Why do we have to switch babies to whole milk after 1 year old?
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at
10:24 AM
If formula has more nutrition and vitamins, why don’t we keep it till 2 years? Which one is better for babies after 1 year old : whole milk or formula. I just wonder should i still give my baby formula till 2 years? How about you?
PS: No breastmilk plz. I know it’s the best but not everyone can breastfeed.
Thanks!
Filed under: Nutrition
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Because it’s cheaper and easier. Most parents want to switch to normal milk sooner than a year, and in the past they did. It caused health problems, so the doctors then began recommending waiting until a year old at least. Under a year, anemia was rampant. Over a year, the babies were changing in their digestive tracts and could handle it better.
Now the fact is that many babies STILL have problems drinking milk from a year on and some doctors say that until close to 2 years old many babies still have digestive issues. Watch on this question board even. I’ve seen questions asking about anemic issues for a 15 month old, babies who throw up on whole milk, babies who got terrible rashes, etc. Parents are often told that the baby is allergic to milk (if they were, the baby would have been allergic to the formula…) and to switch to soy milk (which doesn’t have enough fats, so a soy formula, but I’ve never met a mom who went to a soy formula… they went to a soy milk.) Many babies don’t like the taste, so the parents add flavoring, use carnation instant breakfast, or something else.
Now personally, my daughter was a picky and light eater at a year old. She also reacted to whole milk and hated the taste. Keeping in mind that the first 3 years of life their brains grow the most, it seemed important to me to make sure she was getting the nutrients necessary for that. She’s also too young for any vitamins. So rather than going to whole milk, I kept her on toddler’s formula. Every time she’s tested for iron levels they are amazed at the fact that she’s got plenty of iron. I know she’s getting the fat she needs for healthy brain growth. I know she’s getting DHA which may or may not help in brain development (and is fairly hard to get.) The number of vitamins and such in her formula makes it so she’s basically getting a baby vitamin.
She’s still on toddler formula when she wants a drink in the night (usually 1-2 bottles at the most.) In the day time she drinks water mostly, sometimes juice, and just eats normally. I feel secure that she’s getting the nutrients that she needs, it’s not that expensive, and I don’t regret it. I plan on continuing after she’s 2 since, even though she can drink whole milk now and there’s no issue, it just works the best for that night-time drink.
Oh, and as for "nothing to be gained than a fat baby…" That’s garbage. My daughter is very fit, 23lbs… very small but proportional. What has been gained? I know she has gotten the vitamins she needs and she has never had iron/anemic problems (which every baby in my family had after they turned a year old). To me, that’s a lot more gained than ‘fat’, which she doesn’t have.
The way I see it is simple. Breastfeeding moms are recommended to breastfeed for the first 2 years, then trust that all nutrition is coming from food and low-fat milk. If cow’s milk was really the best for year 1-2 then why aren’t breastfeeding moms told to stop at a year? It’s pretty obvious there are other nutrients that cow’s milk doesn’t have, or problems with cow’s milk basically.
Formula isn’t necessary after age one because babies should be getting a pretty good variety of other foods by then. And formula is really expensive compared to whole milk! Why spend the extra for something you don’t really need?
I think they make formula for toddlers if you really want to use it. It just isn’t necessary b/c baby should be getting nutrients from real food by then. Too much of a good think (vitamins and such) can be a bad thing..
They do sell "toddler formula", but your baby should be getting enough nutrients from the solid foods he will be eating by the time he turns 1. I switched my daughter to whole milk a few months before she turned 1 b/c she was eating solids and liked the taste of whole milk better.
Just be sure that when he starts eating table food you are giving him a variety of healthy foods and you should be all set on the nutrition front.
After age 1 whole milk meets their dietary needs more readily than formula does. Formula is higher in calories because that is where the majority of calories comes from in the first year of life but after the diet changes to mainly solids, the formula calories are not needed. Prior to 1 year the protein in whole milk is too great for an infants kidneys to process and this is why we wait until 1 rather than make the switch as soon as solids are introduced. There is nothing to be gained from staying on formula until age 2 but a fat baby.