Advice Needed on What to Feed My 11 Month Old, Dairy Allergic Son

try soy milk or Lactaid (everyone i know whose lactose can drink this)the con is they are way more expensive but its well worth it :) good luck

You get all you need from beans, veggies, and fruits, meat is mostly for fun (yum :o) ). As for milk, while it is packed with calcium, human bodies pee/poop almost all of it out anyway because we can't process it so combine green leafy stuff (for iron) with vitamin c (red bell, citrus, etc) and it makes it much more potent. Do some research on conbination foods because tiny amounts of veggies contain more good stuff than any vitamin out there you are very blessed that he eats that don't worry about the dairy!

I have 3 kids and all 3 hated baby food. My grandmother asked me, "have you ever tried it?" I did and BLAH!!! the only good things were the friuts and puddings. Her suggestion - and it worked - was the heat it up because no one likes cold/tepid food and to add a tiny bit of salt and some margerine. Her other suggestion is when I cook something, take some of what I cook and mash it up with the theory...if I like it so will the baby.

Eggs, grains, and legumes have protein. OJ, broccoli, and calcium fortified soy drinks have calcium. Eggs also have iron. Try this website for more info - http://kidshealth.org/parent/food/general/iron.html

One last thing - my daughter was allergic to dairy products and still is to some extent. I used to buy her goat's milk and she did not have any adverse effects from drinking it.

Good Luck!

Hi A.,

Well may be old fashioned but I always fed my babies from the table. If I made steak and potatoes, i put a tiny bit in the processor and fed that. Your baby has a dairy issue, just cook minus that for the time. oatmeal with shredded apple is always a good starter, mashed pasta and veggies, over cooked rice and meat stock or gravy. Just remember people were raising very fat and healthy happy babies long before gerber came along :) you can do just as good. The easies thing to remember is your baby will eat what you teach him to like, so push those veggies now :) and any meat and bean mixture will give all the protien needed. Fish is also great. I would make sure the baby is on a suppliment for calcium. I fed my babies 3 meals and 3 snacks a day a very good lifeong habit is to eat 6 small meals a day. remember they are little a couple tablespoons of food at each setting is plenty. Ill show you an example daily thing here..

Breakfast..
1/2 pack instant unflavored oatmeal prepared mix in 1/4 apple or banana or berries, blend in processer. (7 am or so)

snack..
1 teaspoon peanut butter on half a piece of bread 9 or so

lunch...
(leftover from night before dinner always good) Small piece of chicken boneless maybe 1/4 piece, 5 green beans, 1/2 carrot place all in a processer and blend.

Snack.... small handfull of cereal like cherios

dinner, (whatever your making) small piece of roast beef, a potatoe and carrot portion blended..

snack... 5 to 10 grapes blended.. 1/4 banana, whatever fruit :)

The trick is balance, just as you like balance and variety so will your son. 11 months old is plenty big for table food, minus the salt excess of course :) planning ahead will always make your life easier.. just take a small part from all your meals and put them in a small tupperware for the next meal.!

for calcium take a look at these..

Nondairy Foods with Calcium
Getting enough calcium can be a especially hard if your kids are allergic to milk. These nondairy foods can be good choices for kids with milk allergies who need calcium:
Salmon
Tofu
Rhubarb
Sardines
Collard greens
Spinach
Turnip greens
Okra
White beans
Baked beans
Broccoli
Peas
Brussel sprouts
Sesame seeds
Bok choy
Almonds

here is a great article... good luck!

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/calcium/a/06_calcium_food.htm

Enjoy

p.s. um of course if the lil guy has choppers in effect, let him use them and just lightly mash the foods to make them soft and let him chew on his own..

Wow...you may need to just call me on this one!! I have too much info to type. My husband and two sons are lactose intolerant...one of which is allergic to dairy. Here is a quick list of brands I buy EVERY time I go to the grocery store. Some of these things can be found in the refrig produce section...some the diet/vitamin/health section:

Veggie cheese singles - American flavor
Soy dream icecreams
WholeSoy or Soy baby yogurts
(I add flax seeds for protein & other bonuses)
Soy milks & Rice milks

Rice, soy, and veggie replace all dairy at our house. I buy calcium fortified oj for more calcium...plus make spinach & faux cheese quesadillas for even more. Silken tofu (little goes a long way) mixed w/ fruits make a GREAT protein shake and your little one can drop in the berries or fruit! I mix white beans (pureed) into scrambled eggs. You name it...it can be done and hid successfully! I even hid avocadoes in chocolate fondue to dip strawberries in!! My kids like veggies...but some they turn their noses up to..like avocadoes!!

Best of luck. Call me any time for more info on the dairy situation!! ###-###-####!

My babies love tofu. Get the firm tofu and cut it into bite size cubes. I mix it with fruit often, as well. Also get the soy yogurt. Mine love it with cheerios mixed in. I make sure they get protein from nut butters. (spread thin on waffles or sandwiches) I get the fresh ground stuff from whole foods and buy the almond, cashew, and peanut variety to vary the source of nutrition. That's important. Tofu has a lot of calcium and so does broccoli. Mix spinach into eggs at breakfast for iron and protein. Also slip chopped spinach into pasta dishes. I try to make sure there is green in just about every meal so my kids will be used to it and not refuse to eat green stuff. Good Luck...

My son loves orange juice so I buy the kind that is enriched with calcium and his doctor said that would be a fine substitute - of course your son may be too young for a while longer (too much oj at that age can hurt their stomach) but as he gets older it will be a good thing to introduce him too.

Peanut butter is good for protein also if he is not allergic to peanuts. My kids were slow to develop a taste for meat, but if he likes it he can have it at each meal but again ask his doctor as it has been a while since my kids were at that stage for me to remember, I just know mine were probably close to 3 or so before they ever really ate meat - they hated it for so long but lived off peanut butter for the protein!

It will be easier than you think to find things, and keep in mind as he gets older also that many kids outgrow this allergy, but follow your doctor's advice about what to do about this. My son seemed to outgrow the allergy but he never developed a taste for things with milk - he won't touch ice cream, milk, or almost any cheese, but he will eat pizza at times - I think almost every kid eats pizza - but if he stays allergic you can handle this as well by just holding the cheese when he gets older.

Good luck!

My just turned one year old has not wanted to eat out of baby food jars since she was about nine months old. We have put her on table food and she pretty much eats anything that we do. I was wondering about his milk alergy... was he tested for it or was he just on soy formula? The only reason that I am asking is because my daughter was on soy formula and does fine with any milk product we give her. She LOVES cheese and she eats yogurt and drinks milk.... mac and cheese is a big favorite. I know that you are concerned but I would say to give it a try and you never know how he may react (unless of course doctor says no). I am only careful with her diet and how much she gets because she has reflux and I have to be careful in that aspect but with the soy area she has seem to out grown that problem and now that she is off of formula she does fine with all milk produts now.... she even will eat cottage cheese if I catch her in the right mood. Just a suggestion.

How does your son do with soy? There are soy cheese slices and I think I even saw some soy ice cream recently. My son eats meat more than once a day. Have you tried beans? Dry beans- cooked of course- are full of protien and other vitamins. My son loves the soy cheese! He also loves peanut butter. If I feel he isn't getting enough protien I will give him a spoon of peanut better and he loves that. If you don't want to give him that much you could make him a fold over with it.

calcium: beans, broccoli, spinach, okra
iron: beans, apricot, spinach, meats, dates
protein: eggs, tofu, beans, meats

poly-vi-sol - available at any grocery or drug store. target has an economical generic.

We fed ours straight from our plates as soon as they showed intrest, baby food wasn't really something we did. LEt him eat everything (nondairy) that you do.

my allergy baby is 6 this month and we have been milk, egg and nut free his whole life! There are soy yogurts you can try. He eats mostly meats and veggies and fruit, its the healthiest diet int he world! Be very careful of breads, most have dairy in them hidden as whey. I make him spaghetti and meatballs and he loves that. There is a butter you can use if he prefers butter on his pasta, smart start light but only the light kind.
good luck and dont be afraid, it will become second natre to you, I promise!

Hi A. :)

My daughter is also lactose intollerant. I continued to give her formula for the vitamins and calcium (A lactose free variety) and was just careful to check baby food labels. A lot of them are made with milk but not all. Here's a list of things she ate on a regular basis:

Gerber chicken sausages
Pasta
Cheerios
Veggies
Fruits
mashed potatoes
yams
instant oatmeal (no preservatives)
Rice milk (Only about 1/2 cup til age 18 months then up to 1 cup)

10 years ago this might have been difficult, but now, with all the vegetarian options out there, you've got so much more to choose from. You don't have to go to the whole foods store either, HEB carries everything now. They do have Soy Yogurt (which is VERY good) Stoney Brook Farms makes a Soy Baby yogurt in a variety of flavors. Also grown-up brands too. Also, I am very allergic to cows milk, but Goat milk is tolerated very well. There is goat cheese you might try. (check with pediatrician first). Beans (mashed black beans, and pinto beans) are at a perfect consistency and lots of protein, good starter foods when moving up to the table. They also contain iron as do prunes and raisins and soy!! Nowadays, Soy milk has just as much protein and calcium, if not more, than regular milk and also contains important Omega-3's. You don't have to get the sweetened Vanilla Soy, the regular Soy tastes great.
Salads (dark green leafy, iron loaded veggies like spinach and collards) are a great idea too. You just have to cut up the salad into rediculously small pieces and mix it with some yogurt (for dressing) and let him try it. My son loved spinach (the strained kind) till he was about 3!! I thought he'd still be eating it at 16. Now he likes the regular kind!

Lactose intollerant people can eat soy cheese and soy milk is in the dairy section in most grocery stores. Maybe in the deli section. Is a little more expensive, may try goats milk as well.
hope this helps,
A.

I give my son spinach smoothies every morning. I blend some yogurt,carrot juice,banana,fresh blueberries or frozen,a handful of washed spinach leaves. I have a strong blender so it blends very well. The banana always overpowers any other taste so no need to add sugar. You can use anything you like. It will give your child a healthy start to the day. I wish I had done this with my 4 year old he wont touch it. My younger son loves it. My younger son also has a food allergy peanuts...so I know what it's like to get creative. You can join http://www.foodallergy.org/ to get recipes and ideas. Also great places to shop: Whole Foods, Sandy's Market on I-10, Kroger Natural Section, and some HEB's.

Our son was allergic to milk from birth to six years. We gave him rice milk and tums (not as often) for calcium. We also belonged to a network www.faan.org (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network). They have some awesome advice and an invaluable cookbook with recipes for all kinds of food allergens. I hope this helps!

W. K

Though my daughter and grandaughter were not dairy allergic, they did not eat baby food, much less cereal. They took formula, then milk, and 'real' food at about the age of your little one. Whatever we were eating, I would give little bites to them to taste and eat. They are both healthy at 24 and 4.
This may not be as helpful to you, but I did want to let you know that babies can grow up healthy without eating baby food, and we did save on the food bills.

We discovered our 3rd child was allergic to dairy when she was one and finally went on "real" milk. I had been giving her soy formula all along because of colic/fussiness but the milk transition was what really clued me in. It is VERY easy to find soy cheese at the grocery- lots of the time it is in the veggie department. We eat out a lot so I used to take my baggie of soy cheese with us and I was amazed to find that all of our local restaurants were very sweet about using our soy cheese from home to make grilled cheese sandwiches and pizzas. Amy's Organics also make a frozen mac n soy cheese that came in handy. With the proliferation of organic and health foods in the local stores you shouldn't have any trouble finding lots of soy products to replace the dairy. My daughter is now 10 and she won't drink milk- doesn't like the taste - but she has been able to eat cheese and ice cream without any problems for the last 6 years or so. Most kids do grow out of milk allergies by about 3 or 4. My friends w/ kids who have had milk allergies eventually got their kids to drink regular milk by making it chocolate- that got them off of their formula. I have the weird kid who doesn't like the taste of chocolate so that hasn't worked for me- so we still have formula for her cereal and drinking. I'm not sure if it is the soy or just genetics but she is the tallest at her age of the 3 kids and does seem to be developing a bit earlier than her sister- maybe a downside of all that soy.... You could also try goat's milk or some of those lactose free milks...frequently it is just the cow's milk that is a problem.

A., my son, now 2 is also allergic to milk. I have been giving him soy milk, and rice milk, and they also have soy yougurt and ice cream. There are also a large variety of nut milks out there (all enriched with calcium and other vitamins). Try Kroger natural sections, or whole foods stores, they have great alternatives. I also have my son on daily vitamins, and make sure he gets the certain foods for calcium and proteins (beans, eggs, oj) Good Luck!

Is the allergy lactose intolerance or an infant/toddler phase allergy to the protein in cows milk? If its the allergy to the cows milk protein, how severe is it?

My daughter has what is considered a mild allergy to cows milk protein... I'm eagerly waiting for when she out grows it... although not until 4! Because it is not severe, she eats goat milk yogurt and whole goat milk, goat butter. I've tried goat cheese, but she's not interested. I can't give her any cows milk dairy (makes her congested and leads to sinus infections, diaper rash). Around 12-18 months, I introduced the following her:

- microwaved egg *yolk* - not egg white (real important to check with your pedi for ok on when he can eat eggs; we had no family egg allergies)
-cooked pasta (whole wheat, tri-color vegetable pasta, rice pasta, egg noodles)... you can try putting on a bit of spaghetti sauce but it may need to be pretty simple. My DD only eats the prego brand; anything else is too seasoned for her.
-rice cooked in broth instead of water
-ground beef, mashed up well so the bits are really small. Mix a little in with the rice.
-chicken salad (just canned organic chicken and mayo) and I let her eat it on low sodium crackers or no salt tortia chips.
-apple sauce, cooked carrots, cooked green beans, canned beans, mashed potatoes
-dry cereals, oatmeal
-organic dried fruit, bananas, avacado

I also bought a small bread machine because it was too time consuming, stressful and expensive to try and find bread made without milk at the grocery store. I bought it off Amazon... using quick rise yeast, it takes about 2 hours to make a loaf. Takes 10 minutes to dump all the ingredients in the bread machine and that's all I have to do... Loafs last about 4-5 days.

I met a family last weekend whose 2 yr old is also allergic to cows milk protein, however she had a severe allergy (vomits) and they were advised not to give goat milk products. They give their daughter soy products... I'm not too thrilled with soy because of the estrogen link, but it depends on your child's situation.

Feel free to email me with any questions.... A milk allergy seems like such a pain-although when I hear about other moms who deal with multiple food allergies, I realize its not so bad!

Hi A.-

Here is a link to some information regarding how to apply the food pyramid to toddlers:

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/toddler/feeding_your_toddl...

Regarding his allergies, just remember that green veggies (like broccoli and spinach) have some calcium in them. Also, beans are high in protein if he seems to eat those better than meat.

I would also ask your pediatrician if there are any supplements you should be giving to your son.

Good Luck,
K.

when my son was little and i started feeding him food, i couldn't afford much baby food so i got a baby food grinder and i would mix the ground up meats with one of the baby food fruits to moisten it up and i would grind up anything that i ate and he ate just fine. if whatever i fixed seemed to dry i would just put a little baby food fruit in it and he loved it. hope this helps. God bless.

Hello A.,

I sell Xango and it is made from the Mangosteen fruit. He might enjoy drinking that. Here is a little information about it.

XanGo Juice boasts a proprietary whole–fruit formula, harnessing a concentrated rush of xanthones—a vigorous family of next–generation phytonutrients. Sounds complex. But here’s the straight scoop. Research shows xanthones possess potent antioxidant properties that may help maintain intestinal health, strengthen the immune system, neutralize free radicals, help support cartilage and joint function, and promote a healthy seasonal respiratory system.*

If you interested my website is http:connieowens.whymangosteen.com

I live in Collinsville as well.

God Bless you.

D. Owens

have no fear...my twins are allergic to milk as well...and they have yogurt and cheese...soy versions...they are available at Wal Mart and other grocery stores...you just have to look for them...read your labels... also you can add carnation instant breakfast to their soy milk and they will get some extra calcium and other vitamins they can use...

For soy milk, I buy 8th continent, my kids like the taste better, it has nearly the same good for you ingredients as reg milk and it is cheaper than most other soy versions (Silk, Pacific, etc)

and as far as other foods...feed him whatever he will eat, as long as it is healthy and you continue to introduce other alternatives, do not worry about what he specifically wants over something else. And do not worry about him not eating enough of something at a meal or snack...studies show kids will get enough of what they need spread out over a week if you offer them the right choices...Look to the food pyramid for how many servings they should be offered each day and just make sure you offer that many servings over the course of the day...if he doesn't eat it all, don't sweat it...by the end of the week, he should have pretty much all he needs...

;-) Good Luck...

My daughter was allergic to milk at that age too...we did a lot of label reading. She loved all types of beans, which area a good source of protein. You can also get calcium and iron from cereals and also try soy milk, soy cheese and soy yogurt. They are more expensive than "cows milk" products but give them the texture, etc. My pediatrician was also insistent on her taking her vitamin drops every day to help out.

My daughter also cannot have milk. She does eat eggs and I scramble them up with spinach and roasted red bell peppers. She loves sweet potatoes in any form but especially sweet potato hash browns(just shred them up with some onion and throww them in a pan.) She loves spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce and ground turkey. She loves brisket(which is very tender) Lots of Veggies have calcium so thats always an option or you could try a supplement. My daughters favorite meal is baby spinach and cut up grape tomatoes sautéed in olive oil over pasta. Quick and easy. I know alot of these seem like strange meals but if he likes veggies take advantage of it.

You might try goat's milk, too. It is expensive, but it is a better alternative to soy. Watch out for the soy intake in children as children can get too much and it can be bad for them. There is also goat cheese and yogurt. You can substitute goat's mile for milk in recipes and you can't tell the difference.