Questions for those who breastfeed past 1 year

[Juliet25]

There seems to be a good many of us.

So, do your toddlers drink cow's milk as well as nurse? My DS just turned one and is nursing several times a day. My pediatrician mentioned that he should be drinking 24 oz. a day of cow's milk. I have two older DD who also nursed to 2+ years, and neither of them really likes cow milk (I don't either, expect in lattes--yum!).

I wonder if this is normal for babies who are nursed? Most (well, all really) FF babies I know took to cow's milk just fine. I offer it to my DS every day, serve it with meals to him, etc., but he won't take it. It seems like it would be a great source of protein, calcium, etc. I know there's arguments against cow's milk, but I'd still like DS to take it on a more regular basis.

 

[Suzanne74]

My daughter didn't even have bottles of expressed milk or formula but she took to sippy cups of water just fine at around 10 months. I started supplementing around 11 months (she was also not nursing as much) but wasn't a fan so much. I have heard of moms expressing some milk and mixing it but since I didn't have a pump, I did what other nursing moms suggested and sweetened the milk. I used agave nectar (some use sugar, some use ovaltine) and slowly decreased with each cup it until you were back to plain milk. By 12 months she loved plain whole milk and still does at 2 although I still nurse her occasionally at night. Good Luck!

 

[hannahdrewmom]

My kids hated cows milk. I think it was just not sweet enough. At first I thought it was that it was cold... but later realized it was the consistency and flavor. We were still struggling at 18 months when my ped pushed the issue. We ended up trying vanilla soy milk and then adding cows milk to it in parts until their taste buds got used to it. My DD4 still isn't a fan of cows milk, by ds3 actually is a cows milk champ now! Good luck... I think it might just be a matter of introducing it to them again and again and again.

 

[Aanna]

Maybe there are other ways to introduce dairy that she would prefer? My DS (at age 5) still does not like cow milk, but he's happy with yogurt and cheese.

It seems odd that your doctor would recommend 24 oz of cows milk if you are still nursing, though. Is this a pediatrician who is used to nursing moms/kids?

 

[Juliet25]

Maybe there are other ways to introduce dairy that she would prefer? My DS (at age 5) still does not like cow milk, but he's happy with yogurt and cheese.

It seems odd that your doctor would recommend 24 oz of cows milk if you are still nursing, though. Is this a pediatrician who is used to nursing moms/kids?

I think it's an fairly even mix of FF and BF. It gives lip service to BF, but I don't live in a part of the country where nursing to one is the norm (I think my state's rate of BF at 1 year is 20%). Her advice was in the context of "when you stop nursing." I never really feel comfortable pressing the issue of toddler nursing. Even in medical circles, it freaks people out (at least where I live).

 

[bumbershoot]

So, do your toddlers drink cow's milk as well as nurse? My DS just turned one and is nursing several times a day. My pediatrician mentioned that he should be drinking 24 oz. a day of cow's milk.

Absolutely not. Your pediatrician might be insane. Well, probably not, but he is definitely unschooled (quite literally) on pediatric nutrition, and especially on the nutrition of nursing.

Cow's milk is excellent for baby COWS. Actually, that would only be if you had *raw* cow's milk. But the cow milk in normal stores is so messed with, they've scalded it, blended it, they've taken things out and added them in...

Forget the mama-cow's milk, and keep with the mama-human milk. YOU are doing well. The doctor...might need to be replaced.


Cow's milk is terrible for calcium, FYI. Yes it has calcium added to it. But the calcium added is still *less* than the calcium it takes to digest the stuff. Your body still needs to use its calcium stores to digest it, because there's not enough in the milk to replace what the body uses.

So drink it for taste (I drink lattes, I eat cheese, I eat ice cream, it *can* be tasty), drink if for protein if you wish...but never think it's helping with calcium. That's how we go down the road of osteoporosis, by trusting dairy for calcium.

 

[Lavaluma]

I don't remember when our pediatrician started telling us to give our kids cow milk. I think it was after I stopped breastfeeding, but I'm not positive. I do remember that neither of my sons would drink whole milk. I would buy whole for them and skim for me. They wouldn't drink the whole. When the whole went bad, I'd give them the skim and they would drink it up. So, I tried giving them 2%. They would drink it more than the whole, but they obviously favored 1% or skim. Eventually, I just started buying skim for us all.

 

[Karenj2]

I asked my pediatrician for help, because DD wasn't drinking cow milk for me AT ALL, and she said that as long as she's getting some forms of dairy (yogurt, cheese, or milk), not to stress about making her drink milk. She does drink some milk at daycare (1%, not whole), but for me, she drinks water. It helps that she's part rat - she loves her cheese! I also give her yogurt with breakfast.

 

[Svhadden]

Absolutely not. Your pediatrician might be insane. Well, probably not, but he is definitely unschooled (quite literally) on pediatric nutrition, and especially on the nutrition of nursing.

Cow's milk is excellent for baby COWS. Actually, that would only be if you had *raw* cow's milk. But the cow milk in normal stores is so messed with, they've scalded it, blended it, they've taken things out and added them in...

Forget the mama-cow's milk, and keep with the mama-human milk. YOU are doing well. The doctor...might need to be replaced.


Cow's milk is terrible for calcium, FYI. Yes it has calcium added to it. But the calcium added is still *less* than the calcium it takes to digest the stuff. Your body still needs to use its calcium stores to digest it, because there's not enough in the milk to replace what the body uses.

So drink it for taste (I drink lattes, I eat cheese, I eat ice cream, it *can* be tasty), drink if for protein if you wish...but never think it's helping with calcium. That's how we go down the road of osteoporosis, by trusting dairy for calcium.

Amen amen amen. We don't do dairy at all. As bumbershoot said...it's great...IF YOU'RE A BABY COW. There is more calcium in a cup of spinach than in a cup of milk. And when you add to that the fact that commercially prepared/sold milk is loaded with hormones, antibiotics, and steriods? No thanks.

I nursed each of my kids well past two years. Baby humans need human milk. You are giving your baby the absolute best nutrition. To replace your milk with cows milk is to offer a horrible substitute for that will really help your child to thrive.

This isn't directed at anyone on particular, but its stunning to me that people (sometimes even pediatricians) think that ALL OF A SUDDEN, at 12 mos, breastmilk is not a great source of nutrition for babies. What magically happens at 1 yr that causes breastmilk to suddenly be replaceable? Yes, they need to be getting nutrition from other sources, eating table food, etc. But to think that a nursing toddler NEEDS cows milk? Absurd.

 

[staceycanada]

I never gave my children anything but occasionally water.
If they needed liquids it was time to nurse.
What is the point of exchanging breastmilk which is ideal for human babies with cows milk which is ideal for calfs?
Sometimes doctors really make no sense.
Keep doing what you are doing you are on the right track.
If you need to tell your doctor either you have choosen not to do that right now or just say you have been.

 

[darkpixie08]

I'll second what Everyone else here said. You're absolutely fine just nursing, and baby does not need cow's milk. Our pediatrician said that if I wanted to give her a bottle now and then of cow's milk that I of course was absolutely welcome to, but warned me that it would potentially mess with my supply.

 

[justinjenn]

I was always told "just because they have a birthday...." basically doesn't mean you have to stop BF. I bf my son until he was 28 months old. He drank cows milk and bf when I was home. I no longer pumped and when my stock (freezer) was gone, he would drink cm. It was a slow transition for him but he tolerated it fine. The breastfeeding at the end was only once a day-like in the morning when I'd get home from work. He is a very healthy almost 7 year old now.. We must have done something right Good luck
Jenn

 

[mjkacmom]

Amen amen amen. We don't do dairy at all. As bumbershoot said...it's great...IF YOU'RE A BABY COW. There is more calcium in a cup of spinach than in a cup of milk. And when you add to that the fact that commercially prepared/sold milk is loaded with hormones, antibiotics, and steriods? No thanks.
.

There is more calcium in cows milk than in spinich. I do agree, there are ways to get the nutrients that cows milk provides in other foods. However, all other creatures who relied on their mother's milk as babies are no longer nursing after a year. Once mammals can eat solid food, they no longer nurse, right? To me, extended nursing seems unnatural, if other food is available.

 

[Chabby]

DD nursed for a long time, but she also drank formula since day one (not by choice but by need).

With DS, who's 8mo, he drinks exclusively BM, but since I work full time, I need to pump a lot! Which as other pumping moms can attest, is not fun at all! Sooo, when he turns one I will introduce cow's milk, so I can ease up on the pumping. I will continue to nurse until he is 2yo, like the WHO recommends, but I want to relax with the pumping....

If your child doesn't like milk, you can try yogurt, cheese, etc.

 

[disneydancemom]

congrats on being able to bf past a year! I still am as well, but I HAVE to supplement with cows milk, simply a production issue. If I didnt have that- I would still go full time if it had worked out, if baby wanted, etc. My dd takes BM, toddler formula, and cows milk at different points and has no issue subsituting, but she's also been supplementing for a long time. However, she will not drink water or juice. huh.

 

[darkpixie08]

The poster asked about whether it was necessary to have cow's milk. It's not, though it is an option. Let's try and avoid the Mommy Wars here, and leave her to decide for herself how she wants to proceed. This is such a personal issue, and as long as baby is being fed, and is healthy, that should be the end of it. There's enough guilt surrounding the topic without us adding to it.

 

[Svhadden]

There is more calcium in cows milk than in spinich. I do agree, there are ways to get the nutrients that cows milk provides in other foods. However, all other creatures who relied on their mother's milk as babies are no longer nursing after a year. Once mammals can eat solid food, they no longer nurse, right? To me, extended nursing seems unnatural, if other food is available.

It's an issue of bioavalability. As a pp has said, our bodies are unable to digest and benefit from the majority of the calcium in cows milk (enzymes destroyed in the pasteurization process, etc.) so it passes out of our bodies. However, the calcium in leafy greens can be much more easily assimilated by our digestive system. Though sometimes present in smaller amounts proportionally (althought not dark greens...spinach and kale), the calcium from those sources is much more readily available to our bodies. It's not how much calcium you ingest, it's how much your body is able to process and use.

Regarding your idea that extended nursing is "unnatural," you're of course entitled to your opinion. And no, to suggest that other mammals, or creatures, naturally wean at one year is totally incorrect. In fact, for humans, the worldwide average for weaning is close to 4 years, which anthropological studies have shown for years.

Personally, I would not care at all if cows milk was the absolute best source of calcium. It's one of the most contaminated foods out there. If I had no choice but to offer my child cows milk, I'd be absolutely sure it was hormone/steroid/antibiotic free. In fact, I'd find a local farmer, and get it raw. Better yet, I'd get my own goat

 

[scrapquitler]

There seems to be a good many of us.

So, do your toddlers drink cow's milk as well as nurse? My DS just turned one and is nursing several times a day. My pediatrician mentioned that he should be drinking 24 oz. a day of cow's milk. I have two older DD who also nursed to 2+ years, and neither of them really likes cow milk (I don't either, expect in lattes--yum!).
.

If your child is breastfeeding, he doesn't need cow's milk. The pediatrician is telling you that he should be having 24 oz per day because that is what they tell people who aren't breastfeeding.

My DD was an extended nurser (she nursed a LOT until she was 3, then nursed just before bed until she was 4) and she did drink SOME cow's milk occasionally, but not that often. These days (she's almost 15) shed drinks tons of it.

DS stopped nursing just before his second birthday. He was never a fan of cow's milk, and will drink a glass or two a day IF and only if it's chocolate. He doesn't like it otherwise.

 

[starshine514]

I agree with the other posters, as long as your child is getting enough breastmilk, no need to supplement with cow's milk. My eldest daughter didn't like cow's milk, so when she had it, we added chocolate instant breakfast (I think they changed the name, it might be breakfast essentials now) and she liked it. My second liked the vanilla flavor. They both drink plain cow's milk now, but prefer it with strawberry powder in it.

 

[Juliet25]

Thanks for the replies. DS does still nurse quite a bit, so I'll just continue on. He does eat a bit of cheese and does like yogurt (but he doesn't like being spoon fed any more, so that's out until he can feed it to himself w/o wearing most of it).