So what happens at a year? Well, according to popular belief, as your beautiful breastfed child is sleeping the evening before their first birthday, their world gets rocked: the next day, they will discover that breastmilk serves no purpose. We have found a cow that makes better milk than mom.

How do you make a non-verbal one year old understand that? They are counting on that same warmth, expression of love and wonderful nutrition that they got the day before. What's magic about that 366th day of their life?

Now really, I know that doesn't make sense and the one- year -old is probably confused, but I know some wonderful women who believe that even if they are continuing to breastfeed, that the child still needs supplemental cow's milk "to get enough nutrients." I may live in America's Dairyland where we wear cheeseheads in public, but cow's milk is for cows. And since I'm usually having this conversation at a well visit, with the child right there, I can do a reasonable job of convincing the family that my physical exam suggests that their child is not a cow. Children getting human milk do not need milk from a cow (or a goat, or an almond).

Human milk after 12 months has lower levels of protein, calcium and long chain fatty acids when compared to the milk given to a 3 month old, but that makes sense: 3 month olds are getting breastmilk exclusively. A toddler is getting foods which complement the breastmilk by adding extra protein, calcium and fatty acids to the child's diet. Infection fighting cells are present for the duration of breastfeeding; lactoferrin, lysozyme, immunoglobulin A and oligosaccharides increase in concentration in human milk from 11- 17 months of age. The benefits of breastfeeding longer than a year are not just for the baby: we know that moms who nurse longer lower their risk of breast and other reproductive cancers.

I get it. Many people, including most healthcare providers, don't understand why you'd want to breastfeed for more than a year. But they aren't the ones trying to explain the cultural issues surrounding prolonged breastfeeding to a non-verbal, often upset 15- month -old who just wants to drink milk from a human and not a cow. Given the the massive increase in my t-shirt budget, we are making progress in my little slice of the world. Pretty soon it won't just be the kids that know that human milk does not lose its value at day 366.