When to Switch from Yobaby to Regular Yogurt?

Updated on May 10, 2010
D.M. asks from Brookline, MA
17 answers

hi everyone--

my 14.5 month old daughter has been loving yobaby for a long time, but i was wondering when it would be okay to switch to regular yogurt (since the yobaby is so expensive). she eats greek yogurt, and my husband just bought trader joe's organic yogurt cups, which has .5 fewer grams of fat and 10% less calcium than the yobaby. she definitely gets a lot of calcium with cottage cheese, tofu and cheeses, plus her milk. what have others done? thanks!

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So What Happened?

looks like our yobaby era will be coming to an end-- thanks, everyone, for your responses!

Featured Answers

D.B.

answers from Boston on

I agree that so many products are marketed to babies when regular products work fine. I would watch the sugar content but be careful not to go to "light" versions that include aspartame. Also, barring a weight problem already, I don't think you should limit fat too much for babies and toddlers - putting them on too many light or skim products can be counterproductive. They do need a certain amount of healthy fats.

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R.M.

answers from Nashville on

I never did use YoBaby. I'm not sure what is supposed to make it better than regular yogurt. I used plain yogurt and added my own fruit. Buying organic plain or greek in the big carton and adding your own fruit is so much cheaper, and even if you have to add sugar, you can use so much less and it is just regular sugar, or you can even use honey instead.

2 moms found this helpful
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S.D.

answers from Indianapolis on

Babies don't need "YoBaby" any more than they need jarred purees. Do they add sugar to the YoBaby? I never even looked. I bought plain, whole-milk yogurt and added a bit of vanilla and some fruit.
Anyhow, the short answer is, any time. You don't ever need to give the over-priced baby versions of foods. They can eat bits of adult foods from the begnining:)

1 mom found this helpful
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K.E.

answers from Boston on

All that's necessary is that you use whole-milk yogurt because, before 2 years old, babies need the higher fat content for proper brain development. I buy large cartons of whole-milk plain yogurt and then add a little seedless jam (melt it and stir it in as a syrup), honey, or maple syrup.

My kids eat so much yogurt (and actually, I eat it as well) that I decided to get a yogurt maker. You can make yogurt with any type of milk and then strain it to get Greek yogurt if you like (if you do this, you end up with leftover whey from straining the yogurt, and you can replace water with whey when you're baking to enrich your breads and baked goods).

1 mom found this helpful
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B.R.

answers from Milwaukee on

My kids always had "regular" yogurt...there was no yobaby when they were little.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.C.

answers from Anchorage on

Once you know there is not a milk allergies, yogurt is fine. Mine have been eating it since they were 11 months.

1 mom found this helpful
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H.W.

answers from Lewiston on

Yobaby is just regular whole milk yogurt packaged in small containers. There's nothing special about it. To save money, I just bought Stoneyfield Farms whole milk yogurt. My son didn't love plain yogurt (but it has almost 1/2 the sugar of other flavors) so I mixed plain with flavored to cut down on sugar but still give him the whole milk fat. Greek yogurt is another great option with good protein.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.C.

answers from Houston on

You can switch any time...YoBaby isn't necessary at any point. My daughter never would eat it.

Greek yogurt is a great option...it comes in low and regular fat versions AND has more protein than other yogurts. Most brands have less sugar (and I've never seen one with HFCS...which I also believe is the devil). I also like that greek yogurt was thicker and my daughter could feed herself more easily with less mess.

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J.B.

answers from Atlanta on

I think you can really do it at any time, but the main difference in my experience is the YoBaby has a much higher fat content. With my second that meant I kept feeding it to him for a long time -along with regular high fat yogurts-because he has had a VERY limited diet (not of our choosing). She's fine eating the regular stuff right now, but it certainly won't hurt her to keep eating Yo Baby.

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M.R.

answers from Columbus on

Yogurt is fine at any time once they are on real milk anyway. She never needed yobaby- it is a ploy to get you to spend money. Save your money, it sounds like your options are healthier anyway.

M.

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D.M.

answers from Boston on

We just switched over to the TJs organic yogurt cups from the YoBaby and our daughter loves them. Definite cost savings.

I think the overall rule of thumb is after 2 years old kids switch to lowfat anyway.

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H.H.

answers from Hartford on

I never gave my baby yobaby at all. i gave her reg. plain yogurt right away and she loves it and eats a bit of it. you should deff. ask you dr. but it did work for me.

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M.L.

answers from Portland on

I see you've figured this out already, but I just wanted to note that it is a complete and total myth that children need high content dairy fat for brain development. B/c they eat less - it's good to pack in the calories, but they, like everyone need healthy fat in their diet. Omega found in fish, olive oil, avocado, nuts, eggs, etc.... dairy just is easier, b/c it's familiar, but it's far from the best source.

My 2nd child couldn't eat dairy and I was so surprised when I started doing research and talking with Dr.'s and realized that there is no evidence that dairy fat enhances brain development.

Think about calories, healthy fats, and protein and nutrients.
Plain greek yogurt is great. Top it off with slivered almonds and what a perfect snack or meal.
And keep in mind that at best - just a few servings of dairy a day is recommended. Sounds like she is getting plenty from other great sources like cottage cheese.
Here is a quick link on it - it's directed towards breastfeeding babies, but the information is relevant, regardless.
Good luck.

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/toddler-foods.ht...

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A.D.

answers from Portland on

YoBaby is definitely expensive. I cringe whenever I see that coupon, where it says you get 75 cents off of 3 packs. You call that a coupon? Who can even afford to buy 3 at once? *laughs* I usually buy two, and only getting 25 cents per pack is puny, imho :)

The reason I get YoBaby is because it is organic and because there is less sugar in it than regular brand yogurts, even tho it's not "light" or "non-fat". Trader Joe's just phased out it's YoBaby, and told me they had their own generic brand for babies. But when I went to check it out, it had more sugar. It was basically just regular, adult yogurt in tiny little cups. So, now we buy it from Safeway. I have no problem with high amounts of sugar as long as they come from natural sources, and not from added refined/processed sugar, as in most regular yogurt.

I think for this reason, I will probably keep using YoBaby until I can find a good/comparable replacement. My mother in law has a yogurt machine from way back, so I'm interested in checking that out as well!

I think that as soon as you are okay with allowing your children higher amounts of sugar, regular organic (or non-organic) yogurt is ok.

Oh! I forgot to mention: my daughter will turn two next week, so she's been getting it for a while.

S.K.

answers from Boston on

i did it once my son was attempting to fee himself - the yoplait kids is thicker and stays on the spoon easier. my daughter has been eating a full size dannon yogurt since she was 3.

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T.H.

answers from Kansas City on

I never used yobaby either...mine started out on regular yogurt, even fruit yogurt. Go with whatever she likes, it's all fine as long as it doesn't have a ton of extra sugar or High Fructose Corn Syrup (which I think is the devil, but that's a whole other post! ;). Greek yogurt is really good for her, so that's great if she likes that, they also make some with honey and fruit in it.

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S.B.

answers from Kansas City on

there's no real time to switch. If she likes regular yogurt, go for it!

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