breastmilk or formula for at least 12 months. All other foods are actually not even necessary at this point. I would not give any water in place of breastmilk or formula.

Is your milk supply still strong? Breastmilk is free and by far the best choice. She should be eating other foods only as a supplement to breastmilk or formula.

I hope this helps!

Hi!

one of the big reasons to keep up on either breast milk or formula is the baby's essential needs for iron really jump up at the 6-12 month window. they are still not eating enough cereal and foods to make up for this yet. you didn't say why you are weaning... but if its because you are not pumping and don't have a pump, you can find used ones that have replaceable tubes (you want to replace anything that came in milk contact) i recall the lactation consultant at my hospital telling me about that. SO check there or the La Leche league. You have done it this long already (kudos to you Momma!) so even another month is a cheaper and healthier way to go.

When you do decide to do jsut formula. there are great store brands...just read the labels and compare. target also has a very good brand that is about half the price. Costco has good prices too. if you decide on a name brand go to the company website and if you sign up you get loads of coupons. i also highly recommend this for any diaper, baby product , baby food website too becuase you will get tons of coupons too. also have you signed up for the Publix baby club? even if you don't shop there, you get an amazing baby book that gives you good advise (on questions just like this) and tons of coupons. every little bit helps so what ever it takes makes a difference becuase this is so important to your baby.

Good luck!