Okay, now to take a stab at the sacred cow (ha ha ha!!!). Charlie will officially be off formula in about 1.2 days. The "experts", although I've never talked with them personally, say that babies should have whole milk from age 1-2, right? When the girls were young, I never questioned this, but now I am a rebel. What is the reason? I know, I know. It has something to do with developing the brain....but really? Does it? We don't drink milk around here. I do have it in the fridge for cooking and our youngest daughter likes to drink it occasionally, but it's not something I make my children drink daily. Hubby even can't eat chili without it. (And you think I'm strange, honey?!!)
It all just doesn't make sense to me. We are the only species that drinks another specie's milk. And beyond infant hood! Please, don't worry. We get plenty of calcium through beans, greens and other dairy items.
And I'm not coming down on those of you who drink milk. If you love it, go for it. Drink it til the cows come home! (ha ha ha- how CHEESY can I get tonight?!)
What are our options? Markana- rice milk. JJ- good 'old water. Anyone else? Your reasoning? Am I causing GREAT HARM in not giving Charlie whole milk for this next year?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
In Him,
E
11 comments:
I'm with you on this! We do rice or soy milk. I can't even stomach the thought of drinking cow's milk anymore. Blech!
When Nolan was about 9 months old I emailed with Jill and she told me to try hempseed milk with 1 tbsp. of Blackstrap molasses added in for iron/calcium. That's what we did and now he only does rice milk.
Jill's blog is www.breakingfreetruths.blogspot.com
She is a wealth of knowledge and loves to share it so feel free to contact her thru email with any questions. You will be blessed.
Much love!
Lisa
Ha! Well, Nichole still does not get cow's milk, unless she steals her sister's milk. She drinks Almond milk (it has way more nutrients than regular milk)
I like it, my girls do too. But, there are many other things you can do instead. If you worry about the developing brain, then just get some good Omega 3's! That does a lot more than whole milk :)
We drink alot of milk in our house (2 gallons a week usually - for 4 people)...
Whole milk is recommended during 1-2 years time b/c their brains are developing/growing alot during this time - they need the extra "fat" that whole milk provides.... not sure how to say this right, but its healthy fat without all the sugars and such that other drinks (soda, juice) are prone to... and although water is great, it doesnt have any fat in it.... whole milk is just a good/easy way to give their bodies/brains what they need without a bunch of other junk... (plus it has other good stuff in it too)
Just my 2 cents on the subject, and I think everyone should do what they feel is right
As a former nurse, we were taught whole milk for infants/toddlers because the fat content helped the body develop the myelin sheath around the nerves. The sheathing is not fully developed in the brain until approximately age two. The best choice is really breast milk and the longer one can nurse the better. Some cultures nurse a child until 4 and beyond. In our western culture long term nursing is not as accepted so cow's milk is substituted.
My son (now 11) could not tolerate cow's milk when he was 1. He would throw it up everytime. So he drank soymilk or rice milk. I highly recommend eithe, but now would probably lean more towards Almond milk knowing how good almonds are for our bodies. Good luck E!
We do rice milk and it has Vitamin A & D. Soy to me has more estrogen than any little person needs. Almond is great, but we have just always given her Rice, so that is what she likes.
I also am not a big fan of the cow, though I do give her Organic Whole Milk yogurt for the calcium and it helps her digestive system.
M
But, as you said, there are so many resources through food to get them what they need.
I think this is best answered by a nutritionist with a specialty in pediatrics.
I know the fat is important, but I had a child with an allergy to anything from a cow. So neither of us could have dairy or beef or cheese till I weaned her. Now I am also allergic to the beef, dairy etc.
So we drink rice milk, and be sure to get plenty of oils in our diet from olive oil, coconut oil, nuts of all kinds and we are healthy and happy.
We just went through this and consulted with a nutritionist. She said that whole milk is NOT essential as long as the child has a great diet (many toddlers do not) and gets neccessary fats. Two weeks ago I made the switch using Almond milk. So far, so good. My girl also gets yogurt, cottage cheese, and olive oil mixed in her foods.
Yes, we do only water. An occasional lemonade or such for a special occasion but my boys 99% of the time will choose water over anything else. I hope that choice carries on into adulthood =)
But, my boys did both breast feed until they were 2. Since being a mother, I have been a lot more careful about what I give my child and I do not always trust the medical community or tradition's way of doing things - only because they offer advice for the community as a whole, not for your child; your super, wonderful child. I try to trust my instict, do what is best for MY family, and educate myself as much as possible. Paul's mother is a pediatric dental hygenist and she sees a lot of small children with cavities - with milk and juice being the believed culprit.
We eat a LOT of cheese and dairy in this house and get the necessary supplements. We also take calcium vitamins and my boys are perfectly fine.
Like my Dr. says "in the olden days, people didn't drink cows milk, they didn't have sunscreen, their bodies received vitamins from the sun and from the environments they lived in, including dirt"
Not sure what you should do about Charlie - but I would definitely give rice milk (or others) a try if you don't want to go the cows milk route.
We left the cow's milk a few years ago because of the hormones, vaccinations, etc. From what I've read, I tend to think milk plays a big part in obesity in kids as well as early development. We cook now with coconut milk, and use it or almond milk for cereal. We rarely just have a drink of milk...unless it's chocolate almond milk...yummy! I know you'll make the choice that you think is best for your sweet boy! He is just soooo cute!!!
I like the idea of getting fat from other healthy places if you aren't doing milk! I dream of getting raw whole cows milk, but it is too expensive. Enjoy being done with formula!
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