exclusively breastfeeding till age one

[jasper]

Hi all, it's not that I am thinking of doing this or anything, but I keep reading about exclusive bf till age one, on (mostly american) websites.
The advice I have been given is solids should be introduced between 4 and 6 months.
I have never heard of anyone giving solids later than this through choice,(except on these websites) although I have heard of a few babies who were just not interested in anything but breastmilk untill they were well over 6 months with no ill effects, even if this was not the mother's choice.
Do any of you have any experience, information, or opinions?

Hi Japser - if you can tell me which site you found this on - I am interested but I suspect what you read (as I use to) as "exclusive bf" means no other milk (formula or cow's) but solids and breast.
The AAP (US Peadiatrics) for example recommends "exclusive bf" until one and they mean just what I wrote....
Also if you check my post to Tillysmummy on Thursday or Friday (one of the sleep threads) about the age of weaning, you will find that we should wean at 6 months not 4 but most of us (including me) missread the cues !

JaSPer, here is what I wrote (check Wednesday at 1:44 PM)

www.mumsnet.com/s/Talk?topicid=5&threadid=2809&stamp=020605134459#53307

Goodness Jasper, just the thought of giving my baby breast milk only and no food for the first year makes me feel exhausted. No experience or information for you, but that's my opinion!

Where would I have been without baby rice, and later Weetabix, to give my ds that nice full feeling in his tummy prior to a good long sleep?
Surely a post 8 months b/f only and no food baby would be waking up with hunger pangs very regularly?

I wait to find out more!

I read somewhere that there are certain ages when babies are more recptive to new things, such as taking solids, and if you miss these crucial periods, then it is harded to get baby used to the idea or solids later on. Has anyone else read this? Personally, I breast fed exclusively until 6 months, then went onto solids + b/f.

My HV also said that the actions of chewing and swallowing solids are related to the development of speech skills (babbling) at around the same time and that the two processes help each other.

www.vegsource.com/talk/breastfeed/index.html

This is a vegetarian website ( I am not vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination) WHICH supports the bf till age one idea.
FRANKLY for me this is a pretty loopy website but I am interested in what the rest of you think.

Jasper, Still on that website I haven't seen any reference on ONLY bf until 1... just weaning from breast onto other milky drinks... maybe I've missed it ?
I have read that is possible from a nutritonal value to have babies 100% bf and nothing else until 1.

I have checked again this AM - exclusive BF in their case really is no other milk (no bottle or any other supplementation) - but solids as well.

Yes I think by "exclusive breastfeeding" they actually mean breastmilk as the sole source of milk, as opposed to giving formula/cows milk etc, rather than saying you should only give breastmilk to the exclusion of solids. I bf both my babes until around 14 months and certainly considered I was exclusively bf'ing as neither took a bottle and/or formula, and went straight to a cup after weaning.

I have heard solids are important after around 6 months due to possible iron deficiency, but certainly no sooner than 4 months as most babies reflexes/digestive systems aren't ready for solids. I think there's something called an extrusion reflex where they stick their tongue forward if you put a spoon to their mouth - until this reflex is almost gone it is pretty much impossible to get them to take solids.

That makes more sense.
On the vegsource site there used to be several posters who DID advocate no other food but breastmilk for up to a year. They now have a resident expert who answered a query placed by me last night. Those who have advocated breastmilk only till age one in the past seem to be keeping quiet, and the "expert" does not advocate this, although she is against feeding pureed fruit and veg from a spoon for some reason.
My baby is now 3months old and I keep getting asked by older relatives when I am going to give him solids.

Ooh Jasper, isn't that annoying? My dmil did this, as well as wondering why I "always" seemed to be breastfeeding (as I was demand feeding rather than by the clock). Every time the baby was cranky, s/he might be hungry, needs something solid in her/his tummy, do you think s/he could be anaemic...aargh! It's a bit like the "Isn't it time you thought about toilet training" and variations thereof. Drove me batty!

jasper, maybe she doesn't like cleaning up the mess.
Don't forget that "older" relatives come from a time when almost no babies were breast fed (it was considered worse for the baby) and if you did it was certainly unusual to do so for more than a few months. Just reassure them that you are doing what your doctor has ordered you to do (even if this isn't quite true).
Mollipops is right, the latest studies indicate 6 months is the right time to introduce solids. It will be fairly obvious when your baby is ready. My son started grabbing things off my plate and out of my hand around 5-6 months. I continued breastmilk until 15 mo. but started solids as well around 6 months and cow's milk as a drink (he had yogurt for breastfast from 7 mo.) around 10 mo. I gave the cow's milk in a beaker and never gave my son a bottle (execpt very occasionally by my husband or the babysitter) so I never had to deal with weaning him off a bottle. Don't forget breastfeeding is soooooo much more convenient than formula or bottles of cow's milk. It's also great as a backup when your child is ill. Everytime my son got a fever he went of his solids and would only have breastmilk.

SofiaAmes now we know your father is a nutritional expert be prepared to speak on his behalf!!
Seriously, I have noticed on alot of US websites a really strong anti dairy stance which I have never come across here.I am not talking about dairy as an alternative to breastmilk, I am talking about folks who believe ALL dairy is bad, nothing to do with whether your kids are allergy prone. I see like most of us you gave your son milk and yogurt as he got older ( while still bf) so you do not have this anti dairy viewpoint.
Does your father have a view on this and can you explain why there seems to be such an anti dairy feeling in the US? Or am I just finding all the really obscure websites?
Thanks

Jasper, i don't know where this anti-dairy thing comes from. There is certainly no scientific evidence to back up most of what dairy is blamed for. It does seem to be stronger in the us. I have a good (english) friend in the usa who is convinced that when her son is phlegmy from a cold, dairy will make it worse. Both my parents (my mother is also a scientist) have tried to convince her otherwise, but she is sure it makes a difference. As long as I bf until 6 mo. my father wasn't too concerned about when I started cow's milk. However he was adamant that I give my son (and myself) a daily multi-vitamin with iron until he was eating a full well rounded diet (after 1 year) and even now he still pushes for the daily vitamin.
Not only do I have my father for nutritional advice, but my parents work in a building which is mostly occuppied by scientists doing research on pre and postnatal health issues. Since I am the mother of my parents' first grandchild (and pregnant with their second) my mother does a fairly regular check with all her peers as to whether I am eating/doing/contemplating all the current things one should do with a child/foetus. My father reads ALL the latest scientific journals and sends me copies of all the ones that could possibly be relevant....this included ordering my husband to start taking folic acid pills before impregnating me.

I agree Sofiames, it always puzzles me why people are so anti-cows milk and seem to put their children onto goats milk at the first opportunity. Just one thing though, apparently non-organic cows milk can be very high in mucus as the cows are fed on a diet that includes animal products. This isn't the case with non-organic milk. Whether that mucus is necessarily bad for you, or can be transferred, I don't know, but I don't like the idea of it! Although your dad would probably know more about that than me

Not being picky Enid but do you mean it isn't the case with Organic milk ?? Hope so coz that's what we buy

we try to buy organic milk (semi for us, full fat for dd) all the time, but occasionally have to make do with ordinary...I really notice the differnce cos the organic stuff tastes fab. I've always loved cows' milk, and drank 2 pints a day during pregnancy!

I totally agree with this mad anti-dairy thing. One of the main causes of premature death in women in this country is osteoporosis and so many people esp celebs are going around encouraging people to give up milk, cheese & yoghourt which are packed full of calcium. And as for cutting out all milk from a baby's diet when they are growing their bones & teeth, I think it is so irresponsible unless you have a proper medical diagnosis (NOT a homeopath or whatever) to say you should. Why so many people think milk is evil I do not know.

sorry tillysmummy, that is what I meant - trying to work today but failing...

I also know several people who are anti-dairy both here and across the pond - some of them are nutritionists.
The only thing I would say though (and I drink a liter of milk a day!), Japanese and other cultures eat NO dairy and have no more incidences of osteoporosis.
They do not eat dairy because they are lactose intolerant (I believe - correct me if I'm wrong) but ensure that their diet has enough calcium by eating other calcium rich foods.

I have been told (and I am sure someone will tell me that this is not true but in science these days you can prove anything and its contrary) that the calcium in milk is very poorly absorbed anyway and if it is for the calcium intake, we would be better off eating green leafy vegetables instead...

Pupuce, I think you're right about lactose intolerance being higher in certain ethnic groups, also Africans (the idea is that it's higher among groups of people who never stayed in one place long enough to established farming practices eg nomads)

Cows milk has been known to cause symptoms including runny nose and depression in a small number of people (I think about 1 in 10, but am not sure of the statistic) since Roman times. It was also known by the English in Elizabethan times. I could probably dig out research papers if I looked around a bit. To get this subject in balance, you've got to remember that the illness is genuine, but statistically, the chances of anyone being a sufferer are low.

The danger is that if everybody is busy sneering at the paranoid mum who rushes her babies onto goats milk at the first sniffle, then genuinely ill people will not be diagnosed, and waste their lives being low achievers because they feel tired and ill all the time. In the seventies and before that, my family, and other people I know, were constantly told we were lazy malingers who should pull ourselves together.
When we first discovered that hyperactivity was, in our case, caused by food additives, and we were all reacting to cows milk, it was the first ray of hope for us. My health problems are all in the past now (as long as I stay off cows milk!) but I hate to think of other children struggling as I did, while the majority of people who are fortunate enough to be able to tolerate cows milk are happily scoffing at the idea that it might be responsible for illness.

Pupuce, you need Vitamin D in order to absorb calcium. I think in the usa all milk is supplemented with vitamin D. Since normally you get vit. d from sunshine, in northern countries (like the uk) you need extra vit d to make sure your calcium gets absorbed. I can't remember what you get it from (oily fish, maybe?) And yes, lots of cultures (ones that didn't traditionally raise cows) are lactose intolerant. But they get their calcium from other sources because their cultures have diets that are high in other sources of calcium (veggies, fish etc.). I am lactose intolerant myself and can only have milk in small amounts so I try to supplement my calcium with pills. Also, the process of making yogurt and cheese uses up some of the lactose so if you aren't totally lactose intolerant you can at least use them as a source of calcium.
enid, I'm not sure what you mean by "mucus" in milk?

Don't quote me as its probably a myth, but apparently because non-organically raised cows can be fed on a diet containing animal products, they tend to produce lots of mucus in their stomachs, which finds its way into the milk. This means that non-organic milk can contain a very high (35%) proportion of mucus which obviously could cause problems with your own mucus production.

Organic cows on the other hand have a diet containing no animal products, produce far less stomach mucus and therefore have milk that is less likely to cause mucus related problems.

Please never make me type 'mucus' again.