Question by Michelle: What are your thoughts on formula for babies over a year old?
It seems to be a pretty new concept to give babies formula until age 18 or 24 months (at least to me it’s new). I have a 13 year old and 11 year old twins, and I don’t remember follow up formula being around then.
I now have a 10 month old daughter and I’m wondering if the benefits outweigh the cost of the formula. I switched the boys to cow milk right around a year old, but if it’s really more beneficial to give follow up formula, then I’ll do that for Maddie.
Thanks ahead of time! =D
Best answer:
Answer by Emilee’s Mom is pregnant #2
I thought the follow up formula was for babies 9-12 months, and then you switch them to regular milk.
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I think it’s a waste of money. For some kids it may take a little while to get them adjusted to cow’s milk so you add a little formula to it, but eventually you’d want your kids drinking whole milk to fatten them up
Either way, I think nothing of it. I was excited to get them off formula and onto milk. So much cheaper!
There is no benefit. They are just trying to make money. Extended breastfeeding does have benefits and the formula companies are just trying to play on that idea.
Dawn- Are you serious. B/c breastfeeding has benefits beyond a year you wouldn’t see why formula wouldn’t?
Here’s extended breastfeeding benefits http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html
Here’s extended formula use benefits: it costs less than cow’s milk
Here’s the cons: 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
It’s a total con – the formula companies want more money out of you (and in the UK, you cannot advertise formula because we are meant to promote breastfeeding, but ‘follow-on’ milk is the exception to this rule, so they get to advertise their brand of milk) and this is the way they do it. At a year old, a child can get all the nutrition they need from a varied, well balanced diet including cow’s milk (or soya, goat’s etc). Their bodies naturally expell any excess.
I know a 3 1/2 year old who is still on formula. Her parents worry that she doesn’t eat her meals well, I think it’s because she drinks formula at least 3 times a day. I think if your child has some sort of food allergy or serious problems with eating, it’s worth considering (but adding a children’s vit does the same thing), or I can understand that some continue it because their child rejects other milk, but I won’t be taken in that it makes my children healthier.
I think it is a gimmick. It is a waste of money. Nothing wrong with Milk at 12 months. Go with that save your money.
Breastfeeding has benefits beyond a year, so I don’t see why formula would be different. Milk has relatively few nutrients – some protein, vitamins A & D, and calcium. That’s about it. Formula has been providing every nutrient your child needs until now, it’s quite a difference in quality.
A child doesn’t suddenly reach a point of not needing all these nutrients, what changes is that they are recieving more nutrition from solid food. You can continue using formula as a good vitamin supplement, the main reason not to is because it is more expensive than milk.
It’s just a way for the formula companies to keep selling you their product after your baby has reached one year of age. It’s totally unnecessary for the average, healthy baby, and could potentially do more harm than good: a baby whose belly is always full of formula might not want to eat more solid food, like she should be at 12 months. Also, if baby never develops a taste for other drinks because formula is offered instead, it can become fattening to the baby who refuses to drink water or other less caloric beverages. Your baby will get everything she needs from a balanced, healthy diet. Good luck!
I kept my now 7 yr old on formula until she was about 2 but that was mainly because she HATED cows milk, she still doesn’t like it much but will have it on cereal.
I will probably keep my now 12 month old on it for a bit longer too. My mum always said not too rush to put them on cows milk as its made for calf’s not babies!!
I would ony keep her on formula past 12months until she accepts full strength cows milk, then I would go 100% homogenized. There is no reason to keep giving them formula past a year other than the company’s trying to make money IMO.
switch to cow milk
12 months is the limit for formula. Formula is a substitute for cows milk and breast milk. Remember before formula was developed, generations were fed cows milk. Any way homogenized cows milk provides the nutrients a child needs for optimal brain development. Wean the child from the bottle at 12 months too.