supplement with milk?

[Rose-Roget]

Dd is almost 9 months old. I another thread, I discussed a host of challenges and frustrations we've faced, one being that my stored milk supply is dwindling due to dd refusing to NIP, so we have to have a bottle ready each time we leave the house. I had said that I was thinking of supplementing with formula for times I only had 3 ounces in the fridge and she drinks 5 ounces from a bottle. Someone had suggested supplementing these feedings with milk instead. My question is, can I do this if dd is only 9 mo? Is whole cow's milk alright, or would a different kind of milk be better? I'd always learned no milk other than bm until after age 1. TIA!

(Here's the other thread, if you're interested in the background. It's long - sorry: http://mothering.com/discussions/sho....php?t=1251463 )

[blessedwithboys]

No, I wouldn't recommend plain old run-of-the-mill grocery store homogenized, pasteurized cow's milk for a 9mo. I would say raw milk from grass-fed cows might be ok, but even better than that would be raw grass-fed goat milk.

If you can't get raw goat milk, try doctoring up Meyenberg goat milk.

Other than that, formula is your best choice. Remember too that a baby should have mother's milk until at least 24 mos, so I've never understood "stop formula, start cow milk" at 12mos, except maybe from a budget standpoint.

[Parker'smommy]

If baby isn't getting breastmilk, at 9 months old, she should be getting infant formula.

I would try and address why your baby won't NIP. What is exactly happening? Is she just too distracted to nurse in public?

[treegardner]

Originally Posted by Parker'smommy

If baby isn't getting breastmilk, at 9 months old, she should be getting infant formula.

I would try and address why your baby won't NIP. What is exactly happening? Is she just too distracted to nurse in public?

This.

[Rose-Roget]

Yes, she's way too distracted to nurse in public. That and she's an incredibly finicky eater, in general. At home, she will only nurse in her room, in the rocking chair, with no noise. If someone talks or I move at all, she's off and hard to get back on. She is also slow to gain weight, so I want to make sure she gets every calorie I can into her

[Peony]

If she will not nurse then she needs formula not cow milk. I also don't agree with the standard guidelines of switch to cow milk at 12m, but believe that they need breast milk or formula for longer.

[Rose-Roget]

Okay, so IF I need to supplement with formula (not my desire, but maybe a necessity), which one? Are some "better" than others?

[monica3674]

From Jack Newman's website - There has been a lot of publicity recently about not giving babies cow's milk until at least 9 months. The breastfeeding baby can take some of his milk as cow's milk after about 6 months of age, especially if he is starting to take substantial amounts of a wide variety of solids as well. The breastfed baby who has been supplemented with formula, as mentioned above, can get that formula mixed with solids or that formula can be replaced with cow’s milk. Certainly, cow’s milk is less expensive. Goat's milk is an alternative. Many breastfeeding babies will not drink formula because they do not like the taste. Actually, the breastfeeding baby can get all the milk he needs from the breast without his requiring other sorts of milk, even if he is breastfeeding only a few times a day.

[monica3674]

Also from Jack Newman's website -

True or False? If the baby is to get milk other than breastmilk, it needs to be artificial baby milk (infant formula) until the baby is at least 9 months of age. Not true. If the baby is breastfeeding a few times a day and getting fair quantities of a variety of solid foods, infant formula is neither necessary nor desirable. Indeed, babies who have not had infant formula before 5 or 6 months of age often refuse to drink it because it tastes pretty bad. (If you want to convince yourself of how little we know about breastmilk, ask yourself why it is that, although breastmilk and infant formulas have the same amount of sugar, breastmilk is so much sweeter). If you want to give the baby some other sort of milk, homogenized milk is acceptable at 6 months of age, as long as it is not the baby’s only food. In fact, if the baby is taking good quantities of a wide variety of foods, breastfeeding 3 or 4 times a day, and growing well, homogenized milk or 2% milk is good enough, but also not necessary. The “need” for formula to 9 months to 12 months of age is basically formula company marketing and very successful at that. Statements by the Canadian Paediatric Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics urging formula to a year surely did not take into consideration the baby who is continuing to breastfeed after 6 months.

If you're just using it when you go out, it seems like cows milk would be an ok alternative. She is bf multiple times a day and trying some solids (although not a wide range.)

[boobs4milk]

are you out often? can you nurse before/after outings and offer her solids or a sip of water until you get home?

[Rose-Roget]

Thanks for that info, Monica. I hadn't heard that before.

[Rose-Roget]

Originally Posted by monica3674

If you want to give the baby some other sort of milk, homogenized milk is acceptable at 6 months of age, as long as it is not the baby’s only food.

If you're just using it when you go out, it seems like cows milk would be an ok alternative. She is bf multiple times a day and trying some solids (although not a wide range.)

I checked with the ped yesterday, and she said exactly this. In small amounts, it's okay to start introducing it.