When can I start to use cows milk?

Question

Not to replace breastfeeding, but to make up babyrice and cereals?

Answer 1

If you're using it IN food, from 6 months. You can use cows milk as a drink from 12 months.

Answer 2

Use formula for cereals until baby is 1. that's the recommended age when children can have cows milk.

Answer 3

At the very earliest you may give your baby cow's milk at the age of twelve months. However, you should consider that cow's milk is produced for calves and your breast milk (or an infant milk formula) is produced for your baby. Cow's milk is rich in calcium - but nothing else. Breast milk and infant milk formulas have ALL of the nutrients that your baby needs to develop in a truly healthy manner.

Answer 4

cows milk isn't advised until after the first birthday.

You can get some formula to use for the cereals or pump some breast milk.


When you do it is recommended to use whole milk

Answer 5

once your baby is 6 months old you can stop using breast milk and use whole cows milk instead but only for cereals not as a main feed.
for a main feed you can use cows milk at 12 months old.

Answer 6

A baby's stomach cannot tolerate milk until 12 months. To mix baby cereals, you can use expressed breastmilk, formula, or water.

Answer 7

Pediatricians recommend that you use formula to make up baby rice and cereals instead of cows milk for the vitamins and minerals that are added to it.

Answer 8

this is really a question to ask your doctor. my neice is on cows milk and has been since she was 4 months old becuse she was allegric to everything else... but your baby seems to be doing fine on breast milk, so unless hes around a year od, i would stay away from cow's milk... anyway... just use water in his cereal... its safe that way...

Answer 9

dont mix cow milk and breast milk...your babys stomach isnt strong enough for that...i stopped using formula at about 10 1/2 months and started givin my baby cow milk mixed with some water..my whole family did so with their kids and we have some pretty healthy babies

Answer 10

I have always been told that infants shouldnt have milk until they reach 1yr old. I found this information. I hope that it is helpful.....

Whether you're breastfeeding or bottle-feeding your baby, you may be wondering when you can begin giving her cow's milk. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends waiting until a child is a year old before starting her on fresh cow's milk. There are several important reasons for this:

Reducing the risk of allergy

Waiting to give fresh milk to your child may prevent or lessen a cow's-milk allergy. About 2 percent to 3 percent of infants will develop some or all of the following allergic symptoms when they drink cow's milk: a red bumpy rash, a runny or stuffy nose, coughing, wheezing, constipation or diarrhea. Bywaiting a year to give fresh cow's milk to your child, it is possible that you are giving her a chance to build up her immune system, which may decrease the likelihood of a serious allergic reaction once she does drink fresh cow's milk.

It's important to note, however, that many formulas also contain broken-down cow's-milk products, mainly proteins. Even though allergic reactions to formulas are not as common as reactions to fresh cow's milk, they do occur. If your infant has any of the allergic symptoms mentioned above, talk to her doctor. The doctor will probably suggest that you switch her to a soy-based formula that doesn't list cow's-milk protein as an ingredient.

Keeping your child's blood iron-rich

By giving your child fresh cow's milk before 1 year of age, you may increase her chances of developing iron-deficiency anemia (a low number of red blood cells). Iron deficiency in infants can harm brain and nerve development, and can happen for several reasons:


Fresh cow's milk has less iron than breast milk or iron-fortified formulas.


The composition of fresh cow's milk -- calcium, phosphate and vitamin C -- can cause a decrease in the absorption of iron in a baby's intestine.


Fresh cow's milk can cause slight intestinal bleeding. This bleeding cannot be seen with the naked eye, but can be enough to make your child anemic. Some studies have shown that around one-third of children who are regularly given fresh cow's milk before 12 months of age will be anemic before they are 12- to 15-months old.

Reducing the risk of dehydration

Finally, the high amount of sodium in fresh cow's milk compared to formula or breast milk can draw water out of your child's body. If your child already has diarrhea or vomiting from a stomach flu or other problem, fresh cow's milk might cause or worsen dehydration.

If you decide to go with cow's milk

Despite these risks and the thumbs down from the AAP, people do give their babies whole cow's milk before age 1. Some parents dislike the idea of commercial formulas or have a strong family tradition of giving cow's milk. If you should decide to give your baby fresh cow's milk, you should share your decision with your child's physician. He or she may suggest that you start your baby on an iron supplement or test her for anemia soon after she begins drinking cow's milk.