formula, bottles, and one-year olds!

[T'smom]

I have some questions. I'm a breastfeeding mom who has NO experience with this. But my nephew is formula-fed and he just turned a year. My sister has been given some grief over the fact that he is still using a bottle. And the fact that he has rejected regular milk. He's BARELY a year old. I told her that the people giving her grief didn't know what they were talking about, it was perfectly fine for him to still use a bottle. Now, I know that sometimes breastfeeding moms are told that it's not healthy for babies past a year or past 2 years or whatever and that a common response to that is that the milk hasn't changed......why is this not the same for formula? Why is it that they are expected to drop formula at exactly one year? My sister is mixing the milk with the formula to wean him off of it. Just wondered why this was and if there was anything I could say to encourage my sister.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Babies' needs change at key times. We start food at X time, milk at Y, etc.

There are toddler formulas if she wanted to use one of those instead.

Also, LOTS of us don't give kids milk. Not really necessary and there are plenty of reasons not to.

It is easier to wean a 13month old off the bottle than a 2½ year old.

Almost all kids can learn to use cups by 15mo.

Generally, people think a young one year old is getting their nutrition from food; and they start drinking as hydration and supplemental nutrition rather than as their primary nutrition.

[Mom-ninja.]

Formula is expensive so most people stop the earliest they can.

 

Breast milk actually does change. Breast milk for a newborn is very different than the breast milk a mama is making 2 years later. For one thing the nutrients, when nursing a toddler, are more concentrated. So you get more nutrients in a smaller amount of milk. Of course this assumes the mother has not had another new baby. The fat content in breast milk also changes to fit the baby's needs.

 

Formula does not change in composition like breast milk does. The formula a newborn gets is the same (usually) as a toddler gets. However, they do have toddler formula now. I'm not sure how it's different than infant formula. I've never looked into it.

 

I don't believe that children have to have cow's milk. It's a food for calves, and humans can do fine without it. ;) If your nephew doesn't want cow's milk it's fine. There are other things to try. He can continue with formula, he can try soy milk (if no allergy), rice milk, or almond milk.

 

At a year old babies still of a suckling need. So that's something to consider. Although sucking on a bottle is different than breastfeeding. However, it doesn't change the fact that little ones have suckling needs. Does he take a paci?

 

Bottom line is that your sister is his mommy, and she should do what her heart tells her to do with her little boy. :001_smile:

[Carrie12345]

I'm a huge fan of breastfeeding past the first year. I'm not sure why we should look at formula any differently (on this one point ;)).

 

I *do think it's better to ditch the bottle as soon as possible to avoid a bigger battle later but, no, there's no magic date engraved on the calendar.

 

She should tell people to buzz off. :tongue_smilie:

[SKL]

I think the recommendation is more about the health of the teeth than anything else. But personally, I couldn't get my kids off formula fast enough, because of the cost saving and convenience of just giving them plain old milk.

 

The child will need to get off the bottle eventually, and it will get more difficult to make this transition if he is much older when it is attempted. That said, I tried switching my daughter's bottle for a sippy cup at exactly 12mos, and she gave me this look like, "what is this second-rate thing you expect me to drink out of?" I didn't want it to be a negative thing, so I waited 2 weeks and tried again. This time she didn't even blink and the bottles became "doll bottles" at that point.

[Parrothead]

I think the one year cut off is because of the cost. Formula is expensive and most people want to get rid of the expense as soon as possible. Doctors say cow's milk is okay for a child after the first year so many people stick to that first birthday pretty tightly.

 

Maybe your sister should consider a toddler formula since they are formulated for an older baby.

 

Also not all children will accept all sippy cups. Your sister might want to try a few different styles so see if one is like more than others. Or alternately she can teach him to use a straw.

[Ellie]

I don't see a reason for a 1yo child to be off the bottle, any more than a 1yo child needs to not be nursing. :glare:

 

I also don't think she needs to *wean* him off formula, but then I nursed my babies so what do I know? :-) I could see switching the kind of formula she's giving him to a toddler formula, though. And personally, I'd be making sure that he's drinking from a cup, not just a bottle (I think the same thing when it comes to bre*stfed babies, too). I'm not a big fan of letting babies walk around with their bottles, which is of course not your question but I wanted to throw that in there, lol.

[T'smom]

I don't see a reason for a 1yo child to be off the bottle, any more than a 1yo child needs to not be nursing. :glare:

 

That is exactly what I was thinking! I guess it does make sense if breastmilk changes composition. I just let my first naturally wean and plan on doing that with this one as well. So I didn't know what to tell her. I did tell her that I didn't think he needed to be in a rush (he's literally not even 13 months yet!) But even if the bottle's contents change, I don't see why a bottle feeding 1 yo needs to change, but a breastfeeding 1 yo doesn't! I'll tell her about toddler formulas in case she doesn't know (I didn't!) Thanks everybody!

[Annie Laurie]

 

But even if the bottle's contents change' date=' I don't see why a bottle feeding 1 yo needs to change, but a breastfeeding 1 yo doesn't! I'll tell her about toddler formulas in case she doesn't know (I didn't!) Thanks everybody![/quote']

 

It may be a concern about teeth- br milk has live white blood cells so it's different than having formula coating the teeth all the time. But then again, cow's milk coating the teeth is no different than formula.

[pamela&claire]

This is my experience with my daughter.

 

After a year old she refused to take formula or milk from anything EXCEPT a bottle. She would drink water from a sippy or a cup but if put milk in a sippy or a cup she refused it.

 

I tried every cup out there, still she would only take it from the bottle. I started to offer the sippy first and if she refused it to put it in the bottle. Then one day at 18 months she finally took the sippy. I about fell on the floor and she didn't turn back.

 

Some people kept telling me "Get her off the bottle" others said "Let her have it"

 

I know one family whose son was on the bottle past his third birthday. Today he's a perfectly normal 4 year old.

 

If she's mixing the formula with milk in intervals to wean him off then he will be off formula soon. The bottle is a different story and personally I'm glad I didn't force it. Looking back 18 months is still little and many children BF well into toddler years and have a hard time weaning why would the bottle be any different. To them it's a comfort thing and I felt bad for trying to take away a source of comfort.

 

Besides, I like milk in a plastic cup and DH likes milk in a glass. :tongue_smilie:

Edited August 25, 2011 by pamela&claire

[chicagoshannon]

As long as the formula is not his main source of nutrients it's fine. My 13 month old is off of bottles and formula. I couldn't wait to get rid of the expensive formula! We never mixed it with milk but we started substituting other liquids instead. He never did take to a regular sippy. He prefers a regular cup or sippy with a straw like his big sister. Of course I found this out after I had gotten a bunch of the regular sippies. lol

[Mama Geek]

Is the issue the formula or the bottle. Dd was easily using a straw at 12 mo. I never did formula and dd still gets breastmilk twice a day. She is 14 mo now. She is also able to eat any food I give her as long as her teeth aren't bothering her from teething.

[lisamarie]

Bottles can affect teeth and speech development. DS's speech therapist told us to cut out bottles and sippy cups because they can affect speech. I don't remember the specifics, just that it was bad.

 

Formula? I would say expense. Also, weight gain could be part of it. I know that at one point I got yelled at for giving my middle child too much milk a day. With formula, it's easy to keep giving them too many bottles. But if she's limiting them to 3 a day, I see no issue with it.

 

All 3 of my kids were formula fed and #1 was on formula until he was 2 (due to milk allergies) at which point I got him switched over to rice milk. #2 switched to cows milk right around a year. #3 still drinks watered down formula and she just turned 4. She has milk allergies and refuses any milk substitute. So I just keep buying formula but give her 1 scoop per 8-10 oz cup. It obviously is not used as a nutritional supplement but as a means of hydration. She just turned 4 today--and my plan was to wean her off formula completely once she hit 4 hoping that by this point she would be more reasonable. We shall see.

[mommymilkies]

I'm a huge fan of breastfeeding past the first year. I'm not sure why we should look at formula any differently (on this one point ;)).

 

I *do think it's better to ditch the bottle as soon as possible to avoid a bigger battle later but, no, there's no magic date engraved on the calendar.

 

She should tell people to buzz off. :tongue_smilie:

 

:iagree:

[Maus]

I prefer offering one change at a time, and I've never worried about how long they kept the bottle. It was gradual, and my oldest gave up his daytime bottles first, and then nighttime bottles later.

 

It could be a temperature thing. Many people warm formula and milk is usually straight from the fridge. I never warmed formula for our kids and both (oldest and youngest; middle nursed) liked milk better as soon as they were offered it.

[twoforjoy]

My DD is 17mo and flatly rejects anything but a bottle. I weaned her at 10mo because I was pregnant and my supply was very low and it was getting very painful.

 

We really haven't made much of an effort to get her off the bottle, though. We figured that, if we did get her to use sippies, when the baby came (he was born about a month ago), she might regress anyway and want to go back to bottles. And, we figure that a new baby is a big change for somebody her age, and confusing, and if the bottle brings her comfort right now, that's fine. We figure that, in a few months, when things are more settled and she's used to her brother, we'll work on moving to a cup again.