Switch to Soy Milk at Age One

Hi M.,
I can't remember where I read that soy formula should be continued to age 2 and soy milk not given until that age so I don't know whether that was really valid information or not. I don't believe that there's any research that discusses the benefits of "toddler formulas" since these products are really just a marketing ploy to get people to spend more money. If you're unsure about the right diet for your child with her allergy and lack of food, I would go for a consult with a pediatric nutritionist.
Good luck!

M.,
Keep trying new foods of course, and water is a good thing to have also.

Soy milk can be found in enriched formulas - but I don't know whether adult enriched will be enough for her. (found out adult oatmeal has iron, but not enough for an infant). You will have to find out from charts or your pediatrician what levels of nutrients you should be looking for. Soy milk alone will not do it, of course.

Good Luck finding soy that fits the bill. An organic soy company is 'Soy Boy'; they have a plant in Rochester NY, and others elsewhere. You might try them (calling might yield more info, too).

M.

Is it possible to make the soy formula WITH soy milk, using a little less formula mix? That way she's still getting some formula along with the little bits of food that she takes in. Just a thought.

My daughter as well has a dairy and egg allergy. The allergist recommended rice milk vs soy. Said that rice milk had a lot more nutritional value to it. Look at them both and compare. My daughter is doing fine on the rice milk drinks more then the formula. We were on a specail formula too. Sometimes they react to soy if they have a milk allergy, so we stayed away from soy. This is all from a pediatrition allergist. Good luck.

Like the previous mom said, soy milk has less fat than cow's milk so it'd be good to get your daughter eating good fats like avocadoes and olive oil. Another nutrient I always worry about for my little one is iron, which milk doesn't really have. I give her vitamin C fortified apple sauce mixed with Earth's Best baby cereal. The C helps them absorb the iron. If you stayed with the formula, it probably has iron in it.

I need to do more research on soy too, but as far as I know it's healthy. The only place I've read bad things about it is Mothering magazine, which tends to be highly biased. You can get extremely sick from drinking raw cow's milk.

If she is taking the PolyVitamin (ask pediatrician), that will give her anything she might be missing. My kid was on Rice milk (enriched) after age one (milk and soy intolerance). I put olive oil in a lot of his food to give him the healthy fat he was missing from milk, also avocado is a great source of vitamins and healthy fats.

My son has a dairy allergy as well. At age one i started similac isomil level two formula. Its for toddler so it has more vitamins and minerals that a toddler needs that regular fomula. Soy milk is low in fat about half what regular cows milk is so i was concerned about him not getting the amount of good fat for brain development. I was only able to find the level two isomil at target but this was two years ago so you might have an easier time finding it. I kept him on level two formula until he was two by then he was eating better that i felt okay just giving him regular soy milk. hope this helps.
-J.
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I dont have any experience with toddler formula, so I am no help to you there... :)
But I can tell you that we only drink soy milk in my home. My kids have been drinking it since they turned one.

We only drink Silk PLUS Omega-3. Silk has other PLUS varieties. A Bone Health and a Fiber. I like the nutrients in the Omega-3 the best. Its not plain flavored but not Sugary Vanilla, either. Actually has less sugar than regular milk.

Compare the nutritional content side by side with whole milk. Its got a lot of great stuff. More vitamins than you find in regular milk. :)

Oh, the price can be a little high in the grocery store. I find it in Target for almost $2 less a 1/2 gallon, than I see in the grocery stores. Good Luck!!!! :)

Dear M.,
I am a Doctor of Chiropractic and former Deputy Director of the Office on Complementary and Alternative Medicine for the Dept of Health NY State. Check out these products for your child and introduce them to your pediatrician:

http://www.naturesone.com/index.php?gclid=CIWop_voqZcCFQN...

All the Best,
Dr Leslie Botta, DC
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My son was switched to soy milk also. Silk soy milk has a special soy milk that is fortified just for children, It has more vitamins and fat in it. The flavor is called very vanilla and my son loves it. It comes in a purple container.

M.

I don't know much about soy formula etc but I do know it can be very hard to digest. I assume the soy formula is non genetically modified soy. Something to look at. I developed psoriasis and went to many drs none who could help. I went to a naturopathic dr who discussed soy with me and now that i researched it, it seems to be the highest allergy in the US (only since they genetically modified it). She said goats milk is the closest thing to human milk and it is easiest to digest. I use it now and even put it in my husband's coffee and he has no idea. Hope this helps!