Mark, I 'm not sure that I understand why you say that you ultimately
have to give the child some type of formula, do you mean a "milk"
beverage?  I've breastfed all of my kids over 2 years (one is now 16
months and nursing) but we start giving them a cup of rice milk at an
early age (7-8 months) to get them used to a cup and then they just keep
on drinking it.  We also use alot of almond milk which is good for
calcium intake,if anyone wants to know how to make it let me know.

Another good food to increase calcium intake is amaranth, we are also
gluten intolerant so I use amaranth flour frequently in baking and feel
really good about the quality of nutrition it offers.  Again let me know
if interested and I'll share recipes.

  I can't remember who it was who said they were weaning because she
needed some meds for migraines.  I support your decision to wean if its
right for you, congratulations for sticking with it for so long.  Please
don't feel attacked here, its great to nurse for the second year and its
great if you don't.  Your child will be fine with the foods that she
eats and the rice or soy milk that you give her.  Don't let doctors (who
get most of their nutritional info from formula and baby food
companies)  scares us into thinking that our children will not be
nourished without milk.  The food industry really wants us all to
believe that we have to have dairy products to be healthy  (they make
money that way) and its just not true.

Larissa