10 month old drinking cows milk - Infant Care (up to 18 months old) Message Board

Juniorandtaisma · 01-09-2008, 07:41 AM

anyone on here switched there little ones to straight cows milk before they were a year old? my oldest hated milk and could not stomach it and wasnt the greatest of eatters.
now my son that is almost 10 months, eats solids 3-4 times a day and when he drinks formula it seems like it does nothing for him. so yesterday i put a ounce of milk in a bottle and he drank it and liked it and did not get sick, so today I tried him with 2 ounces and he drank it and i am now waiting to see how his belly reacts to it.

is there any reason I should not switch him, he is a great eatter so i dont see why not

baj406 · 01-09-2008, 09:11 AM

One of the biggest concerns with starting milk before a year is that it can lead to anemia. The infant formulas are iron fortified to prevent this from happening. I wouldn't go to cow's milk, personally, without checking with a dr first.

koukla3 · 01-09-2008, 03:59 PM

Anemia is a huge reason why you shouldn't start you child on cow's milk before the age of one unless your pediatrician recommends it and supplements your baby with iron. Another reason is a high rate of food allergies dairy/milk that can develop later on in life if food is introduced to soon in babies.

Good luck
Koukla

Tiff24 · 01-10-2008, 02:13 PM

I started giving my son whole milk at 11 months with breakfast instead of juice and he loved it! After a week or so he wouldn't take his formula so we only give him the whole milk now. He drinks SO much milk it's ridiculous!

I don't see anything wrong with giving your 10 month old milk but I think I would just give it as a treat. Maybe with meals but still give him formula at his regular times. My sister told me that she didn't give her 4 year old son cows milk 'til he was a year and he hates milk now but she gave her 3 year old son milk when he was about 10-11 months and he drinks it all the time.

vegemite · 01-10-2008, 02:52 PM

My 9 months old has cows milk on cereal, in baby rice, and in a sippy cup for a drink. We he still drinks 3 bottles of formula per day (200ml each) ... he is on 3 square meals + snacks and I am mindful of his iron intake (ie, it's in a lot of infant baby rices, etc) so as long as you are sensible and give him a well rounded & balanced diet then introducing cows milk now shouldn't be an issue. Over here they advocate that they are off their formula by 1 year anyway .. no more bottles just milk from a cup so you would have to start weaning before that anyway.