Introducing cows milk?

So I know the advice is not to introduce cows milk until 12 months but I have a dilemma. Baby only has milk morning and evening but evening milk is often straight after dinner at around 5:30. She starts nursery just before turning 1. I had planned to breastfeed until 1 as I did with my other two children then switch directly to cows milk. I feel like nursery transition would be easier if I get her used to milk from a cup a couple of weeks or so before she starts nursery when she will be 11 months but I don’t really want to introduce formula. Then she’d be able to have a cup of milk with her tea at nursery before I collect her. Do you think it would be ok to introduce cows milk a little bit early? She isn’t having a lot of milk anyway, just morning and evening. I could potentially even do it as an extra cup of milk after dinner and still breastfeed morning and evening so I don’t see how it would do any harm. What would you do?
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I also noticed that WHO guidance contradicts NHS and says cows milk ok from 6 months if going from formula - I’m breastfeeding but surely this shows it’s not actually unsafe.

Can't you pump an give the milk to ths nursery for that bottle? Xx

If it were me, I would let her have milk at nursery a bit before turning 1, but wouldn’t start milk now. Giving small amounts of milk isn’t harmful itself, but giving milk can decrease the amount of breastmilk baby takes which can be harmful at this age. So keep doing what you’re doing now. I don’t think milk will have any impact on the transition - babies know that they can’t get breast milk when mom isn’t there and won’t expect it, so giving milk likely won’t ease the transition

My sister gave to her son cows milk from 6 months and on and didn’t have effect on him. He is perfectly fine

I would ask your HV or GP for advice. I personally would pump until they turn one and then move to cows milk once they turn one. When they say introducing cows milk from 6 months is with food not as a drink.

I could pump but it just seems silly when she literally turns 1 within days of starting nursery and I planned to stop breastfeeding and give cows milks at that point. It would just be for one feed a day after tea time before I pick her up so was just thinking as she’s very nearly 1 it might be easier to move to cows milk. Perhaps I could just start during the week running up to her starting. She literally starts nursery and turns one 5 days later.

@Lesley NHS states that yes but WHO state that for non breastfed babies it is ok to introduce milk as a drink from 6 months. There is some research that does show low iron in some babies. They wouldn't recommend it for breastfed because that is their preferred feeding method until 2. Like the author of this post I am still breastfeeding and expressing a bottle a day for when I'm at work, however, if she still wants more, we are offering her cows milk as a drink

Thanks @becka that’s really helpful. I think I’ll continue to breastfeed morning and evening until 1 as that’s what I had wanted to do but start offering cows milk with tea a bit before starting nursery as she will be nearly 12 months then anyway- then nursery can do the same if she wants milk before we get home.

My health visitor advised to introduce cow milk to my 9months old yesterday; I was a bit concerned so asked a paediatrician today and he said it’s fine since he hasn’t reacted to the follow up formula I introduced to his foods after 6months. I ebf for 6 months and still breast feeding

I breastfeed throughout the day with my little boy. Then his milk for bed time he has cows milk with a bit of expressed milk as I work evenings and he’s 9 months old x

My LO is on full fat cows milk he’s 9 months, I introduced it into his porridge around 8 months to see if he had an reactions and he hasn’t so I changed him onto it at 9 months and has been absolutely fine, I just give him multi vitamins everyday as he’s not on formula anymore

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