Is 6oz cows milk the same as 6oz formula???

[trisharushbrook]

I just gave my girls their first btl of cows milk today.  Am on a transition plan recommended by Paed.

Noticed that cows milk seemed thinner than formula and I know for sure it is less sweet so I was surprised to see the girls take it without any resistance.

One of my LO's usually will not finish a her btl of formula but with the cows milk she devoured the whole thing.....  the volume was the same but am wondering if because its thinner, it's less filling to them....?

Any ideas...?  Don't want them to end up hungry so not sure if I should be giving them more cows milk or just leave as is.   They take 3 btls per day (180mls/6oz each) and they are 14mths old (12mths corrected).

Thanks !

[RyansMum]

I would say it is not as filling as formula seeing as formula is the only food for babies. That said now that your girls are over a year then they are probably pretty much weaned so being on cows milk now rather than formula is not a problem.  I kept giving my son formula in the morning until he was about 2 years old mainly cos of the vitamins etc in formula and he was happy to still have it. He did have cows milk too.

I would say if you are worried then give them formula say in the morning as part of their breakfast and perhaps cows milk as a part of a snack during the day or just in milky puddings.

HTH!

[trisharushbrook]

Thanks for the response.... quick question... Did you heat up the cows milk ?  I pre-make my formula and storing it in the fridge means it's pretty cold so I heat it up just to a lukewarm state.... did the same with the cows milk as I think it might be just too cold for them from the fridge but I guess at some point they will just drink it cold right?

[jess, lukeys_mom]

Hi Trisha,

It depends on the brand but formula does have slightly more calories than whole milk. But not too much, I think formula has about 20 cal/oz and milk has 18. I still do formula for the before bed bottle but cow's milk for the rest. Before bed is probably just superstitious as I always give the special "Good Night"sleep well formula, but I am holding on to this one for a bit as it's the only bottle that is not given at a mealtime.

For the other drinks I heat up the cow milk in a sippy cup 30 sec in micro (i know you're not supposed to ) so it's lukewarm, but if i have time i just leave it out at room temp so it's not so cold. advantage of doing this is if he doesn't finish i can put it back in the fridge. once it's microwaved i don't re-cool.

We do the same amt of milk as you. At this point most of luke's calories are coming from his meals. Do your dd's seem hungry after their bottles, or are you just concerned about it?

[RyansMum]

I have never heated it up, and stopped doing so with his formula once he was having it in a sippy cup after he turned one.  He actually likes cold drinks 

You could try it straight from the fridge, I am sure they will let you know if they don't like it 

[trisharushbrook]

Thanks Ladies,

Jess - I dont' think they are hungry.  I'm just trying to stay one step ahead of them so I don't end up with them hungry.  Just wasnt sure if there was some "rule" out there that said you should up the amt for a time until they transition.....

Don't worry - I heat in the microwave too.  I used btl warmers for so long and then it got to a point where I had two babies screaming their heads off and I said "here goes" - never looked back !!

Sharon - you are right - I'm sure they will let me know if they don't like it cold.  Doc told me to expect runny diapers for a time too due to the higher fat content but so far all is ok. 

It's interesting (and good) to hear that you are still giving some formula.  We are often out at the weekends and I couldn't (wouldn't) order milk in a restaurant here so I'd have to continue with formula for when we are out and about and wondered about that so that's great to hear.

Now next step is to get that milk out of a btl and into a sippy......

Thanks for the feedback

[jess, lukeys_mom]

Don't worry - I heat in the microwave too. 

Guilt relieved that I'm not the only one!

We are often out at the weekends and I couldn't (wouldn't) order milk in a restaurant here so I'd have to continue with formula for when we are out and about and wondered about that so that's great to hear.

I saw in another thread we were both on that you're in China...can't IMAGINE what kind of challenges that would add to feeding your lo's (and maybe some yumminess that it would add to their diets too!)

[trisharushbrook]

challenges??  for sure..... cant give them anything local. You wouldn't believe the stories here.....

There is some chemical in white paint that was found in local milk - they were putting it in to the milk make it whiter
Company somewhere else was making baby formula but turned out it was just pure glucose
Another company were shut down because they were melting down DVD's and CD's to make baby products (bottles, cups etc)
As for meat..... a certain area of China had kids with extreemly large heads and no one knew why.  Turns out chicken is a big part of their diet and the chickens are all given growth hormones!!!  Girls are also starting to go through puberty as early as aged 7 and 8 for same reason....

Cant use any local toys due to lead content - Toys R Us just opened a while back though and they have good stuff.

So how do I manage.....
Well we bought all our baby gear in the US and had it shipped over - ironically enough everything still has a "made in china" label but manufactured for outside China vs inside China is soooooooo  different.
I buy imported long life Australian milk
I buy imported baby food (and pay double what you'd pay in the US for it)
I buy American made formula that is just repacked in China (best I can do without having it shipped over)
I buy what is labeled "organic" meat but who really knows.....
Have to order all our vaccinations from the UK - they are shipped to our hospital (western hospital) here who keep them in a fridge for us.
There are some cool toys here so I got a lead testing kit in the US and will use that to check anything we buy
I dont' expose the girls to any local food as most of it has MSG in it but there are tons of western restaurants here that we can avail of.

My husband still makes enough trips back to the US that we can get our stash of fruit puffs or teething biscuits or medicine, clothes etc.  He's actually coming back on Friday with the new outdoor Robeez - can't wait to get them.

[trisharushbrook]

I just realised that was a rather negative rant.... sorry.

We truly love China - we've been here nearly 6yrs.   Since having the girls though I've become the over protective parent who obsesses about everything.... esp when I know what goes on here.

Aside from those worries this is a great place to be and we are having a fab experience here. We are in Shanghai which is more like New York than China so it's a sort of a superficial china.... which is fine by me !

[RyansMum]

Wow  Sounds a real challenge none the less!!

Glad I could help anyway!

[jess, lukeys_mom]

Wow. Sounds challenging for sure, especially with twins  but I bet it's also a lot of fun.
I live in NL but am from the US originally. I know how it goes, you can go on and on about your gripes on cultural differences but in the end you are there because you like it and want to be there. It is not so culturally different here but I do find it difficult to find a lot of the foods and baby products that I want. Most of them I get from the US or UK when people come to visit.

Can't believe the story about the kids with the huge heads!