Saturday, May 15, 2010

Why Nurse past one...

I saw someone comment about their one year old son's eating. They said my son wanted some cherrios she said, well eat this fruit first then I'll give you the cherrio. Granted, I think she still nurses but I'll make my point anyway.
I've seen parents do this. The... eat this first... then you can have this. Don't get me wrong. I'm all about healthy eating. Trust me, it's almost an obsession. I have even turned my non salad eating Step Mom and husband into people that actually ask for salads.
I'm so health conscious that I am going to let my son eat whatever he wants. Why? He's still getting every thing he needs from breast milk.
According to www.kellymom.com...

In the second year (12-23 months), 448 mL of breastmilk provides:
  • 29% of energy requirements
  • 43% of protein requirements
  • 36% of calcium requirements
  • 75% of vitamin A requirements
  • 76% of folate requirements
  • 94% of vitamin B12 requirements
  • 60% of vitamin C requirements
How can any food match that? Cow's milk?? No way! You'd have to eat a lot of stuff to equal all of that. I've never seen a toddler eat that kind of health food... not to mention enough food to get that many vitamins. Maybe if your kid is a super kid. Luke is a week out from being one. I haven't seen him eat much of anything in one day. I mean he'll have a small piece of bread, or a couple crackers, or a slice of orange, or some berries. But it's not like he's eating complete meals. Even I don't know if I eat those amounts of vitamins at one meal. I can't imagine switching him off of breastmilk, which was specifically designed for him and him alone, to milk made from and for another animal.
As long as he's nursing, I don't have to worry about his nutrition. I don't have to worry about jamming things into his body to make sure he's getting vitamins. And, when he's sick, and won't eat a thing, I can always count on nursing.
I'm excited to see how nursing after one will be, I've seen the kids that do. They are some healthy kids.

2 comments:

Lisa C said...

This is one of my favorite things about nursing a toddler, and one of the main reasons why I wanted to continue nursing past one. It's so reassuring to know that he is getting all the nutrients he needs without a vitamin supplement or me trying to coax him to eat something. He is free to choose what he wants to eat (free to listen to his body), which I think it important in learning how to make healthy choices for oneself.

I think breastmilk really balances out his favorite foods, too. He loves a lot of low calorie foods like fruit and some veggies, but the higher fat content in 'toddler' breastmilk fills in the calories.

Anonymous said...

Good for you! I'll be nursing Luna until she's ready to wean herself off. I agree with you, there's nothing healthier than breast milk for little ones. She's still only nine months old, but I love knowing that she is such a strong girl in part because of the nutrients my breast milk provide her with. Makes me feel kind of like superwoman :).