pedi says no milk?

srporter89 · August 2011

So, I've been seeing a lot of post about transitioning to WCM lately, and wanted to ask a question. Our pedi says that after one, my LO should only be drinking water? His explanation for this is that he should be getting all of his nutrients from his diet, and that WCM is just "empty calories". I've heard that they need the fat for brain growth though, so do you think he's a little crazy? Ib love everything about him, but I do not agree with him on this.

XCrissCrossX · August 2011

If this is for real...you need to find a new pedi

izzygthefourth@hotmail.com · August 2011

I wouldn't feel bad getting a second or third opinion from other pediatricians to be sure. It was recommended to me that WCM provides essential fatty acids (natural DHA) as well as vitamin D(enriched) since we're supposed to keep DD lathered in sunscreen all the time. I think the real issue is if a parent is ONLY feeding WCM in a bottle and not trying a variety of solid foods for nutrition/healthy intestinal maturity. In that case, WCM definitely does not meet the nutritional needs.

Emiliana7 · August 2011

I'm callign your dr crazy on this one, too. lol! Unless you make sure your child does indeed get enough good fat and calcium, etc that's usually gotten from milk, then your child needs milk (or some sort of milk substitute.)

It would be really awesome for our babies to get breastmilk for as long as possible (and I say this as someone who was medically unable to breastfeed- so I really do realize there are those of us who cannot bf). And if I was able to bf my child or to pump and feed my dc would get that as long as possible.

I do also think that cow's milk is suppose to be for baby cows. However I do drink alot of it myself and my older child drinks alot as well.

My younger child is on soy formula and I don't want to attempt cow's milk once he's one, but I might. I hope his intolerance becomes outgrown.

if so, he will drink cow's milk, if not, soy or rice or something else like milk.

srporter89 · August 2011

Haha ti first poster, this is real. I know that milk should not be their main source of nutrition, but I also thought that they needed some sort of dairy. I am still breaastfeeding, and plan to through flu season, but who knows if it will last that long, plus I already supplement with formula.

SnoopyLuv · August 2011

Your pedi is not crazy at all. We are one of the few societies that relies really heavuily on cows milk for nutrition. We should ideally be getting our calcium, fat and vitamin D from other sources, it just so happens that milk is a really convenient way to get them all in. It's just not particularly "good" for us.

We don't NEED any sort of dairy. It's extremely unnatural for a mammal to drink milk of another species.

Your pedi is right, we're just raised to think otherwise.

srporter89 · August 2011

SnoopyLuv:
Your pedi is not crazy at all. We are one of the few societies that relies really heavuily on cows milk for nutrition. We should ideally be getting our calcium, fat and vitamin D from other sources, it just so happens that milk is a really convenient way to get them all in. It's just not particularly "good" for us.
We don't NEED any sort of dairy. It's extremely unnatural for a mammal to drink milk of another species.
Your pedi is right, we're just raised to think otherwise.

That makes sense. I know I'm jumping the gun, because LO has a few months before he's one, but I'm just planning ahead to decide what I'm going to do. I think ill just offer it at meal time in a sippy, and bf him the rest, because I do plan on making sure he gets all his food groups in.

SnoopyLuv · August 2011

srporter89:
SnoopyLuv:
Your pedi is not crazy at all. We are one of the few societies that relies really heavuily on cows milk for nutrition. We should ideally be getting our calcium, fat and vitamin D from other sources, it just so happens that milk is a really convenient way to get them all in. It's just not particularly "good" for us.
We don't NEED any sort of dairy. It's extremely unnatural for a mammal to drink milk of another species.
Your pedi is right, we're just raised to think otherwise.

That makes sense. I know I'm jumping the gun, because LO has a few months before he's one, but I'm just planning ahead to decide what I'm going to do. I think ill just offer it at meal time in a sippy, and bf him the rest, because I do plan on making sure he gets all his food groups in.

I am planning on continuing to BF morning and night well past 1 yr. I give lots of cheese, yogurt and cottage cheese now. I think she'll hit her "dairy" requirement no issue. I actually think your pedi is really progressive and I think that's awesome.

I just wanted to let you know that he's not crazy. Lots of women on the AP board don't give cows milk or a substitute, but we're all crazy hippies like that.

srporter89 · August 2011

SnoopyLuv:
srporter89:
SnoopyLuv:
Your pedi is not crazy at all. We are one of the few societies that relies really heavuily on cows milk for nutrition. We should ideally be getting our calcium, fat and vitamin D from other sources, it just so happens that milk is a really convenient way to get them all in. It's just not particularly "good" for us.
We don't NEED any sort of dairy. It's extremely unnatural for a mammal to drink milk of another species.
Your pedi is right, we're just raised to think otherwise.

That makes sense. I know I'm jumping the gun, because LO has a few months before he's one, but I'm just planning ahead to decide what I'm going to do. I think ill just offer it at meal time in a sippy, and bf him the rest, because I do plan on making sure he gets all his food groups in.
I am planning on continuing to BF morning and night well past 1 yr. I give lots of cheese, yogurt and cottage cheese now. I think she'll hit her "dairy" requirement no issue. I actually think your pedi is really progressive and I think that's awesome.
I just wanted to let you know that he's not crazy. Lots of women on the AP board don't give cows milk or a substitute, but we're all crazy hippies like that.

Well now that I really think about it, it makes sense, but once you stop bfing do you plan on giving her milk? That's where I get confused.

emiliemadison · August 2011

At 9 months, your LO's main diet SHOULD BE milk- in the form of formula or breast milk with water being an occasional addition. Cows milk is certainly not "empty calories", though, and for a pedi to suggest otherwise is scary. There's no need to transition to whole milk at this point, so maybe your Dr was trying to discourage you.

SnoopyLuv · August 2011

srporter89:
SnoopyLuv:
srporter89:
SnoopyLuv:
Your pedi is not crazy at all. We are one of the few societies that relies really heavuily on cows milk for nutrition. We should ideally be getting our calcium, fat and vitamin D from other sources, it just so happens that milk is a really convenient way to get them all in. It's just not particularly "good" for us.
We don't NEED any sort of dairy. It's extremely unnatural for a mammal to drink milk of another species.
Your pedi is right, we're just raised to think otherwise.
That makes sense. I know I'm jumping the gun, because LO has a few months before he's one, but I'm just planning ahead to decide what I'm going to do. I think ill just offer it at meal time in a sippy, and bf him the rest, because I do plan on making sure he gets all his food groups in.
I am planning on continuing to BF morning and night well past 1 yr. I give lots of cheese, yogurt and cottage cheese now. I think she'll hit her "dairy" requirement no issue. I actually think your pedi is really progressive and I think that's awesome.
I just wanted to let you know that he's not crazy. Lots of women on the AP board don't give cows milk or a substitute, but we're all crazy hippies like that.
Well now that I really think about it, it makes sense, but once you stop bfing do you plan on giving her milk? That's where I get confused.

Nope, I don't plan on giving her cow's milk past a year if I were breastfeeding or not. They don't need cow's milk, they should be getting the nutrition from food at that point. Like I said cow's milk is just a convenient source. I have no problem giving dairy items like cheese and yogurt but I don't feel comfortable giving cows milk to drink. It's my own personal hangup- like how some people can't eat meat off the bone. It just grosses me out.

srporter89 · August 2011

emiliemadison:
At 9 months, your LO's main diet SHOULD BE milk- in the form of formula or breast milk with water being an occasional addition. Cows milk is certainly not "empty calories", though, and for a pedi to suggest otherwise is scary. There's no need to transition to whole milk at this point, so maybe your Dr was trying to discourage you.

Oh I kniw this. I was talking about after they are one. I don't intend to introduce WCM anytime until then. I just wanted to see what other people thought because WCM seems to be the topic most of the time these days.

srporter89 · August 2011

emiliemadison:
At 9 months, your LO's main diet SHOULD BE milk- in the form of formula or breast milk with water being an occasional addition. Cows milk is certainly not "empty calories", though, and for a pedi to suggest otherwise is scary. There's no need to transition to whole milk at this point, so maybe your Dr was trying to discourage you.

Oh I kniw this. I was talking about after they are one. I don't intend to introduce WCM anytime until then. I just wanted to see what other people thought because WCM seems to be the topic most of the time these days.

mbfirefly98 · August 2011

What about stage 2 formulas instead of WCM?

susan1017 · August 2011

I am all for personal choice when deciding what to feed our children as long it is appropriate and safe for them but I don't get the hang up on WCM. All the dairy they are getting with cheese and yogurt are made from milk. Giving WCM is just the liquid form of the stuff. To me its the same.

Like anything else we eat, it has its place. To ban it from a child's diet is extreme in my opinion. Kids will naturally take less milk as they learn to take more solids into their diet. Drs are programming us to fear 'childhood obesity' at any cost and I just don't buy in. When DD was a baby juice was the devil and now its turning into WCM. The appropriate amount of milk (or juice or whatever) balanced with the appropriate amount of solids will equal a healthy diet and healthy habits. Banning anything from a diet (food allergy excluded) is a set-up for issues down the road.

Again, I respect everyone's choices and if WCM is not in the diet, whatever, but for me its a red herring and I am not biting.

VABride2008 · August 2011

susan1017:

I am all for personal choice when deciding what to feed our children as long it is appropriate and safe for them but I don't get the hang up on WCM. All the dairy they are getting with cheese and yogurt are made from milk. Giving WCM is just the liquid form of the stuff. To me its the same.

Like anything else we eat, it has its place. To ban it from a child's diet is extreme in my opinion. Kids will naturally take less milk as they learn to take more solids into their diet. Drs are programming us to fear 'childhood obesity' at any cost and I just don't buy in. When DD was a baby juice was the devil and now its turning into WCM. The appropriate amount of milk (or juice or whatever) balanced with the appropriate amount of solids will equal a healthy diet and healthy habits. Banning anything from a diet (food allergy excluded) is a set-up for issues down the road.

Again, I respect everyone's choices and if WCM is not in the diet, whatever, but for me its a red herring and I am not biting.

I totally agree with this statement. I see so many people saying their kids will not have sweets, juice, milk, chocolate, french fries, etc. I feel like you can teach healthy eating habits and still allow for these things. It's all about moderation. Our society has no concept of portion control. I'm all for healthy eating, but it's okay to live a little.

RedCardinal · August 2011

VABride2008:
susan1017:

I am all for personal choice when deciding what to feed our children as long it is appropriate and safe for them but I don't get the hang up on WCM. All the dairy they are getting with cheese and yogurt are made from milk. Giving WCM is just the liquid form of the stuff. To me its the same.

Like anything else we eat, it has its place. To ban it from a child's diet is extreme in my opinion. Kids will naturally take less milk as they learn to take more solids into their diet. Drs are programming us to fear 'childhood obesity' at any cost and I just don't buy in. When DD was a baby juice was the devil and now its turning into WCM. The appropriate amount of milk (or juice or whatever) balanced with the appropriate amount of solids will equal a healthy diet and healthy habits. Banning anything from a diet (food allergy excluded) is a set-up for issues down the road.

Again, I respect everyone's choices and if WCM is not in the diet, whatever, but for me its a red herring and I am not biting.

I totally agree with this statement. I see so many people saying their kids will not have sweets, juice, milk, chocolate, french fries, etc. I feel like you can teach healthy eating habits and still allow for these things. It's all about moderation. Our society has no concept of portion control. I'm all for healthy eating, but it's okay to live a little.

Yes Yes This is what we do too.

kg_08 · August 2011

WCM is not a miracle drink by any means, but it DOES have good fats that are important for development. Now my DD doesn't like it that much and it's a struggle to get her to take even 8 oz per day, so we make sure she gets plenty of good fats and calcium in her diet with yogurts, cheeses, beans, peanut butter, and takes a daily multivitamin.

It's true that your LO can get what they need from their diet if they need to, but to say your LO SHOULDN'T get WCM is absurd, unless there's an allergy.

nosoup4u · August 2011

XcrisscrossX:
If this is for real...you need to find a new pedi

Why? It isn't bad advice, for all the reasons previous posters have listed. Like Snoopy said, not all cultures have milk as the center of their children's diets.

There's lots of good fats in other foods besides whole cow's milk - olive oil, butter, lard, avocado, fish are great for babies/toddlers/kids. My older son ate a lot of yogurt and cheese for his first two years, but never had milk as a regular part of his diet until he was about two (he was also nursing that whole time). I'm planning on doing the same with DS2.

susan1017:
I am all for personal choice when deciding what to feed our children as long it is appropriate and safe for them but I don't get the hang up on WCM. All the dairy they are getting with cheese and yogurt are made from milk. Giving WCM is just the liquid form of the stuff. To me its the same.

Yogurt and cheese aren't the same as WCM - they are fermented and/or aged, and the lactase (the sugar in milk) is broken down, so it's a lot easier to digest.

There are foods that are just plain bad for us - sugar is completely, 100% unnecessary for anyone's diet, period. (And I say this as a mom who does let my older kid have cake/cookies/ice cream, etc., and as someone who has a pretty big sweet tooth myself!).

wife1014 · August 2011

Only on the bump would there be a discussion about cows milk possibly being "bad" for us. Christ on a Cracker!

shakes · August 2011

wife1014:
Only on the bump would there be a discussion about cows milk possibly being "bad" for us. Christ on a Cracker!

Just a quick overview of why some people have issues with cows milk. While not a medical journal, it makes all the points in a concise easy to understand way. Just for information sake.

wife1014 · August 2011

shakes:

wife1014:
Only on the bump would there be a discussion about cows milk possibly being "bad" for us. Christ on a Cracker!

Just a quick overview of why some people have issues with cows milk. While not a medical journal, it makes all the points in a concise easy to understand way. Just for information sake.

I think you may be missing the point. Never before have I heard any of this mentioned. The people and their views on this board would have any mother, who is not confident with their decisions, go absolutely crazy. It's milk...

SnoopyLuv · August 2011

wife1014:
shakes:

wife1014:
Only on the bump would there be a discussion about cows milk possibly being "bad" for us. Christ on a Cracker!

Just a quick overview of why some people have issues with cows milk. While not a medical journal, it makes all the points in a concise easy to understand way. Just for information sake.

I think you may be missing the point. Never before have I heard any of this mentioned. The people and their views on this board would have any mother, who is not confident with their decisions, go absolutely crazy. It's milk...

Milk of another animal. Which we weren't designed to drink. Which most of the world can't drink and probably don't want to. We're not saying it's "bad" I'm just saying it's not for me. I don't get why that offends people. I used to drink milk no issue, it's just now I don't like to and don't want to give it to my child every day in a sippy cup. I don't get why that is so bothersome or alarming. Only in the US is this the norm.

wife1014 · August 2011

SnoopyLuv:
wife1014:
shakes:

wife1014:
Only on the bump would there be a discussion about cows milk possibly being "bad" for us. Christ on a Cracker!

Just a quick overview of why some people have issues with cows milk. While not a medical journal, it makes all the points in a concise easy to understand way. Just for information sake.

I think you may be missing the point. Never before have I heard any of this mentioned. The people and their views on this board would have any mother, who is not confident with their decisions, go absolutely crazy. It's milk...
Milk of another animal. Which we weren't designed to drink. Which most of the world can't drink and probably don't want to. We're not saying it's "bad" I'm just saying it's not for me. I don't get why that offends people. I used to drink milk no issue, it's just now I don't like to and don't want to give it to my child every day in a sippy cup. I don't get why that is so bothersome or alarming. Only in the US is this the norm.

Oh, I'm not offended at all. I really don't care who feeds what to their kid but I certainly find this argument about milk to be more than ridiculous.

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