Thanks for the Advice on Soy Milk

Are you positive it's a lactose (milk sugar) problem and not a casein (milk protein) problem? I only ask because babies sensitive to casein are often sensitive to soy as well--it's the protein in both that causes the trouble. You can search on "protein intolerance" if you want to know more.

I went through the same exact issue with my son (now 20 months). I had to just "deal" with the price of the Grow and Go for awhile. I then started to buy actual Soy Milk (fortified with DHA and all that stuff, not just plain soy milk)and started using that both in sippy cup and bottle. You might want to also consider switching him between soy and rice milk. Studies have shown that the Soy milk contains a lot of estrogen.
Hope that helps at all.

My daughter (now 3) was slightly lactose intolerant. When it came time to come off of formula, her pediatrician recommended soy milk (Silk or a store brand is fine). She said that all the hype about soy milk causing hormonal problems is not very likely, seeing as how Asians have eaten large amounts of soy for ages and don't have any hormonal issues. So, that put me at ease about that.

My 12 year old couldn't have lactose for several reasons. I did Soy Milk (before Silk came out), he did okay with it. I also gave him Rice Dream rice milk, he liked that as well. I gave him the Vanilla flavored because I didn't like the regular. I put it in his cereal, he would drink it as a milk subsitute. I also gave him childrens vitamin supplements with calcium so he could get his calcium in.
Silk and Rice Dream were great and less expensive than the formulas.

We used WestSoy PLUS Plain when my son transitioned from formula to soy milk. This is fortified to be more like cow's milk and readily available nationally if you travel. I've found Trader Joe's to have the best price but you can find it in most any grocery.

My son grew out of his milk allergy by 18 months but continued to drink soy milk until age 6.

Hi C.,
Once he turns one you can either give him soy milk or rice milk; my daughter was allergic to soy also and I give her enriched rice milk and she loves it. Also, it cost about the same as regular milk. The soy and rice comes in vanilla and that seemed to make a difference as far as taste, its a little sweeter probably similar to formula.

Hope it goes well,
K. M.

First talk with you doctor and I did change my little guy formula to Soy. He did great and now no problem with milk products.

M.

I'm not sure about the details but I've read recently that we should be limiting soy consumption, you can look up more online. My husband is lactose intolerant and we drink the safeway brand lactose free milk, it's actually better tasting than regular milk or lactaid, and always on sale. Good luck and happy mother's day!

Walmart's store brand soy formula is less expensive than the big name brands. I used it for my older daughter. Then at 12 months she switched to regular milk and was Ok. My niece however had to drink lactose free milk for years. I don't have any experience with regualar soy milk, so I can't say how it works.

Hi C.,
I had the same problem and switched my son to Lactose-free whole milk with no problems when he turned one. It's a little more expensive than the regular whole milk, but not as expensive as formula. If you live near a Safeway, they usually have good deals on Lactose-free whole milk. You can pretty much find it in any grocery store, though. Also, you can get dairy-free cheese and ice cream products. (My mother is lactose intolerant and eats a lot of this stuff).

I have 3 daughters. The 1st, no issues. The 2nd, allergic to soy and lactose intollerant, which luckily she outgrew by the age of 2 (we just didn't give her any dairy 10 years ago, there weren't many options then). The 3rd, allergic to soy and at 3 1/2 is still lactose intollerant. She does awesome on Lactaid! It's been a life saver! Just one weird thing about it, she does fine on the whole, but if given 2%, it's an automatic stomach ache. Hope this helps a little, and good luck, it's been a long 3 1/2 years in our home!

K.

C., There is something called "Better Than Milk" that is very good and tastes the closest to milk that I have ever tried. My sister has her kids on it and they do just fine.
You might try that. L.

I'm with Karen regarding the protein intolerance. I had five children I birthed with this problem and actually one of the two I adopted. It took us years to figure out what the real problem was as my pediatrian at the time was worthless. I was having a hard time getting good information back then... Yay internet!! With the girl we adopted at 2 yrs of age we noticed the nasty diapers and tummy aches and simply switched her to Rice milk. Bingo... perfect answer for her at the time.
With my natural children I had them on Nutramigen until they were about 16 months... That was an age that we heard was suppose to be when their systems would probably start developing the enzymes better to digest the proteins in milk and soy. So we allowed small amounts of milk in their diet. 1/2 cup of milk on cereal, mac 'n cheese on occassion... I know we had to take out ALL milk and soy products from their diet and as they got older allowed a small amount back into their diet. If they would eat a grilled cheese sandwich, say at 8 years old they might be ok,... but my son could not eat two of them during that growth spurt time, without having a terrible tummy ache.
I also used orange juice on their cereal usually instead of milk. That comes w/added calcium.
One thing I have found over the years is that one of my sons is susceptible to broken bones... probably from not enough calcium. From my experience I would suggest a supplement and a diet rich in calcium. I thought I was giving them enough but have found out recently that wasn't the case.
And of course, God gave us water for a reason :)
So first I would check w/my doctor... and then use oj, rice milk, water and a supplement. Hope this helps.. Blessings.

I have twins and when they were on formula we had a problem so we used carnation goodstart it's at walmart and it was gentle on there tummies.

We went throught the same thing with my youngest DD. When she turned a year, we started giving her Lactose free milk, which you can buy at the grocery store. We kept her on that for about 2 months and then tried the whole milk. She was fine, totally outgrew the tummy issues. :-)
D.

Are you keeping him on formula or asking what other foods might work with your son? When my daughter was that age she had a difficult time with either dairy or soy products, as she was breastfead until 11.5 months. It seemed either dairy (cows milk derived) or soy anything made her either constipated or have an upset stomach. I ended up trying yogurt, to get her calcium and she LOVED it, and it didn't upset her stomach. Yogurt has natural cultures in it that help your stomach digest it easier than other dairy products. Not sure if you'll take this advice or not since I'm not really sure that's what you were looking for but thought I'd give it a shot:)

You do know that regular Go & Grow is cow's milk based, right?

My son was on soy formula, then we went to soy milk for a while before trying goat's milk. Goat's milk worked well. The thing about soy and rice milk is that they do not really have the fat and calories of cow or goat's milk. I'll warn you, goat's milk is expensive! The good news is, in our case, my son did outgrow the intolerance and is now on cow's milk. Good luck!

Hi C..

It looks like you have got some great advise from other moms. But my son is mildly lactose intolerant and his doctor told us to try soy or almond milk. Since as a house hold we drink soy he give him soy and he hasnt had any problems. Good luck!

Can he do goat milk? It's the next best option, and then I would try Rice or Almond milk (fortified). Soy has too much estrogen in it (especially for boys) and then make sure he is getting enough oils and a multivitamin. Avocados, coconut milk, cod liver/fish oil are all great sources of essential oils.

lactose free milk is an option. There is also several different kinds of milk that I find by the baking items. They include soy, rice and almond. You could try all of them and see what he likes. They are all about the same price. You may want to do some research on soy as there is some new info out there.

not sure if this response will help you...
we don't have the lactose intolerant issue, however, my son will not drink milk. he hates it! when he turned 1, we decided to just move him to the grow & go and found that it really wasn't anymore expensive as what we paid for organic whole milk when my daughter was his age.
if he does well with the grow & go it may not be a lactose issue???? -it is made with milk, i believe.
i usually look for the sales at safeway and coupons and stock up then. -just my 2 cents, i'm not sure how much soy milk, or soy formula is though.

I give my 2 children rice milk even though they aren't lactose intolerant. I was giving them the vanilla but switched to the plain without them saying anything about it. I buy whatever brand is on sell. I have heard that too much soy isn't good for children.

check with your doc about giving your son soy, I was told that boys shouldn't have a lot because of the estrogen issues.

Hi,
My daughter was on soy formula and we switched her to soy milk. She did just fine. She was on the soy milk until she was about 18 months and we gradually switched to regular milk. Our pediatrician said that kids usually out grown their milk allergies but that time. Of course, you would want to talk to your doctor.
Good luck.

There are many soy milks to pick from. Just watch the sugar content which can be too high.

Try rice or soy milk they do have milk treated for lactose intolerance.

how about soy milk or lactose free milk?

My youngest had digestive issues with dairy. She couldn't have any animal milks. If it is just a lactose issue that your son has you can try a milk that is loactose free, there is also soy milk and rice milk or my pediatrician even told me that it doesn't hurt them to be on formula after the age of 1.

It is very veyr expensive and they drink more as they get bigger we had our son on it until he was fifteen months old because it took that long to figure out his tummy with milk. Soy milk made him sick...I mean gross diapers and very very bad crampy gas. Anyways we tried him on just plain rice milk which was how we initailly made the switch but for some reason that was leaving him constipated. So we decided to do half rice half soy. So we go to costco and buy the boxed milk of both and mix. The rice milk says to talk to yur doc before giving it to children under five but i figure since we are mixing the two it would be ok. If I had a choice really in the matter they wouldnt be drinking cows milk to being with because i think it is gross myself so this works out perfect. My older son just drinks the plain soy all on its own too so I would do the go and grow until you find something that works for baby and then switch...it will get expensive though.

Talk to your pediatrician about what might work best for your son. I know that there have been studies that suggest frequent consumption of soy for little boys isn't good, due to the higher levels of estrogen soy contains. Our ped suggested limiting soy for our son, who is 1 y.o. (she said two small servings of tofu a week were okay, but not to overdo it.)

As a childcare provider, I have worked with some families whose sons have lactose-intolerance issues. Across the board, those families chose to use rice milk as a substitute. I'd still ask your ped if you need to supplement any vitamins or minerals.

One final thought: I myself have problems with cow's milk. I can tolerate cultured cow products (yogurt, cottage cheese) and have discovered a whole new world with sheep and goat's cheeses. They can be a little harder to find, but our Trader Joe's carries a nice variety, and at a better price than you would find at your regular supermarket specialty section or an upscale gourmet grocery.
Good luck!

I would switch him to soy milk that is fortified with calcium. My son drinks whole milk and calcium fortified soy milk. It is an excellent source of soy protein and if you get it fortified, you are still getting the calcium that he needs for his bones. Of course, you should ask your doctor when you take him in for his one year check up.

My son drinks Vanilla Soy milk and loves it. It, or course, is more expensive than regular milk, but the price isn't all that bad.

My daughter was also on Soy formula. I just stayed with soy formula until she was 1 1/2 years old. I started mixing cows milk with the soy formula. She preferred to just drink soy milk for a while. Then she decided she wanted cow's milk. I gave her cheese,etc...

But if he cannot tolerant any dairy maybe giving soy milk mixed with the formula for a little while. Then gradually adding more soy milk to the formula until the baby can tolerate a full soy milk bottle.

My husband is also lactose intolerant and you can buy soy milk that is lactose free at the store. I find it in the health food section. Good luck

One of my children prefers the taste of Soy milk as opposed to cow's milk. You can get it in the stores in half gallon (I don't know if it comes in gallon containers) containers. I would prefer to buy at a store because I think it would be less expensive, but since we have our milk delivered, we get the Silk brand-regular-but they also make vanilla and very vanilla. It's the only brand Smith Bros delivery has.

If he's done well with the soy formula he can continue with soy milk which can be found in the health food section of Fred Meyer as well as most other grocery stores.

If you want to get away from soy he could have rice milk. My granddaughter was actually allergic to milk (diagnosed by a doctor) and drank rice milk until she was 5 or 6 when she discovered that milk no longer created digestive difficulties. The allergist (MD) confirmed that she had outgrown the allergy. Note: she is still allergic to soy. I've heard that soy allergies are common. I also have an allergy to soy. My granddaughter and I do not have the same genetic history.

I had both of my sons on Baby's Only Organic Soy Formula - loved it. You can search for it online but I know that Marlene's health food store in Tacoma or Federal Way has it.

I've used Goats milk it works well for me. Albertsons and fred meyer's have it, it also comes in whole and low fat etc. Great to use for cooking instead of cows milk!

With my five children, once they were weaned from the breast (around age 2), the only thing they drank was water. If they are eating a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes, it is all they need. You will also have little or no medical bills (I have a couple kids who are antibiotic virgins and have never seen a health care provider for illness---stitches and broken bones, yes---but sickness, no).

Since your child is not breastfed, he might need some liquid nourishment, depending on how much solid food he eats, so go for the soy formula or Silk soymilk.