Alternatives to Whole Milk

jkchs2003

I'm pretty sure that WCM is messing with my child's belly. I would like to switch her to something different but want to make sure it's as wholesome as cow's milk.

What type of milk are you using? What brand specifically?

What ingredients should I look for/avoid when I go and pick it out?

Obviously I shouldn't get flavored stuff or with extra sugar.

MNgirl326

LO has a dairy allergy so he can't be on WCM. Soy milk wasn't good either so now he is on almond milk. He likes the silk brand better then almond breeze

anonsouthernbell

We use so delicious dairy free coconut milk ( it has less sugar than the silk brand).

pazrana

we use almond milk.  DH prefers the silk brand, but DD doesn't care.  Oh, and one of the grocery stores has a store brand, which is a cheaper option!

 

BabyBoyNYC

WCM was causing some diaper rash with us like almost everyday. My pedi said its most likey just his stomach adapting to the milk but that I could alternate with another so I chose Almond milk. and its been so much better. Sometimes I will mix the two together. I also don't give him much yogurt anymore an instead opt for the coconut milk yogurt.  I just got back from the store abd bought WCM, Almond milk, and 1% milk the cashier must have thought I had a milk problem

chardonnay24

A had trouble adjusting to WCM so we went with lactose free whole and slowly phased it out over the last few months. He is allergic to soy and I wanted him to have all of the fat and protein of regular WCM. We used a local brand, Darigold, because I wanted as close to organic as I could get in lactose free WCM.

bdelee

We do whole goat milk. We get Meyenberg brand at grocery stores like: Safeway//Whole Foods/Walmart (or regional chains like Market of Choice or Fred Meyer, etc.) or we get the Trader Joe's brand which is slightly cheaper and ds seems to like a little bit better anyway. You can also order powdered and/or evaporated Meyenberg brand from Amazon and from what I understand those are more easily digested, although may not taste quite as good as fresh.

We went straight to goat milk instead of wcm on our pedi's recommendation, and other than some diarrhea during the first week of transition it has been great and he seems to love it. Nutritionally, for toddlers it seems to be healthy and comparable to wcm (it's low in folate for a younger babies needs, but once they're 12+ mos it's a great milk source as far as I can tell).

Goat's milk isn't lactose free, but it has less than wcm & the make-up of the goat's milk proteins & fats is different and may be less "allergenic" and be easier on your lo's tummy. In any case, it's a healthy option that you might want to at least give a try. 

 

biblionerd

We use enriched rice milk. I would have preferred almond milk, but he reacted very oddly the first time I tried it, so until he's allergy tested we're not touching it again. Coconut milk gave him awful diarrhea and I wasn't comfortable with soy. He can still handle cheese and yogurt so I make sure he gets a lot of calcium from those.