From One Journey to the Next

Breastfeeding has been an amazing journey for me as a mother. It is a journey that has been both joyful and heart-wrenching, endearing and overwhelming, completely fulfilling and also completely depleting. Most of all I would say that it has been an honor and a privilege being able to nurture my children with my own body. I am however, distinctly aware that in a few months this journey will be coming to an end. Alice, my third and most likely final baby, turned one a couple months ago and the time for weaning is looming on the horizon. I’m holding it all with a light hand and seeing where we end up –  no specific end date in mind – but I’ve already begun supplementing her diet to meet the demand.

Typically at one-year, parents opt to introduce their babies to cow’s milk, but for as rough and tough as our little Alice is in all other areas, her tummy tends to be a bit on the sensitive side. Ever since she was a tiny babe, dairy has seemed to bother her. When I would drink whole milk in my coffee or eat ice cream, she would become fussy, get terrible diaper rash and have a lot of mucus drainage. For the most part I cut out straight milk and ice cream, because she didn’t seem to be as bothered by me eating cheese though or when there was milk in baked or cooked items (I’ve read there’s something different about certain types of lactose and how they break down, but I honestly don’t know the science behind it). Because of her sensitivity I knew I didn’t want to introduce her to cow’s milk right away, which is why KABRITA goat milk formula has been the perfect alternative.

We partnered with KABRITA this past year to share their goat milk yogurt pouches (which we love!) and that’s when I learned about their toddler formula. I knew it would be the perfect addition to the rest of Alice’s diet, since goat milk is far easier to digest than cow’s milk. The most similar option to mother’s milk, the protein in goats milk forms a softer, smaller and looser curd in the stomach that allows it to be broken down more quickly. I also like that it’s packed with a ton of important nutrition.

While rice, nut and soy milks are great alternatives and ones we enjoy, they aren’t exactly overflowing with nutritional value. Most nut milks contain 1 g of protein (or less) per 8 ounce cup, and lack in many other vitamins. KABRITA’s goat milk formula however has 5 grams of protein in each 8 ounce cup and is fortified with 22 vitamins and minerals, including vitamin D, B12, iron, folic acid and omega-3 fatty acids (DHA). For the most part, Alice is a fairly willing and adventurous eater, but she also has a penchant for flip flopping her food preferences from day-to-day, so it’s reassuring to know that on her pickier days she will still be getting many of the nutrients her little body needs.

In addition to all the nutritional benefits, it’s been really nice to have a milk option that I can easily send to the grandparents’  houses when they have Alice over. The fact that it is a powdered formula, makes transporting far more convenient than refrigerated milk alternatives and it’s great that they now have something they can give her, along with other foods, when I’m not there to nurse.

Supplementing with goat milk has been a perfect solution for our family and I would definitely use KABRITA regardless of who was running the company, but I really do love that KABRITA was founded by real moms who struggled with their own little ones’ dairy sensitivities. They took into consideration the concerns of real moms in creating their product and went to great lengths to ensure the very best formula they could make – using non-GMO, hormone and antibiotic-free goat milk from Dutch farms.

Somehow the weaning process seems a little bit easier to take, knowing that there are other moms who have gone before me and put so much care into creating a product to ease the transition. It’s nice to know though that even though I won’t be able to give her my own milk forever, I can still feel good about what I am able to give her. 

If you have a little one with cow milk sensitivities, I would definitely recommend KABRITA as a great option to try. We get ours at Whole Foods, but they sell it at Walgreens and a number of other places as well. They are also offering a coupon code for my readers when you order online. Just head over to KABRITA and use the code thelittlethingswedo at checkout for 15% off.

xo

Lauren

*This post was created in partnership with Kabrita. All thoughts and opinions are my own.