I’ve worked hard to breastfeed my babies. I love nursing and believe breastmilk is the “perfect” food that has been specifically designed to give them the optimal nourishment they need for every aspect of life, especially in their early days of life.
However, my body hasn’t always cooperated. While all of my children have nursed eagerly and easily, my milk supply just wasn’t sufficient for either of my first two children. And in the evenings when my body was tired from a long day, often the milk supply dipped even more, causing tired, hungry babies to howl and frustration to set in for all involved.
With our first child, our pediatrician adamantly insisted we supplement with formula. I was very reluctant, but I hadn’t done any research and knew no alternatives, so we obediently went out and purchased formula for well over a year.
When our second child began to need more than I could give, however, I set out to devour every piece of information I could find about the ingredients in conventional formula and about how women through the centuries had traditionally dealt with this problem (short of finding a wet nurse). The more I learned, the more uncomfortable I was feeding my child the vast majority of the formulas on the shelf at the local supermarket.
Enter powdered goat milk
But then, thanks to Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking, I found Meyenberg powdered goat milk and my worries were assuaged – not only does it have a longer shelf-life due to being powdered, but Meyenberg fortifies their milk with folic acid and Vitamin D, specifically because it’s often used for toddlers. And since that time, I have become very excited that Cultures for Health has also started carrying Mt. Capra powdered goat milk, which is from pastured goats and produced without any hormones, pesticides, or herbicides. The Mt. Capra milk isn’t fortified with folic acid, however, so the nutritional yeast in the recipe is an absolute must.
Once I consulted with my naturopath, we added a few more ingredients to add in specific vitamins and minerals and I used it to supplement my son’s diet for more than a year. This find was an absolute blessing for our family – financially because conventional formula is incredibly expensive, nutritionally because my son got what he needed and thrived (and avoided other questionable ingredients), and ethically because we weren’t supporting certain conventional formula companies whose business practices I questioned.
(Want more in-depth information about nutrition for infants and toddlers? Read “Nourished Baby” by Heather Dessinger or visit the Weston A. Price Foundation website.)
Now, I should mention, Meyenberg goat milk is only available in-store in the US, but it is available to Canadians by ordering through Amazon.com
And of course, please remember to check with your naturopath, general practitioner, or lactation consultant before making any major feeding changes to your baby’s diet. I am not a medical professional and your child may have specific or subtle needs which would require some tweaks to this recipe. Also, Dr. Sears has some excellent nutrition information comparing goat’s milk to cow’s milk for infant supplementation which I encourage you to read.
So, I’m including two recipes here: the first is the powdered goat milk formula, which is excellent for supplementation. However, if you are needing a recipe for more full-time feeding, I’m also including the recipe from Nourishing Traditions
Goat’s Milk Formula (for supplementation)
8 oz. water at body-temperature
2 scoops (28 g) powdered goat milk
1/2 tsp nutritional yeast (for the B vitamins and folic acid)
1 tsp brown rice syrup (for the carbohydrates)
2 tsp blackstrap molassas (for the iron)
1/2 tsp cod liver oil (for Vitamins A & D and balanced omegas) (once a day)
Vitamin D drops – amount according to brand (optional) (once a day)
Place all ingredients in a bottle and shake vigorously to combine. You can also use a small mason jar or pre-mix enough for 2-3 bottles in a blender.
I also recommend that for the first few days of using the formula, use half the recommended amount of powdered milk and slowly work up to the full amount, especially if your baby hasn’t started eating solid food.
Infant Formula – from Nourishing Traditions
You can source these ingredients individually or you can purchase a pre-made set specifically packaged for this infant formula recipe at Radiant Life.com.
This recipe makes approximately 1 day’s worth of formula.
- 2 cups whole raw cow’s milk (if you don’t have access to raw milk, it’s recommended to culture the milk into piimä or kefir first so that the baby receives adequate enzymes to digest the milk and for overall colonic health.)
- 1/4 cup homemade liquid whey (just set plain yogurt to drain and you’ll get plenty of whey – do NOT use powdered whey or whey from making cheese)
- 4 tablespoons lactose
- 1/4 teaspoon bifidobacterium infantis
- 2 or more tablespoons good quality cream (not ultrapasteurized, preferably raw)
- 1 teaspoon regular cod liver oil OR 1/2 teaspoon unflavored high-vitamin or high-vitamin fermented 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 unrefined coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast flakes
- 2 teaspoons gelatin
- 1-7/8 cups filtered water
- 1/4 teaspoon acerola powder
- 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 Further Information About Conventional Infant Formula…
Genetically-modified soy shows up pretty much everywhere – why babies should avoid it
DHASCO and ARASCO in Infant Formula (PDF) – from Food Standards of Australia and New Zealand
Infant Formula Report – from the Cornucopia Institute
Ingredient Quality, Nutrition Data, and 2 PDF’s comparing data from the leading formulas – from Nature’s One
About Kresha
Kresha is the mother of three young children, the wife of one incredibly good man, an opera singer, a cloth diapering instructor, and an avid researcher. She and her husband share a passion for living life thoughtfully and intentionally in response to God's grace in their lives and she loves to share good meals (and good wine) around a very large table.
Can you make the second recipe but substitute the raw milk with goat powered milk?
If you’re using the formula to supplement, absolutely. However, the reason it’s not advisable to just switch the milks around for full-time use is that they’re not nutritionally identical. If you do switch, you’ll need to add a couple more ingredients to complete the full spectrum of needed vitamins and minerals.
Goat’s milk lacks both folic acid and Vitamin B12. You would need to add in the nutritional yeast for the folic acid and some other source for the B12 – Sally Fallon suggests in Nourishing Traditions to grate raw chicken liver into the mix! Suffice it to say, yes, you can do it, but just do so carefully.
All the best to you and your little one! (I’m assuming you have a little one…)
If supplementing, could you read the 8oz of water with breastmilk? That would make two servings for my 3 month old. I need to partly supplement when I’m away. My breasts have been anti-pump recently, but I can’t be with my daughter at all times due to work.
No, I wouldn’t mix the formula with breastmilk instead of water, merely because it would provide too rich a drink – far more than a baby needs.
If you’ve got that much breastmilk on hand but still want to stretch it a bit, I would use the breastmilk by itself and then mix up the supplemental formula using water to make up the difference. You get the maximum amount of food for your babe that way while making sure she actually gets all the breastmilk. I’ve had it where a child won’t finish a bottle when it’s a new taste and if you mixed it with breastmilk, you’d end up throwing out some of the breastmilk, which always breaks my heart.
Plus, that way she also gets all the breastmilk first.
Did I understand your question correctly?
You did! Thank you. First night back at work and I have 5oz that took me two days to pump. I’ll have Grandma start with my milk and move on to the supplement after. I cried in the shower for hours because I just couldn’t bring myself to buy commercial formula. Thank you for this!
I am a full-time working mother and then some, I have been EBF (breast milk bottle feeding while at work) for 8.5 months. I am not pumping enough to supply my daughter with 3 bottles/day and am at the point of having to supplement 1 bottle a day (for now). I am in tears at the thought of feeding my daughter the toxic formula that is sold at conventional stores. I notice the recipe for supplementation lacks many of the ingredients for full-time formula. what is the reason for leaving them out? I am also wavering between goat milk and cow milk. Information overload, argh!
Jacquelyn,
I SO understand how you feel! Thank you for sharing.
The supplementation recipe includes fewer ingredients merely in order to make the formula for less money and less time while still providing sufficient nourishment for the babe. Since it assumes that the child is receiving nourishment from other sources as well, it hits the major nutritional necessities, but doesn’t make sure every. single. vitamin. and. mineral. has been accounted for. If you’re only making 1-2 bottles a day, it’s definitely sufficient. If you have to increase the amount you’re supplementing beyond that, however, I would take the time and $ to make the full formula. (It actually isn’t hugely more than buying commercial formula, at least where I live.)
As for goat vs cow milk – if you’ve done your research (which it sounds like you’ve done), then don’t stress over the decision. In fact, go back and forth between the two to see which works better and which your baby prefers. That’s the beauty of homemade formula – you can tweak it to fit your child specifically.
Many blessings to you and your sweet baby!
Hi there,
I am almost at a point where I am unable to make enough milk for my son. iI do have a freezer stash, however, I plan to use it when I have no milk let, to mix with another choice of milk subsitute to get him use to it and make sure its going to work out good!
My question is about the goats milk powder formula. You say it is fortified with folic acid and vit. B12, so I was wondering why you still add more to it, and also if it is ok just to give to them without adding anything to it?
Our naturalpath also reccommended a very high quality multi-vitamine/mineral supplement when nursing was complete, would this be an okay source to receive those other ingredients without having to add it to the milk?
Thank you
Well, the Meyenberg goat milk is fortified with folic acid and Vitamin D, not Vitamin B12, so that’s why the nutritional yeast is added. I wouldn’t give it plain except for very rare emergency use.
And yes, you can certainly give the multi-vitamin to your sweet son without adding it into the milk, if I’m understanding your question correctly. As long as your child is receiving all the nutrients daily, you can get them into his belly in whatever way works for you.
Hi,
My 7.5 month old is starting to have too many problems with commercial 6months + formula (she never latched and I ran out of my pumped breastmilk when she was 4 months). As such, I’ve been researching and came across a goat milk formula day before yesterday and made it up yesterday to give her 2 bottles to try in addition to 2 bottles of the commercial formula as I’m a bit nervous to cut that completely out yet. The recipe I found is similar- 2 c goat milk (could only find powder but found fresh today for tomorrow’s batch), 2 c water, 1/4 c whey, 1-2tsp blackstrap molasses, 2 tsp organic maple syrup, 1/2 tsp cod liver oil, 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 tsp virgin coconut oil, 2 tsp nutritional yeast, 1/4 tsp bifodobacterium infantis, 1 tsp unrefined sunflower oil, 1/4 tsp acerola.
Now, I live in South Africa and some of these things I couldn’t find ( I miss my home Canada with it’s abundant health foods) such as acerola which they told me is discontinued here and to sub with 1/4 tab of 500mg vitamin C. Also I couldn’t find the bifodobacterium on it’s on, I found it mixed with two other paed probiotic strains in powder sachets. And no UNrefined sunflower oil (plenty of refined!). So I made a half batch with all except the sunflower oil and then the 2 slight alterations (vit C and probiotics). Is this recipe sufficient for me to do a full switch for this formula to be full time and lose the 2 bottles of nonsense commercial formula???
I have a friend who’s 4th child couldn’t be nursed past 10 months due to her 5th pregnancy and she gave him just plain goat milk, no formula or additions to the goat milk. I also know of an older grandma who gave her children under 1 goat milk supplemented with molasses for the iron and B vitamins. Please advise as the Weston A Price formula you have above for full time would be even more complicated to make seeing as there is no lactose to be found and not a chance of raw cow milk. Thank you!