Photo: @megpieinthesky via Instagram
The one-year mark is when parents get the go-ahead to start serving cow?s milk, if they choose. This milestone can coincide with a mom?s return to work (which, for many women, means weaning), and it?s confusing to figure out what your newly minted toddler should be drinking. Will his daycare provide milk" Are you going to pump bottles of breastmilk" What about formula" Or is it OK for 12-month-olds to drink  only water during the day" Even the experts we asked disagreed.
Meredith McNally?s son, Sam, started daycare in Hamilton, Ont., at almost 11 months old. At home, Sam was breastfeeding four to six times in a 24-hour period, eating meals and drinking water whenever food was offered. ?He was pretty good with his solids, but sometimes it was hard to tell how much he was actually eating. Nursing was a nice safety net,? McNally says. ?If I couldn?t nurse him as much, I wondered if I should be topping him up with pumped milk or formula.? Dietitians of Canada says kids ages 12 to 24 months should have 16 ounces (475 millilitres) of whole cow?s milk per day, or less if they?re still breastfeeding.
Paediatrician Jack Newman, known for his breastfeeding expertise and support, believes that it all depends on your baby?s eating and nursing habits. ?If you have a nursling who continues to have three or four good feeds in a 24-hour period, is eating an ample amount of solids and is growing well, then your toddler may not even...