( Toddlers Milk Intake) Also Crib Angled Sponge Things/in-law Crisis

Hi C.,
You have gotten some good advice here. I just wanted to add one thing that may help appease your MIL. You can always call your doctor's office and ask what the "ideal" milk intake is at your daughter's stage of development. I never hesitate to call my dr's throughout the year. And they have nurses on call for this, so maybe this can add some ammo for you to support your theory and put the MIL's requests at ease. And you can be reassured as well that you are doing everything right! Lots of luck and I'm sure your daughter is a happy healthy baby!

As long as your doctor is not concerned, try not to worry about it. I also have a 16 month old who is tiny for her age (weight is 10% and height is 25%). My son, now 3, was also small as an infant/early toddler but now is in the 50th percentile. While I know its difficult to take your mother-in-law's comments that your daughter is small, trust your gut, if you feel she is doing well & her doctor is not concerned, then she is doing well. Our doctor recommends infants/toddlers to have approx. 24oz of whole milk per day. Best of luck to you.

you are fine with her milk intake, If there is a problem with her weight try adding some other proteins into her diet. It's whats in the milk not the milk itself that you should worry about. As long as she is getting good protein, calcium etc etc, she is fine. If YOU are concerned then just call the dr and ask they wont make you come in for a visit just to ask a question.

I agree with you. If you want your child to gain weight she should take in more food calories, not fluid calories. Too much milk intake will make them eat less food (because they are filling up on milk), and it puts them at risk for Iron Deficiency Anemia. Your child is old enough where she should be getting most of her calories and nutrients from food, not milk.
According to the AAP they only need about 16 ounces. I know kids who do not even drink that much, maybe only 6-8 ounces, but they supplement with yogurt and other sources of calcium/protein. Remember, cows milk is not a magic food that kids need. Ultimately it is the calcium, protein and fat that they need, and they can get these things from other food sources.

I just read an article on milk intake in Parentign magazine. they say 32 oz is too much for any child. 16 to 24 oz is plenty.

http://www.parenting.com/article/Toddler/Recipes--Nutriti...

I can understand your frustration on this one. In terms of the "spongie thing" I think you could take it out whenever you want - unless you are using it for a medical reason and then I would check with the doc. If he is a healthy baby, I wouldn't think he would not even "need" it. Our daughter never used one of those, unless she was sick and then it was still only for a week or so - on and off.

For the milk intake, my first question would be...how much milk does your daughter WANT to drink? Forcing milk on her is not going to be the answer because that will just upset her and cause a power struggle. Given that, I would also ask how much juice she is drinking. If she is drinking a lot of juice and doesn't drink much milk, she is probably filling up on juice. Having said this, our daughter has never been a big milk drinker either, and the only other thing she has is water. She is in the 25% for weight and our doc is perfectly happy because she has always been in the 25% for weight. As long as she is growing, that is what really matters. I also agree with another poster that commented on the nutrients are what are important and not necessarily the cow's milk itself. There are a lot of people who will argue that cow's milk is not all that healthy - but that is a different discussion for another day.

More milk is not going to hurt her, but it also is not necessary to load her up on it thinking that she needs it to gain weight. If your MIL is looking for increased calorie intake you can always add other "good" fats to her diet like olive oil, full-fat yogurt, and cheeses. That will serve the purpose of the calcium and the added calories.

Good luck!