My son is 9 months old and breastfed but also gets formula. We've never had an issue with giving him any type of formula - he takes any and all hungrily! I found some SOY formula at a local grocery store that is on sale (until they are out of the cans) and wanted to know if there is any issue with giving him SOY since he has always gotten milk from me or regular (non-SOY) formula.
I also wanted to add that I have another post on here in regards to him being itchy and wondering about excema. Could it be the formula he's on?
He did have lots of gas/fussiness when he was smaller but seemed to grow out of it.
Basically I want to know if there is any reason NOT to give him this.
Thoughts?
Talked with the pediatrician and they said to go for it and try soy out for a week and see if it makes a difference. I have noticed he's stopped scratching at his backside in the bathtub but still does in a few other places so we'll see!
Thanks for all your suggestions!
The eczema at that young age could be a dietary allergy. Soy is usually the safer route. Maybe it will help the eczema?
Unfermented soy is not healthy for anyone. Soy acts like estrogen in our bodies, so it is especially bad for boys, and even worse for babies. Would you give him 10 or 15 birth control pills a day? If not, then don't give him soy formula. I say this even though I gave my son soy formula. I didn't know this then and I regret it now.
My sister just took her son off Soy Formula because his pediatrician said there is a lot of estrogen in Soy. If you google Soy and Estrogen you'll see some articles. It may have been on sale because nobody else wants it.
Ive heard that soy is like a fake estrogen or makes you get too much estrogen or something... ive never researched it because ive never had to put mine on soy but my nephew is allergic to mik and has to drink soy formula/milk. the doctor told them it was better to do goats milk if possible because of the estrogen. i am definitly not the expert thats just what ive heard! good luck!
Soy is also a common allergen and it could be possible he is allergic to soy. To find out, you have to cut out soy from your diet (since you are nursing) and also soy from his diet and see if his reactions improve.
Doctors recommend cow's or goat's milk to babies because it is closer to human milk than soy. My pediatrician actually said that soy milk is harder to digest. However, soy is a good alternative for babies who cannot tolerate cow's milk because they add nutrients to the formula.
The issues about soy are controversial. There are plenty of countries in which children are given soy milk and where people eat soy products a lot more than in the US. There's even one study that if you introduce soy to kids, it will have more protective benefits to a person's health. If it was introduced in adulthood, there is no additional or less benefit. Dr Neal Bernard has info on this. You can google him. However, there are also a lot of soy in the US that are genetically modified, so that could be a problem. If possible, try to get organic soy formula.
you need to stay with the same formula he normally takes. Switching formulas no matter what brand can cause problems. Soy is usually used for babies that have problems with the milk based formula. 2 of my kids used soy because they had colic or stomach issues. Buying formulas because they are cheaper or having coupons isn't the way to go. We did this with our first baby and realized it wasn't good as some brands made him more constipated than others or more fussy, and spit up a lot all the time. It is better to stick with one brand.
Soy smells worse too.
After reading other posts you may want to try 1 can and see if it helps his itchy skin. I wouldn't buy a lot of it though until you try it for a week.
In theory no, but I would only buy one can and try it. I found out my son had a sensitivity to soy when he ended up in the hospital after projectile vomiting a single bottle up for hours. For many babies this will not be a problem, but I would hate for you to buy a whole bunch of cans and find out he can't tolerate it.
My second daughter had to be on the soy milk because she threw up when she was on the regular formula after I stopped nursing. She did well with the soy milk. I thought it smelled a little but that may have just been my opinion be cause it wasn't "regular" formula. She didn't seem to notice any difference and she did well with it.
L.
Hi - my son was sensitive to regular formula and also had eczema (which is a sign of allergic reaction). We did switch him to Soy and he has had no issues with it. He is now 3 and he grew out of hte formula phase obviously (and no longer has eczema).
I would check with your pediatrician but I found soy formula gentler for my son's digestive system (in my case).
