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Can a 13-month old get enough nutrition from coconut milk?


Lyn1

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Hello!

I am wondering about giving coconut milk to my baby. Ideally, I would like to feed her all breast milk but I don't (and have never) produced enough. Previously, we supplemented with formula but we are now giving her cow's milk. I have reservations about this so I'm thinking of switching her to coconut milk. My question is, can she get what she needs from the coconut milk? She is a very picky eater and we have not gotten her to even try most foods.

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First to be clear: COCONUT MILK IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR FORMULA. Neither is cow milk or almond milk. not even close (although formula drives me crazy with all it's additives, etc. it is very carefully formulated and fortified).

That said, if your 13-month old is getting most of their nutrition from food (and your breast milk, of course), there isn't an issue if you don't want to offer cows milk. I would be careful not to give so much coconut milk that the baby isn't hungry for a variety of solid (or mashed) foods.

If she really isn't eating solids yet, supplement with the best formula you can find, or search out a milk bank to get some breast milk from another mother.

EDIT: I know some people swear by Raw milk as an option (again not a sub for fomula). I don't know enough about this though, so do some research and see how you feel.

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NO!

Coconut milk* is great stuff, but is not at all like animal milks in nutrient levels. Don't use it to substitute for milk as a major food stuff for a baby.

If you aren't giving her as much milk, better to add on some animal proteins, greens and nuts.

* That stuff in a milk carton labeled as coconut milk with the added vitamins and calcium is garbage. It may show nutrients, but it's cheap awful crap. It isn't a substitute for real milk either. Babies need real food.

Re: picky eaters Don't try and spoon feed her. Just plop some food of suitable texture/size on her tray and let her play with it herself. She'll experiment with it, rub it in her hair, throw it at you and get used to it by experimentation. It's a messy method, but so is spoon feeding. Giant hose-able plastic sheets on the floor help. If she doesn't eat it after a certain amount of time, clean up, then do it all again at your next meal. Try to be relaxed about it all. Ideally nurse before your family meal, then set her in her chair or in your lap so she sees everyone else eating while she plays with (and tastes) her food.

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I agree with Kayell on addressing the picky eater. At 13 months, you can offer finger foods. Think soft cooked carrots, chucks of sweet potatoes, well cooked broccoli and cauliflower, peas, very small pieces of chicken or fish (if she has some teeth). Chopped up hard boiled eggs or scrambled eggs were also some of my daughter's favorites at that age (she is 23 months now). Let her play with it, experiment with it. Many kids reject the mushy/pureed foods. Experiment with real food.

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Thanks for the info! I'm glad I asked b/c I think I misunderstood our pediatrician. She said to start giving the baby cow's milk. I thought she meant instead of formula! I guess she meant in addition to. I hadn't realized the cow's milk wasn't a substitute for formula. (eek!) I have some toddler formula I'll give her and I guess give her cow's milk or coconut milk with her meals? (BTW - I'm not crazy about the list of ingredients on the fomula either. I wish I would just make more.)

We do give her finger foods but she just plays with them and never puts any in her mouth. She will sometimes take purees from a spoon.

(Sorry, I guess this is getting beyond the scope of this forum but I do worry about the cow's milk since I read that it is so harmful.)

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Just wondering - how much were you supplementing when she was strictly on breastmilk with formula supplementation? If it was less than half her intake, I'm sure you actually DO have enough milk that if you breastfeed as much as she wants then you don't need to worry about giving cow's milk OR a substitute.

I had to supplement a bit, but I dropped it when I added solids. My supply stayed decent. When I went back to work when my daughter was 11 months I nursed her before work, pumped once at work, and then let her nurse as she wanted when I got home. She got a bottle of my milk once during the day and then just ate people food the rest of the time. She has always been really healthy.

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My daughter is 14 months and pretty much eating only "human food" right now. She does get a bottle of cow milk when she goes to sleep at night though. I had to quit BF'ing her b/c of medications last summer and she had been on formula ever since. I know cow milk isn't the best option, but I figure it's okay b/c we'll probably be weaning her off of it in the next few months. Since the formula was cow milk-based, she didn't have any problems tolerating the 'regular' milk. I would like her to be able to get to sleep without it sooner than later!!!

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Meg,

If you're giving your baby a bottle in bed, get her off it as soon as possible. The lengthy time that milk sugar is against the teeth with that kind of feeding can lead to tooth decay. It's even called baby bottle tooth decay.

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I was giving her about half breast milk and half formula. She doesn't seem to have a problem with cow's milk but I'd like to get her off it as soon as possible. I'm not sure it's healthy for kids to drink milk.(although I did). Also, she'll start daycare Ina few weeks and who knows what they'll giver her there.

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Hi Lyn!

First of all, congratulations to you for taking steps to create a healthy and successful environment for your daughter now. My girls were 1 and 2 when we first found this lifestyle, but I find myself wishing I could have learned all this sooner. As far as daycare goes, I've found that you have to step in and speak up for your daughter or she'll end up eating the same processed junk foods as the other kids. While I don't give my girls' school a laundry list of do's and don'ts, I do ask them to make their best effort to keep them gluten and dairy free. I do throw out the "sensitivity" word (not allergy, because that denotes a whole list of serious problems) as well. I have found that, while some folks need clarification about what they can and can't have, almost everyone is respectful of my wishes and does their genuine best to comply.

I hope that helps you!

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I was about to post a question along the same lines. My daughter is 19 months old and LOVES her cows milk. Looking back, obviously I wish I had done things differently (nursed longer and not introduced cows milk) but here we are now.

Should I just take the milk completely away and only offer water? She eats what we eat...eggs, avocado, some meats, veggies, fruit, and some non-paleo foods like pasta at times. I give her water too but she asks for milk all the time.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I was about to post a question along the same lines. My daughter is 19 months old and LOVES her cows milk. Looking back, obviously I wish I had done things differently (nursed longer and not introduced cows milk) but here we are now.

Should I just take the milk completely away and only offer water? She eats what we eat...eggs, avocado, some meats, veggies, fruit, and some non-paleo foods like pasta at times. I give her water too but she asks for milk all the time.

I never gave my child cow's milk,he went from breast to water and never looked back..I have always been very sceptical when it comes to mass produced cow's milk after having been a veggie for many years and knowing a lot about the cattle industry.

As it is,my child seems to have an issue with cow's milk and cheese anyway.It makes him fill with mucus and become itchy.

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I thought when they were off the formula at a year that meant any dependency on milk products. If your daughter is eating table food I would think coconut milk is ok. I had two kids who are allergic to milk and they never had any dairy type formula ever.

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While, in general, I tend to favor the cold turkey approach, I think that the "milk issue" is one where I tend to be a little softer. It's important to remember that most of our kids went from the breast/bottle of formula to a bottle of milk, not only for nutrition, but for comfort. Their little minds still tie those things together. I would do a weaning process if your kiddo is still emotionally attached to the bottle of milk. If they're table fed and drinking from a cup, I might be a little swifter in my removal. Move from 3 cups to 2, then from 2 to 1, then down to nothing at all.

Drinking coconut milk is fine for her, as a beverage, but she won't get the "nutritive value" out of it that her doc says she needs from cow's milk. The thing is, if she's eating table food and she eats baby sized versions of what you eat, she won't need any of that anyway ;0)

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  • 1 month later...

this is so interesting, i have a 23 month old (wow, my baby is getting bigger anwyays wahhhh) she LOVES her bottle before bed, comfort and probably just loves it milk=sugar etc etc. i breastfed her utnil she was 13 months old and when she finally took a bottle from my husband i was DONE with pumping etc so on to cows milk she went, not that i liked the idea of cows milk (just never have) but i needed her off me onto anything else. would goats milk be better? I too could start to wean her onto something else but not sure what, i guess she no longer requires a bottle at bed but for comfort maybe i could offer almond milk, assuming i make my own....has anyone worked out the cost of making your own almond milk vs. buying pre made full of chemicals almond milk?

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I am dealing with this same issue (or will be in about 5 months). I have a 7 month old that is on nutramigen formula which is for milk allergies. Although she may have grown out of the allergy by age one I don't want to do cow's milk since we are paleo now and don't do much dairy. My 4 year old son drinks coconut milk and that is what I planned to give her but it is the So Delicious brand that is processed, (not like I have time to break open a coconut everyday and make fresh coconut milk). But I question the stuff they add to it. I remember with my son the dr. said whole cow's milk because they need the fat for their brains to be healthy. There is fat in coconut milk so which one would be better? If she is eating the same foods we eat (Paleo foods) I would think she is getting the nutrients she needs from food but as we know kids are sometime picky and don't always eat everything they are offered.

Kayell, I am interested in what you said about the nutrient levels in milk from animals. What would you do if you were in my situation? (wasn't able to breast feed) At a year the doctor's say to take them off of formula and do food and cow's milk. Obviously if my daughter has a milk allergy it won't even be a question but I don't want to give her the coconut milk thinking I'm doing a good thing when really it would be better for me to just do organic milk (what I did with my son) TIA

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  • 10 months later...

Hi all!  In my opinion, the only milk that should be used to provide a majority of nutrients is breast milk.  

Coconut milk has plenty of healthy fats and micronutrients, but no protein. However, your kiddos should be getting plenty of nutrients (macro and micro) from food at that point - even if they're picky.  There's no need for cow's milk, if you ask me. My kiddos never drank cows milk and they were strong and healthy, even pre-paleo :)

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When my oldest daughter turned one and we weaned off formula, I bought low pasteurized, non-homogenized milk from a local farm. The store bought milk loses most of its nutrients when it goes through those processes. In my opinion that is the best option if you need to do milk and want to stick with cows milk. My oldest kept getting UTI's (6 from 4 weeks to 1 1/2). After consulting with my very knowledgeable about foods pharmacist and my chiro, they both recommended switching to almond milk. Even though there are bad ingredients, we use the silk brand bc it's GMO free and it's her favorite. I've tried making homemade almond milk. While the whole process wasn't too hard, I can't financially manage to purchase as many almonds as needed. One recipe made 2 cups of milk, that she didn't even like. And since switching she has had no UTI's. Sorry it got long and winded, just wanted to share our experience.

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