Formula Milk - What's The Story ?

[torrenova]

The baby seems to like it and is obviously thriving but I worry we should change. She has cereal for breakfast and some fruit but then just formula (the first one in a range which seems to go up to 4 !) and I just want to ask you more experienced parents about feeding - what and at what age ?

I cannot see a baby drinking formula milk at 4 years old so I don't know what the Dumex range is on about but I'm unsure whether to change (she seems to like it though I think it is horrible). Also, what else can I introduce into her diet ?

Experienced moms and pops please chip in here. Thanks.

[Boo]

1st stage formula is ususally required for the first 12 months, after that cows milk,( full fat & never skimmed or semi) can be given. Some poeple like to use follow on fomulas but imo they are just another marketing exercise to get parents to pay out more money & there is nothing wrong with cows milk. It is what is recommended by health professionals. That said there is no reason not to give it if thats what you want but it has no added benefit over cows milk. (as advised to me by baby dietician in UK before anyone wants to jump all over me)

At 6months my son was eating puree veg for lunch, I made cubes of different veg, carrot, potato, sweet potato, swede, broccoli, parsnip & apple & pear then would defrost 2 or 3 different combinations & for dinner he was eating easy to digest meats like chicken & lamb or white fish, mixed with veg, also made things like lamb casserole & chicken & leek, the Annabell karmel website has lots of age suitable receipes as well as baby porridge with a bit of mashed banana at breakfast. Just be careful of sodium/salt content & sugar as a sweet tooth is easy to get & hard to get rid of

Now at 8 months he eats beef, turkey, chicken, lamb, fish, pork, all made from receipes from Annabell Karmel or another book called the Baby & toddler cookbook & meal planner by Sara Lewis we are also now in lumps & finger food stage so he also has things like toast soldiers with marmite, steam veg sticks & baby rice cakes.

He also eats a lot of thai food me or my husband cook for him, this last 2 weeks he has had, Jok with chicken liver, raad naa (but just noodle & gravy, he loveloveloves it ) red pork & rice with tamarind sauce, crispy suckling pig on rice with bean sauce. But I try to limit the thai food as it is quite salty so make sure he is drinking enough water with each meal too.

As a feeding time guideline:

He has breakfast after his morning bottle, lunch at 12 & dinner at 5pm, & he also still has 3 bottles a day, one before breakfast (9oz), one mid afternoon (7oz) & one right before bed (9oz). The advice given in UK at mo is that children around you lo's age should be drinking at least 18-20oz of formula a day & eventually it will taper down to one bottle a day between 12-18months.

I would start adding a dinner of puree veg & maybe some fish/chicken pureed in too in the early evening & after a couple of weeks add a veg for lunch too, also try giving her some finger foods, really soft ripe fruit, toast squares (be sure to always watch though cause there will be some gagging at first) Invest in a sippy cup with handles & let her try it out, my lo took about a week to figure out how to give himself a drink, ok we all end up soaked but at least he is learning

At breakfast & lunch give the bottle first & then the food as she may start rejecting milk & this is no good as milk should be making up the main of her diet for at least another 6 months.

Hope this helps

[torrenova]

Thanks for that Boo. I'll sit down with my wife and see what we can sort out. We did buy a blender about a year ago - now where is it ?