Can babies have milk in food

Your baby's first solid foods

When to start introducing solid foods

Introducing your baby to solid foods, sometimes called complementary feeding or weaning, should start when your baby is around 6 months old.

At the beginning, how much your baby eats is less important than getting them used to the idea of eating.

They'll still be getting most of their energy and nutrients from breast milk or first infant formula.

Giving your baby a variety of foods, alongside breast or formula milk, from around 6 months of age will help set your child up for a lifetime of healthier eating.

Gradually, you'll be able to increase the amount and variety of food your baby eats until they can eat the same foods as the rest of the family, in smaller portions.

If your baby was born prematurely, ask your health visitor or GP for advice on when to start introducing solid foods.

Why wait until around 6 months to introduce solids?

It’s a good idea to wait until around 6 months before introducing solid foods because:

breast milk or first infant formula provide the energy and nutrients your baby needs until they're around 6 months old (with the exception of vitamin D in some cases)
if you're breastfeeding, feeding only breast milk up to around 6 months of age will help protect your baby against illness and infections
waiting until around 6 months gives your baby time to develop so they can cope fully with solid foods – this includes solid foods made into purées, cereals and baby rice added to milk
your baby will be more able to feed themselves
your baby will be better at moving food around their mouth, chewing and swallowing it – this may mean they'll be able to progress to a range of tastes and textures (such as mashed, lumpy and finger foods) more quickly, and may not need smooth, blended foods at all

Signs your baby is ready for solid foods

There are 3 clear signs which, when they appear together from around 6 months of age, show your baby is ready for their first solid foods alongside breast milk or first infant formula.

They'll be able to:

stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady
co-ordinate their eyes, hands and mouth so they can look at the food, pick it up and put it in their mouth by themselves
swallow food (rather than spit it back out)

The following behaviours can be mistaken by parents as signs that their baby is ready for solid foods:

chewing their fists
waking up in the night (more than usual)
wanting extra milk feeds

These are all normal behaviours for babies and not necessarily a sign that they're hungry or ready to start solid food.

Starting solid foods will not make your baby any more likely to sleep through the night. Sometimes a little extra milk will help until they're ready for solid foods.

Get tips to help your baby sleep well

How to start solid foods

In the beginning your baby will only need a small amount of food before their usual milk feed.

Do not worry about how much they eat. The most important thing is getting them used to new tastes and textures, and learning how to move solid foods around their mouths and how to swallow them.

They'll still be getting most of their energy and nutrients from breast milk or infant formula.

There are some foods to avoid giving to your baby. For example, do not add sugar or salt (including stock cubes and gravy) to your baby's food or cooking water.

Babies should not eat salty foods as it's not good for their kidneys, and sugar can cause tooth decay.

Tips to get your baby off to a good start with solid foods:

Eating is a whole new skill. Some babies learn to accept new foods and textures more quickly than others. Keep trying, and give your baby lots of encouragement and praise.
Allow plenty of time, especially at first.
Go at your baby's pace and let them show you when they're hungry or full. Stop when your baby shows signs that they've had enough. This could be firmly closing their mouth or turning their head away. If you're using a spoon, wait for your baby to open their mouth before you offer the food. Do not force your baby to eat. Wait until the next time if they're not interested this time.
Be patient and keep offering a variety of foods, even the ones they do not seem to like. It may take 10 tries or more for your baby to get used to new foods, flavours and textures. There will be days when they eat more, some when they eat less, and then days when they reject everything. Do not worry, this is perfectly normal.
Let your baby enjoy touching and holding the food. Allow them to feed themselves, using their fingers, as soon as they show an interest. If you're using a spoon, your baby may like to hold it or another spoon to try feeding themselves.
Keep distractions to a minimum during mealtimes and avoid sitting your baby in front of the television, phone or tablet.
Show them how you eat. Babies copy their parents and other children. Sit down together for family mealtimes as much as possible.

Texture progression

Once you've started introducing solid foods from around 6 months of age, try to move your baby on from puréed or blended foods to mashed, lumpy or finger foods as soon as they can manage them.

This helps them learn how to chew, move solid food around their mouth and swallow.

Some babies like to start with mashed, lumpy or finger foods.

Other babies need a little longer to get used to new textures, so may prefer smooth or blended foods on a spoon at first.

Just keep offering them lumpy textures and they'll eventually get used to it.

Safety and hygiene

When introducing your baby to solid foods, it's important to take extra care to not put them at risk.

Key food safety and hygiene advice:

always wash your hands before preparing food and keep surfaces clean
cool hot food and test it before giving it to your baby
wash and peel fruit and raw vegetables
avoid hard foods like whole nuts, or raw carrot or apple
remove hard pips and stones from fruits, and bones from meat or fish
cut small, round foods, like grapes and cherry tomatoes, into small pieces
eggs produced under the British Lion Code of Practice (stamped with the red lion) are considered very low risk for salmonella and safe for babies to eat partially cooked

Always stay with your baby when they're eating in case they start to choke.

Choking is different from gagging. Your baby may gag when you introduce solid foods.

This is because they're learning how to deal with solid foods and regulate the amount of food they can manage to chew and swallow at one time.

If your baby is gagging:

their eyes may water
they might push their tongue forward (or out of their mouth)
they might retch to bring the food forward in their mouth or vomit

Equipment checklist

High chair. Your baby needs to be sitting safely in an upright position (so they can swallow properly). Always use a securely fitted safety harness in a high chair. Never leave babies unattended on raised surfaces.
Plastic or pelican bibs. It's going to be messy at first!
Soft weaning spoons are gentler on your baby's gums.
Small plastic bowl. You may find it useful to get a special weaning bowl with a suction base to keep the bowl in place.
First cup. Introduce a cup from around 6 months and offer sips of water with meals. Using an open cup or a free-flow cup without a valve will help your baby learn to sip and is better for their teeth.
A messy mat or newspaper sheets under the high chair to catch most of the mess.
Plastic containers and ice cube trays can be helpful for batch cooking and freezing small portions.

Find out more:

tips to help your baby enjoy new foods
children's food: safety and hygiene
foods to avoid giving babies and young children
how to stop a child from choking
baby and toddler safety

Feeding your baby: from 0 to 6 months

Breast milk is the best food your baby can have during their first 6 months of life.

It's free, always available and at the perfect temperature, and is tailor-made for your baby.

First infant formula is the only suitable alternative if you do not breastfeed or choose to supplement breast milk.

Other milks or milk substitutes, including cows' milk, should not be introduced as a main drink until 12 months of age.

"Follow-on" formula is not suitable for babies under 6 months, and you do not need to introduce it after 6 months.

Babies do not need baby rice to help them move to solid foods or sleep better.

When using a bottle, do not put anything (such as sugar or cereals) in it other than breast milk or infant formula.

Vitamins for babies

It's recommended that breastfed babies are given a daily supplement containing 8.5 to 10 micrograms (µg) of vitamin D from birth, whether or not you're taking a supplement containing vitamin D yourself.

Babies having 500mls (about a pint) or more of formula a day should not be given vitamin supplements.

This is because formula is fortified with vitamin D and other nutrients.

All children aged 6 months to 5 years should be given vitamin supplements containing vitamins A, C and D every day.

Find out more:

benefits of breastfeeding
how to make up baby formula
vitamins for children

Feeding your baby: from around 6 months

When they first start having solid foods, babies do not need 3 meals a day. Babies have tiny tummies, so start by offering them small amounts of food (just a few pieces, or teaspoons of food).

Pick a time that suits you both, when you do not feel rushed and your baby is not too tired.

Start offering them food before their usual milk feed as they might not be interested if they're full, but do not wait until your baby is too hungry.

Allow plenty of time and let your baby go at their own pace.

Keep offering different foods, even foods your baby has already rejected.

It can take 10 tries or more before your baby will accept a new food or texture, particularly as they get older.

Your baby will still be getting most of their energy and nutrients from breast milk or first infant formula.

Breast milk or infant formula should be their main drink during the first year. Do not give them whole cows' (or goats' or sheep's) milk as a drink until they're 1 year old.

You can continue breastfeeding for as long as you both want.

Introduce a cup from around 6 months and offer sips of water with meals. Using an open cup or a free-flow cup without a valve will help your baby learn to sip and is better for their teeth.

First foods

You might want to start with single vegetables and fruits.

Try mashed or soft cooked sticks of parsnip, broccoli, potato, yam, sweet potato, carrot, apple or pear.

Include vegetables that are not sweet, such as broccoli, cauliflower and spinach.

This will help your baby get used to a range of flavours (rather than just the sweeter ones, like carrots and sweet potato) and might help prevent them being fussy eaters as they grow up.

Make sure any cooked food has cooled right down before offering it to your baby.

Foods containing allergens (such as peanuts, hens' eggs, gluten and fish) can be introduced from around 6 months of age, 1 at a time and in small amounts so you can spot any reaction.

Cows' milk can be used in cooking or mixed with food from around 6 months of age, but should not be given as a drink until your baby is 1 year old.

Full-fat dairy products, such as pasteurised cheese and plain yoghurt or fromage frais, can be given from around 6 months of age. Choose products with no added sugar.

Remember, babies do not need salt or sugar added to their food (or cooking water).

Finger foods

As soon as your baby starts solid foods, encourage them to be involved in mealtimes and have fun touching, holding and exploring food.

Let them feed themselves with their fingers when they want to. This helps develop fine motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination.

Your baby can show you how much they want to eat, and it gets them familiar with different types and textures of food.

Offering your baby finger foods at each meal is a good way to help them learn to self-feed.

Finger food is food that's cut up into pieces big enough for your baby to hold in their fist with a bit sticking out.

Pieces about the size of your own finger work well.

Start off with finger foods that break up easily in their mouth and are long enough for them to grip.

Avoid hard food, such as whole nuts or raw carrots and apples, to reduce the risk of choking.

Examples of finger foods include:

soft cooked vegetables, such as carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, parsnip, butternut squash
fruit (soft, or cooked without adding sugar), such as apple, pear, peach, melon, banana
grabbable bits of avocado
cooked starchy foods, such as potato, sweet potato, cassava, pasta, noodles, chapatti, rice
pulses, such as beans and lentils
fish without bones
hardboiled eggs
meat without bones, such as chicken and lamb
sticks of pasteurised full-fat hard cheese (choose lower salt options)

Baby-led weaning

Baby-led weaning means giving your baby only finger foods and letting them feed themselves from the start instead of feeding them puréed or mashed food on a spoon.

Some parents prefer baby-led weaning to spoon feeding, while others do a combination of both.

There's no right or wrong way. The most important thing is that your baby eats a wide variety of food and gets all the nutrients they need.

There's no more risk of choking when a baby feeds themselves than when they're fed with a spoon.

Find out more:

help your baby enjoy new foods
drinks and cups for babies and young children
food allergies in babies and young children
foods to avoid giving babies and young children

Feeding your baby: from 7 to 9 months

From about 7 months, your baby will gradually move towards eating 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and tea), in addition to their usual milk feeds, which may be around 4 a day (for example, on waking, after lunch, after tea and before bed).

As your baby eats more solid foods, they may want less milk at each feed or even drop a milk feed altogether.

If you're breastfeeding, your baby will adapt their feeds according to how much food they're having.

As a guide, formula-fed babies may need around 600ml of milk a day.

Gradually increase the amount and variety of food your baby is offered to ensure they get the energy and nutrients they need.

Try to include food that contains iron, such as meat, fish, fortified breakfast cereals, dark green vegetables, beans and lentils, at each meal.

Your baby's diet should consist of a variety of the following:

fruit and vegetables, including ones with bitter flavours, such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and cabbage
potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy foods
beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other non-dairy sources of protein
pasteurised full-fat dairy products, such as plain yoghurt and cheese (choose lower salt options)

As your baby becomes a more confident eater, remember to offer them more mashed, lumpy and finger foods.

Providing finger foods as part of each meal helps encourage infants to feed themselves, develop hand and eye co-ordination, and learn to bite off, chew and swallow pieces of soft food.

Remember, babies do not need salt or sugar added to their food (or cooking water).

Feeding your baby: from 10 to 12 months

From about 10 months, your baby should now be having 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and tea), in addition to their usual milk feeds.

Around this age, your baby may have about 3 milk feeds a day (for instance, after breakfast, after lunch and before bed).

Breastfed babies will adapt their milk consumption as their food intake changes.

As a guide, babies fed infant formula will drink about 400ml daily.

Remember that formula-fed babies should take a vitamin D supplement if they're having less than 500ml of formula a day.

All breastfed babies should take a vitamin D supplement.

By now, your baby should be enjoying a wide range of tastes and textures.

They should be able to manage a wider range of finger foods, and be able to pick up small pieces of food and move them to their mouth. They'll use a cup with more confidence.

Lunches and teas can include a main course, and a fruit or unsweetened dairy-based dessert, to move eating patterns closer to those of children over 1 year.

As your baby grows, eating together as a family encourages them to develop good eating habits.

Remember, babies do not need salt or sugar added to their food (or cooking water).

Feeding your baby: from 12 months

From 12 months, your child will be eating 3 meals a day containing a variety of different foods, including:

a minimum of 4 servings a day of starchy food, such as potatoes, bread and rice
a minimum of 4 servings a day of fruit and vegetables
a minimum of 350ml milk or 2 servings of dairy products (or alternatives)
a minimum of 1 serving a day of protein from animal sources (meat, fish and eggs) or 2 from vegetable sources (dhal, beans, chickpeas and lentils)

Your child may also need 2 healthy snacks in between meals.

Go for things like:

fresh fruits, such as apple, banana or small pieces of soft, ripe, peeled pear or peach
cooked or raw vegetable, such as broccoli florets, carrot sticks or cucumber sticks
pasteurised plain full-fat yoghurt
sticks of cheese (choose a lower salt option)
toast, pitta or chapatti fingers
unsalted and unsweetened rice or corn cakes

The World Health Organization recommends that all babies are breastfed for up to 2 years or longer.

You can keep breastfeeding for as long as it suits you both, but your child will need less breast milk to make room for more foods.

Once your child is 12 months old, infant formula is not needed and toddler milks, growing-up milks and goodnight milks are also unnecessary.

Your baby can now drink whole cows' milk. Choose full-fat dairy products, as children under 2 years old need the vitamins and extra energy found in them.

From 2 years old, if they're a good eater and growing well, they can have semi-skimmed milk.

From 5 years old, 1% fat and skimmed milk is OK.

You can give your child unsweetened calcium-fortified milk alternatives, such as soya, oat or almond drinks, from the age of 1 as part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Children under 5 years old should not be given rice drinks because of the levels of arsenic in these products.

Find out more:

what to feed young children
foods to avoid giving babies and young children
drinks and cups for babies and young children
vitamins for children

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Cow’s Milk and Milk Alternatives | Nutrition

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Information about finding infant formula can be found

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Additional information to help families during the infant formula shortage can be found

here.

Your growing child needs vitamins and minerals like vitamin D and calcium to build strong bones. Pasteurized, whole cow’s milk and soy beverages that have been fortifiedalert icon with vitamin D are good sources of vitamin D and calcium. Most cow’s milk sold in the United States is fortified with vitamin D.

Choose milk or milk alternatives that are unflavored and unsweetened. Flavored cow’s milk and fortified soy beverages can have added sugars. Your child does not need added sugars.

When Should I Introduce My Child to Cow’s Milk?

At 12 months old (but not before), your child can be introduced to cow’s milk. Before your child is 12 months old, cow’s milk may put him or her at risk for intestinal bleeding. It also has too many proteins and minerals for your baby’s kidneys to handle and does not have the right amount of nutrients your baby needs.

How Much, and How Often?

Cow’s milk or fortified soy beverages can be a part of a child’s balanced and diverse diet but not the only thing. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend children aged 12 through 23 months get 1⅔ to 2 cup equivalents of dairy a day, including cow’s milk, yogurt, cheese, fortified soy beverages, and soy-based yogurt. If your child drinks too much cow’s milk, he or she may not be hungry for other foods with important nutrients. Some experts say that consuming too much cow’s milk can make it harder for your child’s body to absorb the iron he or she needs from foods.

Continue to follow your child’s cues to decide when he or she is hungry or full. Talk with your child’s doctor or nurse for more questions about adding cow’s milk or fortified soy beverages in his or her diet.

Whole Cow’s Milk or Lower Fat Cow’s Milk?

Children can drink unflavored, unsweetened whole cow’s milk. Whole cow’s milk is the same as lower fat cow’s milk except that it is higher in fat. It is important for young children to get fat in their diet for healthy growth and development. If your child has excessive weight gain or a family history of obesity, high cholesterol or triglycerides, or cardiovascular disease, talk to your child’s doctor or nurse about the type of cow’s milk to give.

Raw Milk

Raw milk and raw milk products from cows, goats, and sheep can carry harmful bacteria and other germs that can make your child very sick and can be life-threatening. Raw milk can also be called unpasteurized milk. Do not give your child raw or unpasteurized milk.

Milk Alternatives

Milk alternatives can include beverages made from plants, such as soy, oat, rice, coconut, cashew, and almond.

If you choose a milk alternative, here are things to remember:

Milk alternatives should not be given before 12 months.
Fortified soy beverages are the only milk alternative that help meet a child’s recommended dairy needs.
Choose one that is unflavored and unsweetened. Your child does not need added sugars.
Choose one that is fortified with vitamin D and calcium. Check labels, since nutrient content can vary between brands.
Talk with your child’s doctor or nurse about the milk alternative you are using, because the vitamins and minerals in these types of milks are different than in cow’s milk.

Visit Vitamins & Minerals to learn more about the vitamins and minerals your child needs.

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how many months to enter the baby

Cow's milk has long been considered the only alternative to mother's milk and was widely used when the mother was unable to breastfeed. But as more and more in-depth research was carried out on allergies in children and individual food intolerances, it became more and more obvious: cow's milk is not the best food for babies. However, this product should not be underestimated. It will become an excellent component of a child's diet if you know when a child can enter cow's milk on the menu and how to do it correctly.

Contents: Hide

Why cow's milk should not be given to babies
At what age should cow's milk be introduced
How to introduce cow's milk into a child's diet
How to understand that cow's milk is poorly tolerated
the child has milk intolerance
Which milk to prefer

Why cow's milk should not be given to babies

Today, when there are high-quality adapted formulas for children, cow's milk can be considered obsolete in the diet of an infant. And introduced into the baby’s menu ahead of time, it can even harm. The reasons are as follows.

Cow's milk protein. This ingredient may cause unwanted reactions in the child's immune system. This is due to the fact that immature children's immunity perceives this protein as a foreign element that should be fought.

Different ratio of nutrients, vitamins, macro- and microelements in cow's and human milk. For example, there are several times more calcium and phosphorus in cow's milk than is required for the growth and development of a child. And an excess of these substances can disrupt the "biochemical harmony" in the baby's body. But iron in cow's milk is much less than in women's milk, which can lead to iron deficiency anemia in infants.

At what age can a drink be introduced?

Of course, cow's milk is a valuable and nutritious product. But only on condition that the child's body is ready to fully absorb it. Therefore, if you need to find out how many children can have cow's milk, you need to focus not on the opinion of the parents of the older generation, who often simply had no choice in case of problems with breastfeeding, but on the recommendations of pediatricians.

IMPORTANT! Most infant nutrition experts recommend avoiding cow's milk until at least 8 months of age. But even at this age, children should not drink whole milk. It can be used to prepare cereals or other dishes. And as the main product of baby food, cow's milk can be introduced into the children's menu no earlier than the child is 2 years old.

At this age, the baby's body is already ready to use all the benefits of this product without health risks. But nevertheless, the opinions of experts on the issue of when a child can have cow's milk differ somewhat - let's present several positions.

World Health Organization . WHO considers it possible to introduce cow's milk into the diet of an infant (as a drink) from 9–12 months. The use of this product in small quantities in cooking is recommended from 6-9months.
Russian Union of Pediatricians. The organization recommends the introduction of whole cow's milk into the diet of a child by the end of the first year of life and considers it unacceptable for children under 6 months of age due to the poor digestibility of protein by their immature digestive tract.
E. O. Komarovsky, pediatrician . A well-known doctor advises not to start giving cow's milk to babies under 1 year old. The daily dose for babies aged 1 to 3 years should be limited to one serving (200 ml) per day, after 3 years - up to two servings.

How to introduce cow's milk into your baby's diet

As when introducing any new product into your baby's diet, the basic rules of complementary foods must be followed when introducing cow's milk. But they should be supplemented with a few more.

Cow's milk cannot be used as a standalone product - it is allowed to cook milk porridge or bring already cooked porridge to the desired consistency with milk.
For the first 2-3 weeks, milk should be diluted with water at a ratio of 1:3 (one part milk to three parts water). This will reduce the fat content of the milk and make it easier on the baby's digestive system.
Introduce milk into the diet in small quantities. Start with one teaspoon, and within 1-1.5 weeks you can bring this amount to 100 ml (provided that the baby tolerates the new product well).

Cow's milk allergy

IMPORTANT! According to the Russian Federation Feeding Optimization Program, cow's milk, along with chicken eggs, seafood, fish, soy, peanuts, nuts and wheat, is among the eight foods that most often cause an allergic reaction.

In general, food allergens are any substances (usually of a protein nature) that stimulate the production of immunoglobulin E or a cellular immune response. At the same time, cow's milk protein is the leading allergen in early childhood in terms of clinical significance. In the first year of a child's life, there is a peak incidence of true allergy to cow's milk protein (2-3% among infants), then - by 5 years - about 80% of children develop tolerance, and by the age of 6 the incidence rate is less than 1% .

How to know if cow's milk is not well tolerated

With the introduction of cow's milk into the children's menu, you need to carefully monitor the well-being of the baby in order to understand whether he tolerates the new product well. The following signs may indicate that the baby is not yet ready for milk.

Any changes in the skin. This may be a dry rash or small blisters, redness, dry, scaly patches, crusts, and other changes.

Digestive disorders. Frequent and loose stools or their retention, flatulence, changes in the consistency and color of feces - any of these symptoms that appear after the introduction of cow's milk indicates the need to exclude this product.

General symptoms. Intolerance to cow's milk protein can be indicated by hidden signs, such as sleep problems (the child often wakes up, his sleep is restless and superficial), decreased appetite, etc.

already tested diet and do not change it for 1-2 weeks.

What to do if your child has a milk intolerance

For many parents, the fact that the baby reacted badly to milk becomes a real shock. This is not surprising: in one form or another, milk is found in a huge number of dishes and ready-made products, which means that the child will have to avoid such food for the rest of his life. But it's not as dramatic as it seems.

IMPORTANT! Unpleasant symptoms that occur after the introduction of cow's milk into the diet most often indicate the immaturity of the digestive and / or immune system. And after some time, when the baby's body is ready, the milk will begin to be fully absorbed and benefit. But it is extremely important to immediately abandon cow's milk if any signs of trouble are observed. In this case, it is much less likely that a temporary reaction to this product will be fixed as a permanent one.

What kind of milk to prefer

Another common question that worries parents: what kind of milk is preferable in a baby's diet? It can be answered unambiguously: milk labeled as “baby food”. It is already ready for use and has undergone ultra-pasteurization, which destroyed all pathogens. And the addition of minerals and vitamins to milk makes this product even more valuable for the child's body. Homemade cow's milk should be excluded. This product is an excellent breeding ground for bacteria, and even prolonged boiling is not always able to destroy them. In addition, the composition of milk varies greatly depending on the conditions of the animal and its nutrition. Therefore, when purchasing the “best” milk from a domestic cow, you can buy a product that is not tasty, but at best a product with dubious nutritional value or even inhabited by dangerous microbes.

But in any case, if you decide to introduce cow's milk into your baby's diet, consult your pediatrician first. The doctor will give individual recommendations, taking into account the health and development of your baby.

#Nutrition for children under two years of age #Complementary foods

At what age can cow's milk be given to a child

Reviewer Kovtun Tatiana Anatolievna

42366 views

December 16, 2021

Until recently, everyone was talking about the positive impact of milk on people of all ages. But recently the situation has changed, and now more and more experts disagree. At what age can you give milk to a child and what are the restrictions?

Benefits and harms of cow's milk

There was a belief that children have special lactoenzymes that can break down protein from cow's milk, but they disappear with age. Recent studies have refuted this theory - a person with a healthy digestive system, not allergic to cow's milk protein or lactose intolerance (lactase deficiency), can drink milk until old age.

Milk contains calcium in an easily digestible form: with it, the baby's teeth and bones will be strong. It is important to remember that milk is a nutritious product, so if the baby is thirsty, it is better to give him some water. Unlimited milk can cause digestive and metabolic disturbances, so moderation is important.

FrutoNyanya produces milk for baby food. It has a balanced content of calcium, prebiotic inulin and iodine. You can learn more about what stages it goes through from the video on the FrutoNyanya YouTube channel.

When can children be given milk

Can babies drink cow's milk? Yes, but with certain restrictions. Babies of different ages have their own milk requirements. Most often, pediatricians advise giving milk in the following quantities:

children under 12 months of age should not be given milk as a separate food product, only as part of a meal after consulting a pediatrician;
children from 1 to 3 years old can drink one serving per day - this is 200 milliliters;
after 3 years, the number of servings can be increased to two.

What kind of cow's milk to give to a child

As a first acquaintance, it is better to choose ultra-pasteurized milk. During ultra-pasteurization, bacteria die, due to which the milk begins to deteriorate quickly, and the beneficial components of the milk remain in place. Yes, the value of such milk will be slightly less than that of the freshest steam, but these measures guarantee the safety of the product for the child and increase the shelf life. It is also important that baby milk is produced in separate workshops where quality standards are strictly observed.

Often, baby milk is enriched with vitamin complexes and prebiotics, which help the baby's digestive tract, protect the immune system and promote rapid growth.

How and in what form to give milk

It is better not to give milk immediately after a meal, as it does not go well with some foods. Optimally - for a second breakfast or afternoon snack, in combination with cookies or bakery products. You can also dilute milk-free baby cereals with milk or cook your baby’s favorite cereal cereals on its basis.

Even industrial ultra-pasteurized milk is better to warm up to 37 degrees - so the child will be more comfortable drinking it.

Why children under one year old should not have cow's milk

Babies under one year old should not be given cow's milk as a separate food product at all - their delicate gastrointestinal tract, immature excretory system and metabolism are not yet ready to assimilate this product ^[1] .

Signs of intolerance to cow's milk in children

Some babies may not have enough lactase in their intestines, a special enzyme responsible for the breakdown of milk sugar. Usually, with age, the enzyme systems of the digestive tract mature and everything is getting better. And if lactase deficiency is congenital, then, depending on its severity, dairy products are excluded from the diet or replaced with low-lactose ones.

Pay close attention to your baby's reaction to the new product. An allergy to cow's milk in a child can be manifested by skin itching, upset stool, nausea or vomiting. In this case, it is better to refuse the product and seek the advice of a pediatrician.

Milk is a very useful addition to the diet, and if the child does not have an unpleasant reaction to it in the form of a skin rash or digestive disorders, then after consulting with a specialist, you can include it in the permanent menu.

_{*Breast milk is the best food for a young child.}