Switching to Milk;

First of all, don't add soy or feed him soy as it is high in estrogen. Read more at www.mercola.com
If he is having ear infections, he will probably continue having them when the antibiotics have been taken away for awhile. Rounds of antibiotics are not at all good for anyone.
I got rid of my problems with Peaceful Mountain Sinus Rescue which is a silver product. Mine were sinus issuses, but swabbing the ear with silver or with hydrogen peroxide (much cheaper)kills germs and bacteria.
He may also be allergic to milk if you think there is a link between that and his problems. I do food allergy testing as do many other practitioners. You might consider that, as well.
He may also do better with goat's milk as it is easier to digest. And chiropractors often say they can get rid of constant ear infections. So there are a few other things to try. You don't want him getting immune to the antibiotics from using them again and again as he grows. One day he may actually need one.

L. Mac Dougall, Holistic Health Practitioner

If you are dealing with ear infections DO NOT switch to dairy OR soy. There are so many other options out there. One that is great (I hear, my kids didn't get to try it as we didn't know about it) is www.neocate.com.

PLEASE read "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders", by Dr. Kenneth Bock

On another note, please make sure YOU have done the research on vaccinations for YOUR child. The AAP recommended schedule of shots for children is too many, too soon. Here are sites and books that I always recommend for people to start their research:

www.909shot.com
www.tacanow.org

The Vaccine Book, by Dr. Robert Sears

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Childhood Vaccinations, by Dr. Stephanie Cave

Evidence of Harm, by David Kirby

Also, check out the latest news on the rates of autism:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/autism-rate-now...

If your child is already having issues with ear infections, I would avoid cow's milk. Additionally, I would avoid sugary foods; a diet with an abundance of sugar, dairy products and overly rich foods are all things that we would say are "damp-inducing" and "phlegm-inducing" from a TCM perspective (read: can cause ear infections and other problems, especially in small children). Goat's milk is far more easily digestible and may be a good choice instead of dairy.

Soy milk would be one alternative that I would look into before making it primary substitute; while it has a lot of protein per serving, there are many phytoesters per serving as well. While this can be great under some cicrumstances, I am not sure if you want to make that a primary food for a developing boy. I've heard you'll want to avoid giving boys too much soymilk when they are going through puberty, but I am actually not sure about what to do for a male infant. That is something I would research.

Best of luck to you!

Dairy is a top allergen and is is not meant for human consumption. I own a natural paretning store in fullerton, Belly Sprout, and I am able to hear of problems related to dairy from the parents. When children have eczema or other fodd-related problems, it is usually diary that is first eliminated.

I have 2 boys, aged 3 and 5. I breast-fed and continue to breast-feed my youngest, although I understand this is not an option for you. Because I went to a natropath and am involved in the natural parenting community, I never gave my kids cows milk. The information was clear; cows milk causes more problems than benefits. Goats Milk, although expensive, is the most like breast-milk and digests easier. Almond and Hemp milk are better alternatives than Soy, as long as your baby doesn't have an allergy to Almonds. Hemp milk is full of nutrients and that's waht I give my boys. We only do Goats Milk yogurt as well as the milk. I can tell you that my boys do not get the ear infections other kids do!

The problem with Soy is that it is one the top genetically modified foods. The studies on the benefits of Soy were done on traditional cultures eating fermented Soy, not the processes stuff we eat today. My family does not eat ANY form of Soy and I go out of my way to make sure Soy is not in any of our food products!

Check out our website, wwww.bellysprout.com or join me on Face Book, C. Funk. We post a lot of information on health, natural parenting and green living. I will be doing a lecture a week from saturday, The First 7 Years and how we can either help our children eat better to live healthier!

Good luck,
C. Funk
www.bellysprout.com

Cows whole milk....only avoid dairy if they are congested. Soy can be toxic in large amounts.

You should really research soy milk before giving it to your son. Go to drmercola.com and looking in their video archives. There is a dr. On there that says soy milk mimics estrogen and causes early developement in girls. Don't remember what it does to boys.

I agree with Caroline H. and would use trial and error and see what works for you and your little guy. I know that there are strong opinion's on cow's milk out there and that it does cause problems for some people. However, I wouldn't rule it out for you. Both of my daughters (and me) drink milk, eat a lot of yogurt and cheese and are healthier than just about anyone I know. Neither of them have had an ear infection or skin condition and typically just deal with 3-4 colds a year. The nice thing about milk and milk products is the accessibility and affordability (even organic) compared to some of the alternatives. I'm not advocating for milk for you, just suggesting that you don't rule it out until you have reason to do so. Good luck with the transition!

Dairy is usually the cause of ear infections. All 3 of my kids have never had cow's milk. When #1 was eating some yogurt, he ended up with his only 2 ear infections that I treated with vitamin A and a probiotic (PB8). I also got him adjusted by our chiropractor and his ears were clear within 12 hours. We stopped the yogurt and never gave any to the next 2 kids. No more ear infections....ever.

Soy is highly allergenic as well, but not only that, it stimulates estrogen receptors. Especially with boys, soy is a really bad idea. We have no idea how much soy it's gonna take, regardless of the other environmental estrogen exposures, to cause come gender bending.

I read more research than 90% of the MDs and I can tell you that dairy is not a good idea, regardless of what the dairy council will advertise.

I've had friends use goat's milk and their ped freaks, but I'll tell you what....their mucus goes away, digestion is better, etc.

Docs ALL say to avoid dairy when we're sick. But they usually mean WHILE WE'RE SICK. Not forever and always. (Wanna bake your noodle? Human milk makes us phlegmmy, too. So do a LOT of complex proteins...milk is so digestable that it comes on faster. Just ask any professional singer...it's why sooo many of them are notoriously persnickity about what they'll eat or drink preshow.)

Most kids grow out of ear infections (i wrote out why, nerding out, and then just deleted 3 paragraphs..I'm sure you've been told why by your doc already :), so during an acute infection I'd avoid dairy (doing the complex dance of fats and proteins thing that kids who are allergic to milk have to do...contrary to popular opinion it's not the calcium in milk that's important -don't get me wrong, useful, but not be all end all- it's the fats and proteins more than the Ca++. ), anyhow...do the lactose intollerance thing during an acute infection and whole milk when not infected.

The jury is out on soy (going to be out for at least 20-40 years...longitudinal studies, by definiton, take time)...so that doesn't help us at all. Since our generation suffered through the human testing on rBST...I'd personally use the product that we have hundreds of years of research on; non rBST Milk. Make sure it's Whole. Preferably until 5 (we NEED those neurons coated in fats), although ABSOLUTELY until age 3. Whole milk, whole or low fat yogurt, whole cottage cheese...the whole gamut. You don't even need to feel guilty about french fries or mcnuggets until Kindergarten. Wee ones sooooo need those fats.

Milk isn't necessary. Just one whole heckuva lot easier and less expensive than doing the lactose intolerance thing.

Good Luck!

Don't do dairy! We went the soy route because the history of ear infections in my family and my daughter didn't have an ear infection until she was six, and even that was minor.

Whatever route you choose, do not be worried about whether you'd like the flavor yourself. Your child doesn't have your flavor biases, and won't unless you wrinkle your nose when you present the milk or otherwise indicate that you wouldn't like it. I wouldn't personally drink the unsweetened soy milk that we gave our daughter, but then I wouldn't personally drink breast milk, either. My point is, make a choice and present it without drama. Be open to being surprised to see that your little man likes what you present.

Hi there.

It really needs to be whatever you are comfortable with. I breastfed my first son for a year and then transitioned him to cow's milk. He also had a TON of ear infections his first year and hasn't had one since that first year. He's four now. He's done fine with cow's milk and has at least a glass a day.

My second son is 10 months old and I'll start transitioning him when he's a year...but like I said, I'm comfortable with cow's milk and really haven't seen or read anything that I believe that compells me enough to change.

Good luck!
-M

BOTH my babies were b-fed, then on soy-formula then I switched them to Organic Rice Milk (unsweetened)....My son is a healthy 2 y/o who has NEVER had an ear infection (or any problems from soy) and neither has my 10 month old daughter. This is just my experience.
Research and then decide what is best for YOUR family.
Good luck!

Just be careful about soy. It has a lot of estrogenic properties and could stunt the growth/developement of boys in particular. Not for sure...but I would definitely do some research. Both my girls were allergic to milk, and had numerous ear infections until the one year mark when I took them off of milk altogether. Both did just fine on yogurt and cheese in moderation though. There are so many other ways to ensure their intake of calcium.
Good luck and I wish you the best!!

Ok, you must decide whats best for your child and remember that every child is different, but I have to add my opinion.

Whole Cow's milk is great! I breastfeed my son for 21 months. He will be two at the end of the month. He started drinking whole cow's milk at 10 months. He also loves yogert and cheese. He drinks 2-3 cups of milk plus at least a cup of yogert and a slice of cheese everyday. He is in the 85-90% tile on the growth charts. He has had one cold out of two years that we had to go to the doc. for and it didn't invole an ear infection.

Again it is up to you but I just had to add my experience after reading the other responses that you recieved.

Also the little boy that I watch eats the same things as my son and he is very healthy also.

Good Luck!

Tina

HI M.,

I just quit breastfeeding a month ago also...my son was 13 1/2 months. I started mixing in goat's milk into his b-milk bottles at 12 months. He really didn't like it at first, but finally learned that it was that or nothing. I also could BARELY keep up pumping & didn't really have enough milk left. Now he loves the goat's milk. He's never had a problem with ear infections. We do however eat cow's milk yogurt & he hasn't had a problem yet. If he started to get ear infections, we'd switch to goat's milk yogurt.

We do also see a chiropractor on occasion for various issues & advice. She strongly advised against soy & said that goat's milk was better than cow's milk. She also said almond milk would be good which is what I use to make his cream of wheat or other hot cereals.

good luck!

My kids did great on cows milk. My brother has his kids on goats milk and they like that, so that's another suggestion. I would only worry about staying away from dairy if your child is lactose intolerant.

Careful with soy too. Talk to your ped. he/she will give you some insight.

Hi M. - I have 2 kids and one thing I learned is that sometimes trial and error is the best:-) As you can see, everyone's opinion is different, and nobody else knows your child. If it were my child, I would start with cow milk (whole) and see if he does well with it. Stay with it for at least a couple of weeks. If you don't feel that is right during the "trial", change to soy milk, or rice milk or almond milk. A lot of these alternatives add tons of sugar in it, and the sugar isn't good for either his teeth or ear infection. So see if you can find "unsweetened" kind. Also, ask your ped about pediasure or Step 2 formula. My first one is always healthy so I always give him whole milk. But my second one has had health issues, and her doctor recommended that I gave her either formula (#2) or pediasure till she was 2.5. Great job in nursing/pumping till now!! you are a great mom..