Karen Foard wrote:
>It is very confusing to parents about the rules for introducing cows' milk
>to infants--as well as to health professionals like me!

I agree, and when I start to get too confused, I return to my "desert
island" rule of parenting:  what would you do if you were alone with
your baby, and had no advice from magazines, books, doctors, milk
marketing boards, formula companies, and nosy neighbours?

Well, you'd probably breastfeed your baby as long as she wanted (no
one to say "are you still nursing?").  You'd introduce solid food
when your baby sat up and started trying to grab it out of your hand.
 You wouldn't have iron-fortified cereals, or pureed foods, so you'd
probably just let your baby choose what she wanted from your plate
and then mash it up for her.  So what if she wants chicken before
she's been introduced to cereals, veg, and fruit?  If she reacts
badly to it, she probably won't choose it again, and you'd be
sensible enough not to offer it.  If you were drinking cow's milk,
and your baby wanted some, you'd let her have a sip.  It's unlikely
she'd prefer it to your milk, but that doesn't mean she couldn't
drink it occasionally without undermining her nutrional status and
future health,

I'm not advocating that we all try and isolate ourselves from the
advice of others (we'd all be out of jobs, if that happened!), but I
use the "desert island" thought exercise whenever confronted with
conflicting information.  It works well for parents trying to decide
on sleeping arrangements (family bed or cot, etc), and pretty much
any parenting decision.

Jennifer Landels, BA, CE
Vancouver BC