weaning question.....

[craigy]

am about to start weaning my exclusively breastfed just over 6 month old and am well out of practice as it is about 4 years since i did it and i have given all my books to my sister at the other end of the country and cannot remember a half of it but as we are going for a very relaxed more baby led approach i am not too bothered...

can someone please remind me about the reasoning for not given cows milk before a year, is it purely a nutritional thing? am thinking about cereal and things like that as cannot see the point of using formula as she has never had any before and cannot be fussed with expressing for it and if it is just nutritional that she is breastfed so not an issue...

all input gratefully received....

craigy

[Pickle]

I used cows milk in cooking/on cereal from 6 months, just not as a drink. From memory that's what the various weaning books I read said was OK to do (and the kids have survived to tell the tale!).

[craigy]

thats what i thought, thank you....

[Saffron]

Cows milk has too much sodium to be a drink for <1 yo. Their kidneys can't filter it. I did the same as Pickle and just used cows milk in porridge etc, and Little Saff had some yogurt too.

[Knomester]

I think there is also some advice not to introduce cow's milk too early because of an increased risk of allergies. A small amount of cooked cow's milk seems to be commonly accepted as being OK, although some seem to say even this shouldn't be given until a little later.

I've decided to use organic formula in Baby K's baby rice / cereal for the first month at least (he is also exclusively breastfed - until starting the weaning that is!).

[Fuschia]

I always thought the advice re cows milk not as a drink meant it was deficient in viatmins etc a baby needs.. but actually unheated milk is hard for them to digest ... so when they state OK in cooking, it means in sauces and things.

My twins survived me mistakenly giving them cows milk on cereal etc... but if allergy is a concern it's probably unwise