How young can my baby be to drink raw milk?
I get this question a lot! Now let me preface this whole conversation by saying, I am not a doctor, I have no degrees in nutrition and really my only qualification for answering is that I am a mom of four healthy kiddos and I research all the time. With that disclaimer behind us let’s dive in to the facts: According to the Weston A Price foundation, “human milk is richer in whey, lactose, vitamin C, niacin, and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids compared to cow’s milk but leaner in casein (milk protein).” What does this mean? For young babies who are not consuming solid foods you will need to supplement or add to cows milk to make it more digestible and all encompassing of the nutrients that a young infant requires. You can do this by following their Raw Milk Formula recipe which I will list below.
As a baby grows and is consuming food other than breast milk. Raw milk can be consumed without other additives. For my children I started introducing raw milk in sippy cups around 6 months. I would sometimes add lactose powder and or Tumeric to help the gut better digest it. Sometimes there is a transitional time for baby where diapers become more loose because of the extra casein, that is where the lactose powder can be extremely helpful, usually one teaspoon per 10oz of milk is great. When my babies were young and needed supplementation I followed this recipe from Nourishing Traditions. As they got older I would decrease the amount of things added and observe their diapers for reactivity. RAW MILK FORMULA RECIPE Ingredients · 2 cups whole raw cow’s milk, preferably from pasture-fed cows · 1/4 cup homemade liquid whey (See recipe for whey, below) Note: Do NOT use powdered whey or whey from making cheese (which will cause the formula to curdle). Use only homemade whey made from yoghurt, kefir or separated raw milk. · 4 tablespoons lactose1 · 1/4 teaspoon bifidobacterium infantis2 · 2 or more tablespoons good quality cream (preferably not ultrapasteurized), more if you are using milk from Holstein cows · 1/2 teaspoon unflavored high-vitamin or high-vitamin fermented cod liver oil or 1 teaspoon regular cod liver oil · 1/4 teaspoon high-vitamin butter oil (optional) · 1 teaspoon expeller-expressed sunflower oil · 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil · 2 teaspoons coconut oil · 2 teaspoons Frontier brand nutritional yeast flakes · 2 teaspoons gelatin · 1-7/8 cups filtered water · 1/4 teaspoon acerola powder Instructions · Put 2 cups filtered water into a pyrex measuring pitcher and remove 2 tablespoons (that will give you 1-7/8 cups water). · Pour about half of the water into a pan and place on a medium flame. · Add the gelatin and lactose to the pan and let dissolve, stirring occasionally. · When the gelatin and lactose are dissolved, remove from heat and add the remaining water to cool the mixture. · Stir in the coconut oil and optional high-vitamin butter oil and stir until melted. · Meanwhile, place remaining ingredients into a blender. · Add the water mixture and blend about three seconds. · Place in glass bottles or a glass jar and refrigerate. · Before giving to baby, warm bottles by placing in hot water or a bottle warmer. NEVER warm bottles in a microwave oven. For more information on the science and safety of raw milk please visit: Homemade Baby Formula - The Weston A. Price Foundation (westonaprice.org) About Raw Milk — Raw Milk Institute
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