Did you try cows milk with your baby around 6-7 months? read here and give me your stories?

Question

okay. I already know everything about not giving a baby cows milk until 12 months. I know what doctors and everyone says it does and the side effects. So please, no stories telling me no cows milk until 12 months. I have already looked at every website and every other question on yahoo answers concerning this.

My mother could not afford formula or baby food for us when we were little. We got whatever she could find and regular milk. she has 4 healthy children now. My sister started her daughter on cows milk at 6 months and she is a healthly 6 year old and she started her son at 7 1/2 months and he is a healthy 2 year old.

I have heard stories of people whos parents gave them cows milk at a young age and people who have given their children cows milk around 6-7 months.

I am just interested in hearing some of your stories about your experience with giving your children cows milk at a young age.

please, again. no facts and telling me no milk before 12 months. i know this. i just want some stories.

Answer 1

I am not trying to preach...just giving you the info that I know. You say that you hear that cow's milk does not provide proper vitamins.... current research indicates that a baby needs the vitamins etc in formula/breast milk until about 12 months of age. Since the majority of the child's intake is through liquid it is important to ensure that that liquid is very nutritious. Cow's milk does not contain all of the nutrients considered necessary for the baby's growth and development.

If you were able to meet the baby's nutritional needs through "solids" then that would be fine but chances of getting your baby to eat enough for that are slim. So basically, you should not replace a formula or breast milk feed with cow's milk.

I introduced cow's milk on my daughter's cereal at 6 months but she had a reaction (severe diarhea), so I stopped.

Many years ago, before formula's came along, people would use cow's milk in place of breastmilk at times so that indicates that it is ok...but why would you just want "ok" for your child when they are the most precious thing in the world.  

Answer 2

I tried whole milk yogurt at 9 months, not straight cows milk though.  I just gave her 1/4-1/2 cup per day in addition to the diet she was on which was of course breastmilk, formula, veggies, fruits, oatmeal.

"I hear cows milk does not provide proper vitamins."

This is true.  Cows milk does not have the same amount vitamins (as formula is infused with large amounts of them) nor does it fulfill the same needs as breastmilk or formula at the age.  And what is there isn't as bioavailable (usable by the body).

"Although children at this age are also drinking juice and eating baby food."

The food they eat is mostly just for practice.  Baby cereal is nutritionally void.  Baby food provides very little nutrition and breastmilk and formula provides 90% of their needed nutrition until about a year.  They can't digest or process most of it properly.  Juice is also mostly sugar and water.  It lacks the fiber of fresh or even jarred/frozen fruit.  It's nutritionally garbage compared to the actual fruit.

"As well as they have vitamin drops you can put into the milk."

Those vitamin drops are not without their own set of side effects.  Constipation, difficulty passing stool, and undernourishment are just a few of the risks with using cows milk with vitamin drops as opposed to breastmilk or formula.  The same risk occurs when someone feeds their child more solid food than breastmilk or formula.

Can a baby survive off of whole milk and solid food before 12 months?  Yes.  Can they thrive?  Yes.  Is it good for them?  No.  A baby can also survive off of Happy Meals and soda at that age.  Does that mean it's good for them?  No.  I once encountered a woman who gave her baby nothing but Mt. Dew and pizza crusts because it was more affordable than formula and baby food in her eyes.  The baby survived and is healthy now but it doesn't mean it was a healthy start for her.

Answer 3

my mother could not afford car seats for all of us kids, so we just sat in the back seat or stood or laid down or whatever.  we didn't get into a car accident and die, so it must be ok for everyone to not put their kids in car seats.

if you are looking for pats on the back to do something that you have to know is wrong, just say so.

Answer 4

Note - this, too is aside from any guidelines on is 'supposed to' follow -

I breastfed my son, and he could never get enough, so we had to start supplementing with formula in the hospital because he was losing weight. Once home, was doing both, but breastfeeding was obviously not doing it, so stopped after three weeks.

Son was very colicky, switched around formulas, went to soy, went to different soys - still had tons of tummy trouble.

Finally at around 5 months, enough was enough, put him on whole milk - and shock? no more stomach trouble. Mind you, around six months was when he started eating real people food - no junior foods for him, he went right for the good stuff. Totally healthy, hitting over the 90th percentile in height and weight - good baby!

Most would give the drops with the milk, but since he was eating regular food, we didn't have to do this.

Answer 5

I hear the fat is good for their developing brain.

Answer 6

The only reason i ever game my son Milk Milk Was if he had runny p**p and milk milk will thickin it up. But i heard to never stick with it because it can cause intestinal issues.