by Michelle Stein posted in Parenting

My baby girl is 15 months old already. I took her to a well-child checkup the other day, and, although her health is excellent, I left that appointment feeling pretty miffed.
After the physical examination, the nurse practitioner asked if my daughter was still breastfeeding. I told her I had weaned my two older kids by 15 months, but that we're still going strong with no signs of stopping anytime soon. She acknowledged it was up to me how long we continued, and said that plenty of moms even breastfeed to age 2. I nodded along, knowing this already (and that some choose to nurse their children for longer, even).

Then she asked how much cow's milk my toddler was drinking every day. I confessed she doesn't seem to be much of a fan. While I do offer a sippy cup of cow's milk at every meal, and she takes a few drinks here and there, half of the cup or more is usually dumped by the end of the day. The nurse practitioner seemed a little concerned by this. Then she said at this age breast milk isn't considered as adding nutritional value.
Um, what"
Unfortunately, that wasn't the first time I've heard this little tidbit of misinformation. Still, I'm pretty sure my brows reflexively furrowed and I gave her the side-eye. But I continued nodding along. "Ah, okay," I said. " Good to know." We finished the visit, my daughter got her vaccines and we went about our day.

Here's the thing, though: I have a difficult tim...