My son has been on Soy Formula since he was very colicky at one month, now the doctor told me I can slowly start to switch him to Whole milk as long as he does not have a reaction (like throwing up or diaherra). I gave him one bottle on Wednesday last week. No problems then I waited the 3 - 4 days and gave him another bottle of whole milk on Sunday morning. He seemed fine no problems. Now he has a little cold with a cough. Yesterday my sitter gave him a regular Soy Formula bottle and my son thru up all over and his Cheeks were red for hours and he looked like he was going to have a fever but never did and then last night he had his formula bottle and ate food. No issues. I called the doctor and they told me that if he has a reaction to whole milk it would be right away not 24 hours later. and that it just may be that his is a little sick with the cough etc. They told me to try the milk again in 3 days and see what happens. Now I am a little scared to do it. Anyone familiar with this at all?
Thank you for all the advice :) I started to mix the formula with the regular milk and he has been fine. And I think this is the easier way to switch over. I understand there are all debates on milk, soy, etc. but for now I am sticking with the whole milk as long as it works and saves me some money:) Thanks again..
Hello,
I wanted to respond because my 1year daughter was on Soy formula since 5 weeks old and I too was worried about whole milk. But, at the beginning I would go back and forth from a formula bottle to a milk bottle and she was fine then I would do a half and half warm bottle at bed time. Then just whole milk. I never noticed a cold with doing this. Best of Luck. S.
My nephew is allergic to milk. If your son was allergic to regular milk you would've known shortly after the first time you gave it to him. I would bet his getting sick was all due to the cold and cough.
My daughter was on soy formula from 1 month on... We tried the slow switch to whole milk. If he's going to react to milk, it will happen right away. My daughter ended up with awful orange liquid bowel movements, a pinprick rash all over her bum, and foul, foul burps all within 2 hours of ingesting the milk. She still reacts like that at 18 months whenever she gets milk, kefir, sour cream, or cottage cheese. Yogurt and normal cheese don't do it. Good luck. We were really hoping my daughter had outgrown it. At least she loves the soy milk we give her. I'm even starting to warm up to it.
Why switch to Whole Milk at all? There are many other health issues related to cow milk. My son switched to cows milk and about a week later was sick and snotty for a month! I went back to soy milk and no more cold! Milk is not a necessary part of our diet. We get more clacium from dark green veggies. Educate yourself some more on the benefits of soy and make a choice that is right for you and your family but I say why stop a good thing?
My son was on Soy formula to. He was doing fine with milk for a long time and then all of a sudden he got really bad dirreah from it. So they put him back on The next Step Prosobee. Now he is 2 and they told me to try him back on milk but 2%. I am hoping that he won't have the same problem. You can also buy Soy Milk instead of the formula but it is expensive. I would just try it slowly if that is what the doctors want but if he doesn't do good just try the soy milk. Hope this helps
Hi! I just wanted to throw out there the fact that if you think cow's milk is the problem, that you really don't HAVE to switch to it. There are lots of options out there with soy, rice, and almond milks. If he has trouble with straight milk but can tolerate yogurt and cheese, he will get the fat and calories he needs so try not to stress over it too much.
Also, skip the bottle and go to the sippy cup at 12 months. Transitioning now will be easier than waiting.
Good Luck! I hope he doesn't have any more trouble :)
your doc is right. if he was allergic to milk it would happen very soon after ingestion.
I switched my son from soy formula to whole milk at a year. I did this slowly. Like 3/4 a bottle or sippy...however he is drinking it...of soy formula and 1/4 milk. Try that every bottle for a couple days. If no reaction, try 50/50 for a couple days. Then 3/4 milk and 1/4 formula.
Have you tried giving him soy milk? My doctor had me try that for a little bit. Wanted to get him off the formula and on to milk. You could try that too. Then go to the whole milk.
Don't think your sons reaction was from trying to switch. Just doesn't sound right. I know that I'm a little lactose intolerant. If it's going to make me sick, it's shortly after eating. Not days later.
Don't be scared!! His being sick was probably from mucus from the cold. Keep trying the milk.
Good luck!
My third child is on the process of switching as well. The trick is to mix the formula w/ the whole milk gradually. The first week mix 6 oz. of formula w/ the milk. The second week mix 4 oz. of formula w/ 4 oz. of milk. The third week mix 2 oz. of formula w/ 6 oz. of milk. By the time the baby is a year he/she should be on milk full time. My other two had no problems switching. And my eldest was on soy and so is my third. He is on his third day and has not had a problem yet.
My son has had red cheeks usually when he is cutting teeth. Vomitting.....can be a touch of a bug or even an air bubble. My son had air bubbles and threw up formula. Sometimes they gag on the liquid as well.
Good Luck!
L.:
there is no need for your son to be drinking whole milk at all. you can continue with soy milk if you want or just give him water to drink... fluids are for hydrations foods are for nutrition.
P., RLC, IBCLC
Parenting Coach and Board Certified Lactation Consultant
www.lactationsupportgroup.com
My son was on soy formula also. I tried whole milk at one year but he still spit it up and ended up constipated. I put him on soy milk on my own and it solved all the problems. I slowly introduced dairy items such as cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and then 2% milk. He is over two and a half now and he does well with all dairy items. I had taken him off of soy milk all together by his second birthday. This might work for you also. Good luck!
My daughter also did Soy formula because she was quite fussy on regular formula. We switched her gradually to all milk. It will be much easier on your son's system instead of surprising it with an overload of a new thing. We put 1/4 of the bottle full of milk than the remaining 3/4's with her formula for 1 week. The next week we did 1/2 formula and 1/2 milk. The following week 3/4 milk and 1/4 formula and then the final week all milk. She made the transition nicely. Her poops did change (a bit more mushy) near the end of the transition but her system adjusted and she's doing great on whole milk now. Good luck!
Milk can thicken mucous so his issues may have been related to having more dairy than he is used to. As a previous poster mentioned, mixing bottles of soy and milk might make an easier transition.
Personally, I would avoid soy as much as I could due to the estrogen content, so I would try to get him to regular milk as soon as possible. Good luck.
I'm a little confused if he only vomited only after the soy. And has had multiple exposures to milk w/o problem.
It's possible it's getting used to the different food, a gag reflex, air bubble, a cold or allergy. The vomiting and cheeks red is a flag for me.
Regarding pp's saying that allergic reactions happen right away...that's incorrect. It can take several exposures over several days for a reaction to occur, as the person gets sensitized to the allergen. Excema, bloody stools, mucus poop would be perfect examples of that. A reaction often, however, is in relation to a recent exposure. Hives or even anaphylaxis type reactions can occur within seconds to several hours. A food protein induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) reactions (my dd had) can be 2-5 hours. Fpies is an allergic reaction that results in a gastro response (profuse vomitting, often non stop, diarrhea, lethargy, shock). There's also other type of allergies like eosinophillic stuff that has different reactions. I'm not up on them though.
Feel free to look up my other allergy posts.
If you're concerned at all, you should contact a pediatric allergist. Regular peds are not up to date or fully informed of food allergies.
Don't worry if you need to do soy, as a pp cautioned. The estrogen issue has not been proven and you need to do what your child needs. My dd's been on soy for almost 3 years.
Were the soy formulas different types? Are you sure it's dairy free (casein, lactose, whey etc).
FYI for whomever - Lactose intolerance is not an allergy. Food allergies are an immune response and can be fatal. Intolerance is when one doesn't have the stomach enzymes to digest the food in lactose it's the sugar in it that's not able to be digested (b/c of a lack of lactase I believe).
TRUST YOUR GUT! If you think allergy is involved, call an allergist. We see the ped allergists at Children's Memorial (but the glenview annex). If you do try the milk, only try a teaspoon and in the morning, preferably not on a weekend. Be prepared to take action (calling 911) if necessary. Not to worry you, but to give you the tools to do what you feel is right.
Good luck!
