Formula Feed for +6months

Thanks for your reply kiwispiers, that's great, just what I was after. I'll keep DD on stage 1.

thanks kiwis! I can't believe he's almost one! The little monkey is walking everywhere now - not a little bubba anymore.... It doesn't really gross me out, I just can't drink it myself. Yeah I know what you mean which is why I'm in two minds to change over or just keep giving formula. Not necessarily that much cheaper if you get organic milk which is quite pricey here. I'll just try it I guess and see if he likes it, but happy to stay on formula too...

happy birthday babySG! The reason for switching from formula to cows milk at age one is because you can, and its much cheaper, not because its healthier. I introduced cows as an occasional drink from about 13/14 months, but I used to dilute it with water. This was only because he was still BF and I wasn't using it to replace any of his BFs so it was more about making sure he didn't have too much of it , you would def not dilute it if it was replacing a formula feed. basically just try giving him a bit in the cup and see if he likes it, if he doesn't then try mixing it with formula until he gets used to the taste but technically again, BFing is recommended for 2+ years so if you are not BFing, from a nutritional perspective then a from birth formula is the closest you'll get. If milk grosses you out it might be better to get your DH to be the one that gives it to him, babies are very good at reading our faces and you might put him off.

My DS is one this Thursday (ahhh can't believe it) and is still on Aptamil Comfort Stage 1, but only has this at morning (in cup with breakfast) and night as a bottle. He eats huge amounts of solids and has dairy like yogurt and cheese/cheese sauces made with cows milk as well. Still unsure what to do about switching to cows milk or not and plan to talk to his pediatrician about this when he has his vaccs next week. Would be interested in any thoughts anyone has about whether to switch or not and the best way to do it... As a baby I refused milk from around 7 months (incl any formulas) so my Mum had to give me other sources where possible. To this day I can't bear the thought of stomaching a glass or milk. I know DS is fine on dairy as doesn't seem to have any reactions to cheese or yogurt or milk based sauces, but still not sure what to do...

My DS is one this Thursday (ahhh can't believe it) and is still on Aptamil Comfort Stage 1, but only has this at morning (in cup with breakfast) and night as a bottle. He eats huge amounts of solids and has dairy like yogurt and cheese/cheese sauces made with cows milk as well. Still unsure what to do about switching to cows milk or not and plan to talk to his pediatrician about this when he has his vaccs next week. Would be interested in any thoughts anyone has about whether to switch or not and the best way to do it... As a baby I refused milk from around 7 months (incl any formulas) so my Mum had to give me other sources where possible. To this day I can't bear the thought of stomaching a glass or milk. I know DS is fine on dairy as doesn't seem to have any reactions to cheese or yogurt or milk based sauces, but still not sure what to do...

The only reason for switching to a follow on formula would be if you were not introducing solids from around the 6 month point, even then your baby could get everything they needed simply by drinking slightly more regular formula. Think about it, if from birth formulas are closest to breastmilk, have you ever seen advice that you should switch from breastfeeding to a stage two formula at 6 months because a stage two formula is better for your baby than breastmilk?. Whey based formulas are much easier to digest and therefore your baby might not go as long between feeds as on a stage two formula (which leaves large chunks of indigestible curds in their stomach, "filling" them up). http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/feeding-infants-toddlers/bottle-feeding/follow-formulas [i'>Advantages: (of giving follow on) Contains more calcium. From six months to a year the RDA for calcium in infants increases by fifty percent, from 400 milligrams to 600 milligrams. Carnation Follow-up formula contains 600 milligrams of calcium in 24 ounces. It would take 39 ounces a day of standard formula to meet these calcium requirements. Contains more iron. From six to twelve months a baby's daily iron requirements increase from six milligrams to ten milligrams a day. This extra iron could be supplied in 26 ounces of follow-up formula or 27 to 33 ounces of standard formula, so there isn't a great advantage to the follow-up formula here. Contains more protein. From six to twelve months an infant requires an extra three to four milligrams of protein a day. Follow-up formulas contain from 10 to 25 percent more protein. A baby would need an extra three to eight ounces of standard formula per day to get this extra protein. Costs less. The cost is around 20 percent less than the price of regular formula. May taste better. Because it is basically milk, it tastes more like milk. Disadvantages: Casein/whey ratio different from human milk. Basically, Carnation Good Start Follow-up is like the older version of Similac: 82 percent casein and 18 percent whey, plus calcium and a newer fat blend. Sweetened with corn syrup. The rationale for replacing lactose in the milk with corn syrup is to get it to taste sweeter. In our opinion, using corn syrup as the prime milk-carbohydrate source in an infant under a year is nutritionally unwise. Besides insuring proper nutrition, one of the main goals in feeding an infant over six months is to shape young tastes toward the normal taste of fresh foods. Corn syrup is a sweetener and certainly shouldn't be part of a food babies eat several times each day. Our conclusion: we do not recommend follow-up formulas that contain corn syrup. They are nutritionally unwise and unnecessary. Better to give your baby a higher volume of standard formula (growing babies need more fluid anyway), plus calcium and iron-containing solid foods.[/i'> [i'>Which formula milk should I use? Babies should only drink formula milk, not ordinary pasteurised cow’s milk, until they are one year old, although pasteurised, full-fat cow’s milk can be used in cooking from six months. First-stage formula is whey based. It’s suitable for babies until they are a year old, then they can move on to full fat cow’s milk. Second-stage or follow-on formula are both casein-based and take longer for your baby to digest, which can lead to constipation. Evidence suggests that casein-based formula is not necessary for most babies. There is no need to switch to second-stage or follow-on formula. Whey-based infant formula is fine for your baby until she switches to cow’s milk. [/i'>

Kiwispiers - does your advice apply to Aptamil as well? I breastfed my DD and also used Aptamil stage 1 as that seemed to be the closest taste to breastmilk and one that she seemed to like. I then switched my DD from aptamil stage 1 to stage 2 when she was about 7 or so months thinking that it would simply have a slightly different age appropriate vitamin make up to the stage 1 milk. They do appear from the nutrition info to have a slightly different vitamin make up but the stage 1 seems to have whey in it that the stage 2 does not. The other ingredients are a bit of a mystery to be honest so I can't work out if the stage 2 does have added flavourings etc. or not. I did switch DD back to stage 1 as i was concerned re follow on milk issues as highlighted in the post below. But now i am having second thoughts as the stage 1 specifically says birth to 6 months and am concerned that because of the different levels of some of the vits and minerals that she's not getting the right quantities for a 10 month old. She is weaned in the sense that she has 3 proper meals during the day including lots of protein, fruit and veg with some carbs plus about 16oz of formula. I stopped b/f (as i was trying to get pregnant and now am!) at about 7 months. Despite my concern about stage 1 not having enough of the right bits and minerals, I am reluctant to switch her back to stage 2 as she much prefers the stage 1 taste and I struggled to get her to drink enough if the stage 2 and also because I am now concerned about possible added flavourings etc in stage 2. What do you think?

Hi, I have recently shifted from S26 Gold to Promil Gold, the second stage for 6 - 12 months. I just wanted to ask if it was normal that it is flavoured vanilla. Are other formula brands the same? Are there better formulas that I should consider for my 6 month? Thanks :) I cannot for the life of my understand why they flavour it vanilla. SO silly. I used S26 Gold but refused to move onto the Promil Gold because of the vanilla flavouring. I was going to continue with S26 until 12 months but my paeditrician recommended moving to follow-on milk as it will be more suited to weaning diet (having said that, she said having compared ingredients it wasn't a huge difference so not switching wouldn't be detrimental). When I first moved here from the UK I was using SMA Gold for our newborn. A friend told me it is exactly the same as S26 Gold -- same manufacturer just different name in different locations. I researched and tHey are both manufactured by Pfizer (link below). So when it was time to move to Promil Gold and I noticed the artificial flavouring I moved onto SMA Follow-on Milk instead which does not have the flavouring. It is not cheap - about Dhs30 more per large cannister but I figure it is only until 12 months. http://www.pfizer.com/nutrition/products.jsp <em>edited by Catawba KSE on 01/05/2012</em>

Omg I did not know this!! I'll def switch my DD back to stage 1 formula. Thanks for the info!!

We kept DD on stage 1. She was actually 6 months already when i weaned from BF, and we kept her on stage 1 till 14 months for the reasons you mentioned. I wasn't happy with the flavorings and sweeteners etc either. Follow-ons were only invented so they could be advertised, as in the UK it is against the law to advertise or otherwise promote formula.

You don't actually have to switch from stage one, the follow-ons often have flavouring and are full of sugar etc which is why they are not allowed to be classified as "from birth". Many pediatricians will advise you stay on the "from birth" formulas as they are the most similar to breastmilk.