Formula or whole milk?

[PrincessAnnabell]

our baby will be 14 months old when we go to Disney. I am thinking of staying on powdered formula instead of switching to whole milk before our trip. I think it will be easier to pack water and powder than to bring or buy whole milk every time. Any thoughts on this?

 

[little miss minnie]

I think this would be a good question for your pediatrician. I think you just need to make sure your baby is getting the proper nutrition, and I think they would be able to best answer that question.

 

[Habbott]

I agree with the person above me. At your child's yearly appointment, bring this question up.

As a side note, whole milk is harder to find in the parks. If I was in your position, I probably would go the formula route. Especially if the choice was formula or 2% for a 14 month old.

 

[asmit4]

Formula for 2 more months is not going to hurt most children. I'd go with formula.

 

[AKL_Megs]

Thy make a toddler/transitional formula for those over 12mo, something to look into.

 

[laura3773]

Check with your pediatrician, absolutely. We took my daughter on a trip at one year. She was still nursing several times a day, but had switched to whole milk for most daytime feeds. On our trip we got mostly whole milk but my pediatrician told me that for a shorter trip (1 week or less), 1 or 2% milk was okay since she ate a good variety of foods and got a lot of fat from other sources.

 

[kohlby]

At that age, two of my kids were still on 100% breastmilk due to sensory issues. My child without sensory issues still got at least 80% of her calories from breastmilk - so no need for cow's milk for her. I realize formula isn't the exact same thing as breastmilk, but I've known of many toddlers with eating issues who had to stay on a formula-centered diet for quite a while. So, though I do agree with asking your dr about continuing with formula, I wouldn't think it would be a huge issue either.

The whole milk recommendation isn't because there's something magical about cow's milk. Cow's milk is technically only needed for baby cows. However, it's an easy way to make sure that the child gets enough fat, calcium, and protein. If your child is eating solids well, then there can be other ways to get that as well. The key is to look at the entire diet. Even once my kids were off of breastmilk, there was no need for cow's milk though drs routinely ask how much they're getting just as an easy way to check off the requirements. (Once I answered what my kids were getting, then drs fully supported that).

 

[PrincessAnnabell]

Thanks for the replies. The baby eats very minimal table foods and stage 2 baby foods. This is a small baby, so getting in the calories is important. I will ask at the 12 month appointment.

 

[MSSANDRA]

12 months to formula is not a magical age nor strict time frame. It is merely a guild-line and two months beyond that is not going to be an issue at all. One of the reasons for the guidelines is so that parents will not use cows milk BEFORE age one. Milk is much cheaper and many parents would switch earlier. Both of my boys were on formula well past a year of age. The first was per the doctors advice to add extra nutrition and the second was because he was too stubborn to drink whole milk. We did use toddler formula for one, but not the other. I would stick to the formula until after the trip. Easier and no chance of tummy upsets or other issues before you go.

 

[owensamo]

We had a small baby (5 lbs at birth) who was still off the charts small at 1yo. We ended up switching to Pediasure until she was about 3 or so (and didn't switch from whole to 2% until she was about 9). It was expensive, but she got the calories and nutrients she needed.

With a small child, definitely discuss your options with your pediatrician. Ours was awesome, and I know if she was concerned about our DD's development, she would have recommended the right course of action (pediatric dietitian/nutritionist, etc.)

 

[DisneyParkLover]

Have you considered doing a garden grocer order? We are traveling with a 15 month old, so I understand how much stuff there is to pack. We are thinking of doing a garden grocer order for a box of diapers, wipes, whole milk, and snacks. The resorts have fridges so you could buy some milk and then possibly get some milk at the parks if you need more. It may not be cheaper for that week, but definitely will be cheaper than keeping your baby on formula for 2 extra months! That adds up quickly! And as my pediatrician said, the average toddler has no nutritional need for formula. As long as they eat a relatively healthy diet, formula at that age is "just a waste of money" (his words). I would go ahead and make the switch (once okayed by the doctor), and use the hundreds of dollars you will save towards something else. Also, my son is a big eater so we will probably be purchasing a few kids' meals for him which will come with milk. There is no reason your child couldn't stay on formula a few extra months, but I think doing milk wouldn't be as hard as you think!

ETA: After I posted, I saw that you have weight/nutrition concerns with your baby. If that is the case, maybe you are one of the situations in which ongoing formula use would be warranted. Find out what your ped thinks.

 

[DLB]

I just went with my 14 month old and did not have a hard time finding whole milk at all. All counter service that I went too had it as a drink option. (You just need to specify you want vitamin D milk) I also packed bottles with milk in them and they stayed cold in 95 degree weather. No problems at all

 

[smiths02]

Talk to your pediatrician, but
1) I don't think whole milk is that hard to find.
2) If you can't find whole milk, 2% milk won't harm a 14 month old (unless he has some sort of milk allergy/intolerance anyhow)
3) You can start introducing cows milk at 12 months if pediatrician okays it, so you should know by 14 months if your child can tolerate it well.

All my babies have been small (even though they weren't preemies). My first son was 5lbs 3 oz, my twins were 5lbs 11 oz. and 6 lbs 11 oz. I breastfed all of them (the twins were supplemented with formula), so they had more of a breastfed growth curve, so they are still somewhat small.

With my first son, the doctor constantly got onto me about if I was making enough milk, adding oil to his food, making sure we did whole milk, etc., etc. He just gained slowly-he is still skinny. He is healthy at age 8 now. With my second two, the doctor seemed to pay much more attention to their growth curve than to make me worry all the time. He said I could have done lowfat milk starting at 12 months

With all that said, when we took a trip a week after my son turned 12 months old, I continued breastfeeding and gave him some formula (he had had formula mixed in his cereal/oatmeal before, so I knew he could handle it) because I didn't want to introduce something new while on vacation.

 

[KTR]

My son turns 1 3 weeks before we go to WDW. I plan to keep him on formula at least until we go. He isn't small, but he has some significant feeding issues so he is still on a very limited diet. The vast majority of his calories are still formula so I don't see any reason to change it up just because he hit 12 months. I realize your child doesn't have the same issues, but I can't imagine there is any harm in doing formula instead if you think it will be easier. As a PP mentioned there is a toddler specific formula out there too. I think it is even recommended over cow's milk by our pediatrician office, but I've never used it.

 

[rachael95]

If your pediatrician wants you to switch to whole milk, you can check out the shelf stable whole milk options.

Horizon Organic has individual "snack" size whole milk cartons that are shelf stable. Just chill before you serve. They're pretty good. They have white and chocolate flavors. Usually are sold in the grocery store for $1 per serving.

 

[TxRunnerMom]

I haven't had trouble finding whole milk at Disney in general. They definitely have it in the hotel grocery area everywhere I have stayed. If your little one is still using formula bring that as well. I agree vacation is not optimal to make a total switch.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

We switched our 13 month old off formula right at 12 months. Our pediatrician said whole or 2% milk is fine. We generally stick with whole, but for our trip next week we will give her whatever is available at the time. However, DD eats table food like a pro, and gets most of her nutrition from food. She is also at at the top of the growth charts, and has already grown almost an inch since we stopped formula, so we know she is getting enough nutrition.

I will say that I was determined I was not going to mess with formula on the trip, so the minute her pediatrician said we could switch to milk full-time, we started phasing out formula. It helps that DD isn't picky, and her daycare really works with her on eating regular food.

Only you and your pediatrician can decide when to give up formula. I do think it would be easier to just give milk, but there are many valid reasons to use formula for the trip.

 

[kangamangus]

At 14 months are kiddos were on sippy cups so they had water throughout the day and milk at breakfast and supper. ( similar to everyone else in our family) We would bring two sippy cups into the parks and just add water as we went. Whole milk was easy to get at the resorts and that's what worked for us. If we were going to be in the park late and wanted to have milk we would buy some in the park and use the second clean sippy cup for milk.

 

[WantToGoNow]

My dd spent her first birthday at Disney. The pediatrician had already switched her to whole milk and straight table foods at 10.5 months as she was not satisfied on formula/baby food and wanted to eat all the time. I found it very easy to feed her and everywhere had whole milk. We carried in empty sippy cups (bottles were gone at a year) and filled them with her milk, water or juice as needed. At meals we took a little from each of our meals for her. The only problem was some Asian noodles from ABC Commissary which she threw up.

 

[PrincessAnnabell]

Good to know that whole milk is available. We definitely have to work on a few things before our trip: Drinking water, eating more table foods, and drinking cold drinks instead of room temp. I think I will try milk and still offer formula. Baby is also on gentleease formula so I will be watching to see how milk is tolerated.