Help! Friend was told to feed cows milk from store to infant.

mrs.H · #1 10/09/12, 09:09 AM

Hi all, my friend from church has a pre-term son who is now about 5 months old. He has had eating and growing issues. I have given her milk from my ND recently, and one of her doctors is recommending she mix it with cow's milk from the store for extra calories! Here is a partial FB message from her to me.

Hey! I just wanted to share this with you. For days now, it has been a struggle for Jonathan to consume 1 1/2 to 2 ounces of his bottle.(these were formula bottles)
I took him to the chiro yesterday, and once again talked to him about the goats milk, and the lack of calories. He said to mix goat milk and whole cow milk together, and also add coconut oil (which is suppose to be great for digestion). He said forget about the added calories, let's just worry about the nutrition. He adjusted Jonathan's hip, and we came home. I made Jonathan a goats milk only bottle at 7:00 and he drank ALL of it!!! (Need to buy whole milk) Fed him again at 12, but because he was so tired, he didn't to as well. Then I just fed him at 6, and he drank it ALL again!!! I am greatly encouraged!
SO, I need more goats milk! LOL! Could you possible bring 2 Wed night?"

I take her milk in never been used quart jugs.

I told her to not (not not not) give her son cow's milk from the store. I would look up the links and info on why not and send them to her. But I'm having trouble finding the info I know is out there. If anyone has a link for me, I would greatly appreciate it!

Squeaky McMurdo · #2 10/09/12, 09:21 AM

Does she go to a pediatrician? Because every ped I know recommends no cow's milk until age 1.

Borrowed from BabyCenter.com:

Experts recommend waiting to introduce cow's milk until a baby is 12 months old.

Cow's milk contains high concentrations of protein and minerals, which can tax your baby's immature kidneys. In addition, cow's milk doesn't have the right amounts of iron, vitamin C, and other nutrients for infants. It may even cause iron-deficiency anemia in some babies, since cow's milk protein can irritate the lining of the digestive system, leading to blood in the stools. Finally, cow's milk doesn't provide the healthiest types of fat for growing babies.

Unlike cow's milk, goat's milk does not contain agglutinin. As a result, the fat globules in goat's milk do not cluster together, making them easier to digest.

Tell her that instead of adding cow milk, she can add 5 or 6 tbsp of brown rice syrup for calories. The coconut oil actually is a good idea as it contains lauric acid which is also found in mothers milk.

You didn't say if this is the only thing the baby is eating...if it is there needs to be some vitamins added as goat milk does not contain enough folic acid, iron, or B12 for a human baby. Especially if the baby isn't eating solids yet

This is according to Dr. Sears but his formula recipe calls for powdered goat milk. I have substituted raw.

GammyAnnie · #3 10/09/12, 09:28 AM

Wait, a Chiropractor, not a Pediatrician told her to give cows milk, ummm, I have great faith in my Chiro she fixes what ails my back and neck, but she would NEVER give this kind of advice, EVER!!

Also my son is a Chiro and he would NEVER give this kind of advice, it is way out of his practice zone!

Annie

thaiblue12 · #4 10/09/12, 09:29 AM

For a preemie she needs a good pediatrician not a chiropractor. They may be good in some areas but they are not MDs who deal with preemies.

She probably needs to get him on a good formula if she is not breast feeding.
I really would not add coconut to his diet, it is a natual laxative which may make him lose more weight.

Please encourage her to see a good MD who specializes in preemies and their needs.

CaliannG · #5 10/09/12, 09:30 AM

Give her this link:

Journal of Applied Genetics, Volume 48, Number 3 - SpringerLink

A1 and A2 casean proteins have been linked to autism, juvenile diabetes, and has even been suggested as a cause for SID. Goat milk does NOT have these proteins!

mrs.H · #6 10/09/12, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaliannG

Give her this link:

Journal of Applied Genetics, Volume 48, Number 3 - SpringerLink

A1 and A2 casean proteins have been linked to autism, juvenile diabetes, and has even been suggested as a cause for SID. Goat milk does NOT have these proteins!

Thank you! I will forward this. I have given her other links already, but I want her to appreciate the subtle danger. I am a firm believer in what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, but I DO NOT apply this to babies or children. I also do not apply this to the cellular level.

mrs.H · #7 10/09/12, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thaiblue12

For a preemie she needs a good pediatrician not a chiropractor. They may be good in some areas but they are not MDs who deal with preemies.

She probably needs to get him on a good formula if she is not breast feeding.
I really would not add coconut to his diet, it is a natual laxative which may make him loose more weight.

Please encourage her to see a good MD who specializes in preemies and their needs.

She does go to a preemie Dr. also, and about 5 other specialists! She get's conflicting advice at times. I agree a chiropractor should not be giving nutritional advice, not in this case anyway.
(I don't actually know that she sees 5 other specialist. They take him to different Dr.s to monitor different things in his little body.) Having said that, can you all add him and his family to your prayers today?

CaliannG · #8 10/09/12, 11:50 AM

Of course!

Otter · #9 10/09/12, 12:03 PM

If it helps, my son was an extreme preemie, 3 months early.

He was 2 before I gave him cow's milk from the store. And before I gave him honey, even though I believe that milk and honey are healthy foods. It was just NOT worth the risk!!
I nursed him, but if I had had too use milk, he would have been on pasteurized goats milk, not formula and not cow's milk. He is 3 now, and gets his milk raw, but as a tiny baby, NO, again, even though I feel that raw milk is more digestible, he was so teeny and fragile, it was not worth the risk.

He is 3 now and I STILL have to work to get enough calories into him. Tell your friend that no matter how much she tries, some preemies just never get that fat baby look. She needs to feed him nutrient dense foods OFTEN. 7, 12 and 6 is nowhere near often enough. Heck, my little guy still eats more often then that and is still a skinny mini!
Her preemie specialist should have told her that without the fat reserves of a normal baby, their blood sugar levels can go really haywire really fast. At 5 months out of the hospital (after being in the hospital for 96 days - to term) I was still feeding him every 2 hours, and only going 4 hours at night.

Give her my sympathy, I have been there and it is exhausting! But before you do more then the pediatrician recommended vitamin supplement and diet, just feed the baby all the time to get more calories in them - don't start adding oils and such! And definitely not something that can be as hard on his teeny stomach as cow's milk!

KrisD · #10 10/09/12, 07:42 PM

Please tell her first of all your goats milk IS whole milk so the baby has no reason to need cows milk from the store. Maybe she can just try and feed him more often like offer a bottle every half hour instead of every hour. He may just need more feedings per day as his stomach is so tiny.

mekasmom · #11 10/10/12, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrs.H

.

I told her to not (not not not) give her son cow's milk from the store.

This is one of those things that I wouldn't touch at all. She has a medical person for her child. She is the mother. I wouldn't give her this advice.
It's not that I disagree with you, I don't. I think cows milk is too harsh for babies. But I just wouldn't interfere in another family. You aren't the kid's mom. You aren't his doctor. I just wouldn't touch the issue.

txplowgirl · #12 10/10/12, 03:53 AM

I on the other hand had a ped tell me to give mine only momma's milk, and he cried all the time wouldn't sleep for longer than an hour at a time. For 6 weeks we did this feeding him my milk and he lost weight, was sick and finally after 9 hours of straight crying I fixed a 4 oz bottle of Sililac that I had gotten in the mail for free.

Best thing I ever done. He ate half of it, went to sleep for a full 8 hours and no longer fussed when he was awake.

Went to another dr and had tests run and found my milk in my system wasn't good for him, no vitamins, so he went on Simmilac.

Best thing we ever did.

mrs.H · #13 10/10/12, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mekasmom

This is one of those things that I wouldn't touch at all. She has a medical person for her child. She is the mother. I wouldn't give her this advice.
It's not that I disagree with you, I don't. I think cows milk is too harsh for babies. But I just wouldn't interfere in another family. You aren't the kid's mom. You aren't his doctor. I just wouldn't touch the issue.

Well, I'm already interfering be giving her my goats milk.

It's hard not to touch the issue, because I hold the issue a couple of times each week, and change his diapers sometimes. I talk to him and tell him to get fat already! I tell him if he would put less energy into growing that incredible hair, and more into gaining weight, he would weigh 15 lbs by now.

He has hair like Elvis! I believe he has had 3 hair cuts already.
Help! Friend was told to feed cows milk from store to infant. - Goats

Help! Friend was told to feed cows milk from store to infant. - Goats

CaliannG · #14 10/10/12, 09:41 AM

Oh what a doll!

~THUNK!~

wildwanderer · #15 10/10/12, 12:12 PM

I know that there is a goat milk formula recipe on Dr Sears website adding calories and a health food site I believe it's Imagine orange labels has an additive kit to increase calories and vitamin content. I might also recommend infant massage for the little one. I fed my son Alimentum as he had soy and cow milk allergies, the formula has predigested milk protein but he could deal with that. Now he has raw goat milk and for the first time in his life has chubby cheeks. Good thoughts are being sent.

Dusky Beauty · #16 10/10/12, 01:27 PM

I agree with the milk mixing (not to do it) but thought I would point out that the rules for cow milk are actually in the process of changing. A Swedish study determined that the safe age for babies to drink cow milk is actually being lowered to 6/7 mos. Last I heard the Academy of Pediatrics approved it.

CaliannG · #17 10/10/12, 01:40 PM

There are 3 vitamins/minerals that goat milk has less of than human milk: Folic Acid, B6, and Vit. C. And it is not a WHOLE lot less. Goat milk also has Vit. D, which human milk does NOT. That is why breastfeeding mothers are told to make sure their babies get lots of sun, so that they can synthesize Vit. D.

Both cow milk and goat milk has FAR more protein than human milk...approximately 3 times as much protein. That is why some doctors say to water down goat milk....but they obviously don't look far enough because if you need to water down goat milk for baby's kidney function, then you need to water down cow milk too. There is only a gram difference in protein between the two, and both of them are much higher than human milk.

When my granddaughter was a baby, with her milk allergies, what I did to increase the caloric content of her bottles was to just add some heavy cream. Both cow and goat milk are lower in fat than human milk, so the addition of an ounce of heavy cream per bottle raised that to acceptable levels without raising protein content. Plus, of course, raised the calories.

mamaC11 · #18 10/10/12, 07:50 PM

My son was not a preemie, but just a SLOW grower (even though he came into the world at 9lbs 1oz, lol) I'm not jumping in on the cows milk except to say the proteins in cow's milk can really mess up a little tummy. I nursed him exclusively and the dairy I ingested got into his system and caused bloody stools. Coconut oil on EVERYTHING was the best decision I made for him. Extra calories, extra fat and extremely healthy. Get the good kind though, unrefined, extra virgin cold pressed. I get ours at the health food store.

mrs.H · #19 10/10/12, 09:17 PM

I breast fed too. I'm still in therapy for the guilt for eating broccoli! My poor son. I even knew, but I forgot. "OH Boy! Broccoli with cheese sauce!"

luvzmybabz · #20 10/10/12, 10:28 PM

There is a packet avaliable to hospitals so I assume that the doctor could access, it adds calories they added it to my pumped brest milk for my failure to thrive disabled daughter. She received this through her peg tube, so some digestion was also cut out. I would have friend contact doctor about adding calories in this manner.

Human Milk Fortifier - Bing

It is not cheap but since he is a preemie if she received any infant transistion type services she may be able to get it paid for. She probably dealt with social workers for transistion on leaving the hospital at the hospital at birth that could point her in the right direction as well.