Hi moms! After our 9 month check-up at the pediatrician, I asked about weaning my EBF son. Much to my surprise, I was advised that since my boy has been growing so beautifully and is well exceeding his weight and height milestones, that switching to whole milk at this point would be just fine for our little bruiser. He has mastered solids and gets something new every week without a blink of hesitation or (knock on wood) allergic reactions. That being said, our trial with formula did not go as smoothly which is why I am exploring other options such as milk. I've done some research on goat's milk as opposed to cow's due to the recent info that it is easier on tiny tummies and my concern comes in here; can I addiquitly supply the nutrients lacking in goat's milk by feeding the right solid foods despite the fact that my little man is under 1 year? I make all of my son's food, so customizing a healthy mealplan will not pose to be too tricky. There are a few reasons why my husband and I are choosing to wean before the 1 year mark, and we are quite comfortable with our decision given the many circumstances involved, as long as we can figure out the very best plan to move forward with. The next issue is our boy's reluctancy to take a bottle and now the search for the perfect sippy cup... I figure that is his next stage, so why get him used to a bottle AND a cup when we can just skip the bottle all together. But back to the question at hand, should I further explore this milk instead of formula option knowning that I've been given the okay by our pediatrician or keep trying the awful tastes and vomitting that we've experienced with formula? Thanks in advance mama's, I look forward to your responses, I always get great food for thought from you!!
Thank you so much for all of your input! Just to give a bit more background, our decision to wean came mostly from the fact that I have to start a medication that is not safe for our baby (along with some minor issues that weigh into our situation). Yes I have explored EVERY other option and at this point my husband and I feel strongly that we are making a sound choice for the health of our family as a whole. Breastfeeding is something that I put 100% of my effort into. It is a life choice and a personal decision that varies from family to family, this is just how ours is choosing to move forward and I have done much research as to the pros and cons; again, we are confident in our decision, but thank you moms for lending support. Dori W. I did look at the link you provided and I am well aware of the nutritional guidlines for an infant which is why I asked if I could adiquitly supply what is missing in goat's milk. Another thing, the artical did not touch on the option of goat's milk which is (despite some similarities) different in structure from cow's milk. My referance to my son being a "bruiser" comes from an article I read from NPR, there is a new study that has proven a direct correlation of growth and healthy brain development and function. Though I know an infant is still an infant and functions VERY different from an adult, he is progressing quite well and my understanding of how his little body works is growing daily. All that said, I am extremly appreciative of your input, getting all sides of a situation is my number one reason for taking such a liking in the function of this blog site. So thank you again for your point of veiw, it has caused me to further research any decision I will ultimately make.
I asked my pediatrician the same thing when it was time to put my daughter on milk but since she had a dairy allergy they said to try soy milk fortified with added nutrients. She did great on it and has now since grown out of the dairy allergy. I was told goats milk wouldn't give her the correct nutrients.
go with what your pediatrician recommended.....& I know a lot of Moms will be horrified, but if you're comfortable with your dr's advice.....then go for it!
I was in the same position when my sons were young infants....they're 9 yrs apart in age - had different pediatricians.....& both were put on cereal before 4 weeks of age. Almost unheard of in today's world!!! But it worked for them, they were huge eaters & bruisers to boot! Neither of my sons had digestive nor allergy issues with offering food earlier than normally recommended. In our case, the dr truly did know best!
Oh, & as for that reluctance to take the bottle....throw it away - he's ready! Forget about searching for the perfect sippy cup.....pick one & stick with it. He'll eventually become accustomed to it. Searching for the perfect cup is a waste of time & $$ !! Peace.....
I would seriously question your pediatrician's advice. Please read this article about why any other milk besides breastmilk or formula is a bad idea for little ones under a year old.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002448.htm
It doesn't matter how healthy or much of a "bruiser" your little man is, he's still an infant and still has the system of an infant. His body is not ready to deal with what whole cow's milk or goat's milk does and does not have that he does and doesn't need.
I EBF both of my kids and never started either of them on whole milk right at the year mark. It's a big change for their little systems and we made the switch gradually when we did.
It is perfectly fine to offer infant around your son's age things like cheese and yogurt as they are different from cow's milk in structure and milk proteins.
You sound like you are concerned for your son's overall health and nutritional health like any good mom so offering him something that will not fulfill his nutritional needs and could actually be detrimental (like cow or goat's milk) doesn't sound like it fits into your plans. And given that he is vomiting formula, he may have some milk allergy issues that would preclude starting whole milk as well. If you are set on discontinuing breastfeeding, I would explore other formula options (more gentle formulas, hypoallergenic formulas, etc) before going with a milk option.
As to the bottle/sippy issue, definitely go straight to sippy. The latest recommendations are to have infants off the bottle starting at around 9 months anyway.
your Breast milk IS best, but you are correct in the notion that goats milk is closer to humans milk than cow milk is. Cows milk is so fattening it has to support the rapid growth of a calf to a cow for 6 months. Its an arduous process that shows very high peaks in fat needs. Goats dont need as much fat to grow because the end result is not as much bigger. AS far as readily available milk in the u.s., , yes goats milk (other than your own) is the way to go.
I am almost 32 and I survived my first two years on goat milk because of severe, and I do mean severe (green ,mucous, diahrea, drastic weight loss) allergic reactions to both milk and soy based formulas. Start out with a sippy (it won't take him long to get it), get pasturized goat milk and use an infant vitamin drop to help with nutrients.
And, I am happy to say, I grew out of my allergies and can now enjoy milk and ice cream with the best of them!
I know you've already filled in your "what happened" box, but I feel I must write and ask you NOT to feed your son unmodified goats milk. A very little online research shows that the true experts strongly recommend against this practice, for a variety of reasons. I will not list a whole bunch of URLs here, just go to google, and once you get past the goats milk manufacturers, and random internet users, you will find that there is very little support for feeding goats milk, especially raw milk to infants.
Since my daughter was adopted I won't weigh in on the breast milk issue, but I can tell you goats milk ROCKS! I drink it myself. You can read about it online, specifically there is a great article about it at twodancingbuckeyes.com, a blog about good eating and natural foods.
You can buy goats milk at better supermarkets, but then it is pasteurized to death. You might check your area for a coop that will deliver it to you fresh from the farm; then all you have to do is bring it to a simmer and cool it for your baby. I drink it raw, but I'll wait on that for my 20 mo. daughter. IF you are in the NYC area, check out uddermilk.com.
And word to the wise: introduce the milk slowly, a couple of ounces mixed with what he's getting now gradually increasing or the shock could be upsetting. The first time I tried half formula (which Téa had been drinking) with half goats milk and she projectile vomited all over everything! Since I introduced it gradually, she's loved it, and no problems.
Best of luck!
S.
My son was 12 months, and he refused cows milk, so i triedall kinds of milks and he drank goats milk. i did not do the ultra pasturized since that kills any and all nutrients, but I got fresh goats milk and he did great on it. Since the fresh goats milk was hard to get, expensive, and while i could freeze it, it didn't last long and was just a big pain in the booty, so after a few months, I slowly added cows milk to it and he would drink it as long as there wasn't too much cows milk in it. I then found that he would take cows milk if I added a smidge of vanilla flavoring. i used the non alcohol kind and he was able to transition over & eventually didn't need the vanilla. He now does the 2% with no hormones or lactose. Since husband is allergic to lactose 9he breaks out in hives & swells). so I now have us all on the same kind of milk! Best of luck.
While I have no comment on the milk issue, I can weigh in on the bottle vs cup situation.
Due to our third (unexpected) pregnancy, my milk dried up and my EBF little boy was so frustrated at the breast so we made a move over to formula. We were one step ahead on that curve though as since Daddy is a SAHD, he was bottle fed BM from very early on.
If you skip that transitional step and want to go straight to a cup, I would actually look for ones with straws. IMO this sucking action is more similar to BFing. We got a three pack of Munchkin cups with Diego on them at BJs for a reasonable price. We also have some cups that lack a true "valve". I have no idea where my folks found them. They are Thomas the Tank Engine themed and may have come from Kohl's. They have more like a "flap" setup and our little guy sucks easily on them.
We were completely weaned from formula and bottles around 15 months.
Good luck.
~C.
If you feel you must force him to wean, yes goat's milk is the best alternative.
If you are up to it... maybe you can private message me with the problems or reasons you feel the need to force wean when it's going so well. I may be able to give alternatives to 100% weaning.
My son weaned at 9 months too. He refused to drink formula and he also refused milk. I was concerned at first but after speaking to my pediatrician I was told that as long as he is eating well not to worry. He was a great eater and I made his baby food so I knew what he was getting. He would drink either water or water with a splash of juice out of a sippy cup - we did not use bottles. He is now 8 years old and is probably the healthiest of my 3 children. He is very rarely sick and when he does get a virus going around he has it for 24 hours or less and then is fine. I would not worry about the milk. As my Mother told me it is not the "miracle" food everyone makes it out to be. You can give your child all the nutrients found in milk with vegetables, joghurt and cheese.
i say just go to the goats milk or try organic milk or soy milk and make sure he is getting a varity of foods enough fruits and veggies with grains and some meat or other protian like tofu or beans
I am a little late to respond to your post, but I am interested because the many issues you are facing are similar to what we had to deal with for our EBF daughter.
First, I think it is worthwhile to altogether skip a bottle and go straight to a straw cup (and skip the spout ones, which are just "transitional" from bottles anyway and are not good for oral-motor development in long term use). Also, try out the straw cups yourself. I'll bet that you will choose to not use the ones with valves (or you can remove the valves). I would literally have to suck so hard that my face would turn red in order to get out the liquid from inside. The valves are designed to keep the liquids inside (and prevent messy spills) and don't allow for the easy flow of fluid.
My daughter was weaned from breastmilk to goat milk (but starting slowly at 15 months, so I didn't have to worry about her age in the whole equation). She would violently vomit regular formula the two times we tried it, so I always suspected she had a dairy allergy (she later tested positive for a dairy allergy). But, her dairy allergy was not typical. After extensive research and contacting many pediatric allergy specialists in the country, I learned that about 95% of cow dairy allergic children will also be allergic to goat milk because the proteins are so similar. The chance of successful tolerance of goat milk is slim (about 5%) and the possible dangerous risk of a serious allergic reaction is so high that most doctors would not recommend goat milk as an alternative to cow milk in the case of cow dairy allergy. However, my daughter could drink goat milk and eat sheep milk yogurt without any problems (so she was in the 5%). I think it is worthwhile to explore why your child can not tolerate regular infant formula (is it just about the taste or about an allergy/intolerance/sensitivity?). Knowing why will help you to work out a balanced diet. If it is just about taste, you can slowly transition by mixing one ounce of formula with several ounces of BM, and increase by one ounce every few days. Also, if you choose to feed goat milk, you can easy find on the internet which nutrients are lacking in goat milk vs. cow milk and try to incorporate those nutrients through other foods.
I have no comment on making the change to non-breast milk at 9 months old vs 12 months old because I have no experience with that.... but, good luck!!
