WellCommons

So my baby turned one, got his vaccinations, and is a healthy little bugger all around. He's right on track in all possible ways, and I expect him to do some geometry proofs next week. For all of this, we are beyond grateful. We know how very lucky we are to have such a healthy, happy baby.

And I want to keep him healthy and happy, which means I have some decisions to make regarding his diet, since he's at the magical one-year mark. Our pediatrician made it clear to me that I was to get him off the bottle as soon as possible (WHA? WAH!) and that he is getting too much formula. In fact, he doesn't need formula anymore at all.

So I asked what I should give him instead, since our guy can't tolerate milk. The doctor said I could try milk again and see how he does - if he starts coughing, we'd know that doesn't work (really?), or, I could just do some soy, and reduce the volume he's currently getting.

Curious if soy was really the best thing, I started doing my own research. The information was overwhelming. It was like sorting through the landfill, looking for a lost sock. I read too many opinions, too many articles, and got myself good and lost in the process. Soy doesn't have enough of this, but it has too much of that, unless you get the "enriched" kind, and never get the reduced fat kind. Rice milk has far less nutritional value that soy. Nut milk causes allergies. Goat's milk is nice, but where the heck do you get goat's milk?

So, as I am wont to do, I found myself another expert. A doctor who was featured on the NotMilk website I am so fond of. This guy, it turns out, is hip to the Twitter world, and once again, social media is MY BEST FRIEND. I just tweeted a stranger, an MD, and asked him what to feed my baby. AND HE ANSWERED. PROMPTLY. People, it is a brave new world.

Anyway, his suggestion? Water + Food. That is all. He feels that soy, oat, almond, rice, all those other "milks" are okay nutritionally, but they're not so good for dental health. They're too "sticky" for little teeth. Also, Dr. Jay Gordon suggested that water makes a little tummy hungry for food, so my baby will be a better eater if I just forgo "milk" altogether. Who said we have to have milk or some facsimile thereof anyway?

An added bonus: all the water will have a positive effect on my poor guy's terrible constipation issues. Boo-ya!

This is an answer that satisfied me. This answer made sense, felt right, and didn't get me all mixed up in a battle of raw milk, soy milk, rice milk, the ever-ephemeral goat's milk, and all the other bajillion choices out there.

I'll just FEED him more. Who'da thunk?

Yeah, water's good. In fact, water's real good. Sippy cup and some wholesome H20, here we come.

Simplify, simplify. Thoreau, you were really onto something.

I'll let you know how it goes.