I was surprised when a girlfriend told me not to give skim milk to my 9-month-old daughter who just stopped breastfeeding. Is she right?
I thought Americans were supposed to eat less fat. 

Your girlfriend is right, but the problem isn't just the low fat content of skim milk. Before one year of age, babies who are not receiving human milk should be given infant formula -- not cow's milk.

There are sound nutritional facts to back up this recmmendation, says to Dr. Judy Hopkinson, our CNRC lactation physiologist. Unlike infant formula, cows milk contains "species-specific" proteins that can cause allergic reactions in young babies. Infant formulas also contain levels of vitamins and minerals that are similar to those found in human milk. But, cows' milk contains levels that are considerably higher. These high mineral levels, which are needed by calves to build their fast-growing skeletons, can tax the developing kidneys human infants. It is because of these, and other, important nutritional differences between human milk and cows milk that infant formulas were developed.   

After your baby's first birthday, you can begin introducing cows milk -- but offer whole milk, not skim. The recommendation that Americans consume less fat applies only to children over the age of 2 and adults.  When your baby was breastfed, over 50 percent of her calories came from fat. And even at 1 year of age, she will still need more calories from fat than adults to ensure she grows and develops properly. Fat provides calories necessary for growth and essential nutrients needed for brain development.

So, keep drinking skim milk yourself, but give your baby soy-based or cows-milk based infant formula until she reaches her first birthday, after which you switch from formula to whole cows milk. After the age of 2, it will be safe to gradually decrease the fat in your daughter's diet to the recommended level of no more than 30 percent of total calories from fat and begin serving her skim milk.