Doc told me to stop bfing and give whole cow milk

[Penny4Them]

Is this crazy? My 15 mo ds is 20 lbs and hasn't gained weight in the past 3 months. Ped saw him today and told me we need to stop bfing and if I want to " bond with my baby, maybe I should just nurse at bedtime." He said my baby isn't gaining and that this is concerning and often the case with BF babies b/c he's nt getting enough calories and that I need to switch to whole cow milk. I didn't know what to say, except that BM has now been found to have stemcells and I intend to nurse til DS is 2yo. Doc looked at me like I was looney and told me I need to stop. What could I have said? Now my DH wants me to stop too. Nursing is the best thing for my baby.

Should I be worred about DS not gaining weight? I figured he was ok b/c he's been walking now and crawling like crazy and basically just burning more cals. Should I be supplementing with cow's milk? I'm confused. My gut tells me keep nursing, but I'm not sure what to tell the doc or my hubby.

Thanks for any advice.

[LadyCatherine185]

Unfortunately many doctors are uneducated about "extended" breastfeeding. If weight gain is a concern, there are many other things you can do to help without weaning.

Make sure the solids he is eating are nutrient dense, and high fat.. like avocado, bananas, beans, whole grains, fruits and veggies. Full fat dairy like cheese and yogurt. Add fats to his diet by putting coconut oil or olive oil and butter on things, etc.

FWIW, my DS gained weight really quickly in his first year. He was 9 lbs at birth, and 27 lbs by a year. We just had his 2 year checkup, and he is now 30 lbs, so he only gained 3 lbs in a whole year.. but he is still in the 75th % for weight.. After the first year, weight gain slows down a LOT, and that is totally normal. Also, is he charting on the WHO charts? They are better for breastfed babies.

Here is a great article from kellymom.com on the benefits of extended breastfeeding.

[transylvania_mom]

how would a cow offer a human baby more calories than his own mother's milk? Especially as you would give him 3% milk, which has way less fat than raw (natural) milk.
I'm not a doctor but it doesn't make sense to me.

I had the same reaction from a doctor who told me that I was breastfeeding my ds for my own selfish reasons. After 1 y/o, they usually slow down their weight gain, my ds didn't gain almost anything for a couple of months after he turned 1. If your ds is healthy and happy and meeting milestones I wouldn't worry about it.

HTH

[EdnaMarie]

What percentile is your son in for weight and height?

[Ianthe]

There is no disadvantage of nursing past one year, but there are many disadvantages of NOT nursing past a year. Offer your LO nutrient/fat dense foods (fatty oils, avocado, nut butters, etc), and continue nursing as long as you'd like.

I usually tell people that give me a hard time about nursing past one year that The World Health Organization recommends all babies of the world to nurse until AT LEAST the age of TWO, and continue after two years of age for as long as mutually desired by mother and baby.

[Penny4Them]

Thanks for the encouragement.

EdnaMarie, DS is 15 mos and 97% for head (this has stayed the same), 4th perc. for weight (down from 15th 3 mos ago), and 9% for height (down from 15% 3 mos ago). He wasn't walking or crawling much 3 mos ago, and now he's almost runnning around so burning cals more.

I should also say, my other children are very petite, like off the charts petite, but I know docs get unsettled when they see little or no growth at the well visits. DS has had viral diarrhea the past week, so I have to wonder if that's played into it too, but doc didn't think it would too much.

I'll definitely take your suggestions for food ideas. He's still in the "gee, look how much fun it is to throw all the food on the floor" phase with not a terribly voracious appetite, so it's tough to get him to eat a ton, but I'll work on it intensely now. Doc wants to see him in a month for a weigh in.

[PGTlatte]

I would keep nursing and just tell the doctor what he wants to hear - yes he's drinking whole cow's milk and just nursing at bedtime now. I would not argue. Perhaps find another doctor if you don't like this one, but I would not argue. I have a friend who had CPS called on her for her child not gaining weight quickly enough after she expressed reservations to the doctor about following his instructions regarding nursing. IMO it's not worth arguing with someone who can cause you that kind of trouble.

I would take the weight gain issue seriously and try to beef up the calorie content of his diet in other ways. You can also consume more healthy fats yourself and the fat content of your milk may go up. You can certainly address his weight gain without interrupting nursing. That is the heart of the doctor's concerns and you can take the advice to address it...just not in the exact way he is pushing.

[JessicaS]

Your Ped is not educated about breastfeeding.

Breastmilk has *more* fat than WHOLE cow milk.

Many nursing moms are told that they must introduce cow's milk at a year. Your nursing toddler is already getting the best milk he can get - mother's milk! Breastmilk has a higher fat content than whole cow's milk (needed for baby's brain growth), and all the nutrients of human milk are significantly more bioavailable than those of cow's milk because it is species specific (not to mention all the components of mother's milk that are not present in cow's milk).

http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/so...ler-foods.html

[JessicaS]

Originally Posted by transylvania_mom

how would a cow offer a human baby more calories than his own mother's milk? Especially as you would give him 3% milk, which has way less fat than raw (natural) milk.
I'm not a doctor but it doesn't make sense to me.

Even if someone does give their baby cow milk then it does need to be whole milk. Toddlers needs the extra fat.

[jeminijad]

Originally Posted by abimommy

Even if someone does give their baby cow milk then it does need to be whole milk. Toddlers needs the extra fat.

3% (actually I think commercial, Holstein milk is 3.5%) IS whole milk. She isn't saying to give low fat, she is saying that grocery store whole milk isn't really whole.

[JessicaS]

Originally Posted by jeminijad

3% (actually I think commercial, Holstein milk is 3.5%) IS whole milk. She isn't saying to give low fat, she is saying that grocery store whole milk isn't really whole.

You are right, I thought it said 2%

[Amila]

My DD was 19 pounds from age 1 until age 2, and it was never an issue! I would ignore that docs advice and keep nursing

[PatioGardener]

check out your baby's growth on the WHO chart. The percentile is not important - following a curve is what matters (ie: following the 15% is just as good as following the 75%)

http://www.who.int/childgrowth/stand...boys_p_0_2.pdf

ps weights must be done on the same callibrated scale to be valid

[PatioGardener]

ps WHO chart has him more like 12 % for weight, but the curve is what you need to see.

eta: weaning is not the answer to slow weight gain! breast milk has 22 calories/oz! have you tried to increase nursing sessions? as well as increasing nutrient and fat dense solids?

i'm not even gonna comment about that ped

[transylvania_mom]

Originally Posted by jeminijad

3% (actually I think commercial, Holstein milk is 3.5%) IS whole milk. She isn't saying to give low fat, she is saying that grocery store whole milk isn't really whole.

yes, that's what I meant, thanks

[Xerxella]

This is always mind boggling to me.

How is 16 oz of cow's milk (for instance) better than 16 oz of human milk?

That would be my question for the doc.

[womenswisdom]

Originally Posted by PatioGardener

check out your baby's growth on the WHO chart. The percentile is not important - following a curve is what matters (ie: following the 15% is just as good as following the 75%)

http://www.who.int/childgrowth/stand...boys_p_0_2.pdf

ps weights must be done on the same callibrated scale to be valid

These are the charts that are now RECOMMENDED by the CDC, because they more accurately reflect healthy weight gain. Here is a link from the CDC's very own website about the new recommendation: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5909a1.htm.

"Use of WHO Growth Charts for Children Aged <24 Months

Use of the 2006 WHO international growth standard for the assessment of growth among all children aged <24 months, regardless of type of feeding, is recommended. (The charts are available at https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts.) When using the WHO growth charts, values of 2 standard deviations above and below the median, or the 2.3rd and 97.7th percentiles (labeled as the 2nd and 98th percentiles on the growth charts), are recommended for identification of children whose growth might be indicative of adverse health conditions. The rationale for use of the WHO growth charts for this age group includes the following: 1) the recognition that breastfeeding is the recommended standard for infant feeding and, unlike the CDC charts, the WHO charts reflect growth patterns among children who were predominantly breastfed for at least 4 months and still breastfeeding at age 12 months; 2) clinicians already use growth charts as a standard for normal growth; and 3) the WHO charts are based on a high-quality study, the MGRS."

I would highly suggest that you call or email your ped and be sure he is up to date on this latest recommendation! You very well might be helping out lots of other moms and saving them from this misinformation he's giving out.

[treeoflife3]

If it makes you feel any better, my kiddo has barely gained a thing (maybe two pounds?) since she started walking 7 months ago. Her doctor isn't worried and ENCOURAGES nursing and loves when I do it at appointments to help her feel better.

I definitely agree with making sure the diet is filled with nutrient dense healthy fat foods. My little one loves scrambled eggs cooked in coconut oil and made with coconut milk so if your family eats eggs, it could be a really awesome breakfast... or any meal honestly. I do it for meals and snacks and just change how many eggs and what I'm serving with it if anything. She won't eat avacado though unless I sneak it into things.

[sept04mama]

First- I totally agree with everyone else- don't wean until you are both ready.

But, when I look back at DS1 at that age, I realize that he probably wasn't getting enough calories. I was nursing, but he kept falling in the percentiles and getting really thin. I wish I would have encouraged the solids more. I thought since I was breastfeeding he didn't really need a bunch more. That said, I was also pregnant and I don't think I was actually giving him the milk I thought I was. I would try to focus more on getting him a bit more healthy fats, like someone else said- just to supplement.

Now, my DS2 didn't eat ANY solids until around 14-15 mos. but he was so fat I didn't worry (and I wasn't pregnant)

Good luck and keep up that nursing!

[JudiAU]

Keep nursing momma. DD is 21 pounds at 13m and our ped thinks she is doing great.

If you are worried about weight, include more nutrient dense foods in baby's diet. Do you already use things like whole milk yogurt, cheese, avocado, beans, tofu, etc? Can you "dush" sauteed vegetables with quinoa? Most of her vegetables have a bit of butter or olive on them.

Personally, I'd find another ped. This one seems to have a really poor grasp of nutrition let alone the guidelines for his own profession.