What milk to feed baby after 12 months

Feeding Your 1- to 2-Year-Old (for Parents)

Toddlers this age are moving toward a diet more like your own. Keep introducing new flavors and textures. Food preferences are set early in life, so help your child develop a taste for healthy foods now.

Toddlers have little tummies, so serve foods that are packed with the nutrients they need to grow healthy and strong. Avoid sweets and empty calories. Don’t give your child sugar-sweetened drinks, such as soda, juice drinks, sports drinks, and flavored milks. Limit 100% fruit juice to no more than 4 ounces a day, and serve juice in a cup, not in a bottle.

Your toddler will continue to explore self-feeding, first with their fingers and then with utensils at around 15–18 months of age. Give your child lots of chances to practice these skills, but lend a hand when frustrations arise. As skills develop, step back and let your little one take over.

Toddlers like to assert their independence, and the table is one place to give yours some sense of control. Serve a variety of healthy foods from all the food groups and let your child decide which of those foods to eat and how much.

What About Milk?

Milk is an important part of a toddler's diet because it provides calcium and vitamin D, which help build strong bones. Most kids under age 2 should drink whole milk. If a toddler is overweight or there is a family history of obesity, high cholesterol, or heart problems, your doctor might recommend switching to reduced fat (2%) milk.

If your child can’t drink cow’s milk, choose unsweetened soy drinks fortified with calcium and vitamin D. Other milk alternatives (such as almond, oat, rice, or coconut) have less protein and may not be fortified.

Kids this age don’t need special toddler milk or formulas, which contain added sugars. Toddlers can get all the nutrition they need by drinking cow’s milk or a fortified soy drink and eating a variety of solid foods.

When your child is 2, you can switch to low-fat or nonfat milk.

Between 12 and 18 months of age is a good time to move to a cup. Instead of stopping bottles all at once, slowly drop them from the feeding schedule, starting with mealtime. Offer whole milk in a cup after your child has begun the meal.

Why Is Iron Important?

Iron makes the red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body. Low iron levels can affect growth and may lead to learning and behavior problems and anemia (a low number of red blood cells).

After 12 months of age, toddlers may not get enough iron because they no longer drink iron-fortified formula and they may not get enough iron-rich foods in their diet.

To help prevent iron deficiency:

Limit your child's milk intake to 16–24 ounces (480–720 milliliters) a day.
Include iron-rich foods in your child's diet, like meat, poultry, fish, beans, and iron-fortified foods.
Continue serving iron-fortified cereal until your child is eating a variety of iron-rich foods.

Talk with your doctor if your child drinks a lot of cow's milk, isn't getting enough iron-rich foods, or if you're thinking of giving your child a multivitamin.

What Foods Should We Avoid?

Offer your child a variety of healthy foods. Watch for allergic reactions when trying new foods.

Toddlers between 12 and 24 months should avoid:

foods with added sugars and no-calorie sweeteners, including sugar-sweetened and diet drinks
high-sodium foods
unpasteurized juice, milk, yogurt, or cheese
foods that may cause choking, such as hot dogs, raw vegetables, grapes, hard cheese, popcorn, and nuts

Always supervise when your child is eating. Make sure your child sits up in the high chair or other safe place.

How Much Should My Toddler Eat?

Schedule three meals and two or three healthy snacks a day. But expect your toddler to sometimes eat less or skip meals. This can be hard for many parents, but kids should be allowed to respond to their own feelings of hunger and fullness. Toddlers who are full may push food away, close their mouths or turn their heads away from food, use hand gestures, or make sounds to let you know they have had enough. Don't push food on a child who's not hungry.

If you have any questions about what and how much your child is eating, talk with your doctor.

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD

Date reviewed: November 2021

Milk Recommendations For Infants & Toddlers

What Milk, When?

This is a topic that I’m asked about time and time again and so I hope many of you will find it useful!

While we talk about all of the foods and nutrients that are important for our little ones, milk is something that lots of us find confusing and unclear how it fits into the diet as a whole. It’s not always easy to know what sort of milk is needed, or suitable and what the recommendations are at each stage during the early years. In this blog, I’ll take you through the first 0-3 years and explain what type of milk is recommended for your child. I’ve also included some tables as a quick reference guide as to what you can offer, and when!

0-6 months

Breast Milk

For new-born babies, the WHO advice is to solely breastfeed for the first 6 months of life and then to continue alongside complementary nutritious foods up to the age of 2, or for as long as you and baby wish.

While breastfeeding isn’t straightforward or accessible for everyone, there are a number of benefits to it for both mum and baby. I’ve written about this in more detail here but in summary – breastfeeding provides babies with all of the vital nutrition and hydration they need and will adapt to their changing requirements, it helps protect against infection and to build a healthy immune system and it is also a cheap, convenient way for mothers to feed their babies wherever and whenever they need to.

Infant Formula Milk

If breastfeeding doesn’t work or you choose not to breastfeed, infant formula is the only suitable alternative to breast milk and should be your baby’s sole source of nutrition for the first 6 months. The NHS website has a really informative breakdown of all of the different types of formula that you might choose to offer and when you need to consider medical supervision.

If you and your baby are vegan or vegetarian, make sure to get professional medical advice on what milk to feed your baby if breastfeeding is not available for you. Currently, there are no suitable vegan infant formulas available in the UK. Even those that are not from animal source contain an animal source of Vitamin D, so if you are not able to breastfeed, it is really important to seek professional support.

According to NHS guidelines, breast milk, or infant formula should be a baby’s main drink during the first year of life. Cow’s milk and other substitutes should not be introduced as a main drink until after 1 year.

6-12 months

At around 6 months you’ll start to introduce more foods into your baby’s diet, and so naturally the amount of milk they will want and need will gradually begin to decrease.

If you’re breastfeeding, your baby will naturally adapt how much they feed according to the other food they have eaten throughout the day. For formula fed babies, NHS guidelines suggest they may need around 600ml per day between 7-9 months and this will drop down to around 400ml between 10-12 months. Please remember this is just a guide.

You may start offering cow’s milk or other alternatives by using them in cooking, but it shouldn’t be offered as a main drink to replace either breast or formula milk.

Note: Some formula companies offer “follow-on” formula to be offered to infants after 6 months. While these are safe to use for babies after 6 months, current research shows no benefit to babies being fed these instead of continuing with regular infant formula.

12-24 months

From 1 year on, your child will start to eat larger, more regular meals and get most of their nutrition from foods other than milk. The WHO does recommend that babies continue to be breast fed up to 2 years, and beyond, but your baby will begin to need less breast milk as they eat a wider variety of foods. After 12 months, your baby won’t necessarily need formula milk anymore. Your little one can now start to drink cow’s milk and other alternatives as a more regular drink.

Between the ages of 1-3, it is recommended that children consume around 350-400mls of milk or 3 servings of dairy foods daily. But, if your child is consuming a lot of dairy at meals throughout the day, you may need to offer less milk. Below is a brief roundup of the main types of milk that might be offered at this stage.

Cow’s Milk

For children under 2, choose full-fat cow’s milk. Semi-skimmed doesn’t have the same nutrient profile in terms of vitamins and minerals and also has less energy. For growing children, it’s important that they get enough energy from the foods we offer and so semi-skimmed and skimmed are not appropriate options.

Goat’s / Sheep’s Milk

Similar to cow’s milk, these shouldn’t be offered as a main drink until after 12 months. Their nutrient profiles are similar to cow’s milk so after 12 months, as long as they’re pasteurised, they’re fine to offer. While some people may choose to give goat’s or sheep’s milk as an alternative to cow’s milk for allergenic reasons, they are generally considered equivalent in allergenicity and safety.

Soya Drinks & Other Milk Alternatives

As part of a healthy, balanced diet, plant-based milks including soya, oat, almond and other nut milks can be offered or used in cooking. However, it’s worth noting that they are not nutritionally comparable to cow’s milk and not all brands fortify with the same nutrients so they shouldn’t be used as a direct replacement for cow’s milk in your child’s diet. See my blog for more detailed breakdown of plant-based milks for children.

Note: Rice milk should not be offered to children under five because of the possible arsenic content.

2+ years

After the age of 2, children will be starting to adopt a more varied, balanced diet and may rely less on milk as a source of nutrients. As noted above, around 350 – 400ml of milk or 3 daily servings of dairy foods are advised between the ages of 1-3, so you can adjust how much milk you give them based on their diet throughout the week. If you don’t include dairy in your child’s diet, you may want to consider how you replace any nutrients they might be missing out on. My blog on vegetarian diets for children might be a helpful place to start!

A summary of milk recommendations for young children

To help put all of this information into a slightly more condensed version, I’ve created the tables below as a quick-look guide to what milks to offer when and an overview of the different types of milk you might offer throughout your child’s early life.

Table 1: What milk, when?

Table 2 Breakdown of different milks:

Further Reading

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/solid-foods-weaning/?tabname=your-newborn
https://www. nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/drinks-and-cups-children/
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59f75004f09ca48694070f3b/t/5b325b5d2b6a28fb4e3d1233/1530026845937/Infant-milks_a_simple_guide_May2018a.pdf
https://www.nutrition.org.uk/nutritionscience/life/infant-nutrition.html’
https://www.whittington.nhs.uk/document.ashx?id=6213

Diet for a child aged 9-12 months

By 9 months the main complementary foods have already been introduced, so the expansion of the child's diet continues. It is important to know that at this age the consistency of the products should change from homogenized to finely and coarsely ground.
A meat dish for an older child can be offered in the form of meatballs, which diversifies the child's diet and stimulates the formation of chewing skills. Canned meat industrial production for children over 8 months. - coarsely chopped, spices and spices (white pepper, celery, parsley, dill, onion, basil, thyme) can be added to them.

The amount of fish puree increases to 60 g per day by 12 months. Fish is given 2 times a week boiled without broth (instead of meat).

At this age, children's pasta can be offered to the child.

The number of children's cookies and crackers is increased up to 10-15 g per day (2-3 cookies).

By the year it is useful to add finely chopped fresh garden greens (dill, parsley) to various dishes, which significantly enriches the diet with vitamins and minerals.

Sample diet for a 12 month old child:

breakfast 8 hours	Dairy-free or milk porridge* Butter Boiled egg yolk Fruit puree	150-200 g approx. 1 tsp. 1/2 pcs 50 g
lunch 12 noon	Vegetable puree Vegetable oil Meat puree (meatballs) or fish Bread/rust Compote	180 g about 1/2 tsp. 50 g 10 g 50 ml
afternoon snack 4 pm	Breast milk (kefir or yoghurt)** Cottage cheese Fruit puree Baby biscuits	100 g 50 g 50-70 g 2 pcs
dinner 20 hours	Vegetables or porridge** Meat puree Vegetable oil Fruit juice	180 g 20 g 1/2 tsp. 50 ml
before bedtime 11 pm	Breast milk (DMS)***	200 ml

* - dairy-free porridge should be diluted with breast milk or infant formula that the child receives. Milk porridge is diluted with water.
** - daily volume of kefir or yogurt can be up to 200 ml,
*** - baby milk formula

Approximate diet of a 12-month-old child with an allergy to cow's milk proteins:

breakfast 8 hours	Dairy-free porridge* Vegetable oil Fruit puree	150-200 g approx. 1 tsp. 50 g
lunch 12 noon	Vegetable puree Vegetable oil Meat puree/meatball Bread/crust Compote	180 g approx. 1/2 tsp. 50-70 g 10 g 50 ml
afternoon snack 4 pm	Breast milk or medicated formula for infants with cow's milk protein intolerance Fruit puree Rusk	150-180 ml 50 g 10 g
dinner 20 hours	Vegetables or dairy-free porridge** Vegetable oil Meat puree Fruit juice	180 g approx. 1/2 tsp. 30-40 g 50 ml
at bedtime 11 pm	Breast milk or formula for infants with cow's milk protein intolerance	200 ml

* - dairy-free porridge should be diluted with breast milk or formula for children with intolerance to cow's milk proteins.
** - you can either alternate porridge or vegetables, or offer a mixed dish - porridge with vegetables.

The materials were prepared by the staff of the Laboratory for Nutrition of a Healthy and Sick Child of the National Research Center for Children's Health of the Ministry of Health of Russia and are based on the recommendations given in the National Program for Optimizing the Feeding of Children in the First Year of Life in the Russian Federation, approved at the XV Congress of Pediatricians of Russia (02.2009g.)

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

Reviewer Kovtun Tatiana Anatolievna

41233 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.}