Weaning Daughter That Has Milk Allergy

Don't wean her, it's that simple. The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for a MINIMUM of 2 years.

hi W.,
i don't eat dairy anymore either. i drink almond milk. i really like it and you don't have to worry about over doing the soy. it also has more nutrition than rice milk. they have it in plain, vanilla and chocolate. good luck!

I think you're right about soy being BAD!!!! I've heard it even causes problems with fertility in the long run. I know some people who have had really good luck with goats milk. Worth a try.....

Is there a reason that you are weaning her already? You may want to check into the benefits of extended breastfeeding and allowing your baby to self wean. There are a lot fo reasons to do it, including psychological reasons. I guess especially since you already know she is sensitive, the extra time may really help her digestive system.

Check out this page, and other info on benefits of extended breastfeeding and self weaning.
http://www.parenting.com/article/Baby/Feeding/Ask-Dr.-Sea...

Have u tried the second stage formula i don't know much about it but it might be worth looking into.

Goat's milk would be an available option. I know the health food stores carry it, and yogurt/cheese made with goat's milk. There's buffalo milk items too. Don't think I'd do soy. Maybe some rice and some goat's to cut cost. Include avocadoes in her diet for a good brain building fat, and a high quality cod liver oil. If all else fails, keep nursing her, even if it's just part time.

Blessings,
~A. <><

ETA: Make sure she gets GOOD fat. Fat from avocadoes, coconut oil, fish oil, olive oil, etc are good. Fat from margarine, white flour products, red meat, etc are bad fats. Replace her bad fats for good, reduce refined sugar, up her fiber and whole/unprocessed foods and she really won't need much "milk". I do agree, however, that your best option is to keep nursing her for her milk. Nursing even a couple times a day during the second year reaps great benefits.

When we switched from formula to milk at 11 months my dr said that 2% wasn't necessary since he was getting all the nutrients that he needed. Once we switched to milk he refused to drink it. My daughter is allergic to dairy and drinks almond milk. (they like the flavor better) The pediatrition said that was fine as long as he was getting his dairy in other ways and for my daughter we just make sure she gets the vitamins she needs from other foods. For what ever reason she can handle regular yogurt, but there are all sorts of different ones that are dairy free. I have found that our local natural food store has been a good resource for more info.

Hi-

I'm the mom of a 2 year old who has a milk allergy, too. We tried soy for a little while and she had such diahrea that we switched to rice milk a year ago. It has made such a difference in her!! It has less fat but her pediatric gastro Dr. has a dietitian that worked with us and came up with ways to add more fat to her diet. She eats a slice of bologna for afternoon snack (loaded with fat), have tried gravies, sausage, adding extra Fleshman's to things or olive oil. Any way we can, we add fat to her diet and after a year of this, it seems like her growth is good and she's developing normally. Reading labels has become second nature to us and we're always on the look out for milk alternatives in foods. Good Luck!

W.,
Have you tried any raw milk products??I see you say that she's allergic to milk products - has she ever had any raw dairy products - 9 out of 10 times when a person has a milk allergy it's only to pasturized products - see when the milk molecule is still in it's natural state it's molecule is 3D in shape, but once it's pasturized it change's the molecule into a completly flat shape foreign to our bodies - that's a big reason so manly people have milk allergies - maybe you could try him on a good quality raw cheese - avail at most stores. Cheers & best of luck, L.

W. My daughter also has a milk allergy but we also found out with allergy testing that she also has a say allergy. She is currently on rice milk and goat milk. I usually give her the rice milk during the day and the goat milk at supper and at night. the rice milk is only 2.5 g of fat where the goat milk is 7. so the goat milk at night helps her sleep a bit better because of the fat. it is pretty expensive but we find it worth it. You may notice it may take a bit for your child to like rice milk. It is very sweet it took my daughter a few weeks before she would take it normally. Hope this info helps. Feel free to message me if you have any other questions.

my 2 yr old has been on soy and rice milk for the past 6 months or so, and is doing fine. previous to that he was breastfed almost exclusively. I have heard of problems with soy too, which is why we've switched primarily to rice milk.

as long as you are also feeding other fortified foods (breakfast cereals, fortified orange juice etc) you don't have to worry about the calcium. As for fat, there's plenty of that to found elsewhere. Avacado is a good source if your baby can eat that, and cooking with olive oil is a fantastic source of the healthy fats. My son doesn't care much for avacado, but we use the olive oil in most of our cooking and he is fine with that. we haven't had any problems with his weight gain- he is right on track.

there's also almond milk and goats milk. we haven't tried either of those though.

goat milk? Or get her cow milk straight from the farm after she is over a year b/c the more pure the milk the less likely she is to be allergic to the protiens.

My son went through a stage where he was lactose intolerant and I agree with you on the soy products. We put him on a milk base product called Lactaid. You find in the dairy section. It is milk with out the lactose. My son did grat on it. They have all varieties whole, skim, 2%, chocolate and they have an option of calcium fortified.
Good luck!

Is she allergic to goat's milk? My daughter has a dairy sensitivity but drinks goat's milk without any problems.
You are correct to worry about soy milk. Rice milk is okay but contains alot of sugar.
You wouldn't have to give her any milk, actually. There are much better sources of fats(fish oils, extra virgin coconut oil, etc...) and the calcium derived from milk is useless to our bodies. Someone on here posted a link to calcium rich foods....I wish I could find it. It's a great resource!
Also, if you are on WIC, I do know that they provide goat's milk as an alternative.
Have a great day!

i agree and would try the goats milk. that is what my brother was on when he couldn't take soy or cow's milk. if your worried about the calcium intake. you can give her food's that have high calcium in them naturally. you can look it up online there is alot of info. here are some that are good choices. pretty much any green veggies, navel oranges, kiwi, beans, tofu, carrots, watermelon, tomatoes. you can buy the calcium inriched foods like juice, bread and cereal. plus you could also give her pediasure to drink that has the calcium plus other vitimins and mineral that would help her.

I was allergic to cow's milk as an infant-small child. My family gave me goat's milk until I outgrew the cow's milk allergy.

I am a SAHM, married with 2 beautiful food allergic daughters, almost 4 yr old and 21 months. We too can not have dairy among other things and we rotate soy with rice milk but they prefer the soy. We did extensive research on soy and estrogens and found that if you see any type of estrogen based side effects on your child all you need do is stop the soy and her system will clear itself within 48 hours to 4 days and all estrogen side effects will go away. (My husband is a chiropractor with nutrition training and great access to research studies on such things). When weaning my youngest we also used a non-dairy formula to help her with extra calories she may not get from soy/rice and extra nutrients. We ordered ours from a company call MetaGenics or in some areas they go by Nutrition Dynamics. The product is called UltraCare for Kids, comes in Cherry Banana and Vanilla and was formulated for just such infants/kids with food allergies (specifically to cows milk). My kids loved it and we still keep it on hand becasue 1. they ask for it and 2. it ensures that they are getting proper nutrition on those days that they just won't/don't eat. You may reach the compnay by calling 800-444-9998. Also checked into using another dairy free product that you can buy at most natural food stores or order direct called Natures One. Soy based formula for 11.29 per canister (comparable to regular formula costs) and you may reach them at ###-###-#### or naturesone.com. Good luck to you and I know that you can do this. There are so many options out there now.

Definitely do not use soy! Try hemp milk you will be amazed at how many nutrients it has (even omega 3s) http://www.livingharvest.com
Brekka

HI W.,
I know that it is hard to find alternatives to milk. I personally think that milk can be hard on any child's system and I try to limit what my kids drink. I know there are great ways to help her digestive system and can put you in touch with some other moms who know what you are dealing with. As far as soy goes, there is good soy and bad soy. It just depends how it is processed. I use a great soy product for my children and would recommend it to anyone. You can call me with any questions. My home number is ###-###-#### and my cell phone number is ###-###-####. I am a stay at home mom, so you can call at anytime. I have six children - 16, 13, 9, 6 and the twins will be 3 this summer.

Hi W., with the consent of your Dr., try introducing milk to see if seh has outgrown her allergy to it. I was allergic to milk for my first year of life, my mom was breastfeeding me and she had to cut out all dairy from her diet so I would not get sick. But when I turned one she tried giving me cow's milk and I suddenly did fine with it! Babies intestines are immature and they absorb allergens very easily, but starting at about 6 months of age their intestines start to mature and the baby becomes capable of handling the digestion of foods that would have made them sick just a few months or even weeks before. A one year old is capable of digesting protiens that a six month old could not handle, which is why we wait one year to introduce cow's milk and nut products. Make sure that you talk to your child's DR. in advance, some allergies, like peanut allergies, are permanet, while others, like milk allergies, are possible to outgrow.

With food allergies, there are no perfect choices. Only better choices. My sons have been on soy since they were diagnosed with milk allergy almost by 1 month old. they are now 13, 11, and 6, and doing great with soy. You need to feed your child, and you need your child to grow. Milk is not a perfect food, either. It really was only designed to be given up to age 4. Your daughter will do great on soy, and I would not lose a night's sleep over it. Like I said, you do the best you can with the choices open to you. 8 out of 10 kids outgrow dairy allergy by age 4. So, chances are she'll be back on milk, soon. Mine never outgrew the milk allergy, but we are going and growing, and that's what counts. Good luck.

W.,

There are other options. In our family we use Rice and Almond milk (almond is my favorite) but I use mainly rice for cooking. You can also use potato milk. We stay away from soy. I shop at Fresh & Natural and Whole Foods, though you can find some things at a lot of grocery stores now. My girls are dairy free and my son and I dairy and gluten free, and we have been able to successfully replace all things dairy and more.

No personal experience but I've heard of mom's using rice milk or almond milk instead of soy or cow's milk

My daughter has an Egg, Dairy and peanut allergy. She was diagnosed at 9 months old and is now 3 1/2 and we strictly gave her Rice Milk (because they thought she was allergic to Soy too) and she is a healthy growing girl. It is tough to know what is best, but go with your gut.

W., I am in the same boat with my 7 month old daughter. She's not weaning yet, but our pediatrician recommended giving her first taste of milk at his office... We also use Nutramigen (sp.) by Enfamil (expensive but we've gotten samples from Dr.'s office). Our pediatrician seemed pretty confident that, like most infants, mine would outgrow her allergies. I hope to continue nursing as long as possible...
Just a side note, YOU might need some time to adjust to dairy being back in your diet too! I thoughtlessly ate a bite of my toddlers' mac and cheese and was feeling sick for the rest of the day...
Good luck, J.

I am a 27 y/o SAHM to Nick (3 1/2), Sophia (2 1/2) and Gianna (7 mos.) Married for almost 3 years to Nick.

I have a friend whose daughter can't have dairy but her digestive system does tolerate goat milk, and goat cheese. She says it does smell different and she doesn't like the taste, but the daughter seems to like, I don't think she has had cow milk. I think the protiens are easier to digest and it is still higher in fat and has high amounts of calcium.

If she isn't give so much to drink, she will eat all of the protein and fat she needs. My kids never drank milk or soymilk and they are both healthy... one is even chubby (13 and 20 years).

So, giving her rice milk, almond milk or hemp milk will all do the trick if you start to give her less fluids so she is hungry for more food.

Also, most of the major milk brands have a Lactose Free line.

I would try goats milk. It is actually the closest to human milk. I also agree that raw milk is a good option.

I think your best bet would be to continue to nurse her at least once a day. One feeding a day will provide her with the fats and nutrients she needs, and you can stick with water for her meals, and nurse her once a day to get the milk she needs. Human milk is better than anything ,and I think if you slowly start adding the dairy back into your diet, you'll see that she does fine with it.

Goats milk or almond milk would be what I would suggest for you if you choose to wean her now, just make sure she gets plenty of healthy fats in her diet, and a wide variety of foods to keep her body growing as it should.

Dear W.,
You do have to be somewhat careful with soy products. Mostly I think it is a matter of moderation. If you eat one thing every single meal, every day, every month, of every year (you get my point), it is bound to cause problems sooner or later. We were meant to eat a variety of foods ("a rainbow of colors" - no, I don't mean fruit loops, I mean fruits, veggies, grains, legumes, etc.). Rice milk is an option - they do have fortified varieties. As for her getting enough fat in her diet, I wouldn't be too concerned about that, especially as she will be able to get fat (and nutrients) from other food sources now.

Here are some great sites on dairy and calcium rich foods:
http://www.drlam.com/A3R_brief_in_doc_format/print/2003-N...
http://milk.elehost.com/html/why_does_calcuim_leave_the_b...
http://home.bluegrass.net/~jclark/calcium_foods.htm