Giving Milk Too Early to Babies.

Every pediatrician is different. I have two girls, a 7 year old and 4 1/2 old. For my 7 year old, I had her on soy also. She was 10 months old when I started to fill her bottles with half formula and half vitamin d milk. She had no complications.

My daughter was on allimentium which too is extremely expensive.. until she was 8 months old, my neice who is 8 mons older then her gave my daughter her bottle which had milk in it.. after that my daughter wouldnt take formula again.. she is fine, has never had any problems.. I switched my son to milk about 10 mons old, and never had any problems.. but I figured.. they were both eating table food at that point and had no allergies, so I didnt think it would hurt.. my daughter now is almost 5 mons old.. she too is on alimentium.. she drinks alot.. so I tried to give her a little cereal and she didnt want noo part of it. So who knows she may not want any table food at all.. I would say it all depends on the child.

Most docs reccommend not giving cows milk until after the first bday because of allergies. With my oldest and youngest I did just that, but with my middle child he was able to nurse and did so til 10 and a half months. I was ready to quit bc of biting issues so I weaned him. I tried several formulas (and spent a lot of $$$) and he refused to take any of them. I finally tried cows milk and he took it and I left him on it and he had no problems and he did not form an allery to milk. I think if you can wait til 12 months I would, but I really think it isn't the worse thing in the world at his age either.

I was told to wait until 12 months with both my kids (5yr. & 15 mth). I did with the first, but like you the formula was very expensive. So, with the second, we did 1/2 & 1/2 starting at about 10 months & after finishing the formula, went to milk. That was about 11 months. She is doing fine & loves her milk.

Best bet is to wait until she is 12 months. The formula might be a killer right now but if she has to be on soy milk it is worse. My son is on soy milk and it ranges from $3.89 to $4.00 for a hlaf gallon. What was the reason she was put on soy? If it is for a milk allergy that is why the wait. Some of it also has to do with what each dr. thinks is best for your child. Some dr. are more careful and cautious than others. It is only for 2 more months so I would wait.

hey K..

I have a 3 year old son too. His doctor told me the same thing. You should not give her milk until she is at least 12 months old.

My son was 9 or 10 months old when I started to give him YoBaby yogurt. He loved it! The proteins in yogurt are already broken down a bit and therefore not as harsh as they are in whole milk. My pediatrician did say to wait until after he is a year old but I decided to try it (on the advise of a veteran mom). Turns out that the YoBaby is a great snack for him after waking up from his nap. I think the reason why the recommendation to wait after 12 months is so that the intestines have time to mature and are then able to break down proteins (?). Anyway, my son just turned a year old and will not drink whole milk or 2% milk (pediatrician said he could try 2% milk if he doesn't like the whole milk). He spits both out as soon as he tastes them. So, I just give him 2 YoBabys a day (recommended dairy servings at his age are 2 to 3).

With all 3 of my girls i introduced whole milk to them at the age of 10 or 11 months. My doctor did not have a problem with it at all. I think just as long as your child is healthy then it should not be a problem.

K.,

My youngest son who is now 7 was on whole milk at 9 months old. My oldest sons pediatrician said to wait but my youngest sons said go ahead....So it is the different doctors have different beliefs. Especially the older ones want you to wait on everything.

T. S

Baby cows grow well on cow's milk.

Baby humans grow best on food that is designed specifically for them -- preferably their own mother's milk.

If that's not available, then donor milk from another mom. And if that's not available, then infant formula. Straight cow's milk is not included in that list of infant foods, and for good reason!

If your doctor is truly looking out for your child's best interest, they will urge you delay cow's milk for as long as possible -- the earliest would be 12 months, but waiting longer is smart too.

Yes, formula is expensive. But the high price of formula is NOT a good reason to switch a baby over to cow's milk earlier than recommended, regardless of the reason the child is on formula (many moms *choose* formula over their own free breastmilk, without even really trying much at all to breastfeed, and then complain about the price of formula! For other moms, breastfeeding didn't work because of not having a knowledgable pediatrician or doctor to help them get off to a good start, or because of a true medical reason, etc., and formula is a lifesaver).

Stick to formula for now, and scrimp in other areas of your life - that's what I'd do if I were in your shoes.

I was always told 12mn for my son, and my sister had her daughter on soy and she was also told 12 mn.

I have 3 kids, and I first gave milk to my daughter 1 week before she turned 1 year old. I started mixing milk with my son's formula at 11 months. Their stomachs are not ready to handle milk until then, introducing earlier can cause milk allergies later on. I think it would be better to give store-brand formula before whole milk too early. But, yes, every pediatrician is different. And, they do have that stage 2 formula that offers more nutrition for 9 months + ages. Every child is different though!

i have'nt had a problem with my child drinking whole milk and shes been drinking it since she was 6 months old and she is now 10 months and it seems to feel her up more....