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9 mo. old - whole milk?

1K views 21 replies 19 participants last post by  Irish 
#1 ·
My 9 mo. old son is refusing to drink from his bottle. I have tried a few different sippy cups and he refuses these as well. I took him to the doc this week and the doc wanted me to watch him because of dehydration. However, he loves to eat, eat, eat - except anything with bits in - and has had yogurt over the last two months, so I tried giving him whole milk this morning and he drank 6 ounces.

What are your thoughts on this issue?

Thanks!

Shannon
 
#3 ·
:

Umm, pretty sure it's formula or breastmilk for the first 2 years. Try water out of a cup, it will help with any potential dehydration. If you're nursing, it sounds like a strike. You could be setting yourself up for failure (nursing) and constipation/gut/allergy issues with the whole milk...
 
#4 ·
People debate the healthiness of cow's milk for humans, but the fact that you have already given it to your child says that you (at least for now) fall into the "yes, I'm going to give my kid cows' milk" camp. So, I assume that you are worried that 9 months is too young for cows' milk. In Canada, the mainstream physicians organization says introduce whole milk between 9 and 12 months, so I say go for it if it sits well with you.

Trust your instinct on this one. There are good reasons for delaying or avoiding cows' milk, but only you can know how serious the concern about not eating/drinking is. We introduced solids early because dd wasn't feeding well and needed the calories. I felt bad about the increased allergy risks, but I knew that I needed to get calories into her somehow. You are the expert on your baby.
 
#5 ·
First of all, Welcome to MDC!!!

6oz of whole cow's milk once is unlikely to do him any harm, as long as he's not allergic to it. But whole cow's milk is NOT adequate nutrition for a 9mo- babies that age need human milk, or formula if breastmilk isn't available. I see a huge difference between "introducing" cow's milk at 9mo, and using cow's milk (rather than formula or human milk) as the baby's only milk at that age. 6oz of cow's milk on top of several nursing sessions is far different nutritionally than 24oz of cow's milk a day.

Could you give us some more information? Is he breastfed, formula fed, or a combination of the two? What container did he drink the cow's milk out of? How many solids is he having per day, and what foods is he eating? Do you offer water with solids?

Are you considering switching from formula to cow's milk because he's refusing the formula that he's been drinking for a while, or is he nursing less because he's eating so many solids? It's hard to give advice without a better understanding of the situation.
 
#6 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Chia View Post
My 9 mo. old son is refusing to drink from his bottle. I have tried a few different sippy cups and he refuses these as well. I took him to the doc this week and the doc wanted me to watch him because of dehydration. However, he loves to eat, eat, eat - except anything with bits in - and has had yogurt over the last two months, so I tried giving him whole milk this morning and he drank 6 ounces.

What are your thoughts on this issue?

Thanks!

Shannon
If you're nursing, this can be really bad for your milk supply and can lead to all kinds if breastfeeding issues.

As I understand it, most docs don't recommend cow's milk until baby is at least one. It doesn't quite have the nutrition that breastmilk or even formula would have for a growing baby's development.

I would not recommend whole milk to a baby that young. Breastmilk is best, and formula is better than cow's milk.
 
#7 ·
I have the same question - so I am interested in everyone's responses.

In my situation (sorry if I highjack the thread), I am exclusively breastfeeding an almost 9 month old. We are hit-n-miss with solids but getting better. I agree with Hergrace (which hello - you were in my June due date club - always wondered about you and the little triplets!) that in Canada we can switch to whole milk from formula at 12 months. Formula has more calories/fat (or atleast adaptable calories/fat/stuff) than whole cow's milk so that was the year old guideline (I think).

Breastfeeding is best - but if you are going to go back to work and will wean around this age range - what do you do?

If I wanted to introduce an odd bottle (once every couple of days - and ramping up over the next three months to the magical 12 month mark) - and didn't want to pump - do I introduce formula or do I introduce cow's milk. Babe will be principally breastfed - but if I want a bottle on the side (and won't pump on a regular basis a lot for many reasons). When can I introduce the odd bottle of cow's milk? [We do yogurt and cottage cheese now - so I shouldn't have issues with cow's milk products.]

I don't think the OP needs the 'breast is best' marque - I don't either. I know that - but I will wean some time in the next few months, and what do you switch to for the odd bottle.
 
#8 ·
If formula feeding: Formula until 12 months. Then gradual switch to whole cow's milk or whole goat's milk.

You can give water in a cup now, I started giving DS water at 7-8 months when he wanted it, but only after nursing.

If breast feeding: Breast milk until at LEAST 12 months, or longer. Occasional cup of whole milk is fine, water as desired.

 
#9 ·
It seems to me that if one is planning on using cows' milk and not formula or breastmilk at one year, then slowly introducing it starting at 9 months should not be a problem. If the baby is already on formula but prefers the taste of cows' milk, maybe mixing them would be better than cows' milk alone. If the baby has been drinking bottles of ebm, then milk is likely to be accepted more readily than formula because formula tastes disgusting compared to breastmilk.
 
#10 ·
Thank you for your posts. Here is more information about our current situation.

DS is strictly fed formula.....

The 6 ounces of cow's milk my child ingested was from his bottle. Note - our milk is supplied delivered directly to our home from a local dairy. It is homogenized and pasturerized and strictly from grain fed cows and has been certified organic.

He eats solids at least 3 times a day, if not 4. Probably 4 ounces of cereal and 4 ounces of veggies or fruits, with a yogurt thrown in there for good meausre each feeding. Loves to eat - doesn't have a weight problem and is in the 95% for height and weight.

I attempt to bottle feed upon waking in the morning and at night and several times throughout the day. He is just not interested. At most, 3 ozs. in the morning, 3 ozs. during the day and 1-2 at night.

He is teething and is (sigh) getting 6 on top all at one time and already has two on the bottom and getting a third there as well.

Fun times!

Shannon
 
#13 ·
I think the main risk of switching to cows milk instead of breastmilk or formula is the risk of anemia (low iron). One study found 1 in 3 babies who started on cows milk before 1 yr were anemic.

Why should you care about anemia?
http://www.babycenter.com/0_iron-def...nemia_10860.bc
Basically the effects are similiar to lead poisoning and it can result in irreversible mental and physical damage to your baby. The above link, while being mainstream, gives some good info. This might sound dramatic but really, it kind of is. 1 in 3 babies. Think about it.

If you are going to introduce dairy try keeping it to yohgurt for a little while. Breastmilk is obviously best too but I know not everyone has that option.

Goodluck
 
#14 ·
I've found that many children accept concentrated formula (or even ready-to-feed if you can afford it) if the won't drink the powdered kind. It's a lot richer. I'm a formula-only feeder with my little ones since I'm a foster parent.

Definitely don't do whole milk right now. There are a lot different nutrients, including DHA, that the baby still needs. Switch to only whole milk when the baby is a year and is consuming enough solids (and nutrients) to make up the difference.
 
#15 ·
When my ds was about 9-10 months old I started leaving him with bottles of goat's milk if I was going somewhere. He was also eating supplementary whole foods (meats, fruits and veggies) and drinking water at the time. Pumping was very difficult and stressful for me and it would take me weeks to pump enough for a single feeding. Although I am not familiar with formula, I would think that the occasional bottle or cup of cow or goat milk (I would definitely use goat milk over cow milk) for a formula fed baby who is also eating whole solid foods would be ok.
 
#17 ·
The reason cow's milk is not recommended before 12 months is the risk of developing allergies. It's not just that it not a complete source of nutrients and is difficult for human babies (and millions of human adults, especially those from China and SE Asia, but I digress...) to digest.

Yogurt and some cheeses work for 9 month old babies because many of the less digestable proteins have been denatured by the bacteria that create them from the milk. So baby is left with proteins that are pretty easy to digest. (Though some folks don't even tolerate those well either, even into adulthood.)

My sources for this info: kellymom.com, and AskDrSears.
 
#18 ·
I, too, think 9 months is a little young.

But...my 18 month old recently self-weaned (I'm pregnant, and either the milk changed or dried up; one day, he just pushed me away, and he's refused to nurse since then).

I don't have a problem with cow milk, so that's what I've been giving him. I know that formula is better, but well, he won't drink it. I think it smells pretty bad, and I probably wouldn't drink it either, you know?
 
#21 ·
Since you talk about bottles, I'll throw out a theory based on using formula (breastmilk theory is you've added something new to your diet that makes your milk taste weird). If he started rejecting formula after being introduced to yogurt, maybe formula just doesn't taste right any more. It'd be like going to powdered milk all of a sudden.

If he absolutely won't take formula, maybe see if he'll do a mixture of the formula and milk?
 
#22 ·
Everything I've read on the subject suggests that cows milk is not properly digested before a year because the enzymes (primarily lactase) required to coat the intestines doesn't develop and begin to coat the intestines until 9-12 months of age. What early introduction can do is causes microscopic bleeding (not visible to the naked eye) in their intestines and contributes to anemia.

Dr. Sears site is a really good resource on dairy products, why to wait and different alternatives at a year (ie. goats milk). At this point I would do as a PP suggested and try alternative methods of getting the formula into your babe (an open cup, a straw, a syringe).
 
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