should i put my 14 mth old onto cows milk?

Question

ive heard alot lately about how bad cows milk is for you.
my boy loves his warm bottle and i dont want to take this away from him so i am still buying powderd baby milk for him. (the one for hungrier babies). Im not worried about the expense but alot of people have said i should start him on bottles of cows milk. what is your advice?

Answer 1

There are a lot of concerns regarding cows milk and whether or not it is good for you. On one hand it is very healthy. You have your dairy and protein in one drink that also provides calcium and Vitamin A & D. The only concern about milk you should have is whether or not your baby is alergic to it, to much milk can cause constipation, or your personal views about milk. Some people think it's weird that humans are the only creatures on the planet that drinks the milk of other animals. To conclude, it is your child which makes it your choice just do the research to find the choice that is right for you and your child.

PS. Research has proven that the benefit of cow's milk out weigh the possible side-effects.

Answer 2

You have already gotten a lot of good answers. 12 months is the age to start cow's milk. I have a 9 month old and I am already prepping him to wean. He is down to about 3 bottles of formula a day and drinks from a cup at lunch (I still have to hold it for him but he is getting the idea). You definitely need to ditch the bottles though at 14 months. I like the other ideas about slowly starting the milk by mixing formula and Vit D milk. I think I will use that as well in a few months!

Answer 3

At 14 months old, your baby should be drinking from a cup. Dental problems can be caused by prolonged use of a baby bottle. At that age, your baby should have no more than 16 ounces of cows milk per day - too much cows milk or other dairy products will fill baby up and leave less room for nutritious foods - also can hinder iron absorption and lead to iron deficient anemia!

Remember at this age, your baby is now relying on food for nutrition and not on formula or breastmilk! You shouldn't be feeding him bottles as you did when he was younger! A cup of nice warm milk at night should be fine however

Answer 4

Formula isn't for kids older than a year. Start mixing the bottles half and half, formula and cow's milk. Make sure it's vitamin D, though, and not 2 percent. Then, gradually increase milk and decrease formula. Also, he's 14 mos. He shouldn't be drinking out of a bottle anymore. It's bad for their teeth. My sister had a bottle too long, and ended up having to have all of her teeth pulled at 2 yrs old. It was really bad.

Answer 5

As long as your baby doesn't have any digestive problems he could've started drinking whole (vitamin D) milk at 12 months, then at 2 years you can switch to 2%. right now he needs all the fat from the whole milk. As for cows milk being bad for...how long have people been drinking cow's milk? Ages and ages and how many people have died from it? It's ok to drink cow's milk

Answer 6

Cows milk isn't so much bad for the baby as it is hard to digest untill they get used to it. With my son I had to learn the hard way. Just suddenly switching gave him severe stomach distress. Instead I learned to mix part formula and part milk for about two weeks. then i gave hin about ab ounce of milk to an ounce of waterfor another few weeks and just gradually lessened the amount of water untill he was drinking the whole milk just fine. They pediatricians reccomendation is no cows milk until 11 to 12 months but your baby is past that point so its safe. If you still feel leary try the organic milk. Its tasty but completely natural or as natural as you can get without fresh off the farm. well hope this helps ok.

Answer 7

I started my children on cows milk when they were 12months old. My second child I was breast feeding and at 10months old I wanted to put her on the bottle and she would take breast milk from a bottle or any formulas I think I tried them all. She ended up taking cows milk. My children are 9, 7, & 3 and are all heathly.

Answer 8

After 12 months, infants can be weaned onto cow's milk (unless they have lactose intolerance issues, or other problems that eliminate cow's milk as an option).
You should already be feeding the baby solid food (baby cereal, pureed foods, crackers, etc) at this point, so sufficient nutrition should not be an issue.

Answer 9

Why is he on a bottle at 14 months? Ditch the bottle and the baby milk-he is old enough to have cow's milk-dairy farmer's kids never die from drinking the milk. You have to ditch the bottle-its going to ruin his teeth.

Answer 10

Do not listen to "a lot" of other people. Talk to your pediatrician, take his/her advice and do what is right for you and your son. Many children have problems digesting cow's milk and need a soy product--on the other hand, there are many children who do great with cow's milk. [whole milk--not 1% or 2% for a baby!]