From Soy Formula to Soy Milk?

Updated on April 21, 2010
K. asks from San Antonio, TX
8 answers

Hi Mom's,
My daughter is 14 months old. When she was about 3 months I switched her to soy formula due to acid reflux and gas. I had some of the same issues with my other 2 kids so I felt comfortable going to a soy based formula(which my pedi agreed). When she turned 1 I started giving her cows milk. Since then she has had problems with diarehha. It burns her bottem pretty bad too. She always lets me know when she has gone since it is painful and I change her right away but it still burns her bottem even with Desitin on. She does have some solid stools but mostly it is very soft and it "burns" her. I took her to the dr. (my reg. pedi was not available) and he said we could try Soy Milk. The problem really has not subsided. The only difference now is that her poop does not burn her bottem like it did before..I am concerned that the Soy Milk does not have enough fat in it for her. I was wondering if maybe she was lactose intolerant? Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated! TIA! (also my other kids took cows milk w/o any problems)

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L.P.

answers from Houston on

I don't think it would be lactose intolerance if she is still doing it on soy milk, simply because it doesn't contain lactose. It must be something else, sometimes it is that they simply don't digest as well...some kids are just slower than others. Have they mentioned anything about using soy milk, but adding a little cereal to it...sometimes this thickens up the stool...and then just keep an eye on her, there may be some type of digestion problem there, or it may just be her system isn't quite ready for milk...which can be solved by adding the cereal...and within a couple of weeks/months..it will fix itself and you can stop the cereal.

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K.M.

answers from Dallas on

It can take up to two weeks for the cows milk to work out of her system...so maybe it just needs some time?

My son had really bad acid reflux, and he's been on soymilk since he was 1 (he's 5 now). I tried giving high fat food when he was little. Avocado is really good. I also tried adding olive oil to some of his food where it made sense (oatmeal is a good one).

I had several doctors tell me that soy milk is just as good as cow's milk...so I went with it! Good luck...hope that helps.

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J.H.

answers from Houston on

Yes, that sounds like a dairy allery to me!! My daughter had that same thing only with blood added while I was brestfeeding and dairy was part of her issue. I would limit or cut out dairy all together and see what happens. Read labels b/c lactose is fine lacyaid is not!! I learned how to read labels! Keep her on soy and cut dairy all together and see what happens. It could be something she outgrows.

B.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

I would avoid the soy milk. If your child has problem with cows milk dairy protein, likely has a problem wiht soy protein as well. Soy milk is so overprocessed that it has very little nutritional value, and it has hormones that shouldn't be consumed on a daily basis.

try almond milk, but don't stress if your kid goes cows milk free, just enforce a health ydiet and your child will get what she needs from foods, the way her body was mean to get them.

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E.O.

answers from Austin on

Sounds like my daughter, who is lactose intolerant. We started using soy milk at about 12 months. Since your daughter is no longer relying solely on milk for nourishment (I assume she's eating solids), she does not need all her healthy fats to come from milk. My daughter is 14 years old now and in great health

K.N.

answers from Austin on

My daughter is allergic to cow's milk protein. It makes her have sinus congestion as well as diarrhea and bad bad rashes. I found only Triple Paste diaper ointment helped her with the rash pain (damn expensive though; and only available at Walgreens or CVS pharmacies).

From my research, there is a correlation between children who are allergic to cows milk protein and also to soy protein. You can google this topic.

At 18 months I introduced goat milk and goat milk yogurt to her. My husband and I can't do goat diary (we can't get past the taste difference with cows milk) however our daughter knew no comparison as a toddler and she didn't have a taste preference. She's never relied on soy as a source for protein.

Here is some info on the difference between an allergy to cows milk protein and lactose intolerance. It is not the same thing. Children *should* out grow a cows milk allergy; lactose intolerance is a lifelong allergy.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/allergies/milk_aller...#

In my daughter's case, I had to clean her diet of all cows milk ingredients... So I became a ingredient reading mama... If you have more questions on how we dealt with her cows milk protein allergy, message me.

J.B.

answers from Houston on

How about trying the lactose free milk and see how she does. They even have it at Wal-Mart in the great value brand in 2 and 4%. It tastes great. So maybe that will help. Good luck!

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C.

answers from Houston on

My 3rd baby had the same problem. He was exclusively breastfed for the first year, but then I introduced cow's milk as I was weaning him. He seemed to do fine, at first, but when he went to straight cow's milk, he started having diarrhea. I switched him to rice milk, which did the trick, and just made sure he got plenty of other fat products, like cheese, yogurt, etc. He handled all other dairy fine. And later that year, I tried cow's milk again without a problem.

I think it might just be a transition phase where their systems can't handle it at first. Mine was on straight breastmilk, yours was on soy formula...cow's milk is a big change. Maybe introduce it slowly by mixing half cow / half soy milk, or 1/3 to 2/3...whatever percentage doesn't upset her stomach. Just experiment with it, and pay attention to how she reacts to all dairy to be sure it's not lactose intolerance. But I think it's more likely just too h*** o* her stomach right now.

Good luck!
C.

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