Babies: 3 - 6 Months

caution when switching to cow's milk?

at first we gave LO similac (after i tried bfing for months and months), then we switched her to enfamil soy because her tummy was getting painfully gassy. after she is a year old or so and we switch her to cow's milk, would she be able to drink it? i'm afraid she will have a bad reaction to it like getting painful gas and diarrhea like she did with the milk based formula. should i at least try and if it doesn't work out, do i buy soy milk instead?

 TIA! 

Daisypath Anniversary tickers Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker image

Re: caution when switching to cow's milk?

  • You could always try other options such as almond milk. I know some parents who do this.
    image
    image

    imageimage
  • Loading the player...
  • My LO was on soy formula as well, and I had that same confusion. Our pedi recommended trying cow's milk, and if she has a reaction, to stop for a month and come back to it. She actually finally gained a tolerance to it around 18 months old, and now she drinks WAY too much of it.

    He told us to try either every month or every other for 3 days, and either 5 or 6 times or until she doesn't show a reaction. A lot of times if they just have a permanent lactaid issue, then you can supplement the calcium with a Tums a day. 

    Hers was pretty bad to the point that she couldn't have milk at all, and only like 1 yogurt or other dairy product a week. 

    You can go with soy, although there is controversy of long term intake of soy milk. You can also do almond milk or goat's milk. We tried lactaid free, but it was the dairy that my LO was especially reactive to, not just the lactaid. You basically have to just pick and choose until you find what works for your LO. Good luck!

    Baby Birthday Ticker TickerBaby Birthday Ticker Ticker
    image  image
  • How is the enfamil soy working now with her tummy?
    Lilypie First Birthday tickers
  • Lactose intolerance is extremely rare in babies, so I wouldn't worry so much about that. Usually with babies the problem with "regular" formula is typically that they have a tough time digesting the more complex proteins in it. If this is the case with your LO, then her tummy should be more developed by then to be able to handle it. You could always do soy or almond milk if she reacts to cow's milk when the time comes. I wouldn't worry about it now.
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • I was able to supplement with regular formula with DS, but he had a terrible intolerance to milk. It was horrible! So we did soy milk. He was fine with yogurt and cheese, but milk... Finally around 3 he was able to finally drink milk. He can't drink a lot though. I can't drink much without getting a stomach ache either. It's really hard to get him to drink it, I usually just give him choc milk, or give him yogurt instead. He eats about two yogurts a day. I make sure the yogurts I get him are dye free and not labeled "light".


    Lilypie Kids Birthday tickers
    image

    imageimageimage
  • Usually babies grow out of dairy sensitivities so you could try it again when she's older. I won't be giving DD cow's milk so we'll probably do an almond/coconut milk mix.
  • EPQueenEPQueen member
    It shouldn't be an issue. My son has a milk and soy protein intolerance and our pedi said most kids outgrow this by 1 year because their digestive tracts have matured enough at that point to tolerate the proteins. It's very rare for babies to have an actual lactose intolerance.
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"