"Not enough fat in your milk, you need t

[@llli*katia11]

Wait, wouldn't that chart mean that there is more fat in cow's milk? The second column has the % fat in it. . .

Not that that means it is better than BM, just saying.

[@llli*durhamgrrl]

Wait, wouldn't that chart mean that there is more fat in cow's milk? The second column has the % fat in it. . .

Not that that means it is better than BM, just saying.

yeah it would. Hmmm I know I meant to comment that I wondered when in the nursing relationship these numbers were from or if it was an average as fat (etc) content varies depending on age of child. My point stands that I am not bfing for calories anymore anyway.

[@llli*katia11]

I suppose if you are really concerned about fat content, you could track down a lactating porpoise

[@llli*joe.s.mom]

I guess what I have heard is wrong. I always heard breastmilk was higher in fat, but considerably lower in protein, than cow's milk, at least for infants. I know it gets "lower-fat" as your baby gets older.

[@llli*durhamgrrl]

Kellymom table on fat content

It would appear from this that fat content can range from 2-5g/100ml which is a pretty significant range imo

I think this kellymom article on toddler feeding is pretty good and might be useful to send (anonymously if you wish) to the ped.

[@llli*mommal]

I guess what I have heard is wrong. I always heard breastmilk was higher in fat, but considerably lower in protein, than cow's milk, at least for infants. I know it gets "lower-fat" as your baby gets older.

At least one study has found the opposite: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/16140689/. The study concluded that "Human milk expressed by mothers who have been lactating for >1 year has significantly increased fat and energy contents, compared with milk expressed by women who have been lactating for shorter periods. During prolonged lactation, the fat energy contribution of breast milk to the infant diet might be significant."

[@llli*joe.s.mom]

At least one study has found the opposite: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/16140689/. The study concluded that "Human milk expressed by mothers who have been lactating for >1 year has significantly increased fat and energy contents, compared with milk expressed by women who have been lactating for shorter periods. During prolonged lactation, the fat energy contribution of breast milk to the infant diet might be significant."

That's awesome!

It does seem like there's some conflicting data here, but I think the one thing you can be sure of is that breastmilk is good for your toddler.

[@llli*first]

At least one study has found the opposite: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/16140689/. The study concluded that "Human milk expressed by mothers who have been lactating for >1 year has significantly increased fat and energy contents, compared with milk expressed by women who have been lactating for shorter periods. During prolonged lactation, the fat energy contribution of breast milk to the infant diet might be significant."

It makes evolutionary sense that nature would provide more fat or calorie dense milk for toddlers who nurse more frequently - make sure they are getting what they need.

[@llli*5ofus]

Sorry I haven't been back until now... crazy week. Anyway, thanks so much for the facts! It does stand to reason that breastmilk would still provide essential additives to your toddler's diet. Why else would the recommendation be to nurse for 2 yrs at least? I would think that you would never need to give your child milk other than human milk so long as they are getting a pretty well rounded diet. It's just frustrating for a professional to be misinformed, because there are mothers who take their Peds word as law. They just don't know any better

[@llli*lmc]

I recently spoke with a LC about my milk because my son is small and the pedi suggested that my milk was like "skim". The LC said that there is a machine that can analyze the fat and calorie content of your milk. You bring samples in from different pumping sessions during the day. It is often used in NICUs. I was going to have it done, but when I got a second opinion, that pedi was not at all concerned about my son's weight. I'm sure it's not cheap, but my LC was going to arrange to have it done for me for free. I would really be curious to know...