My Son Had an Milk Allergy....

Milk actually is not a necessity. However, some people who are allergic to cow casein (the milk protein as opposed to lactose--the milk sugar) can tolerate the casein (milk) from goats. There are also many other supplemented/fortified "milk" drinks made from rice and almonds. Personally, I'd stay away from the soy drinks as that is another major allergen and is not supposed to be all that healthy for us either.

Soy, Rice, Almond. All good choices. You will just have to give them a try and see which one he likes best.

We do rice milk and Silk Soy yogurt (it is milk culture FREE which most of the soy yogurts are not). My daughter never liked Soy milk plus I don't like giving the little ones so much soy and they drink so much milk! Best of luck!

My son is allergic to milk as well. Once we found out he started with rice milk. He prefers the vanilla kind over the plain. His Gastroentenlogist advised us not to give him soy as that is a high allergen as well. However if he is on soy formula now you can continue with the soy milk. I would be careful though as soy has been linked to certain problems such as hormone issues and thyroid problems. I would also introduce other dairy products slowly. My son can tolerate butter, Parmesan cheese, and small amounts of milk that are in baked goods. His is a moderate allergy so he can have small amounts. The good news is that they usually to outgrow it between 3 and 5.

My daughter is also allergic to cow's milk. She drinks Rice Dream Rice milk. Its lactose free and comes in vanilla, chocolate, and original. High in calcium as well. Wal Mart and Shop Rite sell it. I have found it @ Shoppers as well.

We use goat's milk too because of a milk allergy. I have found it in this area at Whole Foods, Wegman's (in their organic section) and at Trader Joe's.

Your pediatrician or allergist will recommend which milk to start him on. It will likely be soy milk. My daughter has a milk allergy which was diagnosed at about 10 months old along with an egg allergy. I would definitely see an allergist as they are MUCH more familiar with these kinds of allergies and how to proceed. You may find that your child is not allergic to milk or eggs that have been extensively heated (as in cookies, cakes, and other baked goods) like mine is. We were told to give her lots of baked goods to help her gut work out the allergy and that treatment seems to be working. She'll be 2 next month and still has the allergy but it's getting better. If you have any questions feel free to mail me! :)

You could try goat's milk. It works for my sister who has a life threatening allegy to cow's milk. It works for both my sons who are allegic to cow's milk. I would not go with soy milk unless you have no othe choice as it's not a good idea in geneal, and especially for boys. While my youngest was allergic to both cow's and goat's milk (tested) and I was nusing him I was drinking fresh coconut milk (not from a can for cooking). It has lots of very good fats. When he turned a yea I started giving it to him as well, in addition to nusing him. At 18 months he tested negative to the goat's milk allergy but still allergic to cow's milk so he's on goat's milk like my oldest son. They also have yogurts and cheeses and sheep's milk poducts are also the same as goat's milk poducts. I make everything that takes regular cheese and milk and such with goat's poducts. Sheep's milk yogurt for example is the same as using sour ceam in a recipe.

So you can try it. How severe is his cow's milk allergy? What happens to him? Where do you live? You could ask your allergist if they have the test for goat's milk (not all of them do). I would try with very small amounts and see what happens. Let me know if you have any more questions. I have two boys with food allergies so I'll help you if I can.

Y.

My son has an allergy to milk as well, really hard on his tummy so I use soy milk for him, or there are other lactoce free milks, called "Lactaid" it tastes the same as regular milk but so much easier to digest, and has all the same things in regular milk too.

You can try goat milk. You can get it powdered or canned and you can get it on Amazon if you can't find it in a local store.

http://www.meyenberg.com

Dont give him Lactaid!!!!! It has the milk sugar, lactose, removed, but people that are allergic to milk are allergic to the proteins in it!!!!

One of my girls is allergic to milk. We spent almost 16 months being told that it was reflux. I finally took the bull by the horns and took her to a Pediatric Gastroenterologist at Childrens Hospital. She diagnosed the allergy to milk and recommended goats milk as it is the closest thing to human milk in nature. Our local health food store gave us the number of a local goat farm. The milk is raw (unpasturized) and they are not allowed to sell it for human consumption. They sell it as a pet product, but what you do with it after it's yours is your buisiness!
The woman who runs the farm has also given us goat yogurt to try and has told me how I can make it myself. She has also given me icecream made from goat milk and has told me how to make it myself.
We were told when the girls were born to give them goats milk when I couldn't pump do to some medical reasons. I didn't and my daughter suffered for it. If you want to know more of that ordeal you can email me or check out some of my early posts/responses about it.
My daughter will occasionally drink soy, but not the plain. She likes the chocolate and the origional becasue they have sugar in them. She doesn't get them often..

Soy has a lot of plant estrogens and I limit them for that reason. We do use soy icecream though, because it is more readily available.

Is he on soy formula? Unless he is, then the formula is cow milk based and can cause problems too.

My son has been drinking hemp milk since he was just over a year. It does not have the allergy potential of nut milks, contains the fat that toddlers need that is lacking in rice milk, and avoids the questions out there about soy. It's also high in omega 3 fatty acids. It has become less expensive and easier to find over the 2 years my son has been drinking it. Check Whole Fooda, YES! Organic maket, or Trader Joe's. You might even find it at Giant.

My son had a protien allergy to milk protien so he was on Nutramigen. Then I put him on rice milk- he really liked it. By 18 mos he'd outgrown it and could tolerate cows milk. Walmart was the best place to buy Rice milk (just plain, not flavored). Costco was also good.

You don't have to give milk--there are lots of foods out there that offer the calcium, protein and fat that kids get from dairy products. Talk to your pediatrician about coming up with a list of foods that can help replace it.

Soy, almond & rice are all good if he wants milk w/ his cereal, and they do offer nutrition as well, but it is not really a 100% replacement for the nutrients in cows or goats milk. They are yummy & nutritious in their rights, but do keep in mind that a lot of the soy/almond/rice milks tend to be high in sugar, much more so than dairy, so read the labels carefully.

Also, depending on his reaction, you can try Lactaid, which is milk that has had the lactose broken down; there is a difference between a true milk allergy and a lactose intolerance, and most people who think they are allergic to milk are actually lactose intolerant instead. Cheese is sometimes "safe" for those with lactose intolerance because the culture used to make the cheese breaks down all or most of the lactose in the process of making the cheese.