Milk Alternatives

You can try rice dream. My daughter doesnt give her kids milk, never has, they drink rice dream if they want milk, and otherwise just drink water. Very healthy, haven't been innundated with the usual childhood earaches, etc. Contrary to what the dairy industry would have you believe, most humans are lactose intolerant. We're not meant to drink cow's milk. Your daughter can get plenty of calcium from vegetables, etc. Good luck.

Marqaux:

Cow/s milk is not an essential part of the human diet.. there is a lot of material available on the web.there are also a couple of books that address this issue... I can look for them in my libray if you want.

Children need water for hydration/ as do we adults.

P., RLC, IBCLC
Pres. Lactation Support Group, Inc
www.lactationsupportgroup.com

Hi-
I have 2 children. My husband and I are both lactose intolerant as well. Both were breastfed for the first 6 months. Then, my oldest had major problems with regular formula, so the pediatrician said to put her on soy, but my husband did the lactose-free formula instead, and it worked fine. When she was ready to move to milk, we tried it, and she loved it, but unfortunately, she vomited frequently when she had too much. We had to change her to soy milk, which has worked out fine. We then didn't take any chances with my son, and automatically put him on lactose-free formula, then whole milk. He has some feeding issues, so even though he's almost 4, he's still on whole milk, lactose-free. For the most part, the 2 differences I see is that with the lactose-free whole milk, you still get the milk fat that pediatricians recommend for young children. I'm not sure that soy milk has enough fat for the youngest milk drinkers. Lactose-free whole milk is generally MUCH more expensive than soy or regular milk, however, and can sometimes be hard to find. (I had to complain when my regular grocery store stopped carrying it for a while, but they did bring it back.)

I second the recommendation of drinking water. My children have learned to associate thirst with drinking water. We use rice milk for pouring over cereal, and almond milk. I do not buy the vanilla flavored because there is a lot of sugar added. Instead, I add a little bit of stevia for sweetness. We do eat some soy products, but there are also problems with the soy products if you eat too much - the estrogen qualities can interfere with normal function and it also can interfere with normal thyroid function, so we eat soy products but in moderation.

Also, I would recommend that you do a little reading or research on other sources of calcium. For instance, sesame seeds or ground sesame seeds and numerous other vegetables provide lots of healthy calcium.

Neither of my children drink milk. They are 6 yrs. and 20 months. They drink rice milk. It's actually not that expensive. If you go to Whole Foods it's cheapest, but Target and Jewel also carry it. Super Traget is cheaper than Jewel. I also agree that cow's milk isn't needed for a healthy diet. I began at about 11-12 months with both of my children with rice milk. Since it's not dairy, you can try it whenever you like.

R.

Becaouse of milk protein allergies I have only given my eldest daughter soy milk after breast milk and she has thrived. She was also a pretty good eater. When number two came along we didn't want to have milk in the house so we put her on soy milk too and she has done fine. I have also read that there is not enough fat in soy milk for proper brain development although since my kids eat well they get fat in other parts of their diet. My girls are bright, happy and healthy and they have never had cow's milk.

My kids threw up their formula until I switched to soy. I just continued with the soy after they got old enough to switch. I get the Vanilla Silk because it is a little sweeter and they like it more. They got brain development fat from other sources and they do tolerate cheese and yogurt. If you feel like it, take regular milk and soy milk and read the nutritional value. I was shocked at how good the soy milk is for you! I couldn't see ANYTHING better about cow milk! Both of my kids are really healthy (knock on wood). People used to give me such a hard time about the Soy..."what's wrong with real milk?" Some people are very passionate about their milk! I would also reccomend organic milk like some of the other moms. Good luck!

I also dont like Cows milk.But Soy milk is not good either.I have heard wonderful things about almond milk.If you want more info email me.there are some wonderful websites that talk about milk that I give to my clients.Let me know how it goes.
Kris

Hi,

I can't drink cow's milk unless it has chocolate syrup in it. It just turns my stomach. My son is the same way. He loves almond milk. Maybe you should give that a try.

K.

My daughter drinks soy. She was always getting constipated and having respitory issues when we started cows milk so my ped suggested soy. She gets soy milk, cheese, and yogurt and loves it! Woodman's has all the products less expensive than the other stores.

One of my friends has hers on Rice Milk. I know that it is very very expensive! Soy Milk is an alternative. If her formula is Milk based, and she is tolerating the milk, what is your reason for the switch?