After breastfeeding/formula...?

[monica82]

What have you or do u plan on giving your child/children? My husband got some thing against regular, cow milk so after i was done pumping w/ DS we gave him soy and now he has almond or soy milk. Just thinking about this since I saw the thread about formula recall. It just makes me want to nurse longer w/ DD we are expecting-and going past 13 months wouldn't be the worst thing.

[myk]

cow milk. probably not til later though, my daughter (and i, and my dad, and my sister..) was allergic/intolerant of milk as a baby. i kept bfing for 4 years, which was a little long, but i definitely didn't want to stop before 2 years because i didn't want her touching cow milk, soy, or almond milk due to the allergenic potential.

whatever you feed them, make sure it's nutritionally similar to whole cow's milk (or even better, breast milk) until they're 2.

[WifeofAnt]

DDCC - I'm hoping to nurse at least 18 months, until then he won't need any other milk. After that point I'm not sure. I don't drink cow's milk but DH does. I think I'll just let James decide if he wants to drink it or not at that point. I have a feeling he's going to want my chocolate soy milk though... (I don't drink regular soy milk.)

[baglady]

We do cows milk. However, if the child eats other dairy products like yogurt and cheese those "count" as a dairy serving because they fulfill the calcium requirement. In that case it's not necessary to drink liquid cow's milk or a substitute if the child eats adequate alternatives.

[soccerchic21]

My first I nursed until just before her 4th birthday and my second was over 2 and a half years. However, I did tandem nurse them so I doubt I would have nursed my daughter as long as I did.

I plan on nursing at least two years if I can and if Hannah stays interested. After breast milk and during through toddlerhood we do cow milk.

We aren't really big milk drinkers in this house anyway so we do get most of our calcium through yogurt, cheese, dark greens, etc.

[StrongBeliever]

PLEASE, for the love of all that is good in the universe DO NOT give your child soy in any shape or form! That stuff is terrible for EVERYONE, especially small children.

Quoted from here. Please follow the link and check out one of their MANY links to resources on studies showing the dangers of soy products.

High levels of phytic acid in soy reduce assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. Phytic acid in soy is not neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking. High phytate diets have caused growth problems in children.
Trypsin inhibitors in soy interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders. In test animals soy containing trypsin inhibitors caused stunted growth.
Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women.
Soy phytoestrogens are potent antithyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.
Vitamin B12 analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually increase the body's requirement for B12.
Soy foods increase the body's requirement for vitamin D.
Fragile proteins are denatured during high temperature processing to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein.
Processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.
Free glutamic acid or MSG, a potent neurotoxin, is formed during soy food processing and additional amounts are added to many soy foods.
Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum which is toxic to the nervous system and the kidneys.

When my babies were done breastfeeding(11 and 14 months, shooting for longer for this babe!) I started them on raw grass-fed cow milk. They both did really well. If I could have been any pickier, I would have gone with raw grass-fed goat milk, which is much easier to digest.

[monica82]

Interesting to know about soy. We do mostly almond these days. He/we do eat other dairy products like cheese & yogurt. We aren't big milk drinkers, but DS loves his.

[lillymonster]

Daughter nursed for 3 years, she was intolerant to soy and diary, so we gave her nothing. I never felt the need to replace it with a *milk-like* substance - I don't understand why you would? Many countries don't drink milk, maybe they drink goats milk or some other animal milk, but we were nursing, I never felt the need. For cooking I used water, hemp milk, or made my own rice milk, but never gave her any of that to drink.

She got her calcium through other sources and I gave her vitamin D. Protein and fat came through beans and avocado or other foods, she drank juice or water.

I personally would never give my child soy milk. Her diary reactions were tolerable, but soy changed her personality too, and considering soy is in any processed food (even organic, natural foods), that is just too much soy for me. She outgrew her milk allergy - she is still intolerable of soy, she is 3 1/2.

[boogiemonster]

I take anything from the Weston A. Price Foundation with a grain of salt.

That said, we're not big milk drinkers here. Like a PP said, I'd make sure to give something higher in fat and nutrients if my child weaned before age 2, but otherwise we just use almond milk for granola, baking, and the occasional drink. DD2 and I are allergic to cow's dairy.

[babyjelly]

Honestly, we don't drink milk in my house. We have it around for cooking and to pour on cereal, but don't really ever just have a glass of it. We use cow for those who like it, and goat or rice for those of us allergic/intolerent.
My kids have nursed 14m, almost 3y, and 25m.
Posted via Mobile Device

[StrongBeliever]

There are PLENTY of resources out there stating the dangers of soy that aren't affiliated with WAP. Traditional use of soy was only after is had been fermented ofr a very long time, and then most often as a condiment. Unless you're giving your kid the occasional glass of miso milk, soy is not okay.

I felt perfectly fine giving my kids raw cow milk, but I knew where it came from and how it was produced. To me whole, grass-fed milk(whether from cows or goats) is a very nutrient dense food worthy of inclusion to a kids diet. Extended breastfeeding wasn't something my kids were interested in, and I felt the need for a very nutritious back-up at a time when they are growing and developing a lot, but their solid intake is limited and not always exactly well-rounded. If pasteurized milk from grain stuffed cows had been my only choice, I would have looked for something other than "milk" to give, and would have spent a lot more effort and money supplementing trying to make up for what I knew healthy milk would have been providing.

[smeep]

DDCC-

My personal belief is that once they don't technically need breastmilk for survival (so after 2 years on average, though every baby is different) they don't need any kind of substitute. DS weaned at 27 months and I never gave him any other kind of "milk" because he's not a cow, a soy bean, an almond, you get the point... He does get different mama milk alternatives on rare occasions as a yummy treat or in cereal, etc., but we absolutely do not rely on it in any way. I've become very disturbed by the idea of telling a human that they need "milk" (aka a COW'S milk) to grow strong and healthy. Hello, I thought we were humans and not cows??? I fell for all that as well until I started nursing DS past a year and started really thinking about it.

I have mums who ask me about that and I tell them to consider nursing to 24 months, or at least change their 12 month limit to 15 months and see how they feel about it then and then consider going to 18, and then reevaluate again because it tends to get so much easier and way more useful. I tell them that while I don't think they HAVE to give an alternative if baby weans before 24 months, they can always see how baby grows and then judge themselves if they feel baby needs a breastmilk alternative until that age. I also let them know that if they really don't want to nurse until 24 months that they can nurse until they feel time to wean and then just use any frozen breastmilk after that and I've known a few who were set on weaning by 12-14 months but made sure to build up a good stash of frozen milk for after they weaned.

[StrongBeliever]

I totally agree, Smeep. I don't think drinking milk is necessary to anyone's survival past the point that they don't need breastmilk anymore. But no one NEEDS tomatoes, peaches, chicken salad, or scrambled eggs either. I think milk-drinking is part of some societies' eating culture. And I think that is okay. Supposing it is healthy milk(humanely raised animals, fed correctly and naturally). I don't think it is okay for someone to say that milk-drinking is normal and healthy FOR EVERYONE, because that isn't true.

We ARE humans... Not cows. We came up with a plan to get milk out of animals and consume it. We also came up with a plan to save cabbage seed and cultivate it. But I don't think that makes cole-slaw something weird or wrong to eat.

[smeep]

Yeah, I agree for the most part. I do have issues with people drinking another mammal's milk because I kinda feel like we're stealing it from baby cows, but that's just me. In general, I think if someone wants to drink it (humanely raised, etc., of course) then that's totally up to them. But I hate how "they" (AKA the people who make all the money off of it) tell us that we need it because we don't! The funniest thing is how some people react when I call it cow milk (I don't refer to it as "milk" anymore, the only thing I give that title is mama milk)...they freak out because I guess it's a direct reminder that they're drinking something that came from a cow's boobs.

I do think that it has a lot of negatives. I can't say how it would even out if it's used on occasion and stuff, but with the amount that people give their kids, that's NOT healthy. At all. No wonder kids are so overweight these days...we're basically feeding them like cows, not humans!

[Llyra]

I think that a child weaned before a biologically appropriate age needs a substitute milk, whatever it may be. I would say up to 24 months at least, and probably until 3. Most kids that age have trouble eating enough solids to get enough fat, protein, and other nutrients. So if I was weaning younger than 2, I'd give milk. I did, actually-- my twins were weaned prematurely, because of my serious illness, and I weaned them to grass-fed cow's milk.

I don't believe that humans out of babyhood NEED milk. But I don't think that means we shouldn't drink milk, either. We don't NEED peas, or chicken, or eggs, or carrots, or beans, either. We can get along fine without any one of those foods. But milk and milk products, from one mammal or another, have been a part of diets in diverse cultures for many, many generations.

Processed soy products (as opposed to traditional fermented soy foods) are something relatively new in the human diet, and are controversial. You'll find evidence and opinions stating that they're a "miracle food," and that they're "poison," and everything in between. We avoid them, because I can't digest them with my disease, and DS is fairly seriously allergic to soy in any form. Plus, doesn't soy milk have added sugar? The ones I've seen always did.

[jeanine123]

Both of my guys nursed until well past 2. After they weaned I didn't feel the need to introduce another milk since they were past the point of needing that source of nutrition. My oldest is also allergic to cow's milk. My youngest does drink cow's milk on occasion, a few times a month at most usually.

[cristeen]

We dont drink cows milk here either. I use it for cooking, but we're just not milk drinkers.

That being said, DS is on dairy based formula and BM, and we have enough on hand to get us to 18 mos. Because i believe that a child under 2 needs some form of milk, we will try raw cow again then (it went badly when we tried it last week). If that doesnt work, we'll probably go for goat, and if that doesnt work, full fat coconut. We avoid soy completely, and rice milk is not suitable as a bm sub.

[StrongBeliever]

Cristeen... Out of curiosity, do you know what breed of cow your raw milk came from? It makes a difference, truly. I don't know if you've read anything about A1 and A2 protein... Anyway, A2 is the "universally digestible" protein producing gene. Goats have A2 protein. Half of the Jersey(cow) genetic pool is A2, roughly. Holsteins are A1... 98% anyway. I have cow milk allergy... I got a Jersey to see if I could escape that. I can't drink her milk, but I can drink milk from my mom's Jersey... Go figure. I believe Guernseys are almost entirely A2, if that helps. Just something to think about. Don't ditch all raw cow milk until you've shopped around.

[junipermuse]

I'm in total agreement that one can have a totally healthy diet without milk. But that drinking cow's milk can also be a healthy option. I nursed my daughter until she was 3 and she never would drink cow's milk at all. Though she does love cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. My little guy (13 months) is still nursing, but he eats a ton of food. I plan to nurse him at least until 2, but possibly longer. He doesn't like cow's milk as a beverage, though he does love cheese (and occasionally yogurt, but I don't spoon feed him much, so he'll probably eat it more when he can manage a spoon). I do give him unsweetened almond milk on occasion. I don't think he "needs" it. I know its not as nutritious as breastmilk, but I send it with him to the baby-sitter or he'll have it in a sippy in the stroller on our morning walk. Unlike my daughter he's not a very demanding nurser, so I usually only nurse him around 4:30 in the morning, before both his naps, before bed, and maybe one other random time during the day. I definitely don't give my kids soy milk. We avoid most soy products except fermented soy like soy sauce and miso soup. I do like to eat edamame at sushi restaurants, but that's a rare occasion so I'm not too worried about it.

[JessicaS]

We do cow's milk. I also keep almond and coconut milk in the house because I am allergic to dairy.

My daughter is not allergic and I plan on having my son tested as well because dairy allergies are known to be genetic.


I would be really hesitant about giving such a young child almond milk...I would think coconut would be ok. You can find it in jugs in the dairy section at NFS.

I did nurse my dd until she was three and plan on nursing my ds at least that long.

I think of soy just as anything else, moderation in all things. We don't use the soy-milk substitutes. I just don't like them.