When is it safe to start a baby on whole milk?

Question

My son is 10 months old and I wanted to know if its safe to start giving him whole milk,or 2% milk or fat free.What kinda milk besides formula can I put him on if it's possible.I'm breastfeeding for now and I don't have enough milk to send with him to his dads house without him having to stop by and pick more up,and my son does not like formula.Thanx=)

Answer 1

At 12 months you can give them WHOLE milk. Even then you should work them into it and start by mixing formula (or breast milk) with whole milk.... the whole milk is hard for them to digest, working them into makes it easier.
My son didnt like formula either... I had to try so many differernt kinds.... I ended up with Good Start (the purple one).

Answer 2

Cow's milk is the protein base for many formulas but there are a few reasons we hold off until around the one year mark for whole milk and the most important is that it can cause anemia in a little baby. Cow's milk is slightly irritating to a baby's GI tract and the baby may slowly lose microscopic amounts of blood in the stool which, over time, leads to anemia. There is obviously nothing magical about the exact one year birthday here and if parents want to begin introducing cow's milk a few weeks early, there is really nothing wrong with it but we think eight months is a bit too early to start. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

To be on the safe side, just buy the formula. I know for a fact that you cannot give him whole milk yet and the 2% isnt until he is 2. I don't think he is old enough to even be given a little bit let alone as part of his main meals because of allergic reactions. Their lil tummies aren't able to handle that yet so just buy the formula (about 18 can should get you through until he is 1 year old) so you dont have to worry.

Answer 4

You can't start milk until the child is at least 1 year of age. Their little stomachs cannot handle all the sodium that's naturally in cow's milk, and you can run the risk of all kinds of medical issues (ex: anemia). Find a formula that your baby likes, and after he turns one stick with whole milk NOT 2% or skim - he needs the fat.

Answer 5

Cows milk is very difficult for a child under the age of 1yr to digest. It can cause all kinds of problems.
You should be commended for nursing your child this long! You can try pumping more and freezing the milk so that you have more to send. Pump a lot while he is away and store that too. You can try having dad mix the breast milk with the formula half and half and see if that helps. Breast milk tastes sweeter than formula so that is probably why he prefers it. Good Luck

Answer 6

make the formula and put about 1/3 whole milk in with it them after a week make 1/2 formula and 1/2 whole milk, whole milk offers the fat to develope the brain... plus your baby is at the age of wanting what mommy wants...


It all depends on your child, doctors don't know every single child's particular digestive system so everyone out there who says they listen to their doctor before what they think is right for the baby is wrong. You listen to your child's abilities not a study of various children. Now that being said I let my daughter sip some milk here or there when she was about 4 months my younger daughter had to wait (I wait until the have had solids for at least 2 or more months so their stomachs don't get confused, it's like a baby in any species small amounts of something new (then the rest is what their stomach can handle).

Answer 7

You should not give him any kind of cows milk until he is at least a year old. If you don't have enough milk for him, you might try pumping in the middle of the night and storing some milk up that his dad can put in his freezer. I know it's hard to "come up" with extra breastmilk if you have not been regularly pumping. However, it will probably be worth figuring out how to increase your production enough to send some extra milk to Dad to freeze. For more information about this, try www.medela.com. Also, another option is to mix your breastmilk with formula. I had to do this occasionally with my daughter when I started having "supply problems" and she wouldn't take straight formula. However......a warning....I started supplementing my son with formula at around 10 months old and he had some problems digesting it. I spoke with his dr about this and she said it takes awhile for babies tummies to adjust to new formula and recommended that I stay with straight breastmilk if at all possible to avoid upset stomach. So...my advice.....figure out how to increase your supply enough to store away a little extra. One thing that was recommended to me was fenugreek. I didn't try this as extra nursing/pumping fixed my supply problem. However, it is a supplement that is used by some bf moms to increase milk supply and can be purchased at some vitamin stores. I would speak to a lactation consultant before trying fenugreek just to find out the correct dosage, etc. There are a lot of free lactation consultants that you can talk to over the phone. Many local hospitals have them on staff. Good luck to you!

Answer 8

You could start giving him small amounts of whole milk, but not enough to last a weekend. If you can't pump enough, then either he will need to stop by to pick up more, or buy formula. You can't replace an infants normal feedings with milk at this age.

Answer 9

It really should be 12months because changing over to cows milk before then can develop intolerances. Have you tried a different brand of formula. You can buy little one off cartons.

Answer 10

I was told I had to wait until my babygirl was one, but now that I live in Germany I was allowed to give my son the whole milk when he was 3 month old. It apparently is all about the quality of the milk ( better in Europe), as well as lactose intolerance with some kids...
I would therefore wait... never know with American products...