Breastmilk - Fort Worth,TX

I agree with the other posters, that you should NOT stop breastfeeding, as long as you and your son are willing and able! In my case, there did come a time when my milk production was no longer able to keep up with my DD's nutritional needs, but that meant that we ADDED other foods, NOT that we took away the breastmilk! As you know, most kids your son's size who are still breastfeeding--and there are plenty of them, and they're lucky, healthy kids!--are eating a lot of regular foods, AS WELL as getting breastmilk. You may want to discuss with your doctor (or, as others have suggested, I suspect you may want to get another one!) what else you might need to ADD to your son's diet, but by no means should you take away the breastmilk! GL, and God Bless!

My son is 15 months old and his diet is 98% breastmilk. He never even had a bite of food until he was 13 1/2 months old. I plan on breastfeeding him until he's probably 4 or whenever he weans himself without my assistance at all. Breast is best! Pediatricians, even though they won't admit it, are not all that knowledgeable on breastmilk and general nutrition. Their medical training taught them how to perform procedures and prescribe medications- not how to live so that you won't need procedures and medication. Please keep breastfeeding for as long as you can, you're obviously doing a great job so far!

Get a new doctor!

As the previous poster said, breastmilk is constantly changing to meet your baby's needs. The World Health Organization recommends breast feeding for AT LEAST 2 years! If your baby is growing and is healthy, why would there be a reason to change? If your baby ever stopped thriving on breastmilk alone, the answer would be to SUPPLEMENT with the tube feedings - not do them instead of breastfeeding. That is rediculous. I'm not a breastfeeding nazi, and especially not an extended breastfeeding nazi by any means, but I think especially considering your situation, continuing to breastfeed your child is so very important. Good luck in your decision. Just listen to your mommy gut and do what feels right to you.

It never loses it's nutrients. Breast milk is constantly changing to meet a growing baby's needs.

Hi G.,

Every doctors opinior is almost always different when it comes to the length in time of breastfeeding.
I've heard that BF for a year is great and up to 2 yrs is even better.
IF I was in your situation and I had the choice to tube feed or BF, I would BF. Breastmilk is ALWAYS going to be nutritional and healthy for your child no matter what age he or she is. You may want to get a different doctor or second opinion to back up what you feel is best.
Take care and best wishes!

I agree with other posters that the solution is not to stop nursing. I think if it were me I would attempt to increase teh amount of solids that I was trying in addition.

Here is some good information on nursing toddlers: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html. It even addresses a very similar issue to the one you're having. The website www.kellymom.com has a ton of great breastfeeding info; you might want to explore the site.

Breastmilk is always best! But, the mother's diet is also important to ensure this.

You don't mention your son's special need, but he can be negatively impacted by foods in your diet (especially dairy, wheat and soy) if he has a sensitive system and neurological issues. For example, a GF/CF diet is very helpful for kids on the Autism spectrum. Also, many Down's kids have celiac (gluten intolerance) and it's not uncommon for CF kids. And, actually, I don't think I'm aware of a single problem that a GF/CF diet wouldn't be helpful (i.e., any neurological issue is often helped by this diet from everything from the most severe Autism to things like dyslexia).

The gluten molecules/antigens can be passed in breastmilk - I discussed this with a top pediatric GI doctor (both my sons are celiac and have dairy allergies). Very few (if any) conventional doctors are at all knowledgeable about the impact of diet on health issues - they get one course in nutrition, which actually doesn't deal with negative health impacts, but rather is the ABCs. And, unless the doctor is proactive in learning more in this area, they never well. All their required continuing education courses are funded by big Pharma and are almost entirely focused on drug solutions for symptoms versus looking at how nutrition and supplements can really help. And, just for clarication, I do absolutely believe that there is a place for Rx drugs, I just believe that basic nutritional solutions should first be considered.

I would trust your instincts. You are still providing your son lots of immune support and important nutrients for the brain by breastfeeding. I breastfed my sons for 2.5-3.5 years and in hindsight that dramatically reduced the severity of their celiac disease. You do need to make sure that you're eating a good diet (very little sugar and processed foods and organic as much as possible), with lots of healthy fats, B vitamins, iron, etc. And, it might still be useful to give your son some supplements and make sure they've tested his ferritin, B12, folate and minerals like calcium and magnesium. The latter is also really, really important for the nervous system. B12 is very important as well.

So, my recommendation (based on dealing with my sons who we later learned had celiac) is to continue breastfeeding and the babyfood. Mom's almost always know what's best and the best doctors agree.