Goat milk

[Stephiehutchinson]

Here's a little back story:

I planned on breastfeeding my daughter until she was at least 2. Due to her horrible biting we kind of both weaned last week at 15 months. I pumped at work for a year and she strictly got breastmilk only. We started baby led weaning at 6 months but she was always more interested in milk which I'm great with. (I definitely went by the "food before one, just for fun" thing) She had a severe tongue tie cut at 8 months so my supply has never been a lot but enough to never supplement. Anyway, at a year I started giving her raw goat's milk from a local farm and she loves it. Reading some posts and threads on here make me feel like it was a bad decision. She has only ever had eggs, veggies, fruits, fish, almonds and occasionally meat. She's never had cow's milk or anything made with it. She's not the biggest eater yet. I read that they recommended coconut milk above everything else. I'm super bummed because I research the heck out of everything and thought I was making the best decision with the goat's milk. Has anyone used coconut milk for their toddler?

[missmary]

Here's the thing: everybody's context is different, and sometimes the best choice for once person is not the best choice for someone else.

 

For grown adults to be honest: there isn't really much need for a cows milk substitute. If you want creamy, coconut milk can give you that in a relatively nutritious package (compared to say, hemp milk or almond milk), but it's really there for flavor and texture.

 

Some people who can digest regular milk choose to include it occasionally or often and that's great if that's what works for them. Some people find while they can't digest regular cows milk, they can handle fermented varieties or goats milk, so that's what they include. Also fine. Goats milk tends to be easier to digest and has less lactose than cows milk, so that makes it more likely to be tolerated.

 

It sounds like your daughter is tolerating it well and thriving? If so, rest easy in your decision. If things change and she starts to get rashes or stomach aches, etc., you could trial eliminating the milk for a month and reintroducing to see if that was the culprit. While doing that, I would recommend giving water as the beverage. Let her fill up on more solid food so she is getting a wide variety of nutrients vs. relying on coconut milk which, while it contains good fats, is not balanced enough to be the primary food for anyone. If you feel she is not eating enough regular food, take a look at some natural formula recipes that would cover the bases nutritionally a bit better. Here is one resource for that: http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/formula-homemade-baby-formula/#vgmf

[Stephiehutchinson]

Thank you!!!