Warm Milk vs. Cold Milk Game On.

Hello again. I hope everyone had a great week and enjoyed watching the "Big Game" on Sunday (Congrats to the New Orleans Saints, job well done). So like most Americans- me the hubby and Chickpea participated in a football party. In fact, this was Chickpea's first official football party. We were invited by some great friends of ours to come over, and enjoy the game and some traditional football food. It was really perfect since our friends have a little boy named Tucker who is a little older than Hayden.


We got to their house around 5 pm, and were immediately greeted by a very excited Tucker, who could not wait to play with Chickpea. Things were going great, everyone was having a great time, the kids got along great, and I even had a chance to enjoy some game day cocktails and catch up with some great friends.

I t was around 6:30pm and we decided to sit the kids down to eat some dinner. The kids where so cute sitting in their respective highchairs (they looked like they were having a little mini date with a table for two). I got Chickpea all set up and Tucker's mom asked me about this cow printed sleeve over Chickpea's sippy cup. Of course I immediately shared all about this super cool bottle/ sippy cup warmer that I never leave home without. Tucker's mom laughed and shared that Chickpea would most likely drink her bottle regardless whether it was warm or cold. And in true game day fashion a bet was on. Would Chickpea still drink her milk if it was cold rather than warm?

Now knowing my very particular child, I knew I had this one in the bag, so I was sure to bet big. The wager was set, the loser had to treat the winner to massage and babysit her child. As they say "Game On"! I quickly removed the adorable cow printed sleeve warmer from Chickpea's sippy cup and handed her the cold milk. Like true fashion, she handed it back to me with a look in her eyes that read " Woman have you lost your damn mind, you know I only drink warm milk, now get with the program and stop playing games before I real cranky, real fast". No more than 10 seconds after tasting the cold milk in her sippy cup, Chickpea immediately handed me the cup and looked and me again with those eyes that read "Handle this situation, please".
Tucker's mom could not believe what she was witnessing, and was also not happy that she had lost the bet in record time. I joked with her, and asked when would be a good time for me to schedule my massage so I can drop Chickpea off. Tucker's mom laughed and commented that she can't believe she got hustled by a 20 month old and her mommy.

After we got home that night, I got to thinking why did Chickpea love her warm milk so much, and if there were any benefits to giving her milk warm vs. giving cold. So as you can guess I turned to my trusty computer and fired up the internet once again.

So it turns out that warm cow’s milk mimics mother's breast milk temperature and is naturally easier for babies/ toddlers to digest. In addition warm milk is rich in tryptophan like breast milk which can aide in sleep and relaxation for babies and toddlers.

Now understanding this, it is also important to know we need to be careful when heating pumped breast milk formula, or cow’s milk. If you heat milk, breast milk or formula in the microwave it can change the milk's composition which cause the loss certain anti-infective properties and nutrients, even when microwave for a short amount of time. For years experts have been saying that microwaving baby's milk causes horrible heat distribution creating hot spots that can burn babies' mouth's. Although most people shake bottles to avoid this - it always does not work because heat tends to re-conglomerate immediately. Experts do recommend that pumped breast milk, formula, and cow's milk be warmed with even slow heat in order to retain nutrients.

Lastly, I have some news about a great giveaway.  Tell your friends to join facebook, and my blog to be eligible for "Onthe Fly" product giveaways.  Be sure to check Facebook this week, and look for the words" Baby Love" promotion code to get $30 worth of FREE product ( the value of one small starter kit, or only $5 for a large starter kit).  Please note promotion does not inlcude shipping costs.