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Is breast milk best and/or alternative to cow's milk for a petite baby?

3K views 17 replies 15 participants last post by  mamadee17 
#1 ·
Hi there,

My DD just turned a year old and she is super petite. She isn't on the charts for weight, but is for height (40th%). She was born a month early and was only 4.2 lbs when she was born, so she's always been little, but has a HUGE appetite. She tripled her weight by 6 months. She is exclusively breastfed and she loves solid food and can eat and eat and eat.

I took her to the ped for her one-year check-up and the ped wasn't super concerned about her weight because I am petite too and my DD is developmentally doing awesome and thriving and all that, but she told me that maybe I could start giving her some whole milk. I have a DS who is almost 8yo and with him, we never did a milk of any kind, I just nursed him for two years. And he was tall and healthy and fine. But my ped made it sound like that route didn't give him enough calcium or something and I need to give DD a milk supplement.

I feel conflicted about this for a few reasons. I'm not anti-dairy and we do cheese, but I don't like the idea of my baby drinking tons of cow's milk for her gut. Also, the ped inferred that my breast milk wasn't giving her what she needed which I think isn't correct. But I tried a cup of whole milk for DD to see what she thought and she was kind of ambivalent about it, but later when I changed her diaper, she had a really red ring around her bum. So I didn't give her any more milk and it cleared up. But she's fine with cheese.

So here are my questions (sorry for the long-windedness):
- Doesn't breast milk have the best stats on fats, vitamins, calcium, etc - better than any other supplement??
- I don't want to wean her, but I would like to have something else I can give her - what are some good alternatives? It seems like everything (almond milk, coconut milk, hemp milk) all seem to have pros and cons. I'm looking to give her some really nutrient and fat-rich calories.
- What about kiefer?

Thank you for your thoughts!!
 
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#2 ·
Kellymom says that if you are breastfeeding 3-4 times a day, your baby does not need any other kinds of milk. You can check out their website for more info. Your milk is still great nutrition. If you need more fat and calcium in her diet, full-fat greek yogurt could work. It has lots of protein and calcium and probiotics and the plain doesn't have any sugar. My baby loves it.
 
#5 ·
Breastmilk is perfect, it never ceases to be perfect. Other animal's dairy is never really needed if breastmilk is available, it's only an extra treat that some bodies can handle. With the young, a bad reaction to dairy is usually from the protein not lactose so culturing won't help so much. Goat or raw A2 Jersey milk may work but I wouldn't spend much effort to get it. Do not let anybody convince you to replace breastmilk with other dairy or "milks". You can replace water or juice with them to boost nutrition a little. She should be trying foods too now, and the little bit she eats will supplement her diet of course. Try these?

Veggies with coconut oil, olive oil, butter or ghee if she tolerates it.
Some kids like fats by the spoonful, try offering coconut oil or butter on a spoon?
Eggs
Fruit, my kids love it, not high in fat but it has vitamins.
Yams, ditto the above
Avocado
Nut butter
Fish, meats
Hummus
Very dark chocolate
Lightly sweetened coconut ice cream? Can of rich coconut milk, couple spoonfuls of honey, vanilla, cocoa powder, run it through an ice cream maker. Yummy.
Warm bone broth, tastiest is to crockpot bones left over from a roasted chicken as many hours as you can in water and a small splash of vinegar, strain it, store in the fridge or freezer, when cold skim off the solid fat from the top and save that to cook in.
Almond milk, coconut milk, hemp milk (instead of juice or water - pick which one she'll take these taste funny to some)
 
#6 ·
I think some Doctors are iffy with breast feeding past a certain age. NO WAY is cows milk better then yours! You breathe fresh air and are free to move unlike the regular store bought milk. Let alone your milk is not treated in anyway or heated to kill off germs(and when you talk organic milk you run into issue of them heating it to high and killing off all the good stuff too). As long as she looks good/has energy I would leave her be.
 
#7 ·
i just wanted to mention that Breast milk is specially formulated for Human babies and their needs. As long as breast milk is an option... no other milk is better for your baby. Just like cow's milk is better for cows than human milk would be.

have no fear :)
 
#8 ·
Thank you all for validating that my breast milk is perfect for her! I know this, but sometimes peds can just throw you off - and DD was born early and has always been tiny, so this is new territory for me (having to justify her size/advocate for myself with her in this way). And I didn't expect it to be that way because I see a ped at Dr. Sears's practice and I thought they were all on the breast milk train, but I guess not. The ped also said something about, "Well, who knows how much you're making," referring to my breast milk and insinuating that I probably don't make a lot. When I actually do produce a lot and have big let downs about every 3 hours or so (even at night, sadly). So I just didn't like the overall attitude of "yeah yeah, get her on dairy."

And wow, good memory pokeyac :grin: Happy Birthday (belated) to your LO too!

JamieCatheryn - thank you for your list! Yes, DD eats TONS of food and loves everything we give her. We do all sorts of stuff on your list. She can eat an entire avocado in one sitting and then some. I slather everything with Irish butter.
 
#9 ·
There are circumstances in which breast milk is not best. This, however, isn't one of them.

It's possible that your pediatrician only meant it to be helpful. There are some people who don't enjoy breastfeeding but feel they need "permission" to quit, so your ped may have meant that if it was becoming a strain on you, you could switch to an alternative with a clear conscience. It doesn't sound like your pediatrician was saying that your milk wasn't enough, just that cow's milk is just fine. I wasn't there so couldn't say for sure, though.

Our toddler can't handle cow's milk, so we don't give it to him. He can handle a bit of processed diary (cheese, kefir, yogurt, something cooked), and he gets an ounce of milk at night with tea. Our obsession with milk is pretty much the result of the dairy industry- it's not because milk is legitimately the best food ever or that hugely important.
 
#10 ·
Cow milk is also harder on your baby’s kidneys than breastmilk or formula milk and can lead to milk allergy. If you suspect your baby may have an allergy or intolerance to cow’s milk, speak to your doctor.
 
#11 ·
I think your pediatrician was talking about iron, not calcium, that might be lacking from breast milk after a point. Breast milk can be a perfect choice forever, or it really might lack in nutrients after a while. And usually the way to tell if it's so is that baby is hungry even if he was breastfed.
About cow milk, I really don't see why and how it would be the next best option... what I would do is supplement breastfeeding with formula. First breastfeed, then give formula to the baby. If he's still hungry he will take it. And with formula you know for sure it has everything the baby needs in it.
 
#17 ·
I did the same for my son who was premature (4.6 lbs). At first, I wasn't producing milk, but I eventually did and was able to keep up for a little over a year. He ate a lot but wasn't gaining weight all that fast. I read a lot about adding animal milk to my son's feedings, and frankly, all the stuff in cow's milk isn't good for anyone - especially babies. I found unpasteurized goats milk to work great, though. There is a lot of fear literature against it out there, though. Traditional doctors and nutritionists are very against pasteurized foods. The only thing I found fearful was the cost and availability :) It helped put weight on my son.

One last thought - breast milk is best, but what you eat largely affects your baby. What sorts of foods are you eating? Sounds like you're just small framed, but if by chance you are a light eater, that will be the case for your baby when breast feeding too.

Good luck!
 
#13 ·
my son was a preemie

He was about 4lbs at birth, 25lbs at year one. Exactly where he was supposed to be. I only breastfed, never used formula and no additions of milk that I recall. I had to nurse A LOT though. It was arduous to say the least. I got some flack from an idiot doctor who thought he wasn't gaining enough at one point, it did take a while for him to get back on track weight wise. And yes doctors made stupid comments like I was starving my baby, even while trying breastfeeding in the NICU. Once out of the hospital I fed him at the rate he demanded to be fed, not on a schedule, and if he seemed "sleepy" which preemies can be I persisted on advice of my midwife.
 
#15 ·
Human milk is always best. No other species provides exactly what humans need.

Sadly, many people, doctors, nurses and other health care providers are uninformed or misinformed about human breast milk. It's a shame that your ped seems to be one. How disappointing!

It really boils down to trust. Too many trust that a farmer feeds his livestock correctly but doesn't trust a nursing mom to eat right. If you have concerns, eat more leafy greens (great for bone development) healthy fats (including omega-3), and healthy sources of iron. That will make more of these nutrients available for your child.

Remember, breast milk is made on demand, so what's in your bloodstream at the time is what's available to go into your milk. Keep that pantry well stocked and there shouldn't be a problem.

By the way, some children are just lighter than most. I have one who's still on the light side (like his father).
 
#16 ·
Hi there,

My DD just turned a year old and she is super petite. She isn't on the charts for weight, but is for height (40th%). She was born a month early and was only 4.2 lbs when she was born, so she's always been little, but has a HUGE appetite. She tripled her weight by 6 months. She is exclusively breastfed and she loves solid food and can eat and eat and eat.

I took her to the ped for her one-year check-up and the ped wasn't super concerned about her weight because I am petite too and my DD is developmentally doing awesome and thriving and all that, but she told me that maybe I could start giving her some whole milk. I have a DS who is almost 8yo and with him, we never did a milk of any kind, I just nursed him for two years. And he was tall and healthy and fine. But my ped made it sound like that route didn't give him enough calcium or something and I need to give DD a milk supplement.

I feel conflicted about this for a few reasons. I'm not anti-dairy and we do cheese, but I don't like the idea of my baby drinking tons of cow's milk for her gut. Also, the ped inferred that my breast milk wasn't giving her what she needed which I think isn't correct. But I tried a cup of whole milk for DD to see what she thought and she was kind of ambivalent about it, but later when I changed her diaper, she had a really red ring around her bum. So I didn't give her any more milk and it cleared up. But she's fine with cheese.

So here are my questions (sorry for the long-windedness):
- Doesn't breast milk have the best stats on fats, vitamins, calcium, etc - better than any other supplement??
- I don't want to wean her, but I would like to have something else I can give her - what are some good alternatives? It seems like everything (almond milk, coconut milk, hemp milk) all seem to have pros and cons. I'm looking to give her some really nutrient and fat-rich calories.
- What about kiefer?

Thank you for your thoughts!!
Yes, that's true, that breast milk is the best. Cow's milk is not appropriate to human child you know. Is only for calfs.
 
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