Can we start a discussion on milk alternatives?

sapphire angel

LO has been on Elecare since 5 months old. Our blood allergy panel indicates no allergies whatsoever but at the same time, traces of milk would cause eczema and traces of soy caused bloating. Our GI appointment is next week and we did a soy milk challenge this past week so we could discuss moving LO to soy milk, which I can already tell you isn't going to happen (caused two days of diarrhea and gas). And per recommendation from another Bumpie, I'm going to be asking about Vital Jr. as an in between step from Elecare to a regular milk alternative...

So, If you had to choose an alternative milk drink for your toddler, what would it be and why? Or on the other side - What would you NOT want your toddler to have as a milk alternative and why?  

carlinlp

We use rice milk and coconut milk / kefir at our house (depending on the kid as we have two with allergies/sensitivities).  My dd is allergic to soy but out entire family avoids it at all costs.  It can be a controversial topic but did a lot of research and felt the effects it has on the thyroid aren't worth the risk for our family.

MarMat

DD is on Althera (Nestle), it's a highly hydrogenated milk, our pediatric allergologist recommended it. DD has been on it for almost 2 months.

I like it because it has the same calories as formula and DD drinks it as if it was regular formula. I'm hoping DD outgrows the allergy sometime.

 

MrsFallBride

DS #1 drink Rice milk. 

 

Zenya

My kids drink rice milk, but just a cup a day.  I didn't wean them until they could eat a significant amount of solid food and that became the bulk of their diet.  I wasn't comfortable with them drinking tons of any  milk and dairy/soy milks were out (although they have outgrown their issues, mostly now at ages 2.5 and almost 5).

ctbrideindc

We do oat milk or coconut milk.

Court0026

Soy for milk to drink 2x a day.  Rice milk for baking and cereal.  I know there is controversy, but rice milk has 0 nutritional value, we can't do almond, etc. etc. 

carlinlp

Court0026:

Soy for milk to drink 2x a day.  Rice milk for baking and cereal.  I know there is controversy, but rice milk has 0 nutritional value, we can't do almond, etc. etc. 

That's true. My kids don't drink it, we cook with it and sometimes add it to a green smoothie. They only drink water and lemon water. We rely on food for all their nutrients. They are on a very nutrient dense diet though.

DandelionMom

When DD was dairy-free we really liked coconut milk and the coconut milk yogurts and ice cream. 

Court0026

carlinlp:

Court0026:

Soy for milk to drink 2x a day.  Rice milk for baking and cereal.  I know there is controversy, but rice milk has 0 nutritional value, we can't do almond, etc. etc. 

That's true. My kids don't drink it, we cook with it and sometimes add it to a green smoothie. They only drink water and lemon water. We rely on food for all their nutrients. They are on a very nutrient dense diet though.

That is great that they get it all from their food!  My son is SO picky and SO ridiculous about eating.  The allergies do not help, but he is very limited.  And, I mean, he has never eaten most things, not that he just doesn't want them one day.  Still only eats veggies pureed.  My daughter (thank goodness) eats anything, any texture, etc.  I am a healthy eater and I hope it continues for her.  

Taytee

We started with Goat's Milk (which can still cause issues in kids with a true dairy/milk allergy) and Emily liked it. Now she's on Vanilla Coconut milk, slowly watering down and weaning to regular Coconut Milk. She's an awesome eater though, we probably could get away with Rice Milk if we needed to.

WifeofaMarine

DS tested "slightly positive" for a milk allergy. He suffers from severe constipation. We greatly reduced his dairy intake. Originally we switched from regular milk to soy milk. We really didn't notice a difference with his GI issues, they were still bad. His GI doctor said he prefers almond milk to soy milk, so we switched to almond milk. That, among others things, has made a world of difference with his GI issues. And, he loves the taste. At first I got the vanilla, because I didn't know if he'd drink it, but now he drinks the regular almond milk.

Court0026

WifeofaMarine:

DS tested "slightly positive" for a milk allergy. He suffers from severe constipation. We greatly reduced his dairy intake. Originally we switched from regular milk to soy milk. We really didn't notice a difference with his GI issues, they were still bad. His GI doctor said he prefers almond milk to soy milk, so we switched to almond milk. That, among others things, has made a world of difference with his GI issues. And, he loves the taste. At first I got the vanilla, because I didn't know if he'd drink it, but now he drinks the regular almond milk.

I am so happy to read this!  Yay!

Rink08

We use Rice Dream Original Enriched.

ali2005jason

WifeofaMarine:

DS tested "slightly positive" for a milk allergy. He suffers from severe constipation. We greatly reduced his dairy intake. Originally we switched from regular milk to soy milk. We really didn't notice a difference with his GI issues, they were still bad. His GI doctor said he prefers almond milk to soy milk, so we switched to almond milk. That, among others things, has made a world of difference with his GI issues. And, he loves the taste. At first I got the vanilla, because I didn't know if he'd drink it, but now he drinks the regular almond milk.

The severe constipation issues sounds like my daughter. She was the same way. She hasn't been tested yet but per her pediatricians recommendation we switched her to almond milk (I'm not a big fan of giving too much soy) and we've seen a pretty big difference. She is still drinking the vanilla but I'm wondering if she'd drink the original too. She does still get regular cheese and stuff. I can tell when she's had too much cheese and other dairy as she gets constipated again.

g_belle

We serve a combination of Enriched Rice Dream and condensed coconut milk.  Calorie for calorie and vitamin for vitamin it's as close as we could get to whole milk without giving soy.  Although our allergist keeps insisting that it's not enough nutrients for a "milk"- we've seen a pedi. nutritionist that said it was fine.  Our son gets so much soy in his other foods because of his other allergies that we don't want to offer it as a drink.

aniceucchik

We use Soy because its our only option since Hemp milk is made from seeds and makes his eczema worse. Rice milk doesnt contain enought fats or proteins to be a regular daily drinkn for toddlers. We also dont do almond due to the nut allergy, even though he didnt show up for tree nuts, just peanuts. IDK about the nutritional values of almond milk. I also know nothing about coconut milk. IMO, hemp milk is the best alternative if one cannot tolerate soy or dairy, since it contains a great amount of fats and proteins.

magdusia

i use FORTIFIED rice milk for drinking and oats milk for baking b/c it's thicker

before giving him rice milk i did try coconut milk and he hated it. i do think rice milk is the best choice .. 

*LilaC*

g_belle:

We serve a combination of Enriched Rice Dream and condensed coconut milk.  Calorie for calorie and vitamin for vitamin it's as close as we could get to whole milk without giving soy.

We do this as well. DS has a pediatric dietitian and a naturopath (amongst other drs) and they confirmed that this was the best option for him. I give him 4 oz. of enriched rice milk with 2 or 3 tbsp of coconut cream mixed in.  The only thing lacking is protein which we make up with lots of cashew butter, eggs, beans etc. 

wifeofadam

I did a comparison of milk alternatives once - https://intendedtemple.blogspot.com/2009/07/hemp-milk.html

We now give hemp milk to our son because of this info.  Rice milk is inadequate and several nutritionists told me that if we were going to do rice milk we needed to add at least a tablespoon of oil to each 8 oz. drink and also increase his dailt protein intake.

novlove11

I am an adult with food allergies but I like Blue Diamond Almond Milk & you can get it in Vanilla and Chocolate too! It also has calcium.