in the absense of breast milk ... what would you give a 15 month old?

[Neldavi]

dd never learned to nurse so I've been pumping for her until now. I just need to stop. I have quite a bit frozen but I'd like to make it last until she's closer to 2 ... so I'm probably going to give her some other "white liquid" to supplement.

I have access to raw cow milk, and possibly raw goat milk. I have NT and have read the formula recipes. I guess my question is, which of those supplements do you consider the most important. I really can't afford to be buying a bunch of stuff, and plus I'm thinking since she's not an infant anymore plus she'll be getting some frozen bm, all that stuff isn't as important.

I already give her cod liver oil every day (Blue Ice brand). What would you do? The cow milk comes from friends and I know that it's clean and good quality. I know that goat milk is supposed to be closer to human milk, but it would be from neighbors who I don't know as well. It's probably fine, though .. I could check out their farm.

thanks for any advice ..

[Ruthla]

For a 15mo completely not on breastmilk, I'd probably do a mixture of formula and whole cow or goat milk (mix up a batch of formula and dilute it with whole milk.) Since she's also going to be getting thawed breastmilk, you can probably skip the formula making and just give her whole milk in her bottles or sippy cups. I assume she's also on some solids?

I think she'll be fine with either goat or cow milk, or even switching back and forth depending on which farm it's more convenient to get to when you're low on milk.

[guestmama9904]

i dont know- are there dangers in giving whole milk to 1+ year olds? i think a lot of parents simply give whole milk at this age, no formula but making your raw whole milk more fortified couldnt hurt. the clo is great, maybe also adding in some probiotics and a raw egg yolk?

[funkygranolamama]

I'd go with raw goat's milk with cod liver oil. Dr. Mercola has a homemade formula recipe on his site. www.mercola.com just search "homemade formula"

[Aubergine68]

I'd offer whole cow's milk or organic soy milk or soy formula (I used to make my own but there are a number of brands out there now). My own kids have been much healthier on soy milk. Cow's milk is congesting for them and leads to ear infections, etc. For some reason, yogurt and cheese is not as much of a problem.

And a healthy diet, offering water only with food, and milk only after meals and snacks so the toddler will have an appetite for the food....

[quietserena]

I'd go with raw goat's milk homemade formula and going to raw goat's milk by 2. Definitely no soy.

ETA:

I went back and read your question again and have been thinking of you all morning. I think I'd still make the formula though I might skip some ingredients if the kiddo was eating good solids. I picked goat because I keep seeing kids with dairy allergies and sensitivities that aren't being recognized and have slowly come to believe that dairy should really be delayed for as long as possible. It seems that so many do better with dairy after 2. Some never do well on it and that's ok too, especially if you have a source for goat milk.

Will you let us know what you decide?

[leila1213]

I would probably alternate between the cow, goat, breast and coconut milks.

[Neldavi]

thanks everyone ... I need to figure out if I can actually get raw goat milk before I proceed. My friend got it from a local farmer for her baby, but that was a few years ago. Would you give pasteurized goat milk (which I can get at the store) over raw cow milk? I do have concerns about giving her cow milk .. she already has some chronic congestion issues. I don't want to give her soy at all. She does eat solids, but it's spotty, as is normal for a 1 year old, yk?

That formula recipe on the mercola site is the same one that's in NT. I just don't have extra money for a lot of supplements, but since she will be getting some breast milk plus the cod liver oil, maybe I could just leave it at that? I don't have a reliable source for good eggs, unfortunately, for the egg yolk that was also recommended on that site. We get them occasionally, though .. I'll be sure to give her some when we have them.

Thanks again, and I will let you know what I end up giving her.

[Ruthla]

I'd go with raw cow's milk over pasturized goat milk, unless she shows any definite signs of cow's milk sensitivity or allergy.

From what I've read, raw milk doesn't tend to cause the same problems with congestion that pasturized cow's milk does- and it may be less likely to cause allergies (though once the allergies develop, cow's milk in any form isn't safe for that individual.)

Looking at the homemade formula recipe, I think you can definitely skip the whey, lactose, and cream for a toddler eating table foods. You can continue to give the cod liver oil separately rather than mixed with the formula. The acerola powder (for vitamin C) sounds like a reasonable addition, and the nutritional yeast is great source of B vitamins and a few minerals.

I'm not sure what the gelatin is supposed to do in the formula, or if that's needed for a toddler.

The bifidus sounds expensive and I'm not so sure it's needed for a toddler who's had over a year of fresh raw human milk- her gut is probably already populated with good germs. If she eats lacto-fermented veggies and yogurt or kefir, then she's got a good, lower cost source of probiotics.

[CluckyInAZ]

I agree with Ruthla about the raw cow vs. pasteurized goat.

[Neldavi]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

I'd go with raw cow's milk over pasturized goat milk, unless she shows any definite signs of cow's milk sensitivity or allergy.

From what I've read, raw milk doesn't tend to cause the same problems with congestion that pasturized cow's milk does- and it may be less likely to cause allergies (though once the allergies develop, cow's milk in any form isn't safe for that individual.)

Looking at the homemade formula recipe, I think you can definitely skip the whey, lactose, and cream for a toddler eating table foods. You can continue to give the cod liver oil separately rather than mixed with the formula. The acerola powder (for vitamin C) sounds like a reasonable addition, and the nutritional yeast is great source of B vitamins and a few minerals.

I'm not sure what the gelatin is supposed to do in the formula, or if that's needed for a toddler.

The bifidus sounds expensive and I'm not so sure it's needed for a toddler who's had over a year of fresh raw human milk- her gut is probably already populated with good germs. If she eats lacto-fermented veggies and yogurt or kefir, then she's got a good, lower cost source of probiotics.

thank you! this is very helpful. I need to look up acerola powder, I'm not sure what it is, but I do give her a maintenance dose of sodium ascorbate every day for vitamin C. I also need to look up brewer's yeast .. is that the same as nutritional yeast?

I know that gelatin is good stuff .. good for digestion, source of protein .. but we have broth a good bit so I probably wouldn't add that. I do need to make sure she's getting yogurt on a regular basis, though. She had a 5 day course of antibiotics when she was a week old (plus she was premature) and I feel like her gut just isn't what it could be.

thanks again!

[guestmama9904]

sometimes nutritional yeast is called brewers yeast but i think in NT SF means nutritional yeast, it's full of b vitamins. and acerola is simply a vit c powder, you could simply give dd a good quality multi vitamin or a liquid multi such as liquid floradix. nordic naturals, which makes a good clo also makes kids multivitamins which are organic and high quality. also high price though.

i would get infant probiotics supplement by Jarro, they make great powdered acidophilus/bifidus infantis products.

[momma4fun]

I've given my one year olds raw cow's milk with extra raw cream added when possible/when I think about it. I decided it wasn't worth the time or money to mix other supplements into the milk. They also take CLO almost every day, egg yolks every day, and I focus on lots of good saturated fat and bone broth.

[neostudded]

WOW!! I just want to congratulate you on expressing for your daughter.
Your could use a few different milks for her, just do what you feel is right, good luck.

[LoMaH]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

I'm not sure what the gelatin is supposed to do in the formula, or if that's needed for a toddler.

http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeat...beautiful.html
*** Confirming recent studies showing that glycine helps infants grow properly, Gotthoffer reports the existence of more than 30 years of research studies showing that gelatin can improve the digestion of milk and milk products. Accordingly, nutrition textbook writers of the 1920s and 1930s recommended that gelatin be included in infant formulas to help bring cow’s milk closer to human milk. Gotthoffer’s explanation was that the "curd obtained from the coagulation of woman’s milk was softer and more easily digested than that of cow’s milk. However, when gelatin was added to cow’s milk, a curd of equally desirable characteristics was formed. In addition, gelatin exerted a very important influence on the milk fat. It served not only to emulsify the fat but also, by stabilizing the casein, improved the digestibility and absorption of the fat, which otherwise would be carried down with casein in a lumpy mass." As a result, infants fed gelatin-enriched formulas showed reduced allergic symptoms, vomiting, colic, diarrhea, constipation and respiratory ailments than those on straight cow’s milk. 33

I'm sure incorporating broth into the child's diet would also do the trick.

[Rainbow2911]

My 19 month old has had bottles of raw goats milk in addition to breast milk for a while now. He also gets bottles of pasteurised, homogenized supermarket cows milk at his Dads. Sigh.
I give my kids CLO as a suppliment and occasionally a mild multivitamin if they are going through a picky phase. Ds2 currently eats very little aside from fruit milk and bread so he gets one. The others eat well. I do worry a little about his levels of folic acid and b12 with all the goats milk he drinks. But he seems to be thriving and I do give him marmite (yeast extract spread) to help with the b vitamins.
I wouldn't worry about making the formula at 15 months if the baby is eating some foods too. I would try out the milk and see - you can always add the other ingredients if your baby seems to need it.

Hope you find something that works! I pumped for my ds1 for a year and at the end of that I was DONE! You are amazing to do that for a year and build up a freezer stash too!

[emmalyne]

We give our son (13 mo.) the raw cows milk formula from the Price website/ NT and have sense he was 3 mo.s old. I use a SNS and he gets what breast milk I make, as well. My input as a 10 mo. maker of this is that unless your child has dairy sensitivities you should use the cow's milk. I did a great deal of research and basically what I found is that while goat's milk is easier to digest it is very low in iron, whereas human and raw cow's milk have sufficient amounts for infants. Raw milk is much easier for a baby to digest than pasteurized (someone said that already) and if you are feeding or adding probiotics your child should be fine. We stopped using gelatin when DS started heavily on solids because it was hard to source a really well raised brand and DS eats bone broths regularly. The lactose is just a sugar humans make more of then cows, so, if you are seeing that your child is getting enough carbs it should be fine. We do do all of the fats, although, we dont add the CO to the formula any more as it was a solid at room temp and we often feed DS the formula at room temp. Children thrive on all those fats so extras in the formula can't hurt but if you feed your child alot in the day it is probably ok to miss them in the formula. Many 15 mo. olds are weaned (by choice or not) and only eat table foods and are fine. We plan to put the same ingredients (roughly) into a smoothy when DS weans.

[emmalyne]

weird- double post but much later?

[leila1213]

There is also a yahoo group for WAP kids and families (I don't remember the exact name). Most of the families on there use the formula and should be able to tell you more about which supplements are most important, at what ages, etc. HTH!