My baby finally turned one and now I don't know what to feed him anymore. He's been on Nutramigen for the last 4 months since I weaned him due to dairy and soy allergies. I know that I should transfer him to milk - but since he can't have whole milk or soy milk, what should he drink? He gets a bad case of eczema when he has either dairy or soy. I had the same allergies as a kid, but my mom didn't realize that I was also allergic to soy, so I just had to live with my skin problems (as I still do). I don't want him to also go through the same itchy flareups.
I just want to thank everyone for all the support and advice I received. I'm definitely going to give goat's milk and raw milk a try. I had never even heard of those before all the responses. Thanks sooooo much - everyone on mamasource is awesome!
Try rice milk. There's a brand called RiceDream that I buy all the time. I love the flavor of it and use it in cereal, cooking and drink it plain. Trader Joe's, health food stores, and now even Costco carry it.
Hi E.,
I know exactly how you feel. Both my boys were allergic to dairy, soy, eggs and nuts. They are ok with soy now (10 yrs old & 7 yrs old) but they still have the other allergies. They drink rice milk and always have. Rice Dream has enriched rice milk which has all the vitamins that regular milk has. Trader Joes now sells rice milk which is their own brand and is less expensive than Rice Dream.
Raw milk is a good idea and worth trying. I would also recommend Goat milk. That is what my daughter drinks and you can find it at health foods stores and many regular supermarkets too.
Hi E.,
While poking around on the intertnet the other day I came across dairy free,gluten free, "potatoe milk". It was about 10 bucks for an equivalent of 1.5 gallons of milk.
Haven't tried it.
Hi E.,
I would talk to your pediatrician about recommendations. My daughter has life threatening allergies to dairy and when she was 1 also to eggs and sensitivities to soy. Because she was underweight 15lbs at 1, her pediatrician wanted her to stay on Nutramigen until she reached 20lbs, which took us about a year. Since she turned 2, she's been on rice milk and is now 4. If it's only a sensitivity, your son will hopefully grow out of it. My daughter has outgrown the soy and eggs, but unfortunately not the dairy. We have already had 3 allergic reactions where we had to do the epi-pen, emergency, and prednisone routine. Make sure to read labels as some deli meats, hot dogs, crackers, and other items use powdered milk as fillers and may be labels as casein (milk protein).
Best of luck,
K.
There is rice and almond milk. Ask your pediatrician which they recommend.
L.
I have used rice milk as an alternative. It is sweet, and kids tend to like it.
Good luck
You can try Raw milk. It is well tolerated even when you are allergic to pasteurized milk. Plus, Raw milk is extremely healthy! We drink Organic Pastures. You can get it from the dairy, Whole Foods, Sac Co-op or Nugget! My kid almost never gets sick and I have had a laundry list of things that got better for me when I started drinking it.
My daughter drinks almond milk. It's supppose to better for you then soy.
Hi E.,
Our son (now 7yo) was also allergic to dairy and soy (plus nuts and many other foods.) I would NOT recommend trying Almond milk. Talk to your allergist first. Ours said no nuts for kids with allergies until at least 3, maybe even 5. Our allergist also said that 90% of kids with cow's milk allergy will also react to goat's milk. (But that you could try if you want, since the allergy is not severe/life-threatening.)
Rice milk is a good option as long as you add extra protein and fat to his solid food diet. Another option is to stick to Nutramigen for one cup a day for another year or so. Don't know if they have a version for toddlers. We did that with a formula made specifically for kids 12-24 months old. It's more expensive, but helps ensure all the nutritional needs are being met.
There is an on-line support group for parents of kids with food allergies. (www.kidswithfoodallergies.org) They were extremely helpful when I was learning how to manage our son's allergies and trying to figure out what to feed him.
Good luck,
D.
For the super-sensitive, rice milk has been the old stand-by. See your pediatrician to make sure he's getting all the nutrients he needs, though.
My son drank Nutramigen as well. Have you tired rice milk, he loved it!
My middle daughter has a dairy allergy, but what she has a problem with is the lactose in the dairy. Up until recently I had her on Almond milk, which I wasn't to thrilled with since it really has no nutritional value and high in sugar. Before that she was on soy milk, but then I started doing some reading up on it and did not like what I read and that is why I switched her to almond milk. But then finally one day while at Safeway I saw that they finally started carrying Organic Lactose Free Milk by Horizon. I was so excited. Maybe you could try this and see if it is the lactose that she has a problem with. Good luck and hope that some of this helps.
My eldest daughter loves almond milk, but there's also goat's milk, rice milk, hemp milk, oat milk, etc...
Hemp milk, goat milk, rice milk
Also Google Celiac, the milk allergy might be a gluten allergy side effect!
I like the hemp milk the best, rice milk is very sweet.
E.,
My daughter is allergic to soy and dairy as well. We give her goat milk...she loves it! She also is seeing a Pediatric GI specialst at Stanford. When I asked their dietician if I could just give her rice milk instead of the goat milk, she gave me a handy little table to compare the different milks. She said that nutritionally, goat milk is the way to go. Rice milk tastes good but does not provide all the nutrients the little ones need for brain development. There is also hardly any fat in rice milk which is something they need until at least two years old. You can email me for the specifics on the table she gave me. I get all my rice milk at Trader Joes. It is only $2.99/qt there and is very fresh. The grocery stores typically charge $3.99/qt. Enjoy!
You coud try almond/rice/hazelnut milk,any of them might work. But don't worry too much about him not having milk/dairy;it isn't all its cracked up to be health-wise. Have you ever heard of the books "don't drink your milk," or "mooove over milk?" Both are great books and expose dairy products for what they really are...
I would strongly suggest looking into a wheat or gluten allergy/intolerance. Possibly celiac disease. It is commonly associated with the other problems you are mentioning . My doctors didn't find it in me or my kids. A nutritionist recommended it to me. The doctors think it is rare but it really isn't. A gluten-free diet is the "cure" for lack of a better term. Feel free to contact me if you want to know more. I have some articles I could forward to you. You can search info online. Maybe "gluten eczema" to start. Eczema is autoimmune and autoimmune conditions are linked to a gluten intolerance. You will find so much information.
You may want to consult a functional nutritionist too.
About what to drink. That is a tough one since docs want kids to have so much dairy at that age. You may have to look at other sources of protein. Nuts don't seem safe for your son with his hitory of allergies. Hemp protein can be used but the tast may not work for him. Ask at a health food store! Good luck!
Take care.
My daughter (and I) have food issues, especially with dairy. We avoid soy because of how allergenic it is.
I personally would NOT use a nut milk (almond) for an allergic baby, but I'm paranoid about allergies.
My little one has had oat milk and hemp milk since she was about 10 months (I am still nursing her at 18 months). Both have 4-6 times the protein of rice milk, which has virtually none. Hemp also has really good fats in it.
You can also mix in whole fat coconut milk with the oat or hemp milk to bulk up the fattiness, which is why doctors recommend whole milk for toddlers.
Good luck!
You could try goat's milk. You can get it at the grocery store in the canned milk section. It is usually one end of the baking aisle. One brand name is Meyer's.
Goat's milk is more similar in make up to human breast milk. I used it for my son who is also allergic to both milk and soy.
Start with mixing it with the nutramigen and gradually go to where it is all goat's milk. Goat's milk is has less fat than whole milk but more fat than 2% milk. You may need to sweeten it a little at first. Formula is pretty sweet and the transition can be too sudden to go from formula straight to entirely goat's milk.
Incidentally, said son is now 24, healthy and not a sign of eczema.
Just my 2 cents.
E.
Goatsmilk is much less abrasive on the system. Might want to try it out.
Maybe Almond milk since it has a higher level of fat, but watch for nut allergies. There is also rice milk, but you will need to increase his fats through unsaturated sources.
I don't know if they make it anymore, but I was on Acidophilus milk as a child and it worked well. Ask your pediatrician about it.
Try rice or almond milk...it would be located with the soy milk in the grocery store. Good luck!
Try "Almond Breeze". It works great for our child!
My little girl has issues with dairy too, and has eczema for weeks after having dairy. Although she is not allergic to soy, we limit that anyway. I give her rice milk and sometimes almond milk. I give her a multivitimin powder (she's two) to make sure she gets enough calcium and other stuff, and I try to make green veggies available as much as possible.
