Skim milk!? Before 1!?

rapaulson · February 2013

Just got back from my 9 mo checkup and my pedi blew my mind. To start, I totally trust her. I enjoy that she's generally very laid back, in the "do what works best for you mentality." So I'm not looking for people to flame her, or me for trusting her....I'm just wondering if anyone else's pedi has told them this same thing...here goes:

Today I asked her about how/when to make the switch to whole cow's milk. She said there's no need to EVER give wcm. Apparently the latest discussion amongst the pediatrician world has said kids can just have a couple of glasses of skim milk a day after 1 as long as they're getting well balanced meals and getting their vitamin D and calcium from other things, like fortified cereal, green leafy veggies, yogurt (low-fat is fine), etc. There's so much obesity in kids and the idea of giving whole milk goes back to a time when kids were up at 5am working on the farm. No need to fatten them up anymore. And she said I could even start giving cows milk during the day now while I'm at work if I don't want to worry about pumping. (My supply has been struggling with pumping and my stash has been dwindling). We still bf 2 times before work and 2 times after and I have a big healthy boy, who eats solids like a champ. So she said if I wanted, skim milk during the day is fine. It's up to me. I'm going to try to keep giving bm anyway because I know that's truly best with all the antibodies etc. But that was kind of a load off to know I won't have to use formula for the last month before he's one. And this whole discussion made me go "what!?"

Is my pedi alone on this one, or has anyone else heard of this new trend?

joshandpanda · February 2013

our pedi has not mentioned it to us yet, but I guess the whole 'wcm' thing kind of makes sense to me... where it was given when kids did do a lot more active things than they do these days...

sorry i wasn't any help in this though... Im now curious what other pedi's are saying...

bellelamb · February 2013

No I've never heard that. Especially since its the amino acids that help build kids brains that is important in wcm. You can substitute other milks breast milk, almond, goat, soy, or a lot of other whole milk foods like yogurts and cheeses but I'd do some more research ask more questions before skipping wcm all together.

Edit to add... I've been told that even with older kids who are picky eaters like all kids will go though phases of, the extra fats and amino acids are important are important for awhile. I won't even put my 8 year old on skim milk, we cut fat in other places.

kgauntt · February 2013

Well, my pedi is pretty strict about whole milk after one, but I honestly don't agree with him. So, I'm no help really. I've been leaning more towards almond milk, but really haven't decided yet. I'm pretty torn on what to give her. Part of me just wants to do whole milk because it's the normal thing to do.. but on the other hand, my family is full of health nuts begging me not to do that. I wish my supply wasn't suffering so I could just do breast milk until 2, but I know that isn't going to be possible.

selockar · February 2013

I have never heard that. Our pedi says to introduce wcm at 11 months. DS1 is 3.5 and still on wcm, but he also has trouble gaining weight. I would do more research.

stemms8810 · February 2013

I haven't heard that one before but then again things change all the time. I just had my LO's 9 month appt and she told us about a week before his 12 month visit to start giving him whole milk for one bottle/sippy per day to see how he tolerates it. I understand the obesity issue for sure but maybe 1 or 2% would be better?

tjkdlhb · February 2013

I've never heard that. I thought the reason for whole milk was because of brain growth.

It is recommended in the handouts here to start introducing it slowly anywhere from 9-12 months. We've given her a small amount of WCM in a bottle a couple of times... but I'd say she's probably only had about 4-5 ounces total since we've been giving it to her (about 2 weeks). She likes it but only sips it. She still loves her boobie.

picklesx · February 2013

I have never heard of that. Regardless of their level of activity babies are still developing and need all of the nutrients in whole fat dairy. It is important for necessary fatty brain tissue and all that jazz.

rapaulson · February 2013

theresat858:
Milk isn't even necessary if they are getting nutrients from a diverse range of solids.

I think that was my pedi's main point. Of course, it is a lot easier to give bm as long as possible than to worry about LO getting the right balance/amount of solids - which actually end up in our dog's belly rather than LO's belly at least half the time!

littleredfish · February 2013

bellelamb:
No I've never heard that. Especially since its the amino acids that help build kids brains that is important in wcm. You can substitute other milks breast milk, almond, goat, soy, or a lot of other whole milk foods like yogurts and cheeses but I'd do some more research ask more questions before skipping wcm all together. Edit to add... I've been told that even with older kids who are picky eaters like all kids will go though phases of, the extra fats and amino acids are important are important for awhile. I won't even put my 8 year old on skim milk, we cut fat in other places.

Um yeah..this. The fats in milk are "good" fats that help with the developing brain. Obesity isn't a concern especially at this age if you are feeding him well and excercise is key for kids anyway. I'd be pretty suprised if any kid became OBESE by drinking milk. I'd be just as confused as you and probably pass over this advice regardless if my doc gave it to me.

mamathompson7 · February 2013

I feel like my pedi has been pretty liberal so far as far as food goes, starting any type of fruit veggie at 4 months (all of my friends were told to wait until 6), but I asked her about switching to milk at our 9 month appt b/c he seems to hate formula now, and she is very firm on not starting until 1 year because switching before that has been known to cause anemia.

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