Hi all.  A while back I asked for help in determining if breastmilk would
meet the nutritional needs of an 18 month old.  I had been told to wean for
"nutrition's sake" by my pedi with no more information than that.  Here is
what we've found:  If the child is continuing to grow, be active and gain
weight then the child is receiving all the needed nutrients.  As my son had
grown 2 inches in 2 months, there seemed to be little question that he is
doing fine on his current diet.  The interesting piece that came out of
this is that Kathy Dettwyler raised the issue of his odd habit of spitting
out solids even when he liked the flavor.  After an initial evaluation it
seems his mouth is overly sensitive to texture, leading to him spitting out
what is in his mouth.  So he will eat graham crackers that turn mushy but
not carrots which become granular when chewed.  He is due for a team
evaluation at the end of May (neuro-dev. pedi, speech path, pedi psychol.).
There is therapy which will desensitize the mouth so that normal eating
can occur.  Once again I am in Lactnet's debt for information and support.
And an extra special email hug for Kathy for those wonderful, pertainant
questions!

Linda V.