Soy Milk?

Breastmilk and or formula is best. Remember, babies/toddlers need WHOLE milk from their 1st to 2nd years... they need the 'fat' in it which is essential for their brain growth etc. and their physiological development. After that, after 2 yrs. old, reduced fat milk can be used. Children and babies should not be concerned with dieting at this age, for cosmetic reasons. Organic whole milk is good, it does not have the chemicals in it that regular milk has. If you give your baby soy milk... don't depend on it for all it's nutrition qualities... formula (contains the needed iron, which babies need), and whole milk is nutritious. Also, regular dairy milk should NOT be given to a child that is less than 1 year old. For the first year of life, a baby should be given breastmilk or formula. I'm surprised your Pediatrician didn't mention this. Soy milk is an 'alternative' for children OVER 1 year old who don't like cow's milk or who are allergic to it. ALso, keep in mind that Soy Milk has natural occurring hormones in it... if a child drinks too much of it, it can affect their hormone balance as well. Some people say it doesn't.... but my friend relied on Soy milk for her 2 girls.... and they had problems with their biological development... in essence,among other things, they got their periods WAY too early... and their doctor said it was the soy mil and they had to stop it. Once they stopped drinking it, their 'symptoms' disappeared. It affected BOTH her daughters. Also, soy products are used to help menopausal women because it has natural hormones in it. Keep this in mind as you decide on what to do. Any 'milk' you give your baby, should be fortified with the essential minerals and iron, or baby can get malnourished. That's why formula or breastmilk is best for the 1st year, at least. Evaluate wisely. Don't just go Soy milk because it may be trendy. Research it. Your Pediatrician should have brought up these points.

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hay not to scare you but i have been reading up on some autism sites and a link between soy products and autism look into it .
tani

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Hi C.! :)

Please research soy formula and soy milk in detail before deciding to use it. Sadly, america has been brainwashed about this "health product". (England has actually banned the sale of soy formula in their country) It's a multi-million-dollar industry and the companies who produce it will do anything to keep the blinders on and the money flowing. To be precise, the ONLY people soy milk is good for is aging women and even that is questionable.

http://www.quantumbalancing.com/news/soy%20dangers.htm

As far as regular cows milk goes, it's best to wait til they are 1 year old and only use organic milk. Regular milk is full of anti-biotics and growth hormones. Notice an increase lately in children starting puberty early? (8,9,10 years old) This is the reason.

Best of wishes!
M.

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There is actually quite a bit of evidence that Soy Milk is really not a very healthy food and even less so for babies & children. There are a couple of great articles on this website that may help you with your research: www.mercola.com

Just type in soy milk in the search field and you will get quite a few articles. Here is one interesting one I found: http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/An-Urgent-Warning-...

You are right to question regular milk. At the very least, I would buy organic milk for your daughter (and the rest of your family) and as she gets a little older, you may want to consider giving her raw milk. That's what we drink in our house along with regular organic milk. You can also research raw milk on that same website.

Do your research and then when you make your decision you can feel that you made an educated one. Good luck!

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I would have to agree w/some of the moms here, from age 1 to 2 they need whole milk (vitamin D). Soy milk is used for people who cant have regular milk due to lactose or related issue's. And giving your daughter soy milk can create more problems then help them. Whole milk has some important vitamins and more fat that soy milk cant offer, so you really should research it, but you really shouldn't make the switch till after her 2nd b-day after she has been able to comsume all the fat that whole milk offers.

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when soy is consumed it will stop/slow the absorption of other vital minerals and vitamins from other foods consumed. It is not a nutritional sound substance and is not recommended for cancer patients since it "plays" with hormones (imagine what it can do to a little child's growing body). Soy is SCARY! Try goats milk or hemp milk if you want to try an alternative to cow's milk.

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Sweetie, I would research soy a little better before subjecting your child to it. There are many horrible health issues related to soy products. Here's a link from Dr. Mercola that I think you should check out first. Good luck.
http://www.mercola.com/article/soy/index.htm

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