what comes after breast?

[mollysmum82]

I'm breastfeeding my 15 month old daughter 4 or 5 times a day and although we've had our problems along the way its going really well now and we're both enjoying it! My husband isn't quite so comfortable with the idea though and is obsessed with me having some kind of "weaning plan" Now I've told him there's no way I'm stopping until the 2 year mark, as per the WHO guidelines... and he knows he's not going to get anywhere convincing me otherwise. I would be happy to continue past the 2 year mark until DD self-weans but my husband strongly feels we should have an alternative in place by then, at least for some of the feeds.

Now the problem is my daughter is severely allergic to cow's milk. We've been told she can be retested when she's 3 but we are to avoid all dairy until then. I have tried the odd soya pudding but it seems to make her eczema worse and I'm really worried about the effects of soy having read all the scare stories online.

So, post-breast, what should I do? Is rice milk a viable alternative for 2 year olds or is there any truth in the arsenic scare stories? Do you think I just just sod the world and my husband and keep breastfeeding DD till she is 3 and retested? But then what if she's still allergic to cow's milk?

I shouldn't really be worrying about all this now but I'd like to get this straight in my head so I can shut DH up! ;) Many thanks

TBH I would try and educate your dh about natural term bf.

BM is perfect for human infants.

Especially ones with dietry requirements like your dd.

Youu clearly want to continue.

your dd will wean one day.

I have heard (no sources sorry) that bf toddlers get ill less often.

Perhaps once you stop bf dh will always be the one to sooth dd/take time of work when she is ill?

Also continuing bf is good for both youu and dd in terms of breast cancer protection

Can she have oatley? My nephew was lactose intolerant and my SIL worried about rice milk being his main drink due to arsenic.

She stopped BFing at 15 months as she was back at work and pregnant and was too exhausted (he was wanting to BF all night) and she weaned him onto oatley (the enriched version).

But if both you and her are happy to cotinue BFing then seems good enough reason to continue.

My neice is also lactose intolerant. (She's 7 years old now.) My sister does not give her alternative milk like soya or whatever, but instead has read up on other sources of calcium, etc, and took advice from a dietician (recommended by her gp). My neice is in the pink of health and doing very well, with no milk in any form at all. A well balanced diet should provide your dd with all she needs, and things like broccoli, for example, also contain calcium and iron. If your dd is still lactose intolerant post 3 years, then you don't have to give her soya if you don't want to. Get some professional advice as to how to go about it, your gp may be able to recommend a dietician.

Thanks so much for the advice, that's been really useful cheers!