Hello Moms,
Our son has been asked to go dairy free for few months. He is not allergic, but seems to have lot of ear infections. One of the recommendation is to avoid dairy. He was a gulper - can drink two big cups of whole milk at a time. I tried, almond milk and vanilla, soy milk - no success. nect in line are rice milk and soy milk.
Any other suggestion or juice if you may recommend. He is not very keen in water - I feel like we are not getting anough hydration. he is 19 months.
Update: 13 infection in 8 months. Avoiding dairy per doc recommendations. We do not drink lying down - that stopped when he was a year old.
Milk is not needed, daily is not needed. There is nothing wrong with water. If it is all he is offered he will get used to it and start taking it. For things like cereal we use almond milk mostly these days. I have boys so we avoid products made of soy.
Has been asked by who?
How many ear infections over what time period?
It takes time to outgrow these things but most kids do by the time they are 5 or 6 yrs old and often having tonsils and adenoids out puts an end to it.
(Our son had his out right after his 4th birthday - they weren't infected and he didn't have a lot of ear infections but they had swelled up till they had become an obstruction and were interfering with his breathing and swallowing - it was the best thing we ever did.)
If his pediatrician or ear/nose/throat doctor or allergist made the suggestion, I'd consider trying it.
If anyone else suggested it, I'd run it past his pediatrician or ear/nose/throat doctor or allergist first before attempting it.
I don't do elimination diets with my child without a doctors input.
As for his hydration - try giving him really watered down fruit juice.
It gives water just a little flavor and watered down juice is a lot less sugar than giving it to him straight.
You could try him on coconut milk.
Does he drink, while lying down?
It is said that this can cause ear infections because fluid can collect in the back of the throat near the opening of the middle ear where the infections occur, and encourage bacteria to grow.
We went with rice milk. It tastes kind of like skim milk, but a little sweeter. Beyond drinking milk, make sure you check the ingredients of your food. Often milk is listed in the allergy section, but sometimes it isn't. You need to avoid anything that lists milk or casein. Milk protein (casein) is hidden in a lot of foods - some brands of bread, crackers, cereal, etc.
It can be hard to get dairy out of your diet at first. Your first trip to the grocery store may be long because you will need to read the ingredient lists on everything you buy. But after your first few trips, you'll have a list of brands of food that are ok, and you'll know which to avoid, and it gets easier.
As for hydration, have you tried any of the water enhancers? They are little things and you squeeze a small amount into water to give it a little taste. It's a little bit of flavor without all the sugar of kool aid or lemonade.
Good luck, I hope it helps.
My son drinks the soy milk from Costco. It is sweetened, but not flavored. He's drank this since he was 14 months old (he's 7 now). Rice milk is very watery and doesn't have the same texture as cow's milk.
Whatever juice you get, make sure it is 100% juice. Look for one without too much sugar. Also, water it down so it's at least 50% water, but will still taste like juice.
Make sure to consider all sources of dairy - cheese, yogurt, etc - when you make your dietary changes. Daiya brand cheese melts pretty well and is good for pizza. Tofutti is ok for grilled cheese.
I have no idea if this will help, but maybe try having him slow down when he drinks? I would think gulping might not be good for his ears.
My son had a dairy allergy and I could only get him to drink rice milk.
Has he had tubes? Usually after 6 infections in a short time (like 6 months) they will put tubes in. That sounds like a better option as it's VERY hard to eliminate all dairy. I have tried - so many things have dairy in them!
Try chocolate almond milk. You can also try switching slowly. Half reg milk and half almond milk. Then slowly do all almond milk. Read packages very carefully. You would be surprised what they put dairy protein in. Daiya non dairy cheese is good. Oreo cookies do not have dairy. Rice milk is good but can be constipation.
Both of our daughters had consistent ear infections, and eventually had tubes (one at 16mo and the other at 15mo). After this many ear infections, I'd say check into the tube surgery. It's hard to believe me if you've never gone through it, but it's really is not a very invasive surgery, it's super quick, and it heals those babies right up! Not doing the tubes is costing you all a lot of sleep and a lot of stress. I hope no matter what you chose to do, he starts feeling better soon. Ear infections are so painful. Good luck!
