Weaning to cow's milk

I am interested in weaning my 11 month old to cow's milk before we head East for the holidays. I am finding conflicting information about when you can actually begin the weaning process. He has cow's milk for brekkie and in other products; yoghurt, cheese, and custards. Mum's in my Mother's Group have made the switch, but the books are telling to wait until he turns 1.
Is 11 months too soon?
Has anyone changed from formula to cow's milk? Can you give me some advice as to when to begin?
Thank you!!

Hi amymargaret73, I changed my son from reflux formula onto cows milk when he was 12 months of age. He too was having cows milk in things but due to the reflux and the formula being thicker than cows milk I was very hesitant. I just started with one bottle of cows milk instead of formula a day for one week then gave him two bottles a day for one week then 3 bottles and so on. I know a of people who gave their child all cows milk at once. I wouldnt be inclined to do that in case they do have a severe reaction but it us up to you. I am not too sure if you are changing from breastmilk or from formula but if it is formula if you start the one bottle a day for a week etc then by the holidays you will know if his body can cope with the cows milk. I have read so many things in books that you should and shouldnt do and then you read another that totally contradicts the other. I think the main reason they say to wait until 12 months is the theory that the longer you wait to introduce a new product to the child the less chance they have of getting a reaction or allergy to it. The best advice I can give you is to do what you feel is right for your child. Hope this helps.

I'm thinking of doing the same thing - my twins are nearly 10 months. I know people who have changed them from 8 months and just added pentavite vitamin drops to the milk until 12 months. When I do it, I'll do the one bottle a day thing that was suggested. I honestly think it's personal choice - if your child is healthy, growing well and hasn't had any reactions to food, then you could probably safely do it. My feeling is, what's the difference between 10 or 11 months to 12 months? My two have milk for brekkie, love yoghurt, cheese, custard etc, etc like yours. I guess it's just taking the plunge!

Good luck

Sam

Hi there,
My daughter is 2 weeks off turning one and I have begun the process of swapping from formula to cows milk with a toddler formula (for the iron, calcium, vitamins and minerals). I have been supplementing one bottle of formula for one bottle of cows milk with toddler formula. My GP said if she tolerated cows milk well in other foods then she should be okay. The other advice is to do it gradually, that way baby doesn't notice it so much. I think that 11 months onwards is okay to start introducing cows milk. My daughter has had it in her cereal sonce 9 months old. Goodluck with the cows milk.

I just wanted to add with my last post, that I think us mum's get more worked up about making changes than our babies do. I think they will let us know if they are not ready for the change... and more often than not us mums get it right. Again goodluck.