whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

dh and i went to see his aunt and cousin today. his cousin is a single mom living with her parents. she doesnt have a job that can support herself let alone her child.
her sister is married with 2 children (the youngest 9 months) and due next month with another baby and cannot afford to pay her mtg and is going into foreclosure.
Dh aunt supports both families and kids.

anyway i was talking with dh aunt and she told me she cant belive ds is on forumla bc its so expensive. i told her i tried bf but it only lasted a month. she said no no i mean i cant belive ur still feeding him formula (ds is not even 5 months old) she said they feed the babies in their family whole cows milk starting at 2 months old bc its so expensive and they need to cut costs

I was shocked to say the least and she said why u dont think my grandchildren turned out ok the way ur looking at me?

Maybe im naive but i honestly never heard of subsituting formula with regular milk under a year old. I have 5 neices and 1 nephew and my ds and i have never heard of that.

Then i see the 11 month old eating peanut m&m's im like what? first off peanuts secondly chocking hazard?

am i overprotective?

Message edited 2/22/2010 7:35:20 PM.

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

Posted by WNA01

dh and i went to see his aunt and cousin today. his cousin is a single mom living with her parents. she doesnt have a job that can support herself let alone her child.
her sister is married with 2 children (the youngest 9 months) and due next month with another baby and cannot afford to pay her mtg and is going into foreclosure.
Dh aunt supports both families and kids.

anyway i was talking with dh aunt and she told me she cant belive ds is on forumla bc its so expensive. i told her i tried bf but it only lasted a month. she said no no i mean i cant belive ur still feeding him formula (ds is not even 5 months old) she said they feed the babies in their family whole cows milk starting at 2 months old bc its so expensive and they need to cut costs

I was shocked to say the least and she said why u dont think my grandchildren turned out ok the way ur looking at me?

Maybe im naive but i honestly never heard of subsituting formula with regular milk under a year old. I have 5 neices and 1 nephew and my ds and i have never heard of that.

Then i see the 11 month old eating peanut m&m's im like what? first off peanuts secondly chocking hazard?

am i overprotective?

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

im shocked. cows milk does not have all the added nutrition they put in the formula....

if they are so poor then why arent they claiming welfare to get free formula from the govt?

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

In all seriousness, normally I completely stay out such situations but when it comes to the health and well being of a child that is NOT where you cut costs.

You would see me selling my furniture, eating Ramen noodles and walking around in a $2. pair of flip flops in all sorts of weather before my baby went without formula.

She can apply for WIC, visit a food pantry (they have formula) or speak to the ped... they get cases and cases of free samples.

Have they truly cut back in all other areas? Is there cable in the house? Blackberry/smartphone? Do they every buy higher priced food/beverage? None of those are necessities, they should be eliminated if necessary to buy formula. I say this because I've met/known people who claim not to have money for real necessities in life yet they have luxury items like the above.

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

That is just so wrong & like the above posters...she could apply for WIC & should be doing anything she can to provide formula. This is from family.go.com:

Most experts agree that kids can switch from infant formula or breast milk to whole cow's milk when they reach 1 year of age. Before this age, cow's milk is more likely to cause an allergic reaction and is tough for babies to digest -- and it's not the best source of iron. The Holistic Pediatric Association, however, prefers breast milk over cow's milk for a longer period, until children reach 18 to 24 months.

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

Posted by Tah-wee-ZAH





Have they truly cut back in all other areas? Is there cable in the house? Blackberry/smartphone? Do they every buy higher priced food/beverage? None of those are necessities, they should be eliminated if necessary to buy formula. I say this because I've met/known people who claim not to have money for real necessities in life yet they have luxury items like the above.

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

This is disgusting.

I've posted about this before, but my DH is an EMT for the FDNY and about a year ago, he responded to a call to an unresponsive 2 month old baby who ended up passing away. The parents overfed him chocolate milk.

Babies NEED formula or breastmilk, and I am appalled that THIS is how they would cut costs. You can buy a can of generic Target formula for $10, two gallons of whole milk is about that as well

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

How horrible!!! Babies need the iron and nutrients from formula up until a certain age. A 2 month old getting only milk is horribly dangerous! Milk does not have any iron at all! I pray for the health and safety of that baby!

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

Posted by WNA01


am i overprotective?

Message edited 2/22/2010 8:30:07 PM.

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

can you buy them some formula or help them get government aid...that baby needs you to help him

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

Not shocking at all. In some countries it's a very normal thing to do .

I know back in my country if a mom doesn't have enough breast milk they supplement with cow's milk or goat's milk (mostly goat's) instead of formula and it's not bc they can't afford formula, it's just what they do (this mostly happens in the countryside)
This is ONLY when they want to supplement, not feeding them cow or goat milk as their main food. If they can NOT breast feed than they'll just formula feed.

Message edited 2/22/2010 8:46:44 PM.

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

If they are really poor they should be able to get WIC.

ETA: Maybe you can look into it for them. You shouldn't have to but it's really not safe to give a 2 month old whole milk.

Message edited 2/22/2010 8:56:28 PM.

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

Sorry to crash as I am not a parent but I just wanted to add...I went to my cousin's wedding in August of 2008 (his second marriage--he is in his 40s). His niece had a baby at 17 and was at the wedding with her parents, and her 6 month old. They were feeding the 6 month old WHOLE lettuce leaves from a salad and giving the baby coke in a cup with ice cubes in it. I was having a stroke!!!!!! She turned to me and says "my baby eats what I eat at all times." I seriously almost died on the spot. Keep in mind they are from the backwoods of Maryland--not that it makes up for what she does especially since her mother, the baby's grandmother, is a NICU nurse!!!

As for your family, you are completely right. That is definitely not the place to be cutting back. 2 months is way too young to be fed milk

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

i cant even get into this...I am sorry I feel bad for those kids they should be on formula until 1 yr and as far as the peanut never mind choking if the child is allergic or developes an allergy they can go into anaphylactic shock

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

You are in no way being "overprotective", just smart. I actually asked my friend about this who raised 6 kids MANY years ago, and while she is a lenient as they come, she even said you have to wait @ 6 mos.

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

They absolutely need the nutrition of formula or breastmilk at that age.

If I were you, I'd make sure they knew that it is NOT ok to do this, and that it is negligent to feed their baby whole milk. And if they didn't listen I'd call CPS. A child's well being comes first.

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

Although it's definitely not the norm any more...(at least in this country anyway)...putting babies on cow's milk was the way to go years ago.

I was on cows milk from the time I was 3 months old.

Havent these people heard of WIC?

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

I agree with PP, I'd be placing a call to CPS tomorrow, with the info you provided. GOD only knows what they'd find going on with an impromptu visit. Aside from the sheer *ignorance* of both issues you posted, the ARROGANCE of the aunt tells me that your most sincere warning would fall on deaf ears so I think a CPS call is necessary on this one - and you would not be wrong or nosy for reporting them anonymously if you can find the courage to do so. This poor baby

Re: whole cows milk at 2 months old??????

Posted by WNA01

Posted by butterfly20


if they are so poor then why arent they claiming welfare to get free formula from the govt?

they have money to buy brand name clothes shoes and purses... shows where their priortys are