Introduction to Milk Products

I started my son on milk before age 1 - I believe it was about 10 months...he did better on the milk than he did on the formulas!!!

My little girl is 9 months and loves cheese and yo baby. We get the yo baby with fruit and whole grain added and she eats the whole jar. I think I started her at about 71/2 months. Just no eggs, nuts or fish.

At our nine month check up a couple of weeks ago the ped. told us to start giving my son yogart, cheese, cottage cheese, any sort of milk based product. We started him on Yoplait (red) and he loves it. I also read in my book what to expect the first year and you can start adding all those to his diet at 8 to 9 months. I think you are safe giving it to him

Yogurt is fine to start at 6 months because the milk is processed differently than liquid milk from the carton. I have given all 3 of my boys yogurt daily from the age of 6 months. Good luck, A. J

Usually babies' tummies cannot digest cow's milk proteins until they are 12 months old. But I believe yogurt is different. I gave my kids yogurt and cottage cheese before they were a year old. If you want to play it safe you can buy the Stoneyfield Farms O'Soy yogurt six-packs from walmart. My kids absolutely love them.

i would not recomend starting before a year because it can cause internal bleeding, if you want to start early ask your doc first. it would put your mind at ease also. good luck.

Yo baby is good. They just don't want you giving them whole milk before the first year. Regular formula is also milk based. Also, if you are worried about it, Yo, Baby also makes a SOY based yogurt that's equally appealling the the babies!

I introduced my kids to milk by 6 mos, and gradually added it to thier diet, so that by 1 year they were completely on milk. By the time they are a year old they are not supposed to have formula anymore, though breast milk is still good(of course), so they need to be acclamate to milk already so thier little systems don't go "hey! what is this?"

Good luck and follow your doc's advice in the end.

S.,

I started my son out on yo baby yogurt at about this age too and he did just fine. He is now 14 months old and I buy him the Trix yogurt, he loves it. If your son drinks regular formula, which is milk based, then you should have no problem. I suggest getting the flavored, the vanilla isn't very good, but you could add your own baby fruit to it to make it taste better.

Have fun, your are starting a good habit if you get them to like yogurt.

I'm not sure what the 'rules' are, but I gave my baby the yo baby yogurt from about 9 months and he has done just fine...he's over 2 now!!! We still use that yogurt as my little guy loves it.

Dr. Sears says that yogurt is fine after 8 months. The milk proteins (not sure which specifically) are broken down in yogurt which makes it more tolerable and easy to digest. If no milk allergies are suspected then proceed with yogurt .

Gave both my children yogurt very young and actually used it as a vehicle for them to eat veggies they did not like. Also good to mix cereal into if you are nursing. Saves the trouble of having to express.

Yo Baby was AWESOME but I would recommend an organic plain yogurt so you are not starting the sweet tooth habit. Once you do sweet foods it is really hard to go back. Good quality yogurt with live active cultures will not cause intestinal bleeding as someone said and the proteins ARE different from milk due to the heating used in making yogurt (heat is an easy way to break chemical bonds). Go for it just watch your baby for signs of an allergic response to milk products - loose stool, red anus, etc.

Go for it! I gave it to my 2 1/2 year old before he was 1, and I am currently giving it to my 10 month old. They love it! This is approved by my pediatrician.

I have a 9 month old son also, but I would not recommend starting on the baby yogurt until 12 months. I am also a pediatric physician assistant. You can start on the Gerber baby bananas with yogurt, but the go yogurt has milk proteins and babies under 1 have difficulty processing the proteins in their intestines and it can cause bloody stool.

My son is now 11 months, and at his nine month check up the doctor told me I could start giving him yogurt. I gave him strawberry Yoplait and he LOVED it! I bought the yo baby and he doesn't like it. But, in regards to your question, I'd check with your pediatrician, but my son is doing okay with it, even though he already has a known food allergy. He is allergic to bananas.

Hope this helps.

L.

Goat milk if you are interested in looking into it, is the closest match to human milk and I have heard repeatedly from various sources that it is the best option for babies and children.

Commercial milk based products have their problems. I applaud you for thinking of getting the good bacteria for your baby. I think there may be some ways to do that which won't have the problems and will offer a great deal more of the good bacteria. (See Donna Gates' site, Body Ecology and also TheCandidaYeastAnswer.com for more info about probiotics among other sources you can find.)

Personally, I waited until at least 12 months to introduce milk/dairy of any kind. It is one of those things that many children are sensitive or allergic to. Also, the body does not really have what it needs to digest dairy products, yet, and this can cause some intestinal distress (diarrhea, gas, etc.). I do know that some doctors and nutritionist allow yogurt ONLY before one year of age as it is partially broken down already so it is easier on the system. But, my personal mom opinion is to wait and give your little one a little more time to develop. Good Luck!

I started my little ones on yogurt at around 6 months. My 11 month old LOVES it. Yo Baby makes one now with cereal and fruit in it.

Check out this link before you start giving your precious 9 month old dairy products.
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/dairy.html

I raised three wonderful children now ages 26, 23 and 18. ALL of them were started on milk sooner than that. The pediatricians all say different things but do what you think is best for your child. All three of my kids weighed over 9lbs at birth (one over 10) and they were starving as babies. All the pediatricians told me no solid foods until six months of age. My regular family doctor told me to feed them anything but meat before 5 months of age and I did! My daughter had her first fruits at 3 weeks and she is a happy and healthy mother of two beautiful boys now.

Good luck to you and Merry Christmas.

If there are allergies in your family or if anyone is lactose intolerant, then you should wait at least a year or more before introducing dairy. My pediatrician told me to wait a year, and then when he found out I was lactose intolerant, my husband has asthma, and we both have allergies, then he said to wait a few months longer.

So I stayed with regular baby food that I made myself. Mashed bananas and mashed avacodoes were her favorites, along with steamed veggies or fruits.

My pedi told us to hold off until 8 mos, she did fine and eats a yo baby yogurt everyday now with no issues (she's now 11 mths).

My pedi did not let me start my son who is now 3 on milk anything until 12 months. Then she let me start my daughter who is now 20 months on milk everything at 10 months. When I questioned her on it, she explained how every child is different on determining these things and new studies had come out that it was better to start some kids earlier. Who knows. I would ask your pedi first. When you start him I would recommend the Yo Baby Yogurt and the Kid Builder string cheese in small pieces.

The Super Baby Food book that I use has them starting cottage cheese and yogurt at 7 months. My baby loves bananas smashed up with cottage cheese mixed in.

If you are wanting to try it, i would try very small amounts of it just like you did when you introduced all the baby foods. Make sure it is organic and whole milk so you aren't giving him any hormones or anything. I buy a big tub of Horizon Organic vanilla yogurt. iT is whole milk and really healthy for them. But milk is not that important right now at this age. And if it isn't organic, it really isn't very healthy, despite what doctors say. As long as he is getting plenty of protein and cheese and the good bacteria from yogurt, i wouldn't worry about making him drink milk. Juice is healthier. My aunt is a natural doctor and she really has taught me a lot about milk and everything. I hope this helps!

We started our about that age. You just need to read the ingredient label. Some yogurts contain a lot of corn syrup or other artifiial sweetner. If you are ok with giving your child that it is no problem. We go with organic plan yogurt (stonybrook farms organic, available at WM, Albertsons..)) that has the live cultures and nothing else. I add fresh fruit (strawberies, peaches, bluberries, etc.) to get them their serving of fruit for the day.

I put my daughter on whole milk(no more formula) at 10 months. She is 4 now and is fine!

I started my triplets (1 boy, 2 girls)on Yo Baby yogurt at that age and they have all done fine. My son is even on a soy based formula for a sensitive stomach, but seems to have zero problems with the yogurt. In fact, they look forward to having it! It's like dessert only healthy. Good Luck

It is not a good idea to give a baby milk products under the age of one year because the stomach is not fully developed enough to handle the milk which was designed for baby cows - not human infants. Many children develop food allergies when milk is introduced too early because the large proteins are not digested adequately and then they escape out of the intestines and the body attacks them as if they are foreign invaders to the body. Then since the milk looks like the pancreatic cells the body can attack the pancreas and this has been linked to Type I Juvenile Diabestes.

Dr. Cindy L. Russell
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We started my son on milk at about 9 months to wing him off the formula. He loves the yo baby yogurt. It's one of his favorites. My pediatrician recommended it. My son is bigger for his age so she felt some solid foods, etc. may help pacify him and he not eat as much. It worked. He's tappered off on his weight gain and is right where he needs to be for his age.

I gave my daughter cheese and yogurt at 8 months. My niece on the other hand is almost 1 year and we don't give her any because of bowel problems.

I was told it was 12 months for milk, but at my son's 9 month check up, the doctor said I could give him things like yogurt, cheese, etc. My son did ok with the intro of those few things. I did wait until 12 months to give him his first taste of cows milk.