[Yooper]

We are vegan so animal milk is out....but I do not give dd soy milk. We do not even buy it. Even if the research is "flawed" something is up with soy and I do not plan to use my family as a test case. Dd still bfs but for the occasional night out or special circumstance, we feed her non-flavored rice or almond milk. The latter I make myself. We try to stick to water for the most part. I do not think it is necessary to give kids a "milk" if they are breastfeeding and drink water. Once she naturally weans, milk should not be necessary.

 

[Yooper]

Jitterbug, I think cows milk is a poor choice for a fat source. Obviously being vegan, I have ethical issues....but that aside, cow's milk is designed for baby cows and therefore the fat/protien/carb ratio is not ideal for humans. The point of baby cow milk is for the baby cows to grow very large very fast. Breastmilk has a lower fat content because human babies do not need to grow as fast or as fat as cows. I guess I am strange, but I do not see "replacement milk" whether it be cow's, goat, soy, rice, or almond an actual suppliment to dd's diet. I see the occasional "milk" as a way to satiate a toddler that might not be able to breastfeed at that moment because I am not there or it is not convienient. Or more often to give her something in her sippy that looks like what her friends have. I do not expect it to be a good source of fat or protien. That is what breastmilk is for. As she gets older and bfs less and less, more of her diet is replaced by "big people food" which is where I expect her to get the necessary fat (and other essential nutrients). There are plenty of natural (not processed like soy or rice milk) foods that are high in fat to fill the void that decreased bfing creates. Nut butters, avocados, unrefined oils, etc.......