Dear Dr. Mira,
Don't let this extremely,  uninformed  GE doctor ruin your cousin's
breastfeeding.  You are 100% right.  If your cousin is a doctor is she working
and very busy?  I work with a lot of very busy moms who work long hours, don't
nurse or pump enough, may exercise too much, the "super woman" thing.  There
are so many things she can do to increase her milk supply for this 11 mo old
WHILE she gently introduces some high calorie, nutritious finger foods to this
child she can:
*decrease her other activities and stress as much as possible, rested moms
make milk quicker and easier
*increase nursing and if possible express or pump some as this is an
emergency, to increase her milk supply as quickly as possible.  Of course feed
the baby everything that she can express
*this is a time to check the mom's diet.  Is she eating nutritious foods? Not
dieting? Etc.
*mom can take herbs to increase supply--alfalfa, fenugreek, blessed thistle
*If she is an exercise "nut" like some moms I see, tell her to stop.  That is
taking needed energy that she needs to make milk.  She can get thin and
muscular later.
*teach her some negotiation skills with this doctor.  "I understand what you
are telling me doctor, but my husband and I don't feel our child is ready for
weaning yet.  We would like to try some other strategies first.  We plan to
(outline the plan here).  What other suggestions do you have?"  Hopefully this
will make him really stretch and go back to his textbooks to look for other
solutions.
*ALSO  be sure and ask this omnipotent doctor if he/she has ever treated other
breastfed babies of this age or older.  Remember doctors are people like all
of us and know what is in their experience.  If his experience is that babies
only nurse for 6 to 8 months, of course he sees no reason or benefit in
nursing longer.  Evaluate the health care professional.  He is thinking he is
knowledgeable about this subject and he is not.  Bring him some credible
information from the  AAP, WHO, etc.  Ask him to read it and THEN discuss
treatment.  Since your cousin is a doctor herself, the GE doctor may actually
read the information and see that there may be another way.  We must not
accept ignorance from our health care professionals.  It is hard to do when
they are very knowledgeable in so many areas.  No one can know it all.
*If the child refuses all foods for now, do not force.  Just bring her to the
table whenever parents are eating and make the foods available and tempting.
They sould also have some social activies where she is around other children
when everybody eats.  The strong human need to imitate is the key. She is not
the first 11mo old to refuse foods at this age.

ALSO the children that I have seen that refuse other foods at this age, often
are allergic.  Forced weaning for these children can be a disaster.  One baby
in my practice went to the ER  with severe hives and difficulty breathing at 7
months with her first bite of rice cereal.

Thank goodness she called you!!!
Warmly,
Jane Bradshaw RN, BSN, IBCLC
Lynchburg, Va