Arimeh- We have very similar sounding poo issues here. As well as tummy pains from cows milk. Before switching to rice milk the Dr suggested i try a lactose free milk. So i did and poo is a much better consistency and no more screaming from tummy pains.
From what i have read kids can have an intolerance to the lactose or to the milk protein. If it is just the lactose then lactose free milk is great. I can only get UHT though, but she seems to like it ok. If the intolerance is to the protein then obvioucly you need a non-dairy alternative.
You already suggested soy wasn't the best alternative so i thought i'd be controversial and state my opinion, but it is just that, my opinion after doing some research. I wouldn't give anyone soy milk, particularly not my kids. I think soy products are ok in small amounts, but not as the main milk drink in anyones diet. I know alot of the reasearch is not all that valid and a bit controversial, but there is enough evidence for me to steer clear of the stuff. I used to be the soy chai queen, but no longer! Before giving your kids Soy make sure you do a bit of reading and are happy to do so.
Same here Mel, DS hated the rice milk, wouldn't even drink a small cup of it.
We are still breastfeeding but I can't see myself tandem feeding (you never know, still early days) and have had to drop him back to 2 feeds a day because my supply dropped with early prg.
I'm going shopping tomorrow, will buy some lactose free stuff. My paed did recommend this as an option but soy was just more readily available. Hope he tolerates it ok!
Ange - can you give me a brief run down on why soy might be a problem?
Don't stop it on my say so, do a bit of googling and see what you think...... Some people are very happy with their soy products. I guess i'm a bit cautious, if there are questions surrounding the safety of something i would rather avoid it. Guilty unless proven innocent i say!
Now this is off the top of my head, not a paper i would submit to uni for assesment!
- a high % of soy crops are GM modified. I read 2/3 but not sure on the figure....
- A soy bean is a hard bean, there is alot of processing that goes on to make it into 'milk'
- Soy crops love heavy metals and absorb them readily.
- There are high levels of phyto-estrogens (hormone) in soy milk. The high levels of this hormone is what gives soy its benefits such as reducing the incidence of cancer in adults, but it has also been shown to mess with the estrogen levels in our bodies, it has been linked to fertiliy issues as well as Thyroid cancer in a few studies. The levels of the hormone are a concern particularly when it comes to infants.
The problem is that it is hard to find a balanced perspective on Soy, or a good scientific study. There are many articles shouting the opposite opinions, but like i said, guilty until proven innnocent at my house!
as for my kids i gave them all rice and soy and cow milk after 12 months and one of them skim milk he went fully on at about 8 months (pead instructed me to) due to being OVER weight but he was a lovely wrinkly chubby bubba hehehe.
Am I right in thinking that all the "warnings" about not giving kids rice milk the the fear that someone will give it to their bub instead of formula or breastmilk when under one? I mean, once a child is 12 months old and on a full diet (assuming they are not BF like my poor boys ) then rice milk is a good alternative if cows milk is a prob and you aren't keen on soy?
Roryrory I think the main issue is when they are getting more rice milk than anything else yes? Maybe that parents are giving it as a milk substitute for calcium and fat intake as well.
Oh god I am really stressing now, Quinn is allergic to milk and has a major intolerance to soy so rice was my only option. He is only 13 months but weaned himself just before 12 months because I am pregnant.
The problem is he won't eat at the moment, no vegetables at all, a little meat, the occasional fruit, he will have dry cereals and corn/rice cakes with nutlex and vegemite but he is not getting enough nutrients and now to find that rice milk may not be good for him either is really worrying me.
I don't know where else I can turn though. The dietition was fine with the rice milk when he was eating really well but since the fussiness set in I am worried
DS is still having rice milk. We have recently seen a Naturopath in relation to possible intolerances, and he was more than happy with DS having rice milk as a replacement. I explained that we had tried goat's milk, but that DS wouldn't have a bar of it (can't blame him ), so rice milk was the next option. I expressed some concern, but he was totally unfussed. Which is good, as the blood test results are back and they show a fairly strong dairy intolerance!
Eternalbear, if you are really concerned then contact your dietician again and mention that he's being fussy with his food. I hope he decides eating is cool again soon!
Last edited by Janie; March 26th, 2009 at 08:53 AM.
Tyler's gets a "strong positive" reaction to Soy and a "mild reaction" to cows milk when he had bloot tests in August. Currently he still is BF and I express and he has this on his Weet Bix too. My Naturopath is happy for him to not have any calcium suppliments as he's getting some thru BFing and also thru greens like broccoli.
We're going to the Children's Hospital on Tuesday to get full allergy testing done. After that we might see a dietitian to help with his food.
AT least we can avoid soy due to his allergies. Rice milk might be our only option.
DS (2yrs 3 months) has been on rice milk since he was 13 months old due to allergies. Now his allergist, paed gastro and an allergy dietician have all said its fine but:
- they dont absorb calcium from the rice milk due to the type of calcium used, so you need to give them a calcium supplement
- it doesnt have enough protein nor fats, so you need to make up for this in their diet
All his docs have said basically its white water (or one said she thinks its like coke full of nothing useful). You really need to fill out the rest of their diet. I was told the warning is because rice milk doesnt have the beneficial things cows milk does - good calcium, vitamin a, d, b. So my DS is on a calcium supplement, vitamin d and b2.
The key thing to remember is that your kids are laying down the calcium in their bones now.
I wouldn't give anyone soy milk, particularly not my kids. I think soy products are ok in small amounts, but not as the main milk drink in anyones diet. I know alot of the reasearch is not all that valid and a bit controversial, but there is enough evidence for me to steer clear of the stuff. I used to be the soy chai queen, but no longer! Before giving your kids Soy make sure you do a bit of reading and are happy to do so.
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) then rice milk is a good alternative if cows milk is a prob and you aren't keen on soy?
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