Breast Milk to Soy Milk

You can try organic rice milk, like rice dream. it only has 2.5g of fat, so you might have to add more omega fats into her diet. Also there is flavored soy milk. The favorites of my babies are chocolate and very vanilla. Rice milk also comes flavored. Good Luck!

I tried the soy when I started my son on formula at 6 months. He's now 3. He did not like it either. He had a bit of a sensitive stomach as well. I used the Nestle Good Start & he did great with it. It seems to be pretty gentle on their little tummies.

Hey V., my son is 13 months old and has a very senstive system as well. We tried soy and he didnt like it either so we tried Lactaid it is milk without the lactose and we really like it. We would warm it in the microwave to take the chill off. Hope this helps
T.

Speaking with my mom hat on--you are amazing for pumping all that time. Good for you.

Speaking with my nutritionist hat on here, I see no reason not to try cows milk, and I agree with Jeanna, below, that raw cows milk is a worthy thing to try. She has suggested a number of good resources. Since she hasn't tried it yet, you don't really know if she'll react. It might be fine for her. If it doesn't work, try goat milk. I am not into soy milk, especially for children. It is a highly processed food and it is hard to digest.

Good luck with it!
E.
www.nutritionforthewholefamily.com

My three boys are on Oat milk. The research says it is the healthiest milk on the planet. Pacific foods makes a great organic oat milk, you can find it at whole foods.

She probably just needs more time to get use to this new flavor. Try mixing it with some breast milk to ease her into the flavor. Start with it at about 25% soy and slowly work up to 100% over a couple of weeks. Be patient with her. New foods take time to get use to.

Good luck!

Have you tried goat milk? It is the closest thing to breast milk and is much more easily digested than cow's milk or soy milk.

1) http://www.mercola.com/article/soy/index.htm

2) http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/

3) http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/03summary.htm

4) http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/index.html

5) http://creativehealth.farvista.net/poison/soyindex.shtml

6) http://thyroid.about.com/cs/soyinfo/a/soy.htm

7) http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/Soy%20Allergens.html

8) http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/whole_soy_story.htm?gcl...

9http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/food/soy_...

Love, G.. :0)

P.S. You have better options like Almond Milk, Rice Milk, Organic Raw Milk, Goat's milk... Trust me you can damage your child's brain before he or she ever has the chance to bloom!!! I used Soy since supplementing with soy formula, and both my boys have developmental delays ( and one started to have seizures... that stopped when we stoped feeding any kind of SOY) The only kind of SOY that is good for you is the one that is not GENETICALY MODIFIED!!! it has to say "NON GMO" on the labels... I wish someone had told me this before!!! And I would have loved to have had options!!! Research... and be an informed parent... do not just relay on poeple's "opinion"... not even mine!!!

Of course, soy milk is very different from your breast milk, so it makes sense that your child will not immediately like it. You might try blending soy milk with your breast milk and keep adding more soy milk and less breast milk as your child gets used to the soy.
I think the most important thing is that the soy milk be organic. All other soy products are genetically modified.
You might also try a variety of soy milk products...the ones that are "fresh" are more palatable to some.

Hi Vickie,

You can try and mix half your breastmilk with half soy milk and slowly get her used to the soy milk. I had a similar problem with my daughter (she is almost 3). I nursed her a little shy of her 1st birthday and put her on soy milk because she is latose intolerant as I am. I had to do half and half and she actually started taking it pretty easily after that. I would give it a couple weeks and see if it works.
I hope this helps.

Hi V.-
I can see you already have a bazillion mom's opinions going on. It will really depend on what you are open to, I would probably have varied opinions for different friends because they are different moms (= all great! So I'll give you my 3 cents too and you decide what will work for you! I stopped breastfeeding at 14 months also, tried goat's milk(digests very well and closest to breast milk), no go on that, no go on regular milk or others. I am very wary of soy milk because it has plant estrogens in it, I know doc's recommend it but once they get more savvy on it, I think they will stop. It bothers me even more when they recommend it to baby boys. It is not easily digested, before I had done my homework, I drank it and it caused me gas & bloating, uggh. I wish I had tried raw milk, I have read a lot by Weston Price about it and it makes a lot of sense. I belong to an online forum and moms swear by it for keeping their kids from cavities and even keeping them from getting sick, once a year, maybe. The digestive enzymes in the milk haven't been killed yet by the pasteurization process so even those of us that have a hard time with dairy can digest it easily. My son is 2 now, but I'm seriously thinking of incorporating it in his diet, maybe in a smoothie. My son just did not like the taste of milks and wasn't having any of it. So I just switched to good quality water in his bottle and lots of good quality yogurt. I started out with whole milk plain which I was surprised he liked but he did and after a while had to add a little flavored for his palate and now we do flavored Organic lowfat Wallaby yogurt(from Nugget), tastes divine! I just tried to incorporate more dairy sources other than milk. I didn't have to worry about the milk sugars on his teeth etc. So you've got lots of options, find one that works best for you! (=
K.

Hi V.,
I just weaned my 2 1/2 year old...What a chore. They get so used to the taste of the sweet breast milk only a mother can produce. I found that my son prefers the taste of milk when i add a bit of honey and warm it up...this is very similar to the taste of breast milk and warming it helps with the similarity also. You may try Almond milk with honey!
Good luck!
L. O.
Mother of 4.

My daughter has recently become allergic to cow's milk. I tried goat's milk, but she can't stand the taste and smell. So, I tried rice milk and almond milk. She hasn't had any problems at all. Rice milk has a very mild taste and you can find them both in the grocery store. I alternate and use them in everything. I can even make her ice cream.

Hi V.!

I would absolutely NOT give her soy milk. This is coming from someone who was a vegetarian (and ate a lot of soy) for many years. There is A LOT of sound research out there that soy is very bad for our health- I have a friend who was vegan who had to come home from living abroad due to the havoc soy wreaked on her thyroid. Most soy, including soy milk, is highly processed, so you get that with it too. It's not quite the same for fermented soy products like tempeh and miso, which are fairly good for you in moderate quantities.

If your daughter is sensitive to cow's milk, you can try goat's milk or raw cow's milk. The benefits of raw milk? NUMEROUS! Raw milk still has it's enzymes intact which help with digestion and assimilation of the nutrients it contains. Pastuerization kills these nutrients. I know numerous people who have felt health benefits from drinking raw milk from having allergies clear up to increased immunities and more.

I know that sounds really radical to a lot of people with all of the propaganda on how wonderful pasteurization is, but let me assure you that the negative rap raw milk has received is based on myth. There are actually no proven cases of contamination from raw milk from the two raw milk dairies in our state (Claravale and Organic Pastures) and I have friends who have visited both facilities to witness sanitary farming the old fashioned way (with cows roaming around outside). You can find more info at www.realmilk.org and the Weston A Price Foundation.

Hope this helps!

Love, J.

I also used rice milk for the 2 of my 3 kids who had sensitive stomachs

Have you tried Goat's Milk for her? My son had trouble with cow's milk when he was 1-2 years old (gave him a red, rashy bottom) and we tried both soy and goat's milk; both were fine for him. Goat's milk was expensive (then), but did the job. Eventually, he tolerated cow's milk just fine, but not until he was around 2&1/2.

A little about me:
I am 38 years old, a home schooling SAHM, and have one living son who is now 13.

What about rice milk? I use that on my cereal and it can be sweet as well which would be nice since she is used to breast milk. You just want to check the calcium on it. Also, there is vanilla soymilk or vanilla rice milk, maybe she would like that better than regular soymilk.

Hope you find something that works.

Hi V., It's Suzie. Are you already feeding her yogurt? I say boo hiss on trying the soy milk. I would maybe try giving her a little bit of yogurt every day or every other day to introduce a milk product into her system and then do that for a few weeks and then maybe start adding lactose free milk. The yogurt already has the acidophilus in it already. Asians who can't tolerate milk products do this and quite often they can tolerate milk products fully after that.

You can try rice milk. It's pretty sweet and easier on the stomach. You can get it at the regular grocery store. Good luck.

Hi V.,
My son is almost 8 months and I am still nursing, but also pump on the 2 1/2days/week that I work. On days that I don't pump enough and need to supplement, we have been using organic goat's milk. My son likes it and supposedly it is very close to mother's milk as far as make up...
-Wendy

V.,

When I stopped nursing I went to Rice milk and for the first four years we had 3 kids of milk in the fridge. They have Rice milks and Almond milks in original, chocolate and vanilla flavored just like the Soy milks. If you don't have luck with those you may want to consider an organic non pasturized cow milk from a health food store. I know of one in Modesto (near where I live) for sure where you can get this product. There is claim that the heating changes the milk and the ability of absorption and digestion. As a last resort you can also consider goats milk as it has a very low bacteria count and it is sometimes tolerated by people that can't have cow milk.

Hope that helps you.
G.

Goat milk is easier to digest because the molecules are smaller. It may not taste as good to her. You may need to sweeten it or maybe put some flavoring in it like vanilla at first and then gradually lessen the flavoring to get her used to the taste. good luck. elaine

Did you try mixing breast milk with alittle soy milk? Maybe 1 part soy milk to 3 parts breast milk it will take about 2 weeks to adjust to new milk.

are you still pumping? mix 3/4 breastmilk with 1/4 soymilk. hten gradually increase hte soy as she gets used to the taste. i had bothmy kids on soy formula after breastmilk due to family allergies and they are both fine now (2 and 5).

K.

Hi V.,

Soy is very hard to digest. Water is the best. Milk is meant for cows. Goat milk is easier to digest- closer to human, but of course is meant for goats. Mint and chamomile tea are very good for the stomach. Juice is great for health and for the brain if it is not pasturized and is organic. Of course, organic anything is always best.
I am 57 years old, a massage therapist and breathworker and having been studying health for many years.
The best to you and your child,
R.

Have you considered Raw milk? Raw milk is very similar to breast milk in the sense that it has not been pasteurized and is still a living food. It is a wonderful supplement or replacement for mama's milk. It still contains all of the enzymes needed to digest it as well as living stable bacteria such as the probiotics that you are already putting n her milk.

Raw milk is very safe and is beyond organic in that it comes from cows that are on pasture and in the sun, making for healthy animals. Raw milk is full of wonderful nutrition, many nutrients that are very difficult to get in our regular diets such as vitamin A and Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA).

The two dairies in CA that produce raw milk are Organic Pastures and Claravale:

http://organicpastures.com

http://claravaledairy.com

You can buy raw milk at Rainbow grocery in SF as well as BiRite market on 18th st and all three of the Whole Foods in SF

Good Luck! -J.

You might want to try goats milk. You can get it at Trader Joes. It is easier to digest than cows milk, and not sour like Soy.

My girl-friend and I both did the same thing. Only my friends sons was allergic to soy like she(not real bad) so he has drank Rice Milk since he was about 18months he is 5 now. I just stopped my 5 yr. on soy but sometimes he still drinks rice milk. I plan on doing the same for my 1yr. old. Also, try the soy milk that is the "PLAIN" (Soy Dream or Silk) my 5 yr. didn't like the vanilla. Plus they saykids need to try something 5 times before they truely know if they like it or not. We both just make sure they are getting enough calcium from other sources like yogurt, cheese, vitamins, etc. Also another friend works at Whole Foods and says they can't keep something called "Raw Milk" on the self because moms buy it out.

Good luck.

Congratulations on giving you daughter the best possible milk she could ever have for 14 months! Good job! To pump for her for the past 3 months was such a gift - and a labor of love!

Soy milk really isn't good for kids - too many phyto-estrogens that can impact the hormonal system in a not positive way. I advise my clients to stay away from it for the children in both formula and regular milk forms.

Try Rice Milk that is vanilla flavored. My middle son is allergic to dairy and I won't give him soy - he LOVES the Rice Dream Vanilla. Tasty and no issues with allergies for the vast majority of humans. :)

Warmly,
J.

Hi V.- Try Goat milk- it is closest to human milk in terms of the protein molecule size and fat to protein to carb ratios. The next choice is raw cow if you can get a clean - organic- trustable source. (like Oraganic Pastures) Soy is not a good choice for a lot of reasons- it is hard to digest, there area potential estrogenic affecta- which can disrupt the bodies natural hormone balance, and does not have the amino acid profile for babies.....so much to say on this issue- but if the raw cow & goat are not tollerated- I would look into making your own "formula" without Soy- I think Dr Jenson has some recipes in his books. One more comment- if you use goat or cow- make sure to supplimet with Fish oil for the omega 3's that are found in human milk

Try goat milk. You can get it at Whole Foods or most natural health food stores. You may also know someone who has goats. That is not uncommon up here in Sebastopol. Goat milk most closely approximates human milk. It was given to children when a nurse maid was not available. Humans do not have the allergies to it as they do to cows milk. Raw goat milk (unpasteurized) has the most enzymes which aid in digestion. It taste good albeit different than cows milk. I quickly grew to like it. There is also goat milk yogurt and cheese. Using goat milk is easier on the environment (less methane, land and resources) and more suitable to the human body. Best Wishes.

My son was allergic to dairy for the first three years of his life, but no matter how many pediatricians recommended soy milk, I stayed far away, because of all the controversial issues surrounding soy and small children. I did not want my child to be a guinea pig! There are some studies that say soy milk can cause havoc in a young girl's reproductive system. Therefore, I fed him rice milk. He wasn't too crazy about it, so I got the chocolate flavored one. You can also try almond milk. I have friends who have made both at home, but you can buy them at the store, usually in the tea section. it is not refrigerated and comes in boxes.

I weaned my 3 chlldren off breast milk to I-Soyalac in the '80's and they were fine. There are a few different flavors, some with iron, some without. Try a couple of different brands or flavors and when she's hungry enough she will eat. It's worth the trouble. Her stomach will be better, she'll have less colds (cow's milk forms more mucous). I actually kept them on the formula way into their forming years (6 or 7)for health reasons because it is better for them, the invironment and now I'm looking back at it for myself! Hope this encourages you.
E. C

Your daughter might not like the brand of soy milk. Perhaps you should try "Very Vanilla by Silk" My good friend gave her son this brand of soy milk after breastfeeding....
Hope it works:):)

Have you tried goats milk? I know quite a few people that are lactose intolerant who drink goats milk instead of cows milk. I personally have never tried it. So I'm not sure about the taste.

Goat milk is closest in protein structure to human milk, so you might want to try that. I've had my son on goat milk for over 2 years now. He nursed untill he was 3, and he's 4.5 now.
You can get goat milk at places like Whole Foods, but now even SaveMart carries it here.
Goats are not given growth hormones like dairy cows, so that's nice too.
: )

My son is 15 months and allergic to cows milk. I get him the vanilla soy milk. The sugars are not much higher than plain soy, and are actually much lower than the cows milk. He loves the milk.

Couple other things to think about, soy milk has been linked to increased levels of estrogen in the system and a strong correlation has been made to early puberty and thyroid disorder. After reading some of the studies I decided to move our daughter to Rice Milk instead (she was almost 2)when I was afraid she might have developed a sensitivity to cows milk. She loves it. Also, my concern with a 14month old is that she still needs the high levels of fat and protein that you get with whole milk (but not with soy, rice, almond etc.) the fat is key for brain development and we've been desperately trying to make sure we're replacing it in her diet. If your Dr. says no cows milk, she should have suggestions for you for replacing that fat; if you aren't getting this info, you need a Dr. who's more up to speed on nutrition. Good luck. J.

V.,

My son is allergic to dairy so he has been on soy products since 4 months old when I started supplementing with formula. He now drinks soy milk and loves it. Have you tried the vanilla flavored kind. I've found that the original flavor is great for cooking but when it comes to kids drinking it, some don't really care for it. My son is very picky and will only drink the Costco brand of soymilk but there are plenty of other brands out there. Try some out and hopefully that will work for you.

K.

My son loves rice milk. You can get the "original" flavor or vanilla. It's pretty tasty. Just make sure you get the enriched type (with calcium and vitamins).

did you try gradually transferring your little one to soy milk? Blend your milk with soy 75/25%, then 50/50%, and so on over a few weeks. Our grandchildren like rice dream as well. Our daughter did the transition in baby steps as written above and didn't have any problems.

There is alot of information now about soy and that when refined and processed (like it is in soy milk) that it can mimic sex hormones in the body(estrogen- like). It is really best to not consume these highly processed foods at all. Do you feel like she has to drink some kind of milk? We, as a society , are hung up on giving our kids milk after they nurse, that is really their milk and I believe cow's milk is for little cows.... That said, I would try raw milk before pasteurized- google it and see what you find out. Also another great place to look is Holistic Moms Network- google it too. Good luck!

You could try raw whole milk. Not sure where you are but we buy ours at Whole Foods from a company called Organic Pastures. Raw milk is full of natural pro-biotics and is usually better for sensitive stomachs because it has all of the good proteins and good bacteria in it. Soy is actually very hard on the body and I'm surprised that the doctor recommended that. If you don't have access to raw milk, you could try rice milk. Good luck!

Have you tried mixing it. For example. Mixing 3 oz of breast milk with 1 oz of soy. That way she gets used to it. Plus it is a good way to keep any sort of reactions down. I did with breast milk to Alimentum then to Similac, and then to regular milk. My twins had GERD so we had to take things very slowly.

I've done a lot of research on soy's effect on the body and highly recommend you do not feed it to your daughter (or yourself). There are many many studies and articles to read on-line about the ill-effects of soy so definitely check them out. Goat's milk is easier for the body to digest than cow's milk and may be a good alternative (although a bit pricey - depending on where you live). I use and give my 2 year old son organic rice milk (Rice Dream brand) that is enriched with vitamins A, D, B-12 and calcium. It is also very easy to digest and tastes great with no added sugar! I hope this helps!

You might want to try the many different varieties of "nut" or "grain" milks. My youngest is fond of Almond milk, my daughter likes Rice and my 2 oldest like Soy, while I drink Hazelnut. The nut milks tend to be higher in protein. I switched to these alternatives to combat colds and runny noses, they have not been a problem since. I applaud you for looking into an alternative to cow's milk. Cow milk is made for baby cows, not humans. The human body in response to the incompatability creates mucous, extra stomach acid and antibodies to protect itself from this intruder.
Best wishes
J.

My sister in law used enriched rice milk and was happy with it.

Hi there,
Try goats milk for your daughter. My god Daughter had similar issues. Goats milk is very similar to mothers milk. Good luck

you might try rice milk. that's what we went to with 2 breastfed babies without any problems. neither of them have known sensitivities, we just chose not to give them cow's or soy milk. hope that helps.

okay, i read through all your responses and the one thing i did not see was hemp milk. the hemp seed has the most complete form of protein on the planet but gets a bad rap because of the plant it comes from. i get vanilla hemp milk for my son and he loves it, and it's very nutritious. i get it at whole foods. good luck.

Try goat's milk. It tastes similar to cow's milk and some kids have an easier time digesting it.

i've heard rice milk or goats milk are good alternatives. Good luck

Try organic cow's milk... I know she is sensitive but soy is bad news...

V.,
I did a lot of research on soy milk and babies in college and the research I did showed that babies (and most adults for that matter) are not equipped to metabolize soy milk. The thyroid is not designed to break it down and a lot of babies develop thyroid problems. You might want to research it more before continuing the soy milk.

Good luck!

I am trying to transition my 13 month old to cow milk and he doesn't like it either. I think I need to try several more times before giving up on it though since I have heard this is a common story... Just like foods, they often need to try things more than once to get a taste for it.

Hope that helps!