Seeking Help About a Baby That Cant Have Soy or Regular Milk

We were in the same boat. My little one loved almond and rice milk. We bought it in bulk at Whole Foods. My son is 4 now and shows no signs of growing out of his dairy allergy. He now can tolerate soy, but not cow's milk. He can't tolerate almond anymore though. That was shocking to me. So now he drinks soy vanilla enriched milk. He likes it!

By the way, I personally hated rice milk, but he liked it and could tolerate it. The almond is really good. I was sorry to see that he broke out when we gave it to him recently. But he didn't break out when we experimented with soy this time around. Good Luck.

Hi A.,

Many times when kids are allergic or intolerant to cow's milk they also have problems with soy milk. You can try giving him rice or almond milk for fluids and protein. Almond milk has some calcium but rice milk does not, so you will probably need to give him some extra calcium. Some health food stores like fruitful yield have liquid calcium that tastes good. Hopefully this will be something he will outgrow! Good luck!

You can always try rice milk. Otherwise you can try orange juice and cheese. All my kids have sensitivities to milk once they got of formula now that they are older they can tolerate it in their cereal but dont like to drink it. But I also know of a child who was severly allergic to dairy from birth. She couldn't even put her mouth on a bottle that had reg milk in it otherwise she would swell up. SO I thik it all depends on the severity. She is now 6 and still cant have any dairy. I wouldnt worry about it your kid will be just fine without drinking milk.

My dd has several food allergies, including milk. some outgrow, some don't. It's not guarantee. Be very very careful with almond milk. If you child has soy and/or milk allergies, they're more succeptable to other allergies: nuts and peanuts being at the top of the list. Rice or potato milk is an option. Or just suppliments.

Your ped and other docs who gave you that advice are wrong wrong wrong. Are they not keeping up on the medical journals? I would get another pediatirician and see a pediatric allergist. Children's Memorial Hospital (also has an annex location in glenview on wed's) 800-kids-doc. Dr. Kim and Dr. Pongracic (the dept head) are amazing!!! The best in the area. (I started w/ a different allergist at a diff group first). You need an accurate diagnosis, emergency action plan, treatment plan and support. And an EPI-Pen should anaphylaxis occur, just to be safe.

For great support and info (8,600 parents of food allergic kids) go to www.kidswithfoodallergies.org. Also the premier org in the county (maybe word) is the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. Great info and support. www.foodallergy.org. Their annual conference (chicago location) is 4/21. Great conference!. There's a Highland Park support group (with local offshoots) call MOCHA. www.Mochallergies.org

Good luck and hugs! It gets easier!

A.,

Mt husband has a severe milk allergy and has since he was a baby. His mom has told me that the doctors all said that it wasn't a milk allergy when he was a baby and would get really sick whenever he had milk (projectile vomitting). His mom knew that was what was making him sick and just stopped giving him milk. When he was older it was finally diagnosed. We now have to fight with health care professionals who say he should have grown out of it, even though if he gets a tiny amount of milk protein it still makes him sick and he has to take Benadryl immediately to not go into shock. So I would say go with your gut. If you think the milk and soy are making your son sick, give him rice milk. You know best.

Hey A.. Two of my three kids had a lactose problem when they were babies. Doctors say it's not hereditary but I honestly don't think they have any idea. I would try to look for another if you can. In the meantime, try either Deans Lactose free milk or Lactaid milk. My 5 year old still has not outgrown her allergy and those two are great. She has not had a single prob;em. But fear not... My 9 year old daughter outgrew her allergy when she was 3. As your son gets older, if he still has the allergy, try the Lactaid Ultra chewable tablets. They are vanilla flavored and they work great when he wants stuff like cheese and yogurt.

I agree with the other moms. My daughter has dairy, egg allergies and she's had them since she was born. Still has them now at age 4. If you would like the name of an allergist to have your child tested I know a fabulous woman who has helped me with diagnosing my daughter's allergies. There are no food allergies on either side of the familiy so we don't know where this is from. Good Luck and find another doctor who will take your situation seriously.

Hi A.,
If it is possible for you, I would think about possibly looking for a new pediatrician! Babies can absolutely have dairy allergies. My DD was diagnosed as having a dairy and soy allergy at 3 months. In most cases, they will outgrow by 1 year, but not all do. I bet once he has been off milk/soy for a couple weeks he will feel so much better. I have heard that the Almond milk is good, you just have to be sure that he gets enough fatty acids from other sources. If your insurance will cover it, I would suggest talking with a dietician. Good luck!
E.

O.K. I'm no dr. but, they can do a allergly test. My son since birth couldn't keep his milk down brestmilk, formula,later whole milk nothing. When he was one we had him tested for allergies for milk and eggs. We found out that he was allergic to both so, we put him on soy milk/vanilla which worked fine. We had him tested again at two years and found out that he is now fine with whole milk. He drinks lots of milk now.

A. S
Avon Representative
www.YourAvon.com/aspringsteen

Allergies can exist from birth. Next, you do not need to worry about your baby not drinking milk - babies do NOT need to drink cow's milk during the first couple years as most ppl. misinformed think they do. If you read the research you will see that babies have their own cues for what their bodies will tolerate and if they have no interest in the milk, forget it. Also, esp. if you are breastfeeding, you have enough calcium and everything else for your baby to wait on the cow's milk. If you formula fed, you can give your baby a supplement and not to worry, he or she will be ok. Good luck and ENJOY!!!

My son has the same problem.He can't drink milk,soy milk or goat's milk.I found a product called Almond Breeze. My son loves it and it has the same nutritional value as milk. It comes in 2 flavors chocolate and vanilla.

have you tried rice milk? or a lactaid? my middle daughter had to be on rice milk til she outgrew her intolerance to regular milk... and my friends son has to have lactaid due to an intolerance to regular milk...

Hi A., I gave my son goats milk and it worked well. I have a lactose problem and my son developed it as a toddler. I breastfed for the first year of his life. You need to make sure he is getting other sources of calcium such as cheese,and yogurt.

Good luck

Hi A.. My now 7 month old son is also allergic to cows milk and soy and I found out when he was three weeks old. He is drinking a special formula named Neocate and I've noticed that they also have formulas for older children in case they never grow out of their allergies. You can look on their website at www.neocate.com to see if this helps.

Kids don't need milk (beyond breastmilk during the early stages of life). Nutritionally milk really doesn't do much, and if your child has any kind of an intolerance it can lead to severe problems (behavior problems or asthma like symptoms for example). We do not give any of my kids milk. They can tolerate a little cheese or yogurt, but beyond that they don't have any dairy. They are extremely healthy, and my oldest daughter's strange health issues went away when we got her off dairy. (She was 18 months old when we took her off of it).

My son had and still has a dairy intolerance as does my daughter. They both also do not do well with soy. My daughter is still a baby so we will see how the milk thing goes in a few months when she turns one, but my son is almost 4 1/2 and he still can't drink more than 3 or 4 glasses of milk a week or he is horribly constipated. When he was a toddler we put him on rice milk and an age appropriate vitamin. He would just throw up soy milk, just like he did with the soy formula. He never liked Lactaid which is also an option. He does fine with things like yogurt and cheese, and loves a "creamed" spinach I prepare with low fat sour cream.

Hi A.,
what your son has is probably a milk protein allergy, not lactose intolerance. If it were lactose intolerance, he probably wouldn't have problems with soy. People with a milk protein allergy have an 80% chance of having a soy allergy. I know this because my 4-month old daughter reacts very badly to the protein in my breastmilk and consequently, I have done a lot of research on this. My pediatrician told me that the trick is to totally avoid what causes problems, as long as possible; be aware that milk is in many, many things, even taco seasoning! Be sure to read the labels on everything you give your son.
It won't be easy but avoidance is the only chance that he will grow out of it. But also know that about 8-10% of kids never do.
If you have any more questions, feel free to send me a personal message.

J.

Hi,I have 6 kids and two of them developed my allergies to dairy/eggs. I know it is expensive, but you might want to consider keeping your son on formula for now, wait a few months and try again. Every child develops at a different rate and he may not be able to digest the proteins as of yet. When the time comes to try milk, dilute it with 50% formula first, for at least a week so that his system can adjust. His bowel movements will probably change for a few days and that is normal. Slowly introduce dairy just like you did baby food, one new item every 3-4 days, this way if he does have an allergy- you will know for sure. Good Luck

First thing first- the dairy industry has done a wonderful job in fooling everyone to think that we must have milk- or else!!
Your son does NOT need milk- now or ever. And as far as your doctor telling you that children do not have allergies at this age is just ignorant. You need to find a new doc. Check out www.icpa4kids.org and you can find lots of helpful info.
Good luck!!

My son is allergic to milk/egg/peanut. He is not allergic to soy. I do know how hard it can be, because my best friend's son is allergic to it. I would go on the food/allergy network as well as kidswithfoodallergies.com. I would see an allergist, and you can get a formula that is lactose/soy free. It is expensive, so make sure your insurance covers it. I will try to find out the name of it. Her son is 6 now, and uses rice milk for cereal, shakes and such. It is doable, you just have to do some research. Best of luck to you. There are a bunch of people who are incredibly knowledgeable in this subject on mamasource.

Jolie

I think that is very weird that your doc told you that a baby that young can't have a milk allergy. They absolutely can. My son was colciky and the first thing they told me to get rid of (in my diet, since I was nursing) was milk. They said it was quite typical for babies to be sensitive to milk and that this was a first course of action for a colicky baby. I did and it really helped. But, if I even had a piece of cheese, he would cry and cry with discomfort. Do some research on milk allergies or sensitivites.

Anyway, I put him on soy milk when he was 1 because I assumed he had a problem with milk. He had terrible diarrhea on it, and so, didn't do well on that, either. My husband convinced me to give milk a try, but it really affected his personality. So, we finally ended up (at about the same age as yours) on Almond Milk. We drink Blue Diamond. It tastes really good.

The only thing is that you have to make sure your child gets enough fats, We supplemented omega 3's, and also gave alternaitve protein sources.

Yes allergies can be genetic. I have a gluten allergy and my kids also ended up with that one. we are now both gluten and dairy free in our household.

Agree with how weird it was that a doc said he can't have milk allergies.....

There is no absolute reason that your child needs to drink milk. Cow milk is for cow babies. You can provide plenty of the vitamins in milk in other ways..... If you feel the need to include some sort of milk- have you tried lactaid or almond milk since soy is not an option?