Cow's milk Introduction

Das Kitty

We had James' developmental check on Monday, all was perfect apart from a pair of retractable testes (such a skill!), which I'm not worrying about.

Anyway I asked about changing him on to drinking cow's milk as we had planned to after this check. I was told that the current recommendation is formula (that's what we're using now) until they're 2. Now when he was born the recommendation was that they come off the formula at 1. So I brought this up and they told me that it has changed because a lot of babies aren't getting enough iron.

I was a bit taken aback. Because some babies aren't getting enough iron from their diet they've introduced a recommendation across the board? Apparently so! It was the doctor pushing it more than the nurse and I could see that she may have agreed with me that it was a bit ridiculous but wasn't going to undermine her colleague. So I told the doctor that I wouldn't be spending another year forking out for formula when he eats red meat 4-5 times a week and lots of veg.

I suppose I'm naturally suspicious of new recommendations that seem to benefit the formula companies more than babies and their families.

cynder

Mine were introduced at cows milk at 1 year and its done them no harm. AS far as i know there iron levels are and were fine, no anemia.

How many 1-2 year olds have their iron levels tested. I know no one who has has their 1-2 years olds iron tested. Wonder where they do their research studies?

i had anemia at age 7 but that's because i was a fussy eater.

Squiggler

I think you're right to be suspicious. A toddler should be getting their minerals and vitamins from their food, not from their drink. And naturally occurring nutrients are more easily absorbed than the ones found in "fortified" foods.

Those formula ads with the giant sippy cup must have got to your doc

Das Kitty

See I was being told that this is the current HSE recommendation, that it's not just the one doctor advising it. I had a look to see is it based on some WHO study but I can't find anything.

January

Well that's one recommendation I won't be following... Addison was switched to cows milk just past one and Saoirse has just started on it and they're doing fine. If I'm honest, Saoirse actually prefers the cows milk to formula and will actually drink a full bottle of it compared with her 5oz of formula she would only drink no matter what!

They eat a varied diet so I don't think there is any need to keep buying formula.

Squirm

I find that worrying. Formula is of course rich in iron... but it is also highly calorific. I would question how this new recommendation correlates to the rising trend of childhood obesity?
I will switch to cow's milk when my daughter turns one next month. She currently enjoys four bottles a day. Come her birthday she will be on three. I will continue to give her an iron rich toddler milk for her breakfast milk feed and she will take cow's milk with her lunch from a beaker and her bedtime from her bottle. I will continue with the toddler formula until her teeth are more fully established and her eating habits are better (she regularly goes off her food to teething pain and general stubborness!!).

lolli

I started Saoirse on cows milk a few weeks ago on the advice of a PHN. Last night I went to Tesco to get her SMA again because they cows milk is just not agreeing with her. She is voilently constipated with it. She was in agony so its really just not worth that. I dont think shes ready for it.

mohawk

Hi guys,

I know some people who are currently doing research in the area of babies and milk. There is a group I know of that do NOT get any research funding from the formula companies (lots of researchers do so treat their work with suspicion) and they are firm believers in formula or breast milk until two. Its not just from the point of view of anemia. They reckon it does all kinds of damage to the gut that only shows up later in life. (Alot of this is still early days in terms of research so don't take it as fact)

Now I know your all going to say that my son/daughter is fine. Yes of course they are. By saying that babies fed cows milk are more likely to be low in iron doesn't mean that they will be low in iron if fed cows milk it just means there is an increased chance of it.

Personally speaking my 19month old son is still using formula. He got cows milk one weekend from his granny and his eczema went wild after it.

Das Kitty

mohawk wrote: »

Hi guys,

I know some people who are currently doing research in the area of babies and milk. There is a group I know of that do NOT get any research funding from the formula companies (lots of researchers do so treat their work with suspicion) and they are firm believers in formula or breast milk until two. Its not just from the point of view of anemia. They reckon it does all kinds of damage to the gut that only shows up later in life. (Alot of this is still early days in terms of research so don't take it as fact)

Now I know your all going to say that my son/daughter is fine. Yes of course they are. By saying that babies fed cows milk are more likely to be low in iron doesn't mean that they will be low in iron if fed cows milk it just means there is an increased chance of it.

Personally speaking my 19month old son is still using formula. He got cows milk one weekend from his granny and his eczema went wild after it.

Can you link to any of the studies?

analucija

I was told by doctor to give my son cow milk when he is older than one. I'm starting to believe that there are way to many guidelines what to do and what not to do. I have perfectly happy 2 years old who even gets an odd sweet every so often.

As long as they eat balanced meals they should be OK. A lot of us grew up a lot healthier without all those guidelines around.

liliq

Funny how in a country with one of the highest prevenlances (SP?!) of hemachromatosis in the world that we're being told to worry about kids not getting enough iron!

Das Kitty

liliq wrote: »

Funny how in a country with one of the highest prevenlances (SP?!) of hemachromatosis in the world that we're being told to worry about kids not getting enough iron!

Hemochromatosis isn't caused by too my iron in the diet, it's a genetic disorder.

bulmersgal

ah i'm confused now, i was looking forward to only 6 more weeks of formula. Might just give one bottle of follow on a day

liliq

Das Kitty wrote: »

Hemochromatosis isn't caused by too my iron in the diet, it's a genetic disorder.

I realise that it's (usually) a genetic disorder- apologies if my wording implied otherwise!

What I meant was that in a country with no routine testing for and such a high prevelance of the genetic disorder of hemachromatosis (in which too much iron is absorbed, and it can't be expelled from the body) that formula at a year old, which contains many times more iron than cows milk is so strongly encouraged, espeically when other sources of iron are being consumed.

I certainly don't mean to say that formula is bad or shouldn't be used, or anything along those lines!
Just that it's frustrating that formula is so blindly encouraged, and cows milk so happily dismissed as "not enough", when it isn't always the case!- Essentially I was agreeing with the part in your initial post about the "across the board" recommendations!

Kimono-Girl

with our daughter at 1 she was eating a normal balanced diet so we switched her down to 1 formula bottle before bed and 1 formula before breakfast, she is still on that routine at 18 months. at 1 we started giving her just small spoonfuls of our breakfast and since there was no re-action to cows milk we continued with it on a breakfast or (occasionally a small cup of it) with lunch.


she would have a bowl of liga/weetabix with cows milk or more recently cheerios with cows milk.

we will be removing the formula in the morning once the cold weather finishes up, imo it helped her avoid many colds me and her dad were suffering from all winter, she got the sniffles only once so we are keeping her on it for as long as possible.


people will say 'years ago we had them on cows milk from birth, we never used these formula's and we were fine'

and to that i say "years ago they didn't have lemsip cold and flu and they were fine but you still take that now if you have a cold"

mohawk

Das Kitty wrote: »

Can you link to any of the studies?

Das Kitty I saw this research at a nutrition conference in UCD a year ago. I am not sure if all the work is published as yet. I will have a look on pubmed tomorrow if I can recall the main guy name.

She Devil

I am meeting with my PHN soon as my little boy is almost 8 months old, and I have it in my notes to tell her that I;ve been adding a little milk to his potatoes, he eats so much broccoli I have no problem about his diet nor his Iron intake, I add red lentils to alot of his homecooked meals anyway!!

All these new facts make you so nervous about making a decision that my friends with older kids wouldn't have batted an eyelid at!!

ziggy23

I tried putting my little lad on cows milk after his 1st birthday and he just wouldnt drink it so put him back on the toddler milk. I will try again when he gets over this bad teething he's going through.
I noticed in the supermarket the other day Aptamil are doing a toddler milk for 2 plus now Is this a new thing?

January

No, it's been there a while (the 2+ toddler milk)...

I might have to rethink my decision... Someone has become awful cranky during the day since I switched her...

lolli

I've put Saoirse back on SMA. Shes in much better form now.

bulmersgal

ah girls i was at supermarket yesterday going woohoo only 6 more formula packs to buy. Elisha 1 at the start of april, now i'm unsure what to do sick of going into Tesco and every week it going up in price. They never seem to have offers on formula anymore

Das Kitty

Well I'm switching James over gradually at the mo and it's going grand. He definitely has enough iron in his diet. He's a big lad and the formula is doing him no favours in that respect. I think everyone should talk to their own PHN for guidance. I'm just going on what I was being told by two people and it could be totally wrong.