There are a BF group in my city that debating that UHT milk is not as good as regular pasteurized milk and some prefer powder whole milk. TBH that makes me confuse. Do you have any idea what is the difference between all those milk ?
We forgot to buy milk one weekend a while back and it just happened to be a holiday weekend when EVERYTHING was shut. All we could get as UHT milk, so I did quite a bit of research before I gave it to DS on how safe/good it was for him to drink it. Everything I have read says that there is NO difference whatsoever in the quality, nutrition, safety etc of the two milks. I'm from Canada and had never heard of or seen UHT milk until I moved to Europe, and it turns out that it is quite popular here, in some parts of Western Europe the statistics say that up to 80% of the milk consumed is actually UHT milk. In many hot countries it is actually preferred and suggested that people buy/drink UHT milk because there may have been issues with refrigeration while the milk has been in transit to the stores and then from store to home. Aside from that, there is no difference in the nutritional value of fresh milk vs UHT milk - UHT milk tends to have a slightly different taste, but other than that, they are the same.
Powdered milk again has some benefits, mainly in storing it. However, if you can get UHT milk easily then I would go with that one over powder, as powdered milk can lose a lot of the nutrition if the storage conditions are not right --- ie/ too hot of a temperature and too much humidity in the air. I feel I remember you saying you were in Indonesia (?) and so that may be a something to remember if you chose powdered milk.
As for unpasteurized milk, the legality of it varies around the world. In Canada for instance, it is completely illegal to sell unpasteurized milk to a consumer, and again I was pretty shocked when I first travelled through rural Europe and found a lot of small towns where they drink raw milk! And, same in Asia, again. So it's not completely unheard of, BUT it's not really safe for certain people to drink due to the bacteria content - including young children, elderly people and pregnant women. So if you could only choose between unpastuerized or powdered milk, go with the powdered. Otherwise I would choose UHT or fresh milk, either one. We use fresh whole milk but always keep 2 boxes of UHT milk in the cupboard just in case we run out again, at least we know it is there, and one of the benefits is that until it is opened it does not need refrigerating and it lasts for MONTHS. Once opened it must be kept refrigerated and goes off in a week or so, just as fresh milk.
I feel like DS is not eating quite so much food ( one 125gr yoghurt and 2 rusk for lunch for example ), that Im worry he wouldnt get enough after 1 year old. His weight is not increasing these past 2 months ( 10 kg ). Do you think it is fine ?
Weight gain really slows down around this age and toddlers just don't grow as much as they did as babies. They do tend to need less food as a result, often a lot less then you think they do!
But, if he is getting too much milk (and that would include breastmilk) then he won't be hungry for his solids. By the time he is one year he should be eating three good meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and probably 1-2 snacks as well. If he is taking more than 12-16 ounces of milk in a day then he probably is filling up and doesn't want/need the solid food. However, at this age there can be a lot of fussiness with solid food as well - as your DS gets an 'opinion' he may start refusing even foods he likes just to show he is in control, for instance. (Lots of threads on fussy eaters if you think this is a possibility!) And, if he is teething it may really decrease his food intake. I think that it is important to make sure he gets the milk he needs but not use milk to replace the calories he is not getting from solids. So if he does not eat his meal, then don't offer him milk to make up for it, or he may decide to just not eat and hold out for the milk. You can either set his milk times (for example first thing in the morning and right before bed perhaps), and/or offer cups of milk with his meals, and encourage him to eat solids when he is hungry.
Not sure if that answers your questions or not!
