OT: Nutrition in Breast Milk for 3 yr. old that doesn't eat much

[blessedmama]

Anyone have any links or info? Our DD doesn't eat a whole lot most days. She nurses 4-6 times a day, usually four most days. Not at night unless rare time wakes up & can't go back to sleep. We are vegetarian & get protein from MorningStar Farms soy products but she doesn't eat much of it. Use to. Is she getting enough nutrition in BM? What her favs to eat are:

Hard boiled eggs (loves)
Green bell pepper slices (raw/uncooked)
Cottage Cheese
Fettuchini Alfredo
Plain Spaghetti
Salad w/ Ranch Dressing
Watermelon (Loves)
Red Seedless Grapes (Loves)
Cantelope (just started as fav)
Apples (occassional fav)

So it's not very much protein & if we have other food she really won't eat it. Well, likes popcorn & pringles.

We rarely have many sweets but when we do, she would rather one of the above so she really doesn't eat junk either.


On days we were busy & she didn't nurse as much, she did not increase her appetite so her not eating much is not due to nursing "too much".

Is the above diet & BM good enough nutrition for her at her age now? (She'll be 3 in 2 days)

Also, I am BFing our 6 month old as well, so is she getting 6 month old breast milk? Or toddler BM? Or both?

[naomifrederickmd]

I wouldn't worry about what you feed them plus breast milk unless they obviously seemed hungry or have developmental issues. The breasts are amazing things!

All quotesfrom www.kellymom.com (http://www.kellymom.com/) or http://www.kellymom.com/nursingtwo/index.html

Tandem nursing mothers can make a double supply of milk—just like mothers nursing twins.” ...MYTH or FACT?
Fact. In one study a tandem nursing mother made a double supply of milk for the entire seven months that she tandem nursed (and her newborn was well above average in growth!). The only supply concern generally reported by tandem nursing mothers is oversupply.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html

[naomifrederickmd]

It's not uncommon for weaning to be recommended for toddlers who are eating few solids. However, this recommendation is not supported by research. According to Sally Kneidel in "Nursing Beyond One Year" (New Beginnings, Vol. 6 No. 4, July-August 1990, pp. 99-103.):
Some doctors may feel that nursing will interfere with a child's appetite for other foods. Yet there has been no documentation that nursing children are more likely than weaned children to refuse supplementary foods. In fact, most researchers in Third World countries, where a malnourished toddler's appetite may be of critical importance, recommend continued nursing for even the severely malnourished (Briend et al, 1988; Rhode, 1988; Shattock and Stephens, 1975; Whitehead, 1985). Most suggest helping the malnourished older nursing child not by weaning but by supplementing the mother's diet to improve the nutritional quality of her milk (Ahn and MacLean. 1980; Jelliffe and Jelliffe, 1978) and by offering the child more varied and more palatable foods to improve his or her appetite (Rohde, 1988; Tangermann, 1988; Underwood, 1985). (http://www.kellymom.com/bf/bfextended/ebf-benefits.html)

Studies done in rural Bangladesh have shown that breast milk continues to be an important source of vitamin A in the second and third year of life.
-- Persson 1998
Also from the kellymom extended breastfeeding page.