Freshmilk for baby...

Few weeks ago, I discussed about freshmilk and formula milk with my sil, kaklong. She always be one of my references when it comes to talk about baby especially milk. As I mentioned in my previous entry in flickr, most of my big family's members(including my aunts, cousins etc.) are not into breastfeeding, so I have no one to turn to if I face any problem, my mom herself didn't breastfed us so kalau nak tanya details pun dia tak tahu... Thanks god, I have kaklong, hehehe...

I still breastfeeding Rafiqh till now, but frankly speaking I think my breasts have stopped producing milk, cause I can't "feel" it anymore. Mesti orang pelik kan, how comes menyusu when I have no more milk, even me myself don't know! Mungkin Rafiqh cuma lepas "gian" nak dipeluk dan dimanja sebab dia menyusu hanya masa nak tidur saja, out of that time dia tak layan! But insyaAllah after few weeks from now the milk factories will start producing colostrum, maybe kalau Rafiqh rasa "selesa", he will continue bf-ing, if not it's time to wean. I serahkan dan pasrah saja pada ketentuan Allah... Nanti, lepas baby lahir, kalau Rafiqh masih nak menyusu, I will let him shares with his little bro/sis...

I told kaklong that I give Rafiqh freshmilk average 15oz per day. Kaklong asked me why don't I give formula milk instead, cause from her own experiences when she lived in Perth, the doctors didn't suggested freshmilk for baby before 2years old. Another point is not all cow's milk contains DHA. Thanks kaklong, I did some research to find out any related infos, so here I would like to share it with you guys...

I asked Rafiqh's paed about freshmilk, he told me that since Rafiqh is already 1year old, it's okey to start giving him freshmilk, but I need to be extra careful on how to handle the milk cause freshmilk is easy to expire and has high risk of elergy reactions...

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends waiting until a child is a year old before starting him on fresh cow's milk. There are several important reasons for this:

1. Reducing the risk of allergy

Waiting to give fresh milk to your child may prevent or lessen a cow's-milk allergy. About 2-3% of infants will develop some or all of the following allergic symptoms when they drink cow's milk: a red bumpy rash, a runny or stuffy nose, coughing, wheezing, constipation or diarrhea. By waiting a year to give fresh cow's milk to your child, it is possible that you are giving him a chance to build up his immune system, which may decrease the likelihood of a serious allergic reaction once he does drink fresh cow's milk.

It's important to note, however, that many formulas also contain broken-down cow's-milk products, mainly proteins. Even though allergic reactions to formulas are not as common as reactions to fresh cow's milk, they do occur. If your infant has any of the allergic symptoms mentioned above, talk to the doctor. The doctor will probably suggest that you switch him to a soy-based formula that doesn't list cow's-milk protein as an ingredient.

2. Keeping your child's blood iron-rich

By giving your child fresh cow's milk before 1 year of age, you may increase his chances of developing iron-deficiency anemia (a low number of red blood cells). Iron deficiency in infants can harm brain and nerve development, and can happen for several reasons:
- Fresh cow's milk has less iron than breast milk or iron-fortified formulas.
- The composition of fresh cow's milk -- calcium, phosphate and vitamin C -- can cause a decrease in the absorption of iron in a baby's intestine.
- Fresh cow's milk can cause slight intestinal bleeding. This bleeding cannot be seen with the naked eye, but can be enough to make your child anemic. Some studies have shown that around one-third of children who are regularly given fresh cow's milk before 12 months of age will be anemic before they are 12- to 15-months old.

3. Reducing the risk of dehydration

Finally, the high amount of sodium in fresh cow's milk compared to formula or breast milk can draw water out of your child's body. If your child already has diarrhea or vomiting from a stomach flu or other problem, fresh cow's milk might cause or worsen dehydration.

If you decide to go with cow's milk :
Despite these risks and the thumbs down from the AAP, people do give their babies whole cow's milk before age 1. Some parents dislike the idea of commercial formulas or have a strong family tradition of giving cow's milk. If you should decide to give your baby fresh cow's milk, you should share your decision with your child's physician. He or she may suggest that you start your baby on an iron supplement or test him for anemia soon after he begins drinking cow's milk.

As a conclusion, in all articles I read the freshmilk should not be given to baby before he/she is 1 year old. For the 2nd point ie. DHA, I will post the entry later okey...

Extra Info:
Milk allergies and anemia are much less common after a child's first birthday, and many parents switch their child to fresh cow's milk without difficulty.
Generally, after age 1, your child should be drinking between 16 and 24 ounces of milk a day (that's about 2 to 4 glasses) and getting a lot of calcium, iron and protein from solid foods.
Most children drink whole milk until age 2, and then begin to switch to low-fat milk. Do not try to switch your child to low-fat milk before the age of 2: a baby's growing body needs the fats in whole milk for proper development.
It's best to make all of these decisions with your child's pediatrician at your child's one-year visit.