Soy Milk Vs. Whole Cow's Milk - Which Is Better for 1 Year Old?

Raw, whole cow or goats milk is going to be your best bet. See this article:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2006/0...

If you search www.mercola.com you can type raw milk or soy milk and get a myriad of articles. Just make sure the dairy is a grade A certified dairy. See www.realmilk.com to find one near you. We have to drive an hour there and back to get ours. Otherwise organic, whole milk is your next best choice. Soy milk is dangerous as it has toxins and phytoestrogens. Fermented soy products are good, though, such a natto, miso, and tempeh. Just make sure they don't come from a GMO source which most soy grown in America does.

Hope this helps,
J.

Amy had some good info. I just wanted to add that my son drinks goats milk. It's the closest thing to human milk. I even get it at Walmart. I don't have a lot of info right off hand, but I recommend you do some google research on it. My son loves it and is doing great drinking it! And with no growth hormones or harmful effects of soy.

I should add that I had heard that walmart had removed all growth hormones from their milk, but I'm not sure if that's true or not. The goats milk is working great for us.

If you decide to get cow's milk, you can buy it without the growth hormones. Braum's sells it for under $3/gallon. You can also buy Organic milk, which is wonderful because not only does it not have the growth hormones, but it is also free of pesticides, etc, because the cows are fed a cleaner, organic diet. Central Market has Monday specials where you can get 3 containers of 1/2 gallon organic milk for $5. The extra costs are so worth it when you think about the benefits; why put unnecessary toxins into our childrens' bodies, just to save a few $$$?

HI! We found out at 9 mths that our daughter had problems processing whole milk. We've been on soy formula and now milk since. She's 6 now. You can get different flavors and she really likes them all. Plus, starting them out young...they don't know the difference. I've seen serval girls in her 1st grade class this year that look like they are developing breasts and are very moody and emotional. We don't seem to have that problem. Go with your gut instinct. Mom's are never wrong about their children. BTW, we are expecting our 2nd child any day now...a boy. We found out that soy has more estrogen in it than normal milk and it's not advised to give it to boys.

I don't know what is better, but I think either Springdale cow milk or Lucerne cow milk (I buy both)don't have the growth hormone in it. It says so on the label. I just checked my Target milk and it doesn't say anything about being hormone free. My friend put her son on Horizons organic milk because she was afraid of additives, etc. However, that milk freeks me out because I've seen it in the grocery store in the aisle not in the refrigerated section.

I also give my 10 month old goat milk. I still nurse her 4 times a day, but I hate to pump and so she gets a goat milk bottle if I am gone and most nights before bed. I did this with my son as well. The PP is right, goat milk is the closest to human milk. But when my daughter is over 12 months I will transition her to cow milk. My then, her body will be ready to digest the larger fat globules found in cow milk. She has already had whole milk yogurt, so I don't anticipate any problems with this. And we also do organic cow milk for the rest of the family. I would NOT give my kids soy milk. I'm sure it's fine every once in awhile, but it has way too many hormones in it for small kiddos. FYI, when my baby was around 7 months old I started having supply issues with my breastmilk so I began making myself smoothies with soy milk. 30 g per day of soy is supposed to boost breast milk supply about 25%. It's the hormones. Hope all that helps!

I went through the same thing you are going through when my son turned one year old. I tried the soy for awhile but decided against it and put him on whole milk. I buy the organic milk. It doesnt have any hormones or additives and they add DHA to it. He loves it and we havent had any problems since. He will be 2 in a few weeks.

Soy also has natural estrogens in it. So you need to be careful. You can buy milk that does not have RbGH or any of the other hormones added. Braum's sells it. It is usually marked.

VickiS

K.,
You have to decide what is right for you and your family. There are many opinions on this issue.

Personally, I don't buy into the organic, etc things being pushed in the market. You can read reports that support EACH side respectively. I am not responding to this request to get into debates regarding those issues. I personally feel like it is a bunch of bull$$$ to scare new parents into spending more $$ for no valid reason.

I'm all for spending more money when and where I see the need and I am certainly not afraid to spend more. My motto is you get what you pay for. I'm also aware that I am probably older than a lot of moms on here....our generation did just fine without all the fru fru products.

Of course I expect hate mail as always.... for voicing my opinion

Everyone has his/her opinion and I respect that.. This site would be SO boring if we all thought the same way.

My daughter is now 14. She hit puberty at the "normal" time, we've had no issues. She is a very healthy kid, she'll choose a fruit vs candy anyday and prefer a veggie sandwich vs a McD's anyday. Very healthy, cheerleader for high school and athletic (she also models on the side).

When she was on formulaas an infant, she was on a soy based formula because of stomach issue. I was not a BF mom and never considered that but at the hospital they refused us formula until we made good on a threat and brought it in.

All that said....to this day, she goes through at least 1 gallon of 2% milk a week. She has no weight issues whatsoever and she has a healthy attitude regarding her eating and exercise habits.

Just do what is right for you.... I am 47, perfectly healthy weighing in around 116# at 5'4", petite and never heard of or embraced the "organic" route that is so advertised these days until the last year or so.

Best wishes on your decision.

EDIT: I see a response which has been edited and personally directed at me. LOL... I responded privately because this is not the place. Anything personal should be done via private mail, not on a public forum.