Friday, July 13, 2007

Moolala

I'm just curious, does anyone know why it's okay for my 10-month-old dairy princess to chow on yogurt and cheese but not drink whole milk until 12 months? I'm confused by that (but it hasn't stopped me from giving her yog and cheese).
Posted by at
Labels: ,

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I asked our pediatrician about this too, and she gave me an excellent, perfect-sense answer that I totally can't remember right now. I think it has something to do with the enzymes present in yogurt and cheese that aren't in non-whole milk. Or maybe it's that they need all the good fats they can get for their little bodies to develop. Sorry I can't remember! I think that once I heard the answer, I was so satisfied that I just pushed it out of my memory to make room for other stuff. :)

July 13, 2007 at 12:26 PM
Chantel said...

It is all about the enzymes. The reason your baby isn't supposed to consume milk yet is that she doesn't yet have the ability to break down the milk. The yogurt and cheese on the other hand have had enzymes added to produce the milk and yogurt. They are easier for her to break down in her stomach because the process has already began when they made the cheese and yogurt.

July 13, 2007 at 1:10 PM
kristi said...

I agree with Missy. I gave my youngest milk at around 10 1/2 months. I didn't give him a lot and I would mix it with some formula if I had it. I nursed him, but my supply had REALLY slowed down by then and I too didn't want to do a lot of formula. For sure by 11 months I definitely gave whole milk. That was my choice of course so if you don't feel comfortable doing it then that is ok. I too asked my pediatrician about the milk thing and I too cannot remember what they told me. I do remember though thinking that the reason she gave didn't affect my baby so I wasn't to worried about it.

I hope that I didn't babble to much and that I made sense.

July 13, 2007 at 7:47 PM
Linz said...

This is all great info. I actually was thinking that I might start with the whole milk a few weeks early so I was glad to read about that from you Kristi and Missy. Thanks everyone!

July 13, 2007 at 7:51 PM
Liz said...

My pediatrician said that whole milk had a higher lactose content than cheese and yogurt. They're more processed and the lactose is lower so it's easier to digest. So the higher lactose in straight milk is more prone to allergies. If they're doing well on dairy then starting a little milk early (10-11) months should be fine but I wouldn't make big changes without asking my doctor first.

July 13, 2007 at 9:11 PM
Stephanie said...

I've wondered this too. Thanks for asking Linz, and thanks for the good info everyone!

July 14, 2007 at 11:23 PM
Amanda said...

One thing I read in "What to expect the first year" was that whole cows milk has too much sodium for small babies livers to handle. I thought that was interesting.

July 17, 2007 at 11:41 AM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)