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February 2012 Moms
Starting Soy/Almond milk?
So I have determined DD is lactose intolerent.
1.She drinks water out of her straw cup like a champ. Should I be thinking about introducing soy/almond milk to her now?
2. Talk to me about soy vs almond vs ? milk.
3. If I took her to the Dr. can they diagnose a lactose allergy, or is it all observational?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Starting Soy/Almond milk?
As for Question 3: You want to be careful just making the decision purely based on a little anecdotal evidence that your DD is lactose intolerant. WCM/Goat's milk is such an important nutritional building block that you want to make sure you have to head down that road before you start down it. Your pedi will be a lot of help in making an accurate diagnosis. Also, the good news is that many, many lactose sensitivities are completely or mostly outgrown by age 2. So, just because she is sensitive/intolerant right now, doesn't mean she always will be (or even will be by age one when you would start to make the switch).
As for Question 2:
I think goat's milk is a good place to start to see if that would work, because goat's milk is found by many to be much easier to digest than WCM.
Second, just FYI--almond milk only has one gram of protein to WCM's 8 grams of protein per serving. And almond milk is virtually fat free and very, very low in calories (only has about 1/3 of the calories found in WCM per serving, which makes it good for dieters, but bad for your rapidly-growing LO). So, almond milk is a very, very poor substitute for WCM/goat's milk. Coconut milk or even soy milk would be better alternatives as far as providing real nutrition to your kiddo. The reason kiddos need milk after a year is that milk is a phenomenal source of fat and protein, both of which are desperately needed for the proper development of rapidly-growing brains and bodies. It makes me cringe when people talk about almond milk being a good substitute, because it fails in having neither protein or fat. It could be a good substitute for water--but that is about it.
Almond milk is only "milk" in name alone. Please talk to your pediatrician before "subbing" almond milk, unless you are big-time supplementing with avocado, high fat oils, protein-rich foods and vitamin D.
I don't really know much about goat's milk, and would think it may be harder to come by, but I'll agree with sooner on this one.
I just did a quick google search...and the first thing that jumped out at me in this link is the reference to almond milk being used in lieu of cow's milk for those who are on a diet!...https://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-healthier-choice-almond-milk-vs-milk.html
I guess I should give a bit more info, which I will of course also talk to my Dr. about. I am just looking for some basic info.
When I give DD even lactose low foods ( yogurt/hard cheese), she screams and farts all night, this is why I believe she is LI. I was LI at her age too. My mom suspected it, but for whatever reason never too action, I am still a little sensitive but have grown out of it 95%, and I hope the same will happen to Evie.
Thanks for the info about Allmond Milk, I have yet to do any research to speak of, so it is good to not even bother with looking that up.
We still BF. She does spit up still fairly frequently. I suspect she has some issues with BM too but just not to the extent of CM foods, she is often a very difficult baby, and part of me wonders if he belly is upset a lot of the time.