Soy Milk for 12 Month Old?

Which ever milk type product you settle with I would suggest adding a multi-vitamin + mineral supplement specific for kids 6 mo to 2 yrs to his daily diet.

My daughter and grandson are doing well drinking Lactaid brand lactose free milk. Specialty milk products can be very costly. But if they drink too much it can cause them digestive distress. WIC in Oregon will provide Lactaid with a doctors note.

All things in moderation, it may be good for the family to experience the many varieties and different tastes available.

Hi, M.. I agree with other moms to stay away from soymilk, especially for boys. My husband and I used to drink lots of soymilk and stopped because of the high estrogen content, as well as it was giving me digestive issues. We use organic Rice Dream and love it! It is fortified with Vitamin D. We plan to give that to my son when he stops nursing at age 2. But if you can, nurse your little one for longer. He obviously loves your milk and you know it is good for him with no issues. And I've found nursing in the second year to be great for all those colds the kids catch. My little one has hardly been sick! If it's work that is the problem you could still nurse part-time, in the mornings and evenings. And for the in-between give rice milk. Or just give water but offer yogurt, fresh cheeses, etc. Either way, don't be distressed by your son being allergic to milk. Most people are because cow's milk is meant for baby cows. There are plenty of ways for your little one to get the calcium he needs. Yobaby is a wonderful addition. Hope this helps and if you have any questions about continuing nursing, feel free to contact me. I love it and so does my son!

Are you positive it's a lactose problem and not a casein (milk protein) problem? Because if it's a casein problem, then any cow's milk product he consumes, directly or through breastmilk, is going to bother him. It actually causes lesions in the intestinal wall, which take time to heal.

Children with casein intolerance tend to have problems with soy as well. I would go with rice milk.

My daughter had horrible pains from protein intolerance when tiny, but did grow out of it. I'm sure your boy will too. Start with fermented products like yogurt and cheese--the proteins are already partly broken down by the processing.

If you take the milk that is in a carton on the shelf or use an infant formula, read the label. It should tell you what it contains.

I found myself allergic to even to soy milk, and drink the rice milk--it is really good. It has the added calicum and vitamins as milk.

Hi M.,
My son went on whole milk when he was one (I breast fed up until then). He had some reactions to it, stomach ache, diarrea and such. His doctor put him on Soy milk and soy products. She said that his system may not be ready for milk products yet. He was on Soy Milk until he was 3 and then we started introducting milk again and he is 6 now and doing great. Milk products do not bother him any more. If you look on the package soymilk does have close to what Vita D whole milk has so you really don't have to add to his diet as long as he is eating like he should anyway. Good luck!

M.,

I, too, have heard from my doctor who is a naturopath that soymilk is not ideal. But, it may be the best alternative for you. I would encourage you to look into goat milk as an option, as well. People who are sensitive to cow's milk have had better results with goat milk. Alternatively, you may want to wean him to just water in his cup (maybe mix it with pumped milk to start) and make sure he gets his calcium elsewhere (cheese, yogurt, etc.). My 19-month-old, while only recently weaned, never took to any milk other than mom's, so we just give him water for thirst and other dairy for calcium. Good luck!

Hi M.! My son who is now 27 months old loves his vanilla soy milk. He is highly allergic to all fresh dairy products. I nursed him until he was 2 (I had to quit eating/drinking all dairy while nursing him) but supplemented with soy milk and of course meals and snacks. He also takes a vitamin supplement 2 times a day. I also found that Quinoa (pronounced keenwa) is a great snack or meal. You can use it like rice or like oatmeal. My son likes his butter (no dairy) and a little bit of raw sugar (just a pinch). My daughter likes it with butter and a little bit of garlic salt. It's a super nutritious, complete food. It's high in protein and has all the 8 essential amino acids. The best place to get it is at Costco (we found it at the one in Federal Way). Anyway, hope that helps - I know that you will receive TONS of info from all the other moms as well. Just sift through it all and decide what works best for you and your little one. Best of luck!

My daughter is lactose intolerant she drinks soy or Rice Dreams. I make sure we buy orange juice with added calcium, she can handle cheese and yougurt, hopefully this will work for you and yours.

Hello,
My son also had trouble with milk and formula. I found that with soy milks he could handle it, I just have read and heard that for younger children soy milk can cause problems for them later on. I went with lactose free milk. And I have found that he can handle it just find. Yes, its more expensive, but he is so much happier. I also give my son a vitamin everyday to help get him the vitamins he needs.

By his first birthday, he should be getting all the nutrients he needs through food, and milk is just for hydration. Generally, the doctor recommends that you get rid of the bottle around the same time so they don't consume so many milk calories that they aren't eating solids well. Soy should be just fine.

We give our son Rice Dream (enriched), warm in his bottle and he loves it.

you can also try rice milk and goat's milk for him. yogurt and hard cheese have LESS lactose, if that is the problem, so you could try those instead of a liquid milk (and stick to water or juice for the drinks).

But you may want to talk to your doctor. I love soy milk for myself, but, i know that it contains a lot of plant estrogens, which may add up too quickly in small kids. I don't know what the current research is saying about these things, just that it is something to consider. Your doctor may have a better sense.

You could try soy milk, but my DD was sensative to cows milk (got bad gas & the runs) and she had the same reaction to soy milk (soy also gives me bad gas too). I gave her goats milk at around 11m and it worked great, no problems at all. It is much easier to digest than cows milk for little tummies. It's a little expensive but fairly easy to find. I bought it at Trader Joes, Fred Meyer [in the organic section] and New Seasons but other stores may carry it and I just don't shop there. Now that she is 18m I moved her over to cows milk and she seems fine with it. I think her little digestive system just needed some transition time to get more mature.

My son had an extreme sensitivity to dairy passed through my breastmilk. I had to eliminate from my diet anything that had milk protein in it. On our pediatrician's advice, at 13 months I started adding some dairy back to my diet. I did this for a week, then I started giving my son cheese. He tolerated that well, so we moved on to yogurt, then milk. He did have a lot more gas at nighttime! So we just gave him Mylicon and that seemed to help him.

I don't know if you are still nursing, but 12 months is just the recommended age to start adding cow's milk to babies' diets. You don't really have to start at exactly 12 months. You can try it and if it doesn't go well you can wait a little while and try again. Your ped would probably have some suggestions for you too.

Good Luck

Hi M.,

I would suggest using rice milk instead of soy milk for two reasons: 1. some children have a reaction to the cassein in soy and dairy products, which makes it less likely to be tolerated than the highly digestable rice products; 2. Soy products tend to have a higher level of estrogens...so much so that soy estrogen therapies are offered for menopausal women. I think soy and tofu are great for kids, in reasonable amounts, but kids do tend to want to tank up on milk, so being cautious with soy milk for little boys is wise.

I have a sensitivity to milk. Our pediatrician recommended rice milk for our son; I'll try him with milk when he's capable of telling me if it's upsetting his stomach.

Well, I weaned my daughter from BF to soy out of a sippy cup (we just bypassed the whole bottle thing that way) and it worked great. I am lactose intolerant and drink soy so I actually just switched her to soy to be safe. She loved it, and had no problems. I think it made the transition easier since IMHO it taste more like breastmilk than cow milk does. There's a bit of sweetness. The only thing is definitely get enriched/extra fatty soy milk. It is lower fat than dairy and doesn't have all the vitamins unless it's enriched. My doctor insisted on that but said it's good for babies otherwise.

I would refrain from giving a child soy milk, especially boys. One glass of soy milk has as much estrogen as a birth control pill. Scientists still do not know how this effects the body and I certainly wouldn't want to experiment with my baby boy..

If you feel that your child is fully ready to wean (I personally think that 12 months is too early), then he shouldn't need any sort of milk. Cow's milk is for baby cows, so it's fine that he's allergic. Perhaps you could nurse for a few more months and then wean to whole foods? If not, you can always use a different milk subsitute like rice milk, almond milk, or hemp milk. My son nursed until he was 3, but for the other times he has rice or almond milk. All of these forms of milk are fortified with vit. d and calcium, so they are equal, if not better, substitues. However, breast milk is the only milk that is perfectly formulated for your baby.

:)

Please talk to your doctor about this. Your son may be lactose intolerant, dair sensitive, or may have a serious milk allergy. (They are three different things.) You may also want to see an allergy specialist.

My son has a life threatening peanut allergy and I'm in a wonderful group with a list serve email. While I don't deal with milk allergies, there are many families with them and I know there appropriate solutions depending on your son's diagnosis.

Your doctor is your best source of information and will help you discern specifically what your son's issue is and how best to treat it.

Good luck!
C.