Wait until your baby is a year old before giving her cow's milk as a main drink.
It's fine to use a little cow's milk in your baby's food once she's started on solids. Yoghurt and mild cheese are also fine to feed your baby from six months. But cow's milk as her main drink will leave her short of important nutrients before she's one year old.
Between six months and a year, your baby needs breastmilk or formula milk as her main drink, together with iron-rich foods, to keep up her supplies of iron. Your baby won't get enough iron if cow's milk is her main drink.
When your baby is a year old, you can give her full-fat cow's milk to drink in a beaker with a soft spout or lidded cup. By then, your baby should be getting most of the iron she needs from her meals. Of course, if you and your baby are happy to continue breastfeeding, that's fine, too.
Cow's milk has nutrients that are important for your child as she grows. Milk provides protein, calcium, magnesium and vitamins B12 and B2 (riboflavin). Your child will need to have at least of 350ml (two thirds of a pint) of full-fat cow's milk a day to get what she needs.
When the time comes, it's best to give your child full-fat cow's milk. She'll need the energy that the fat provides. Fat also carries essential vitamins A and D. So when fat is skimmed off milk, the amount of these vitamins is reduced. You should give your child full-fat milk until she is at least two years old.
Source: baby center
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