Milk Allergies - Bartlett,IL

My daughter is the exact same and drinks the same kind of rice milk. Just pack boxes and take with you. Put them in plastic sealed bags in case they break, but you can take them with and then have an empty suitcase for all the gifts you will be bringing back.

Also, just cut down on the amount you give him since they are so small, but also maybe see if you can get them shipped directly to India by the company or maybe UPS.

Order it on Amazon and have it delivered!
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_10?url=search-al...

If you get the boxes, you can also just pack it in your checked baggage for the flight. Not the carry-on.

At 3.5, he could live just fine without store-bought drinks. After all, Rice Dream, or Almond milk, Coconut Milk, etc. are not a necessary part of a person's diet, and often people buy them sweetened (not healthy). But, that said, you can get powdered non-dairy milk-replacement formulas if you are concerned and want him to have his "milk." Ask his pediatrician about it. These others are usually not "milk equivalents" or "milk replacements."

If it is just about calcium you are concerned about, there are better sources such as fish (sardines, salmon, perch, trout, and tuna), dark green leafy vegetables, blackstrap molasses, some types of beans... then there are fortified foods, which you may not be able to get in India. You might ask the pediatrician about him taking a chewable multi-vitamin.

For the long flight, I would bring lots of fruits, veggies he can slowly eat, a couple sandwiches he likes cut up into smaller sandwiches - make them out of things like almond butter and jam, melt Daiya "cheese" on it (to make it stick to the bread - it is fine eaten later), Better than Cream Cheese (non-dairy but has soy).

For fluid, water works great. Or for a liquid snack, bring a couple of the little boxes of the soy, almond, coconut, or rice based "milk" drinks (most of these are not nutritionally equivalent to dairy milk - we just call them "milk") or - the powdered non-dairy formula stuff to mix in water (which is closer to what nature intended human babies to drink).

Your son is 3.5. How much rice milk does he drink per day? I cannot imagine at this age that a child's diet cannot be modified to go without milk. You can pack a few packages in your suitcase and use it as occasional treat. Or look for a dry powder version that can be diluted with water if you feel that you absolutely must bring it alone.

Our family traveled and travels a lot and I never care what is available and what is not around the world. We eat what the locals eat and the kids do the same. And if worst comes to worst there are always fruits, veggies and staples that can be eaten no matter what. Some thing we like, some not - but I am not carrying tons of food supplies just to make sure my kids get their favorite thing. I am sure in India there would be many things for your child to try and he may never miss the rice milk. Use this an opportunity to expand his menu. To try new things.

My son is 4 and he never liked milk and I never forced it on him. He went from breast milk and formula after one year to... well, just normal table foods. My boy is not drinking any kind of milk. He eats a very healthy diet without milk. My husband and I only use milk occasionally for coffee. Life is possible without milk. Good luck. Happy vacation!

I was trying to see from your profile and previous questions how old your son is, I think from what I saw he is close to 3 years old. If so, at that age there is not a "need" for milk. He can easily get the vitamins/nutrition from other foods, even a childrens vitamin. I would just not worry about giving him milk while you are there and let him enjoy the home cooking of your parents! I hope this helps!

How is shipping to India?? Can you ship some now to your family so it is there when you arrive??
I lived in South Africa for a bit and shipping to and from there wasn't great. You never knew if your stuff would actually get there.

re: shipping. It might cost less if you ordered directly from the company to have it delivered to India.

I do agree with 3BoysUnder3 that he wouldn't have to have milk while he's there.

Perhaps they have coconut milk there. I've only used it in cooking and as a creamer and so I don't know if it can be a substitute for milk as a beverage.

They do have rice and you can make your own rice milk. I don't know of any way you could fortify it but it would still be a beverage.

They have the non refrigerated rice dream. I get mine at the store. You might be able to get that.

If all else fails, I love amazon!

Edit to add: also is he allergic to all milk products or just milk in a glass? If it is the latter then sub in cheeses and yogurts. Milk is not nessary if he is getting calcium in other places.

Almond Milk would also work, My husband drinks it. In some of our stores they have it in the organic section and sometimes its stored on the shelves and not in the fridge.

It looks pretty easy to make your own rice milk. Here's a recipe.

http://www.veganreader.com/2009/05/17/how-to-make-rice-mi...

To be honest there is no actual need to drink milk at all- all the vitamins etc. You get from it can be found in other food sources. He's 3.5, old enough to understand they dont have his special milk there.

since rice dream comes in a shelf stable container, meaning you don't have to keep it refrigerated, could you have some shipped to your parents? I'm not sure on the liquid shipping rules so you would have to check into that, and you may have to go through the actual company or store shipping it because of it being international, but you should be able to work out the shipping.

For the plane ride. I'd stick with water for drinks. While in India, they surely sell some type of lactose free, or non dairy 'milk' products. Soy milk possibly? Or something similar to the lactose free cows milk that we sell here. (Assuming he's lactose intolerant)

But like others have said, if he needs to go off of his 'milk' for a couple months, it won't be the end of the world.

Rice Dream can also be purchased on the shelf with unrefridgerated milks at the grocery store. It is also available in small cartons like juice boxes. I would ship my supply ahead of time.