24 oz. maximum on milk/formula? And starting over switch to cow's milk

[Marisa6826]

Sophie had her 15m checkup yesterday and her ped mentioned that she shouldn't have any more than 18-24 oz of milk or formula a day otherwise it could lead to anemia.

I hadn't heard that, but am now worried, because she's getting closer to 24-32 oz of milk/formula. She has no interest whatsoever in juice or water. I try giving it to her all the time, but the only way she MIGHT take a sip is if she sees me drinking it and wants some from my glass.

I had her halfway switched to cow's milk but then I got VERY sick last week (had to go to hospital for IV). Jonathan had to take over and my mother had to come up from Fla to take care of Sophie, so the cow's milk went out the window for the time being.

Do I need to start ramping up all over again or can I go back to the half and half?

Sophie grew 1-3/4", gained 1 lb. 8 oz., and her head increased 3/4cm in SEVEN weeks. She also snuck in two more teeth than I realised. She's now 20 lbs., 30". Talk about a growth spurt!

No wonder she's eats like a bottomless pit!! ;)

-m

[egoldber]

I've never heard that about anemia which seems sort of wrong to me. I mean how could drinking MORE iron fortified formula lead to anemia??

But my ped is even more conservative than that. We wants no more than 16 ounces a day of whole milk and prefers 12. His concern is that kids who drink a lot of milk tend not to eat as well since they get full on the milk. I know that when DD is drinking a lot of milk her appetite for food definitely decreases. But all week she's been very sick and has pretty much only wanted to drink milk and barely eat, so I've been indulging her.

Now, my DD is average weight and has never had any issues with gaining weight. So I'm not sure what the advice is for smaller toddlers.

But if I were you, I'd start the conversion process slowly again. There's nothing to lose going slowly.

HTH,

[ppshah]

I agree with the other posts. The concern for anemia is mainly from cow's milk b/c unlike formula it is not iron fortified. The concern for drinking too much milk/formula is also it limits the amout of solids they are taking in. I think developmentally it is important to continue to introduce variety of textures and flavors and convert to solids as their main source of nutrition. Dairy products reamin an important source of calcium and Vitamin D so they shouldn't be elimated altogether but 12-24 oz is a good range.