Toddler milk vs cows milk - advice?

dawnrise · Mar 18th, 2012, 18:22 PM

Hi All
My LO has just turned one, and I haven't really been given any good advice on milk. At the moment LO has just switched to the follow on toddler milk, but really not sure if I should now just be giving him cows milk, or if it is OK to give him a combination, or perhaps formula before bed and cows milk in the day. I do find toddler milk convenient if out and about as you can take a carton with you and doesn't have to be kept refrigerated etc. LO doesn't really have much milk in the day anyway now, normally 1 morning BF, and 1 mid-morning formula and then 1 formula feed before bed, the rest is just sips of water. To be honest I don't even know if this is enough/too much. Can anyone offer advice on what they do at a similar age?

fluffpuffin · Mar 18th, 2012, 18:43 PM

cows milk is recommended from 1 year. I switched gradually though, mixing half and half but she never noticed a difference. how well does your LO eat? Isla ate well so I was happy for her to have cows milk but when she's sick I often switch back to toddler formula for a bit for the extra nutrients. I kept cartons of toddler milk handy for a while though. it's not a problem giving both types of milk if your toddler is happy.

Pixoletta · Mar 18th, 2012, 18:45 PM

With my LO he has Junior Soya milk at nap times and the rest breastfeeding or water. I wouldn't buy toddler milk as it's expensive and not really needed. You could still use formula and cows milk or just switch to cows milk. How's your LO's diet?

Lu28 · Mar 18th, 2012, 19:03 PM

My personal view is that formula beyond a year is unnecessary and generally a ploy on the formula producer's part to get some more cash through the door. My LO breastfed until just beyond a year when she packed it in and hadn't had formula for the previous 7 months so it literally didn't occur to me to put her on a toddler formula and I remember being really surprised that other parents were just moving up a stage in formula rather than switching to cows milk. To be fair, Aisling went on to goat's milk after she stopped bfing because I was intolerant to the fat in cows milk as a child and the fat molecules in goats milk are more similar to breastmilk than those in cows milk.

In addition to it being unnecessary, I don't like the fact that follow on milk is so sweet, it's not something I'd want Aisling to have on a regular basis and it's done purely to hook them in

I think your child would have to have an extremely narrow diet to warrant the extra vitamins they put into follow on milk and even then I'd be more comfortable with toddler vitamins.

Mee_Mummy · Mar 19th, 2012, 02:19 AM

My DS went on to cows milk when he turned one but he didn't drink enough milk & wasneating properly so I put him on toddler milk. He has had cows milk for months now but if he is ill and off food I normally buy a couple of cartons just so he's getting something good into him xx

Mar 18th, 2012, 18:22 PM	#1
dawnrise Trying to conceive (TTC) Active BnB Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 65	Toddler milk vs cows milk - advice? Hi All My LO has just turned one, and I haven't really been given any good advice on milk. At the moment LO has just switched to the follow on toddler milk, but really not sure if I should now just be giving him cows milk, or if it is OK to give him a combination, or perhaps formula before bed and cows milk in the day. I do find toddler milk convenient if out and about as you can take a carton with you and doesn't have to be kept refrigerated etc. LO doesn't really have much milk in the day anyway now, normally 1 morning BF, and 1 mid-morning formula and then 1 formula feed before bed, the rest is just sips of water. To be honest I don't even know if this is enough/too much. Can anyone offer advice on what they do at a similar age?

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Mar 18th, 2012, 18:43 PM	#2
fluffpuffin Mum (Mom) BnB Elite Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: a German in the UK Posts: 12,728	cows milk is recommended from 1 year. I switched gradually though, mixing half and half but she never noticed a difference. how well does your LO eat? Isla ate well so I was happy for her to have cows milk but when she's sick I often switch back to toddler formula for a bit for the extra nutrients. I kept cartons of toddler milk handy for a while though. it's not a problem giving both types of milk if your toddler is happy.

Status: Offline

Mar 18th, 2012, 18:45 PM	#3
Pixoletta Pregnant (Expecting) Active BnB Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: UK Posts: 999	With my LO he has Junior Soya milk at nap times and the rest breastfeeding or water. I wouldn't buy toddler milk as it's expensive and not really needed. You could still use formula and cows milk or just switch to cows milk. How's your LO's diet?

Status: Offline

Mar 18th, 2012, 19:03 PM	#4
Lu28 Mum (Mom) BnB Elite Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Dublin, Ireland Posts: 13,085	My personal view is that formula beyond a year is unnecessary and generally a ploy on the formula producer's part to get some more cash through the door. My LO breastfed until just beyond a year when she packed it in and hadn't had formula for the previous 7 months so it literally didn't occur to me to put her on a toddler formula and I remember being really surprised that other parents were just moving up a stage in formula rather than switching to cows milk. To be fair, Aisling went on to goat's milk after she stopped bfing because I was intolerant to the fat in cows milk as a child and the fat molecules in goats milk are more similar to breastmilk than those in cows milk. In addition to it being unnecessary, I don't like the fact that follow on milk is so sweet, it's not something I'd want Aisling to have on a regular basis and it's done purely to hook them in I think your child would have to have an extremely narrow diet to warrant the extra vitamins they put into follow on milk and even then I'd be more comfortable with toddler vitamins.

Status: Offline

Mar 19th, 2012, 02:19 AM	#5
Mee_Mummy Mum (Mom) Chat Happy BnB Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: UK Posts: 1,372	My DS went on to cows milk when he turned one but he didn't drink enough milk & wasneating properly so I put him on toddler milk. He has had cows milk for months now but if he is ill and off food I normally buy a couple of cartons just so he's getting something good into him xx

Status: Offline

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