Toddler Formula - Mountain View,CA

The formula probably has extra vitamins that milk doesn't. I think most kids will do just fine on regular milk. Maybe if they were underweight I would consider keeping them on formula, but with it being more expensive and needing more prep work I would save time and money and just get milk. You are correct on transitioning gradually.

Im going to post this in two parts :

Here is a surprising fact that I just recently learned: Formula makers don't have a specific "formula" that they must adhere to at all! they can put anything they want in them.
What I would do is check the ingredients. Watch for any words that have "soy' in them. Soy is estrogenic and can cause thyroid problems and infertility later in life. Watch also for anything that is hydrogenated- that is also pretty bad stuff. You don't want to see a lot of sugar in it either, so check for those. Specific Sugars I would highly avoid is Lactulose ( a fake milk sugar) and the dreaded corn syrup or High fructose corn syrup, which are manufactered with heavy metals in them. and that is just a small part of the nightmare with that stuff.
The other thing I would watch out for is IRON FORTIFIED. I spoke to a lot of ladies on here about the dangers of IRON FORTIFICATION. Go to my profile and read my posts. I would avoid anything that is fortified with iron. In addition, I also avoid anything that has extra calcium in it as well, because that leads to magnesium depletion. That is a pretty bad situation, just as bad as a calcium deficiiecny. You can't even absorb extra calcium if your magnesium levels are low. So extra calcium can cause a depletion of both.
Better to just go with regular milk.

In any case, Per the manufacturers website, this product was specifically manufactured to be used towards children who have poor diets and need more easily digestible protiens. Otherwise i would avoid it- it is MANMADE, so it is a processed food. If a child has trouble digesting cow milk protein a good subsitute is goat milk, which has much smaller, easy to digest protien.

You've already gotten a lot of good information so I don't want to repeat. I started transitioning with 3/4 formula 1/4 milk, then 2/3 - 1/3, then 1/2 and 1/2, than 1/3 formula 2/3 milk, 1/4 formula 3/4 milk then to milk. I stayed on each transition for between 1-2 weeks. If your daughter starts to get constipated and not have her regular bms, then go back to the previous transition. For example she gets constipated when she's on 2/3 formula and 1/3 milk, go back to 3/4 formula and 1/4 milk for another full week before changing again. I had to do this with our daughter because she got super constipated. After about 2 months of transitioning her to milk she was completely on milk. Good luck.

My pediatrician said there is no reason to use toddler formula unless your child is not getting good nutrition. Like, he wont eat solids or has an illness that interferes with his nutrition. Otherwise she said they are a waste of money. If yours WONT drink milk, you could use it, but there are other ways to get the nutrition from milk. That is why I was asking about it, because mine wouldn't drink milk from a cup, only nursing. She said they are for kids who need help with ALL their nutrition needs. If you struggle with the milk, there is a lot of stuff you can do- just repost or look through the old questions. I posted that question myself and have seen it several times.

Progressively is the best way to do the transition. You've got the right idea there.

I think I tried a 1/2 formula and 1/2 milk bottle and she didn't have any probs with it so I just switched. As for the toddler formula I dont know anything about it. I would ask the Doc.

I can only answer part two of your question.
Our ped had us do (90% formula 10% milk and increase milk little by little until 100%) when we weened my daughter off formula.

I have used Toddler Formula... with my son. Enfamil.
As you said, just mix Formula with milk, then over time, lessen the ratio.
Over time. Not overnight.

I breastfed my son exclusively too.. until he self-weaned at about 1 year old. Then, he HATED whole milk. I gave him Toddler Formula (per Pediatrician okay), and would mix the Formula with milk.... then gradually lessening the ratio until it was all whole milk.
It was fine. (always mix the Formula according to the can, using water. NOT milk in place of water. THEN, add in the milk. Otherwise, the Formula will be too concentrated. Very important. )

My daughter however, went from breastfeeding exclusively, then straight to whole milk. No problem.

So you don't HAVE to transition from Formula to milk... you can just go directly to milk if your baby takes it.

All the best,
Susan

My Pediatrician said that the next step formulas are a waste of money, however, I used Similac's version from 9 months on because it was cheaper. It has a little more calcium in it than regular formula, but not much other difference. Because my daughter had a milk allergy we are going to introduce milk slowly to see if she out grew it. I'm going to do a 4 oz to 1 oz ratio to start. However, I have heard of parents making a complete switch and having no problems.

You could skip the formula altogether. Pump and then transition your daughter gradually from breastmilk to cow milk the way you were planning on doing with the formula. I never liked the idea of giving my daughter formula, plus money was extremely tight, and we just used pumped breastmilk to slowly switch her to cow milk. Our pediatrician said the same thing as a previous poster: there's really no need to use formula if your child eats a healthy diet. And since our daughter did eat well, we saw no need to use formula. Just a thought...