Weaning Question

[WannaBeRaw]

Guys I really need some advise

I have a beautiful baby girl who just turned 1 year old. I am still breastfeeding but I need to start weaning her. She does take breast milk from a bottle at daycare and she will drink water or juice from a sippy cup. I don't want to give her cow's milk and I have read that soy milk may not be the best alternative for her. I have tried almond milk and she was not impressed. Can anybody give me suggestions for milk alternatives. I want to make sure she gets all the calcium, vitamin d and other nutrients she needs.

Thanks in advance for your help

[Revvell]

Not having children I'm wondering why not give her various blended veggie and fruit juices?

How did you make almond milk? I make it w/out any additives yet others here add dates, vanilla and/or agave to pleasant it up.

Revvell

[Helen Of Tennessee]

My grandson went from breast milk to just water. That is all he drinks. We try to get him out into the sun for vitamin D.

It's my understanding that you can get all the calcium you need from fruits and veggies. Now if you are going to eat animal foods, that will pull the calcium out of your bones as does sodium (salt).

My grandson is 2yrs. 4months and at his last doctor's visit he was extremely healthy. The doctor (naturopath) was very impressed in how healthy he was.

Here are a number of articles on calcium that might help with ideas of what foods are high in calcium:

Alissa Cohen
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3708

Cow’s Milk is for Calves
by Michael Dye
http://www.all-creatures.org/cb/a-cowsmilk.html

Should you drink your milk? & Milk and Calcium
http://chrysalisyog.homestead.com/milk.html

Why dairy products won’t help you maintain healthy bones
http://www.milksucks.com/osteo.html

[WannaBeRaw]

Revvell-- Your answer just made me realized just how brainwashed I have been into thinking that my child just had to have some kind of milk like substance. Of course I can give her blended fruit and veggie juices. I was just so focused on milk that I didn't even think of it. And I usually use agave to sweeten my almond milk but I think I will experiment with my recipe, maybe I can find a recipe that she will like.

Helen Of Tennessee-- Thank you for posting the links. I have been getting some not so gentle pressure from my daughter's daycare and her pediatrician regarding my no cow's milk stance. The links really helped me to educate myself so that I can easily answer any detractors.

You Guys Rock!!

[Veganmama]

I was reading in Kate Woods book that 1 Tablespoon of sesame seeds has eight times the calcium of a glass of cows milk, there is also another quote in there somewhere about Carrot juice having more calcium glass for glass then cow's milk i'll have to find that.

[truthseeker]

Yes sesame seeds...but unhulled.

WannaBeRaw....don't forget that mammals wean their young when they have cut their 1st molars. In humans this is around the age of 6, hence the world wide average age of weaning children being between the ages of 4 and 6.

So thinking on your 1st response/instinct to give your baby a "milk like substance".....I would like to bring to your attention that it maybe your motherly instinct to fill baby's need for fats (along with the calcium) that you are looking to replace.

[lavendarJ]

Just a thought...I was just thinking why not continue to give her the breast milk if you are still producing. It might be a transition process depending on how attached she is; I was just thinking that if you are concerned about the milk issue then just try to transition her to taking her breast milk in a sippy cup at home. My cousin is still breast feeding and her little girl is now 16 months. She is working on making the switch and is trying out the sippy cup. Her little girl no longer desires the bottle and aside from breast feeding ocassionally, she wants everything from the cup.

[adrienne]

i have tried sesame milk & almond milk with mediocre reaction but i'm still trying!!!
i soak organic unhulled sesame seeds for 1 to 2 hours, then blend them with water and dates(many), then strain thru a cheesecloth
i make the almond milk the same way but soak the almonds for longer
do not give the sesame milk every day b/c sesames contain oxalic acid which can block the absorption of iron and calcium, suprisingly enough, so moderation is good
i like to rotate all the milks, i use even store bought rice a few times/week
good luck! i'm struggling with the same situation! my 17 month old WAS drinking 6oz of "green juice" every day until she got a stomach bug at the end of dec., now won't drink any...so very sad am I!!!
us raw moms must stay strong!!!

[Amberly]

I would not give an infant nut milks. I'm not sure how applicable that is to 100% raw babies, but I would not take a chance. It seems to me, no expert, that since you have breast fed for a while, hopefully as long as possible, (I would prefer to keep them on until they wean themselves), that juices would be appropriate and safe. Just be careful doing anything too radical or you may end up with a law suit and lose the child and have them live with a really SAD family. Know what I mean?
Good Luck.

[karenisraw]

My vegan raw doctor said to let the baby nurse until nature takes it's course, between 1-2 years. Just thought you may want that tidbit of info.

[WannaBeRaw]

Thank you guys

For your responses. I have been thinking and I realize that I set an arbitrary deadline for weaining my daughter based on Other people's expectations. I think that I will try to give her a wide variety of nut milks, seed milks (especially the sesame seed) juices and smoothies in her cup, but since I am still producing breastmilk, I will trust nature to take its course and let her wean in her own time.
I just ordered the book Raw Kids and I hope to learn more about making sure she gets all the nutrients she needs.

You know it is kinda sad. Thinking about Amberley's comments, I seriously doubt that most SAD mothers worry so much about what their children are eating and I have never heard about the state taking away a child because the child is obese and unhealthy due to SAD.

We have gotten so far away from eating food in its natural state that we have a hard time trusting nature to do what nature has always done- Feed and nourish us

truthseeker--- The molars are the flat teeth in the back of the mouth. Yes??

[Boysenberry]

Hi,

My son is 16 months old. He weaned himself from the breast when his aunt and I went raw in August. He literally popped off the breast, crawled over to his aunt and demanded her honeydew and cantaloupe, he never went back. He still wanted the bottle. The Doctor reccommended formula I was giving him to supplement my breast milk was giving him diarhea and a horrible rash, no matter how quickly I got the diaper off.

I tried nut milks and he didn't really like any. What I decided to do was to make sure he was eating a balanced raw diet, green smoothies and fruit, plain water in a cup, even some soaked grains.

He is growing like a weed and is very intelligent. He still wants a bottle for bedtime, I put in organic gently warmed herbal tea. Blueberry is his favorite, but he will drink chammomile and peppermint. I sweeten it with agave or raw honey.

I want you to know, he chose raw before I did. He declined Dad's sausage and pancakes and devoured my raw oats and green smoothies. Victoria Boutenko talks about the many many nutrients of greens that totally changed my view about being raw. Greens have iron, calcium, even protein that we weren't taught about in school. They are a wealth of health and mixed with enough fruit, sweet and tasty. :D

You can do it!! As far as CPS taking away my children, I don't talk up my food preferences in front of people that might get some funny notion about nutrition when they haven't done the research. Including my mother.

Sami feel free to PM me. samiwinners@hotmail.com

[Boysenberry]

By the way, my 16 month old didn't get teeth until he was one. He got a lot at one time when they did come in and there are four molars back there. Six years old for molars? Adult ones perhaps?

[truthseeker]

Yup.

Permanent Teeth Eruption Chart :


http://www.ada.org/public/topics/documents/chart_eruption_perm.pdf

[Veganmama]

I just wanted to add that i'm still breastfeedig my 3 year old, and when i moved back to my home town last year i wastn't to keen on feeding her in public anymore. Not that i personally have any problem with it it's just that i wasn't strong enough to take the stares and the comments. So i started expressing and now i give her brestmilk in a cup when she wants it. I also put it on my older daughters (4) cereal.

[.: jennifer :.]

hey wannaberaw - that's great you were able to breastfeed for the first year. how's it going now? did you figure something out?

I did what i think people call "babyled extended breastfeeding" which just basically means i breastfed on-demand whenever and for however long my kiddo's wanted to. my oldest was around 18 months when he wanted to stop and my youngest - i called him my little barnacle - was around 3 and a half when he wanted to stop.

i never worried about them not getting calcium, vitamin d, etc from milk because by the time they quit nursing on their own they were on to lots of wholesome foods which had good nutrients and minerals in them - broccoli, greens, bell peppers, etc and from what i understand being out in the sunshine even for 20 minutes gives you the vitamin d you need...

just look up those calcium-rich foods and figure out ways to introduce them to your daughter and she'll let you know what she likes and what she doesn't like. or perhaps just continue to put your breastmilk in cups for her so she can continue to drink and you can continue to receive the benefits of lactating. there are some great benefits to that!

have fun!

[Boysenberry]

Jennifer,

i love this advice. How wonderful. Thanks for expressing what I was feeling. ;)

[WannaBeRaw]

For as long as I can and as long as my daughter wants.

Thank you to everone who posted with your words of wisdom and your encouragement. Sometimes I feel like the Lone Ranger because I don't know anyone personally who is eating raw, or even breastfeeding for that matter. I had a time of weakness because I pump at work during the day and while my family and co-workers were very supportive at first, now that she is a year old they are starting to question the breastfeeding. Also my daughters daycare has informed me that when she starts to eat out of their cafeteria, unless she has a doctors note in her file saying that she can have soy milk, they WILL offer her cow's milk-- (Cow's milk and Soy Milk are the only choices as far as they are concerned). So I was scrambling trying to figure out an alternative to the cow's milk that will be good for my daughter. Not to mention my own programming that children must have milk. I have been well and truly brainwashed by the TV commercials and the food charts they started teaching us back in elementary school that emphasize the importance of dairy.

My plan is to let her tell me when she is ready to stop breastfeeding, to eat healthy and raw myself so that I can be a great example for her, to exert my authority as her parent and insist that she have the foods I want her to have-- whatevery I have to do ( Dr. note, homeschool, home based daycare- whatever). And to keep reading, studying, learning everything I can about the benefits of the raw food lifestyle so that I am empowered. I want to be bold and matter - of - fact about it when someone questions me or challenges my lifestyle or my choices for my child. I am usually very confident and bold But raw is just so new to me, it is hard to be confident about it when I am still dealing with my own learning curve.

Thank Goodness I found this site. The things I have learned on this site and the generous hearted people here have been a great source of support and encouragement.

I will say it again. You guys really are wonderful.

[Punky]

For as long as I can and as long as my daughter wants.

Thank you to everone who posted with your words of wisdom and your encouragement. Sometimes I feel like the Lone Ranger because I don't know anyone personally who is eating raw, or even breastfeeding for that matter. I had a time of weakness because I pump at work during the day and while my family and co-workers were very supportive at first, now that she is a year old they are starting to question the breastfeeding. Also my daughters daycare has informed me that when she starts to eat out of their cafeteria, unless she has a doctors note in her file saying that she can have soy milk, they WILL offer her cow's milk-- (Cow's milk and Soy Milk are the only choices as far as they are concerned). So I was scrambling trying to figure out an alternative to the cow's milk that will be good for my daughter. Not to mention my own programming that children must have milk. I have been well and truly brainwashed by the TV commercials and the food charts they started teaching us back in elementary school that emphasize the importance of dairy.

My plan is to let her tell me when she is ready to stop breastfeeding, to eat healthy and raw myself so that I can be a great example for her, to exert my authority as her parent and insist that she have the foods I want her to have-- whatevery I have to do ( Dr. note, homeschool, home based daycare- whatever). And to keep reading, studying, learning everything I can about the benefits of the raw food lifestyle so that I am empowered. I want to be bold and matter - of - fact about it when someone questions me or challenges my lifestyle or my choices for my child. I am usually very confident and bold But raw is just so new to me, it is hard to be confident about it when I am still dealing with my own learning curve.

Thank Goodness I found this site. The things I have learned on this site and the generous hearted people here have been a great source of support and encouragement.

I will say it again. You guys really are wonderful.


I am so glad to hear that you will continue breastfeeding!
Don't give into pressure from others that really don't know.
It's funny, when I had my 1st son (almost 9 now) they ONLY recommended
breastfeeding till age 1; with my 2nd son (now 5 1/2)
they (meaning pediatricians) recommended breastfeeding till age 2...which
I did...but I do believe extended nursing is better for the child
and a natural process. I regret not continuing nursing till they weaned themselves...I actually miss nursing...You only have that type of bonding
and closeness with your
child once, and they DO grow up so fast....

In regards to your daycare; it seems to me that you are the ONE that are
paying them; shouldn't they cater to your wishes on what she she
be offered to drink at lunch. I mean I wouldn't expect them to purchase
other things to offer, but why not offer the child what you PROVIDE for
them to offer...that's what my son's pre-school does. I provide ALL his
food and snacks and did not have to get a medical note about food allergies, etc...but my son goes to a pre-school that does not provide food except snacks and in the summer we do sack lunches. Is their certain laws that insist they provide milk?
Best wishes to you on your raw journey and
being a good mama.
Oh, some good transitional drinks for your daughter to have
in the sippy cup would be (and I am just repeating what others have
already stated), fresh juices-fruits and veggies, nut mylks (my kids love
brazil nut milk, but the sesame has the most calcium), and purified water.
That's pretty much all my kids drink.
Oh and breast milk.

Providing healthy food and drink for her at this young age will develop her
taste buds to accept healthy food as she grows up.
My friends kids (not being judgemental, just an observation) are
very picky and not willing to try new foods that deviate from
their sugar/artificial coloring/chemical laden foods; they also have mild learning
difficulties in school that I believe would improve
with diet. On a play date once I provided fruit leathers for snacks and they wouldn't eat them while my kids gobbled them up.
These were not even raw, just from Whole Foods Markets.
They are like this with everything. Their mother complains they are
so picky, but they were NEVER exposed to all the beautiful whole foods available so it is foreign to them.
anyways I disgress...
your on the right track!
glad your here to join our raw group.

[Punky]

hey wannaberaw - that's great you were able to breastfeed for the first year. how's it going now? did you figure something out?

I did what i think people call "babyled extended breastfeeding" which just basically means i breastfed on-demand whenever and for however long my kiddo's wanted to. my oldest was around 18 months when he wanted to stop and my youngest - i called him my little barnacle - was around 3 and a half when he wanted to stop.

i never worried about them not getting calcium, vitamin d, etc from milk because by the time they quit nursing on their own they were on to lots of wholesome foods which had good nutrients and minerals in them - broccoli, greens, bell peppers, etc and from what i understand being out in the sunshine even for 20 minutes gives you the vitamin d you need...

just look up those calcium-rich foods and figure out ways to introduce them to your daughter and she'll let you know what she likes and what she doesn't like. or perhaps just continue to put your breastmilk in cups for her so she can continue to drink and you can continue to receive the benefits of lactating. there are some great benefits to that!

have fun!


I agree, well said Jennifer!

[greeninlosangeles]

No you are definetely not alone breastfeeding toddler - my son is almost 2.5 and he is nursing very eagerly and is very healthy little guy. Go to La Leche League local meeting and you will meet a lot of moms breastfeeding toddlers, although, I can not promise they will be raw.
As for cups and bottles - your baby will loose some benefits - the best milk is fresh. Not to mention sucking is much harder from the breat and that encourages proper jaw development - less chances your baby will have bad teeth alignment.
Greens have tons of calcium, so calcium would be my last concern. But breastmilk is much more than calcium - it has over 200 unknown substances, which are very important for baby and not just the first year - the average breatfeeding time in the world is 4 years and these are just because we count countries like ours. It is very normal for kids to drink mother's milk till 7 years or even longer.
You are not alone!

[truthseeker]

When I was pregnant with my 1st I thought..."I'll give breastfeeding a try". When my baby and I fell into the ever loving bond of our nursing relationship I said..."Ok, I'll nurse her till 1 years of age, that seems the norm". Well I had 3 babies total and have been lactating for a total of 8 years. My little boy just weaned himself towards the end of October last year. His nursing sessions were far and few between as they grew farther apart more and more untill he just didn't ask for it again. He came down with a low grade temp at the end of November (a day or two after Thanksgiving :rolleyes: ) and asked for "Mommy Milk". I was taken back a bit, but never the less gave it to him. I asked him if he got any from me and he said yes. He was 4 1/2 years old. That was our last time nursing...and I knew it. I sat him in my lap and cradled his head as we sat on our couch and he looked up into my eyes. It was over in about 20 seconds. I will remember it for the rest of my life. My daughters got to see me nurse their siblings. My son will never nurse a baby, but he will remember (I think) some of his nursing experience, to arm him with the strength in knoweldge for the basics of life for his future wife and children.

What a wonderful gift you are giving to your child.

[WannaBeRaw]

Truthseeker: What an awesome experience you had with your 4 1/2 year old. And what a great example you set for your children. I truly believe that breastmilk is the best substance to give your babies. And breastfeeding does create an incredible bond with your baby. I belive on some level, your son will always "remember" that moment.

greeninlosangeles: I have checked and there are no La Leche meetings in my area (maybe I will look into starting one). And I know that she does lose some benefits of the breastfeeding when I have to put her milk in her bottles. But I work during the day so bottles of breastmilk are the best option for us. I do nurse (no bottles) at night and on the weekends.


Punky: I agree with you, I know that I will miss breastfeeding when my dd does decide to wean. And her daycare is part of some government run food program. In order for them to get paid for the food they provide, they have to adhere to the government regulations about what foods they offer. The govenment has decided that milk is a necessity. I did point out to the daycare director that my daughter is African American and a huge percentage of minority children are lactose intolerant, and that is when they told me that her pediatrician would have to provide them a note stating that she should not be offered cow's milk. Even if I pack her lunch everyday (and that is what I will have to do if she is going to stay at this facility) if she sees the other children drinking cow's milk and she asks for it, even though I have packed her meal and her drink, they will give her the cow's milk unless I have a Dr. note saying she should not have it. My word and my wishes as her parent are not good enough. And this is not just at this daycare, the policy is the same at all of the licenced daycare centers in our area.

[.: jennifer :.]

truthseeker - your post brought tears to my eyes! how lovely. what a wonderful wonderful thing to share.

[Rawkinlocs]

awwww, Truthseeker!! That was so beautiful...I'm over hearing tearing up right along with Jennifer!

I am still nursing my 3 year old and as you stated, the sessions are getting less and less and the time he's on is less and less. He will wean himself just as my younger daughter did when she was 2 1/2. I weaned my first two earlier due to succombing to pressure from others who insisted it was "time" to wean at 1 year old . :rolleyes: ...shame on me for allowing others to dictate that to me!

[truthseeker]

So glad to hear that my experiences are able to touch others as all of your wonderfully shared experiences have touched me. :)

WannaBeRaw, your daughter is so fortunate to have a Mother who is willing and able to be the "WARRIOR MOTHER" that it takes to be in this day and age. Brovo to you.