Goats Milk at 8 Weeks

Goat's milk is NOT balanced for a human infant - it is balanced for a baby goat. Breast milk and formula are balanced for people. There is no reason at all to use goat's milk at 8 weeks of age. If you want to try it at a year when you transition from formula to milk - go for it.

PLEASE do not do that... consult a pediatrician. What is wrong with formula? There's all kinds of formulas out there that cater to every kind of need.

Never, ever give goat's milk or cow's milk to a baby under a year old. Most especially a newborn.

If your baby is having feeding problems then you need to talk to your pediatrician and get a referral to a pediatric gastroenterologist. A PG can tell you what issues your baby is having and set you up with a nutritionist that can walk you through appropriate formula options. If you want to try breastfeeding and relactating, you can then meet with a lactation consultant and a nutritionist to help with your diet as well as the PG.

But absolutely no goat's milk. Your baby needs more nutrition than what's in it even before you consider diluting it.

our dr said One Year for both cow's milk & goat's milk.

what does your dr say?

Please, please don't try it without the dr's approval.

No way. You should NOT give your baby goat's milk. Goat's milk does not have sufficient amount of folic acid, b vitamins, there is WAY too much protein, can cause anemia, intestinal leakage, etc. It's NOT good for babies that aren't 12 months. And NEVER good for a complete source of nutrition. (Babies.) Whoever gave that advice, is NOT someone you should listen to. It's BAD advice. Dangerous advice,

What are the reasons behind considering this? If your child is lactose intolerant, there is lactose in Goat's will, as well as milk proteins. You SHOULD be discussing this with your Dr. Not with us.

P.S. There is NO goat's milk that's regulated for babies in the US, UK, or really many other places. Because, it's bad for them. There is no formula made for goats milk, that is regulated by the FDA, or other food administrations.

P.S.
I saw the link that was left for you. Please do NOT take advice from a "certified nutritionist." I worked as a chiropractor assistant along with MANY nutritionists. They have valuable information, but NOT when it comes to this. Why? The simply do not have to study biology, or how this milk ACTUALLY affects a baby's body. Here's the thing. You have a Dr. You should not listen to any of us as the be all end all, or any random info on the internet. Especially a page dedicated to SELLING you things, like the link provided. ANY food issues with your baby, MUST be talked over with your Dr.

Nope - don't do it. At 8 weeks he needs breastmilk or formula. Goats milk does not have the nutrients he needs even if you mix it with formula. Why is formula not working for him? If you think he has a sensitivity, talk to your pedi about a different formula, maybe a hypoallergenic one like Nutramigen.

For what it's worth - we did switch our 1 year old twins to goats milk after breastfeeding and formula. I liked it better than cows milk. But it's not appropriate for a newborn/infant.

talk to your doctor first...

I'd try to re-lactate... honestly. Goat's milk is better than cow's milk for CHILDREN but a newborn? You tried at birth, so lets try again - get in touch with the local Le Leche League, they will work with, encourage, motivate and emotionally support your goal to nurse your child. Re-lactating is actually very simple if you've already given birth... even women who've adopted a child but never been pregnant themselves are able to lactate, and in enough quantity to nourish their adopted infant.

No Goats milk is NOT clostest to human milk. That is a totally false and please stop spreading this. The closest animal milk to human milk is the milk of an Orangutan followed by the milk of other primates. Now before you play with your childs health and growth and brain development you need to speak with your Doc about it. There is a lot of misinformation on the web.

You need to either be giving your baby breast milk or commercial formula, in order to make sure you're meeting the babies nutritional needs.

Goats milk is the best food for baby goats, not baby humans. :)

If you are having trouble breastfeeding and want to switch to formula, that is perfectly okay. No shame there (and don't let anyone make you feel bad!). But you need to get a good formula that will give the baby everything he/she needs to grow right.

If you're not sure what formula to pick, call your doctor.

And if you want to keep trying to breastfeed, contact a lactation consultant to help you:
http://www.ilca.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3432
Or contact your local La Leche League--they can offer free breastfeeding help & support.

Goats milk for infants is something they used to do "back in the day". It is no longer recommended for infants. It's very hard on an infant's kidney and can cause dehydration. It can also cause anemia in babies. I would definitely consult a physician before making such a drastic dietary change in an infant. You will probably find anecdotal stories of success with goats milk, but I wouldn't want to gamble that on my baby.

You said he's taking 4 oz. of formula? Is that not working well for him? If it is, then I personally would continue with the formula. If it's causing him problems, then I'd talk to your doctor asap to figure out what a good alternative would be. It could be a different type of formula is all he needs. Don't go w/ the goat's milk just yet.

I have heard that goats milk is the next closest thing to breast milk. I did have a friend who gave it to her daughter at around 6 months because her daughter was having severe constipation from formula...she said it helped and she ordered it in the powdered form from somewhere. My son had trouble digesting regular milk at 1 year and my doctor did say it would be ok to try. I actually drove out to a local farm that sells it, to find out it was 16.00/half gallon and unpasteurized...although I've heard the arguments for unpasteurized milk, there was no way I would be giving it to my kids. I ended up just giving him soy milk. I know you just want to give your baby what's best but I would really just call your doctor or make an appt. Goodluck!

I don't know anything about goat's milk, so my advice to you would be to talk to your pediatrician & follow whatever advice he/she gives you.

I would also like to add that your best bet right now is to under no circumstances allow yourself to be bullied BY ANYONE. We all know "breast is best" but, what most educated women also know is that it just doesn't work out for everyone for a variety of reasons.

What's wrong with just formula?

I agree with the other momma's post, in saying that you should talk with his doctor. We discovered at 12 weeks my youngest couldn't handle the milk protein. I was was breastfeeding, but when I went back to work I was supplementing with formula - that's when we found the problem. We had to supplement with Alimentum( sp) formula and it worked, but that was recommended by his dr. At 1 year old we went to Goats milk. You didn't say why you want to try goats milk. Why are people telling you to try something other than formula? You say you don't know how to go about getting information on this, which makes me think you haven't discussed with your dr? If this is a situation where you are having issues, but can't afford a doctor, you should find local public assistance for care of your baby (don't mean to assume anything here- or offend).

goats milk is not appropriate for a newborn. It's like cow's milk - wait until he's a year old. Find a formula that works. If you can't, consult a pediatric allergist to determine if food allergies are a factor. almost all formula is dairy, and/or corn based. If he's allergic to either one of those you'll need to try something different and not necessarily over the counter. It takes up to two weeks for a baby's system to adjust to a formula change. Try soy. try Alimentum. Try Baby's Only formula (I highly recommend the Lactose Free - the only thing that worked for my baby allergic to proteins, including that of human breastmilk). If you're unable to find anything that works, baby will need a prescription for Neocate - most health insurance plans (except United, which sucks so incredibly hard) will pay everything over your Rx copay.

do NOT put your newborn on goat's milk. Start investigating other formulas and medical problems - allergies, reflux, etc. And if your dr says a child under 2 can't have those problems, leave and find another one. All three of my children were diagnosed under 2 with food allergies and reflux, and once we got the former taken care of (through avoidance), the second resolved itself - at ages 1, 1.5, and 3 months.

What isn't working for him? I would use formula before goat's milk. It is much better for a baby than goat's milk.

You really need to contact your pediatrician! :)

Goat's Milk, while possibly easier to digest, may not have all the nutrients a baby that young needs. It's super expensive, but you may have to go to a formula like Nutramigen if he is having issues digesting everything you've tried already.

http://foodforkidshealth.com/can-babies-drink-goat-milk-i...

take a look at this.

I would personally not use goat's milk. If you want to supplement, use formula or pump and use your own milk. Goat's milk is still not mother's milk and you might run into issues like if you used cow's milk sooner than recommended. If you are having trouble with his formula, you need to find one that works.

You probably need to google the info. Yes, it is closest to human milk, and if I had to chose something other than breastfeeding, this would be my first choice. However, you need to add some things to it to make it a complete food for a baby. For instance, molasses is needed because goat's milk is very low in iron. You need to add it in. There are a few different recipes you can try out there. This a great place to start:
http://www.westonaprice.org/childrens-health/recipes-for-...

their are sevral formulas to try before you go this route. if you have tried all of them (at 8 weeks their is no way) talk to your ped about this ive never heard of goats milk this young good luck!