Concerned Mom - Greenwood,IN

Hi H.! You should never give milk to a child under 1 year of age. It can cause them to be more likely to develope allergies. The soy formula is the best thing that you could do for her besides breast milk. I raised 3 babies on soy after having trouble with my own milk. They all did great and are healthy. Hope this helps! M.

P.S.
When I did start giving them milk it was whole milk. That is what very young children need. There is not enough fat in 2%. Also, I gradually mixed it in with their soy until they were weaned all the way off of the formula, this is easier on their systems than going all at once. They had no problems going from soy to dairy that way.

Why would you want to move them to a drink that doesn't have nearly as many nutrients as formula before one year? If the reason is cost, I'd just tought it out another two months.

I would wait the babt needs Vitamin D milk at 1 year they need the fat for the brain to grow.

I think that would be a bad idea. The very earliest I've heard of giving a baby cow's milk is 11 months, and there are a whole list of reasons why, and that's for the baby's dr to decide. Even then they are supposed to have whole milk, not reduced fat milk. Ask her doctor if you have any questions, even if it's just a call to the office and you ask the nurse about it.

Check with your doctor 1st, he'll want to check iron levels. And if you do switch to regular milk, it needs to be whole milk (vitiman D) until age 2.

My doc told me that it was fine to start them on whole milk that young but only to transistion them to it. My daughter was on prosoybee and after trial and error had to have her tested for alergies to milk because she couldn't take it or soy or lactaid milk. So I have to make sure she eats propperly and gets vitamins she is almost 13 months old and can take 1/2 a flinstone crushed up in applesauce. So if you want you can talk to your doc but when I took my daughter in at 12 months they expected me to already have her on whole milk. I do agree that you should do whole milk unless your doc has told you other wise but at 2 they can have 2%. Hope this helps.

Hi! This is J.. See my son was on Prosobee to and my doc told me just to give him whole percent milk but maybe only one bottle a day until he turned one. She told me that if I was to put him on it at that young of a age all the time that he would have to take vitamins and she said those things are nasty. I did that but after he turned one he was allergic to milk. He would have dirreha all the time. So now he is on the next step Prosobee. I hope that this helps a little.

2 months doesn't seem like a big deal to us because it goes by in the blink of an eye. However, your babies brain is still really developing. There are guidelines set by the doctors and nutritionist for a reason. It's because your baby absolutely needs all the benefits their formula provides. There is more iron, more fat (they absolutely need this now for their developing brains) and more of the necessary ingredients for their growing bodies. I am sure there is a reason you are interested in doing the switch, however, it's very important that you not switch to 2 percent. Whole milk at one year or what I have done with my son (after careful reading and consideration) is to switch, instead of to whole milk, enfamil's Next Step. It is even better in my opinion than even whole milk for the vital nutrients from 1-2 years.

H. -

I have 5 kids, ages 10, 8, 6, 2 & 1. My 10 year old was a breastfed baby and my doctor had me start giving her milk shortly after her 1st birthday. They actually had me go ahead and give 2% milk rather than whole, as the feeling was that she could go to the same milk that I drank while breastfeeding her.

The other 4 kids were formula-fed. None of them had milk in any amount until after their 1st birthday and after the doctor approved it. And all of them had 2% milk - not whole. In fact, my 1 year old, because she was a preemie, is still on Enfamil and probably will be for another 4 - 6 months.

One of the big reasons that most doctors do not encourage you to try milk until after the age of 1 is that children under the age of 1 are more likely to develop food allergies if exposed to certain food types PRIOR to 12 months of age.

One thing I might suggest, if you haven't already, is to slowly try introducing a very, very tiny amount of ice cream. That's what we have done with our 1 year old. She tastes two or three bites of ice cream occassionally, and has done well. If your baby is going to have problems of any signifigance with dairy, the ice cream would show you that. But again, check with your physician first and foremost!

Her digestive system is not ready for that yet. To give your daughter milk now before one year would be dangerous for your daughter. If they told you to wait to one year then you really should listen. That would be just as bad as giving her honey. I HIGHLY recommend that you DON'T give her milk. If she is having a problem with digesting you need to get her off SOY formula. That formula screwed up my daughters digestive system more than it was to begin with.

You are supposed to give whole milk at 1 year. Waiting lessens the chance that she will have a reaction to it. There's no reason to start sooner.
Good Luck! :)

Nope. My oldest who is now 14 got ahold of anothers bottle which had real milk in it when she was 10mtsh old. She would never drink formula again and she is fine.

You will probably be ok but if you can wait then you should wait. Formula has so much more nutrition than plain ol milk. I was anxious to get mine off of formula because of the cost but I held out until the 12 month marker.
If you want to slow down on the formula try 1/2 formula and 1/2 milk. You need to get there slowly though. When you take your child off of formula you need to do something like 1/4 milk and the rest formula for a week or two (so their tummies can adjust) and then 1/2 milk and 1/2 formula for another week or two and so on...
S.
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Infant formula has a lot of the nutrients that babies need and don't yet get from the variety of foods and vitamin supplements that older children and adults do. When the baby turns one it is better to give them whole milk than 2% because whole milk has fats in it that are better for brain development in this age group. It is better to wait until the baby is two to give her 2% milk, because by then the fats in the whole milk have served their purpose and will then start contributing to body fat.

I started my boys on whole milk when they were about 8 months old and they did just great with it. All children are different but u could always try it and if it doesn't work then switch back.

You definantly shouldnt give her regular milk until she is allowed espically since she is on the prosobee. Their bodies can not digest it right until theyre a year old and two percent isnt even nearly the same as prosobee you need to talk to your childs doctor and find out what type of milk she can have. i get wic and it is great im sure if you ahve any questions and you call them theyll be glad to help you. They told me that children shouldnt get two percent milk either way because it doesnt have all the fat they need.

H.~
Some doctors do allow infants to start on regular milk between 10-11 months, but only after checking to make sure their IRON levels are high enough. PLUS - when kids start on milk, it should be WHOLE MILK until 2 years old (unless of course the DOCTOR recommends differently because of individual situations). The reason for whole milk is that young children actually need the whole fats to support brain development (ask your doctor for studies/info if you haven't looked into this before).

The whole tolerating of regular milk really does vary from child to child, so watch your daughter's cues. Honestly, since she is on Soy formula right now, I would be more cautious - perhaps try to switch to regular formula first before giving her regular milk. Overall, your pediatrician's office (and the nurses there) is a GREAT resource! A good pediatrician will listen to your concerns and reasons you want to switch earlier than norm, and be able to lead you in a good direction. Don't feel like you have to wait until the 1-year well-check to address this issue - call your pediatrician and ask to speak with a nurse!

I started mine early but they say to give them whole milk, it helps the brain better.. I wanted to do 2% but they said not to until older and mine is 18 months and still on it

Its okay to give your baby milk, but i would give them Vitamin D milk.

I would wait and talk to your doc before you switched over. If you give them milk too early, it can be harmful to their little tummies. If she's on soy formula, I would defiately wait. If I were you, I think I'd call her ped and ask him/her what their advice would be.

There is a good reason for the doctors to tell you to wait. The thing with cow's milk is that in an infant their little stomachs aren't developed enough to break down all the milk properly. This being the case, some of it can stay and actually become fermented within your baby's stomach. It could cause food poisoning. It's the same for honey. Their stomachs just aren't mature enough to break it all down and pass things along.
As for 2% that only means that the milk only has 2% of it's fat still. It's only 2 more months hang in there.

i would let her try milk if she'll take it. the transition from formula to milk can be tricky. not all kids like it at 1st. but i've always heard that you should give babies whole milk. the fat in the milk is essential to proper brain development.

I started my son on whole milk at 10 months. The doctor didn't like it too well, but I put the liquid vitamins in his milk to make sure he was getting all the nutrients. You are supposed to start them on whole milk until they are two and then 2%. Also, you may have a rough time since your daughter has been on soy formula. You may want to mix 1/2 formula and 1/2 whole milk to start. Hope this helps.

H., I'm sure your doctor will let you know, but babies go to whole milk, not 2% due to needing the fat..mostly for brain growth. But that's not your question. You could start her on whole milk now, but your doc will recommend to wait till closer to 12 months. My guess is she is on prosobee due to some milk intolerance, therefore she probably won't adjust well to regular milk, but you could try it.