if you are formula feeding....

[tzs]

....how long do you continue with formula? i know they say formula or bm should be primary sustenance until 12 months and i totally get the reasons behind bf'ing longer but as far as formula....how long do i go?

basically i bf but do formula when she needs a bottle (she refused ebm) which up until recently was very occasionally. lately she's been taking more bottles of formula in part because i've been working very part time and she gets a bottle then and in part because after nursing she just seems to need more (my supply has never been the greatest.) as is, we only nurse/bottle before naps, before bed, and at that early morning wake-up to put her back down...so 4-5 times/day.

tomorrow i start work everyday and she goes to "school" where i work. now i'm confused as to whether to continue with the 2 formula bottles during the day where her naps used to be (i'll still nurse in the am and at bedtime.) she's only 11 months but will be in the toddler room and i think only one other babe will be getting bottles and his are ebm which makes more sense. she eats alot of solids (we did blw) and a good variety of them at 3 meals/day. they only do one nap in the pm and they are very good at rubbing her back and getting her to nap so not only would she not really need the am bottle b/c there is no nap but she wouldn't need the pm one either because they get her to sleep using other methods.

so what do i do? does she get/need nutritional benefit from formula?
do i drop the am bottle but have them give her the afternoon one?
do i just drop them both and nurse only at night/early am?
do most formula moms wean from formula at a year or do you continue longer?

ugh!!!!!

[carmel23]

She still needs something with high fat and the right kind of sugar (breast milk is *very* sweet).

I would ask your ped. I don't think a baby can get enough fat from table foods at 11 months, and will need some breast milk or formula. Most FF babies switch to cow milk at 12 months, which you might be able to do.

But unless your baby is still getting a substantial amount of breast milk, she will need something else. If it is not formula, or breast milk then it should be full fat cow milk.


If that makes sense? To answer your question directly, I think most formula fed babies switch from formula to full fat cow milk at one year.

[lil_stinkyfeet]

When I formula fed by last babies I switched to cow's milk at one year.

[Crazybean]

I started giving DS whole milk homemade yogurt and he had a whole avocado throughout the day starting at about 11 months. I let "formula" go at that point and just made sure DS had a good diet. Also, I also gave him different types of beans for the protein and he loved it.
I would continue to try to bf her when at home and during the day if you are able to visit during the day.

[cristeen]

My 11 mo is still getting a full compliment of formula/bm (30+ oz/day). I expect to continue w some formula until at least 18 mos at this point. It may not be commercial formula, i may switch to (homemade) fortified cow/goat milk, but even though he's eating 3 meals most days, i haven't seen any drop in the number of bottles he's taking. And i'm not comfortable switching to plain dairy just because of his age. It does not have everything he needs.

[november]

She will be on regular formula until she is 12 months old. If she's not eating better by then ( A LOT better - she is so picky), I'll probably switch her over to toddler formula. Maybe not 100% toddler formula, but at least some so I know she's getting some adequate nutrition. My DR said to just switch her to whole milk at 1 year but that's not good enough for me if she's not getting enough nutrients from her table food.

[dizzysmom]

My 12 month old is in the process of switching from formula to cow's milk. We started giving her milk for mealtimes just before her birthday, and now she's down to only taking formula at bedtime. She seems hungrier during the day now that she's not drinking as many bottles, and she's gone from taking 6 ounces at night to having a full 8.

[diana_of_the_dunes]

I've been wondering the same thing. Ethan loves his bottles. Even if he eats what seems to me like a lot of table food at every meal, he always seems hungry for a bottle and sucks it down. We only BF during the night now, since my supply really tanked around 9 months.

Regardless of what my ped says (and I haven't asked him yet), I'm not comfortable arbitrarily switching to cow's milk at some pre-determined age. Ethan enjoys table food, but it's just not his primary means of sustenance yet. I figure I'll kind of do BLW, except with formula. He doesn't get enough fat and protein yet from food, so we'll stick with the formula until that time.

[aramat]

My middle daughter self-weaned from the breast at 12 months but continued with formula... I kept giving her formula until she just didn't want it anymore, just before age 2, I think. I didn't really see a reason for switching to another type of milk except for the cost.