At what age did you give your child cows milk and why?

Question

I breast feed my son and my milk supply has steadly declined. My son eats baby food, cereal, juice, water, finger foods, and he gets breast milk when he has the patience to wait for it to drop, or if I have the patience to sit pumping for an hour. I get very little breast milk and I have tried EVERYTHING to get the supply up and its just not working. i have tried supplimenting with formula, but he gags on it...I do 1/4 formula/ 3/4 breastmilk, he gags...Dark Kayro, juice to sweeten, but nothing he gags. He is 10.5 months old..this is why I am wondering when you started your kids on cows milk. I know they say wait till they are a year old, because of allergies and such, but he eats his baby food, and he also like to try yogurt, cheeze, ice cream, little sips of milk, or whatever you are eating...and has no reaction to the dairy. no fussiness, no gas, poops fine... so...could be be ready for milk milk? I just cant seem to produce what he needs now....

Answer 1

I still breastfeed my 17 month old son, but I started giving him whole milk for 'snack' drinks somewhere around 10 months. He still doesn't get much, maybe a 100 mls three days a week.

Why 10 months? Why not? Okay, the docs scare you by saying that it might induce a milk allergy.

Nonsense. They should read the research. Or, perhaps have someone who understands scientific lingo and stats explain the papers to them, as most doctors CANT.

Yes, there is a doubled chance of milk allergy when babies are introduced to milk before 1 year. But what they do not tell you is that if you're breastfeeding and drinking milk yourself, there is no difference in risk between that and giving your child milk from day one. Why does nobody ever tell you to not drink milk if you're breastfeeding? That doesn't surprise me, to be honest, as the difference between 1.5% and 3% isn't that huge despite being twofold. What does surprise me is that doctors make such a huge fuss over babies being given milk.

Editing to 1) step off my soapbox and say sorry about the rant ... this allergy inconsistency gets to me sometimes, and 2) try to say it a bit more clearly.

If you have been drinking milk while breastfeeding, you are fine to give him milk now. His risk of developing an allergy is no higher now than waiting until 1 year.

Answer 2

I LOVE your question because I am in the EXACT same boat that you are in. I have 10.5 month-old son who I know is not getting enough breastmilk anymore. I too have tried upping my supply with no luck. I've tried supplementing with formula but he doesn't like the taste (plus I have to put in a sippy because he's always nursed and won't suck from a bottle). I've tried altering the temperature of the formula from cold to room temp to warm... I've even added a few drops of vanilla extract to the formula in the hopes that it would improve the taste enough for him to drink it. He's okay eating cottage cheese, yogurt, cheese and the occasional lick of ice cream, all with no adverse reactions. I'm also wondering if it's OK to start whole milk, so will star your question and check back for info.

** OK... I tried my son on a some whole milk at supper tonight and he LOVED it. I'm still going to breastfeed him a few times a day (not that the little stinker nurses long enough to get much), but I think offering him milk was wiser than watching him repeatedly refuse formula. Good luck with your decision!

Answer 3

My son was also eating solids like a champ by about 8-9 months of age. We started introducing things like sweet potatos and apple sauce when he was 6 months and once he got the taste, he couldn't get enough! lol

By nine months of age he was routinely eating three full meals of solid foods each day (12 oz of solids at each feeding) as well breastfeeding 5 times a day. Then, suddenly he started refusing the breast! He would fuss and cry and push himself away from me whenever I tried to nurse him. He also increased his consumption of solids during that time.

I made an appointment with his pediatrician to discuss his diet and the pediatrician told me to go ahead and try whole milk. He said it takes a while for a baby's digestive system to be developed enough to handle milk, BUT all babies develope at their own rate and the 12 month recommendation is just based on an average. We offered whole milk to our son that same day and 7 months later, he has never had ANY digestive problems, tummy aches or allergic reactions. :)

You might want to call your son's pediatrician, just to get the "ok" :)

Answer 4

Yes, he will be fine. My son was 10.5 months old when we introduced homo milk, but just mix some breastmilk in it for as a long as you can, because your milk is the best. As long as he is eating a wide variety of solids, he is getting the vitamins he needs from food, continue with cereals for the Iron. My son was only on formula and we mixed the formula with the homo milk for a couple of weeks reducing the amount of formula slowly and he was fine. You can buy liquid vitamins for his juice as well.

Answer 5

Most doctors say a year but I know of some that say 10 months is just fine. Actually, my husband could ONLY drink cows milk so he had that from the time he was 2 months old. Your baby should be just fine drinking whole cows milk, just watch him carefuly the first day or two to be sure.

Answer 6

Although he has not had an allergic reaction to the dairy products you have given him, it does not mean his stomach is ready to handle whole milk...and it is really best to wait til he has reached a year old before he is given whole milk full time..in the mean time, you can supplement him with formula.. You could offer for him to drink out of a cup rather than a bottle,this will provide him with all the nutrition he needs without becoming dependant on the bottle. Good luck!

Answer 7

i started my son at the age of 10 months because he wouldn't drink the formula. he would drink a little, but not nearly enough as he was supposed to, so the doctor told me to start him on cows milk.

Answer 8

i would say that if he is 10.5 months then go a head and give it to him. but also try to breast feed for the good stuff that he can't get any where els. formula is good but not as good as mom's stuff. Don't worry and if you think he is ready than do it you know him best and good luck with your little boy

Answer 9

try goat milk, its easier to process than cows milk, and it may be a good transition to full cows milk. My son was on cow milk and breast milk at around 11 months, after his dr cleared it.

Answer 10

I started real milk when my son turned 1 year old.