Putting 11-Month Old on Rice Milk.

My daughter is 3 now and still drinks rice milk. I buy the enriched stuff not the original. I also buy vanilla because it tastess better and has a bit more fat. She is skinny(36" and 25lbs.)! I have to watch her weight pretty close. I would try the goats milk first. She's actually allergic to a protien in the milk not lactose intolerant, so goat's milk didn't work for us. I do feed her a bit of regular milk in cooked foods and she seems to be able to have cheese and yogurt. something about the protien she's allergic to doesn't affect her after being cooked. I would suggest seeing a nutritionist if you see your daughter losing or not gaining weight after you switch to rice milk.My daughter just turned 3 on Sunday and is testing at a 5yr-olds levels so I don't think the low-fat has hurt her brain development:)

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YOUR BABY IS TO YOUNG FOR JUST RICE MILK IT DOESNT HAVE REALLY ANY FAT IN IT AND AT THIS YOUNG THEY STILL NEED LOTS OF FAT. BUT I STARTED USING IT TO MIX CEREAL AND STUFF LIKE THAT AROUND 14 MONTHS.

HI, WELL I HAVE A 21 MONTH OLD LIL GIRL WHO I HAD BEEN BREASTFEEDING FOR A YEAR WHEN HER FATHER AND I DECIDED TO GET A DIVORCE. SO WITH ALL THE CHANGES (PACKING, MOVING, SCREAMING :)) I NEEDED SOMEONE TO BE ABLE TO BABY SIT HER, BUT AT 1 YEAR OF AGE SHE HAD NEVER BEEN BABYSAT AND I ONLY BREASTFED I NEVER PUMPED OR USED A BOTTLE AND COME TO FIND OUT I COULDNT PUMP. SO I STARTED TRYING EVERY FORMULA OUT THERE BECAUSE SHE STILL DIDNT EAT REALLY GOOD SO SHE STILL NEEDED FORMULA. AND IF YOU HAVE EVER TASTED THEM (FORMULAS) THEY ARE NASTY!!!!! BUT I FINALLY CAME ACROSS GENIUS ORGANICS FORMULA (GOATS MILK) AND IT IS SWEET LIKE BREAST MILK. SO I JUST WENT COLD TURKEY WITH HER ONE DAY AND TOLD HER NO MORE BOOB BABY. SO I HAVE GIVIN YOU THE WEB SITE. I STILL USE IT WHEN SHE IS TEETHING REALLY BAD BECAUSE SHE REFUSES TO EAT FOOD WHEN HER MOUTH REALLY HURTS AND AT LEAST THIS WAY I KNOW SHE IS GETTING THE VITAMINS SHE NEEDS AND IT COMES IN VANILLA AND CHOCOLATE SO SHE LOVES IT.
GOOD LUCK HOPE I WAS OF SOME HELP

If your daughter does not tolerate formula or soy or milk, I would strongly encourage you to continue breastfeeding as long as you can. I am 64, mother of two breast fed adults from and allergic family and a former La Leche League leader. During my 13 years as a leader, I worked with families with allergic children...any who abandoned the breast milk before the child indicated he/she was done wished they had stayed with it because of ear infections, colds, asthma and other breathing problems that occurred when breastfeeding stopped. I can understnad being ready to be done...maybe there are some self care things you could do for yourself or your partner could do for you that will support your decision to stay with breastfeeding until child weans? V.

i thought you couldn't give kids rice milk until they are 5yrs old unless a dr. suggests it. At least that is what is wriiten on the actual cartons.

I have my almost 18 month old on Rice milk for the same reason. I get the original enriched.

I started giving it to him around 12 months, when we started the weaning process.

For a little while, probably until he was 13 months or so, I would put some formula in it just incase. My son couldn't and still can't tolerate regular milk so we have stuck with it. You can buy it in bulk at Vitamin cottage.

I also found that it made weaning easier because the rice milk tastes sweeter then regular milk.

Good luck. When your daughter has enough teeth, you can give her a vitamin too. So far we haven't had any problems. My best friend has her kkids on it too for the same reasons and they have turned out just fine!

Please find some place where you can get some goat's milk. Sounds weird, I know, but it is better for babies, much less likely to cause allergies, and it supplies the fat your baby needs

There aren't a ton of nutrients in rice milk...I would be cautious. I am gluten intolerant and cut out all lactose for a while - and it was just something to wet the gluten-free cereal.

As for extra fats - it isn't the same kind of fat, but avocados are a great source of healthful fats. Kids usually love them at 11mos. I would definitely consult your pediatrician before making such a change.

You may want to check with your pediatrician. I know mine said NO cows milk or any other milk (other than breast milk or formula) until age 1. You only have a month to go. I have a friend who at age 1 did do rice milk but make sure her son got lots of yogurt and cheese for fat and vitamin D. Make sure it's the version that has all the extra vitamins and stuff in it, not the original.

My boys drink rice milk too. Almond is good too, but there's the allergy piece there with the nuts.

There is a strawberry flavored liquid oil omega-3 supplement called Children's DHA (by nordic naturals) that we put in their milk and call it strawberry milk. You can get it at health food stores. My guys are a little older (one is 3 and one is 15 months and still nursing)than your daughter.

I would consider getting her tested to see what is really going on with her allergies. My boys don't have strong reactions to wheat, dairy, or soy, but test positive for all 3. They just always seemed to have a cold or have trouble getting over illness.

Good luck! LA

Yes, but not until about 15 months. My D is also very allergic. Fats can be obtained in other foods. As well, ask your doctor for a dietician consult to help get the nutrition issues started correctly. Ailimentum is a predigested formula that has the proteins broken down for easier digestion. This may be another option. The issue must be a protein allergy if soy is an issue as soy does not contain the lactose that milk does. You may want to seek more medical advice for allergy testing. I am a family practitioner and my Daughter's Dr. put her on Rice formula only to find out she was more allergic to rice than to dairy! Have your little one properly tested...it is not too early even though some will say you must wait until 2 years. DON'T! Find out what you can do now.

If you are feeding her healthy foods she gets what she needs. You aren't going to get these things from commercial-sold, highly pasteurized cows milks anyway. Rice milk is great for this. Also, you can get the fish oil capsules and puncture one and squirt some in her mouth everyday- my 2 yr olds LOVE it, and sometimes will chew on the capsule afterward like gum..

Just be sure she is eating good foods too! We gave them Rice milk at that age.
The Goats milk suggestion is great too!

I would recommend goats milk. It is very close to breast milk and easy to digest.

I would use baby formula. I don't think rice milk or any other will have all the nutrients your baby needs

Rice milk is nutritionally weak. I know it's physically draining, but your breast milk is the very best option for your daughter's nutrition. There is no way to really supplement equivalently. If you must wean, wean to a hypo-allergenic formula or goat's milk or some combination. If she truly has an allergic constitution she could develop an allergy to these if she starts drinking them a lot. This is how it worked with my allergic kiddos when they became enchanted with any new food/drink. Things to consider.... Good luck!

Try goat milk instead of rice milk

Have you thought about goat's milk? I have never personally tried it with any of my kids, but I do know of others who have. Just a suggestion!

Last time I looked, rice milk had very little protein, besides having no fat. We had this problem with my son, and I had him on formula from 10 months to 16 or 18 months. Then he outgrew the problem with soy milk, and now he drinks lots of it all the time. We're still working on the problem with cow's milk.

You might also look at the nutrition label on almond milk - it's probably better than rice milk, but I don't know for sure. Of course, if you have a family history of nut allergies, you might not want to go that way. Good luck!

The main concern is just the fat content is considerably less in rice milk. i have 2 children who can not tolerate either soy or cow's milk. Most people can not tolerate them, however don't relize thier health problems stem from cow's milk and soy products. Coconut milk is ideal for children as well as many other benefits that cow's milk can not come close to. Rice milk is fine but i recommend rotating it with coconut and/or other milks. There are some good tasting alternatives such as almond, oat, and hemp milk out there now. I make smoothies with the rice milk in the morning often blending it with fresh fruit and some coconut milk. coconut milk can get expensive - however you can look up Azure Standard (via the web) they truck in whole sale groceries once a month to most places in Utah and if you buy coconut milk by the case it is much more affordable. Interestingly enough, you may want to try raw goat's or cow's milk. One of my two children who react to pasteruized cow's milk have no problem with raw since it still has all the digestive enzymes present. I know a few very good safe sources if you are interested. As faw as quitting nursing - I know what you mean by being ready to stop - I am there myself - but the longer you can nurse even just sticking it out until 12 or 13 months - the better for your child's health. Good luck!

Hey, Could she take formula? There is formula for 9-24 mon olds. Or, is she still allergic to that? I don't think I would give rice milk. There is no fat in it. The other option is to continue to nurse until she's two. After that, they're supposed to have lowfat milk.

I put my son on rice milk after I stopped breastfeeding at about 10 mo. just for the fact I feel it is better for him than cows milk then when he turned about one for extra fat I started doing half rice milk and half coconut milk I also give him a bottle a day of whey protein to make sure he is getting the protein he needs.

Hi A.,

I highly recommend going to goat's milk. It is closer to mother's milk than cow's milk and is easier to digest. Almond milk may be another good one to try.

If you have questions, email me at ____@____.com. I wrote a book called Shopper's Guide to Healthy Living. It takes only four hours to read and helps people get started eating healthy. It has ideas like this that I wish I would have known when my kids were little.

Hello A.,
I recommend that you either give your baby raw goats milk, which is the most like mother's milk, or that you supplement the rice milk to make it more nutritional.
To one bottle of rice milk I would add:

*1 capsule of EFA (Essential Fatty Acid)--This nutrient is found in fish, flax, evening primrose oils. A food, high quality EFA supplement if from the brand Flora, called Udo's Oil.
*A dose of Flora brand children's multivitamin (divide the dose into however many bottles he will be drinking per day)
*A dose of Dr. Christopher brand Kid-E-Mins, also divided into doses dependent on the number of bottles per day(the former is an excellent source of vitamins and the latter is an excellent source of minerals--they are both in liquid form)
*about 1/2 teaspoon protein powder
*about a pinch of acidophilus/probiotic powder.

Good luck with it,
R. Jolley,CPM

Hi A.,
My 13 month old son can't have cow's or soy milk either. Once I stopped nursing at 11 months, I put him on goat's milk. He likes the taste and will drink it (which is good because he's really picky) and it doesn't hurt his tummy/intestines. The proteins in goat's milk are a lot easier to digest than in cow's milk and they both have very similar nutrient content. Plus you can get it as whole milk which is good for his brain development, etc. I did a bunch of online research before deciding to use it and found that this is what a lot of parents do whose babies won't tolerate dairy or soy. In fact, my sister has friends who have been giving it to their baby since 6 weeks old. So I would recommend doing your own research about goat's milk and hopefully it will work for your daughter as well. I would be very cautious about using rice milk as even on the container it says to not use as a formula and to consult a doctor for use in kids under 5. Good luck!