Unsettled since starting cow's milk

Hi,

DS is 12 months and I've just gradually swapped him from Nan HA Gold to full fat organic cows milk. However since doing so, his poo's have been either too hard or too soft. Also the last few nights he has woken an hour or so after his bedtme bottle, crying and won't go back to sleep.
When he started on formula I put him on Nan HA because the others gave him constipation so I think he may be sensitive to milk anyway. Just wondering if anyone else had the same problems and what alternatives are there. I was thinking maybe I should water it down a bit.

DS LOVES to drink milk, but his tummy doesn't like it, so he just has it on cereal and not as a drink. He also has a lot of yoghurt and fromage frais.

Can you try him on soya milk?

try goats milk its much gentler on their little tummys.
i wouldnt recomend soy for a boy.
wollies sell goats milk

How much are you giving him? There is a good chance that his system is unable to adjust to the change if there is a lot of it.

At 12 months they don't need to drink a lot of milk, especially if they are having plenty of dairy from cheese or yoghurt and milk on cereal.

I was very anxious for Mason as he weaned from the breast (I was PG and he went off it almost overnight) but didn't want to drink any cows milk at all and I was reassured that if he drinks plenty of water for hydration then he can get his RDI of calcium through other dairy products and not have to rely on milk for it.

What about lite white? Are there the same nutrients in Goats and Soy?

Hi MumofLewis,
as a nutritionist I would never recommend soy to a baby as it is a phtyo-oestogen so can mess with the bodies natural hormones - in fact studies have shown that babies given soy often enter puberty early.
I would also not recommend Lite milk as it is no easier to digest than ful fat milk and is lacking in essential fats which babies need.
Goats milk is definately the way to go - it is most similar in composition to human breast milk.

I thought soy and goat's etc were not recommended for kids under 2? If you are concerned about an intolerance I would be seeking a professional opinion, it's not something that should be ignored. And jumping around to different products could make things worse rather than better. For instance, a number of people who are lactose intolerant are also soy intolerant.

Good luck with finding a solution :)

ETA I was wrong about the goat's milk, sorry! That's great info though, thanks :)

It is interesting about the goats milk yes.

He drinks 200ml breakfast, 180ml afternoon and 200ml at bedtime. During the day he drinks 40ml of water.

I was thinking of watering it down but now I may reduce his intake then. He is a big boy aswell (11+kg) so probably can do without some. He also has a yoghurt every evening and sometimes a cheese stick.

I don't think he had an intolerance as he was formula fed, but thought maybe he just couldn't get used to the change.

hi mum of lewis! :)
I would not use any low fat cows milk as it is the full fat they get from the milk that is good for him

I say that you are giving too much cows milk to lewis. He isnt getting all that much nutrients from it - not like formula (as it is added).

When i started DD on cows i cut it down from 3 bottles formula to 1 cup milk at night and replaced the other cups with nutrients from food and water to drink.

Could you imagine drinking that much cows milk in a day plus on cereal? i would get a sore belly too.

I know it is hard because it is a hbit o have 3 bottles. So perhaps have morning bottle as cows, then the other 2 as formula and slowing phase the cups to 1 or 2 then down to one.

Ashley took to it after about a week. she would get the grumps as she would want her milk but when she realised she got food and water she soon forgot about it and now if i offer her cup of milk during the day she refuses until her night time bottle

You could try giving him a morning and afternoon bottle of milk but maybe not so much. 200 mls is heaps! During the day let him have a bottle of water to drink from when he feels like it.

Hi sarah - lee was the same - he would do sour smelling spews and i was told to put him back on formula as mayb he just wasnt ready for it . then i started giving him a yogurt everyday and some cheese in his sandwich and milk on cereal etc i put him on pediasure as well and started to introduce the milk at lunch time and give him the formula his other 2 bottles and he has been fine since.. although sometimes he still doesnt really want the milk but i added a drop of vanilla as the pediasue is a vanilla flavour and he loves it now and doesnt chuck up at all ...

Ide cut it right back and try get him used to milk products like yogurt then try the milk again in a few weeks.

Also i was using organic or the kids pura milk we hve in adelaide that has omega 3 in it and when i put him on milk again i just used normal full cream milk.... dunno if that had anything to do with it but worth a try, giving him the normal full cream.

God time flies it was just yesterday they were new borns... Say hi to the other girls for me .

Can I just ask, if children aren't to have soy or goat's milk under 2 (and presumably sheep's milk too) why do we think they should have cow's milk under the age of 2?

I'm just not convinced that cow's milk is any better for a toddler than goat, sheep or soy milk.

This isn't to be agressive, just wondering why cow is OK but nothing else is.

cos some one once said its ok but really why give another animals milk at all??
goat milk is ok. not sure of sheep milk. soy its the eostrogen in it that causes the problem.

What she said ;)

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Can I just ask, if children aren't to have soy or goat's milk under 2 (and presumably sheep's milk too) why do we think they should have cow's milk under the age of 2?

I'm just not convinced that cow's milk is any better for a toddler than goat, sheep or soy milk.

This isn't to be agressive, just wondering why cow is OK but nothing else is.

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Hi Rosehip Fairy,
actually I do not think think cows milk is good, thats why I suggested goats milk as it is most similar in composition to human breast milk (and it is fine before 2 years). Cows milk is much harder to digest and very mucous forming.
Soy is even worse because of the hormonal effect.
But Ellibugs is right about when she says why do we need to consume other animals milk at all, its funny but we humans seem to think we cant live without this white liquid! Really after 12 months nobody NEEDS any kind of milk, I think it is pretty much a comfort thing. However for those who for any reason have to stop breastfeeding before 12 months then goats milk would be the most suitable alternative (I would even recommend goats milk formula over cows milk formula).

starzia we all need "milk" until about 7(when we start to lose our milk teeth)
but because it is socially unacceptable to b/f that long i think that is why cows milk has been introduced.

Hi Ellibugs, what makes you say that? In my practise I have seen many children who, after 12 months of breastfeeding, continue to thrive on solids and water alone. Milk of any kind after 12 months is not a necessity.

Actually, it is. Our bones are growing and need the calcium. People who don't have milk in their diet as a child have weaker bones.

I had cow's milk from a very, very young age straight (3-4m I was told) because it was preferable to breastfeeding in my mother's eyes. It hasn't hurt my digestion, but if there was no additional milk to the very little breastmilk I was given then I'd have osteoporosis by now.

I dont mean to be argumentative Rosehip Fairy, but dairy is actually a very poor source of calcium. Although it contains high amounts it is in a form which is not easily utilised by the body. In fact it can even leach calcium form the bones in some cases, which is why we see such a large amount of osteoporosis in western societies where a lot of dairy is consumed, yet very little in countries such as Japan where dairy products are rare.
You are right that babies and children need calcium for strong bones though, as well as many other biological mechanisms as calcium is an electrolyte which is essential to every cell in the body. The best sources of calcium are fish, beans, peas, green leafy vegetables, nuts, and oranges, to name a few.

Hello Everyone

I agree with Starzia - there are many other sources of Calcium available in the diet that are better absorbed than the calcium found in dairy products. Dairy products are actually acid-forming in the body, and to neutralise this acid, your body leaches alkaline minerals (eg. Calcium & Magnesium) from your bones. That said, I am definitely an advocate for goat's milk rather than cow's milk - goat's milk is better digested and is most similar to human breast milk. If your little one is having trouble digesting cow's milk, it would be worth sticking to goat's milk for drinking, and only using fermented cow's milk products - yoghurt, quark, cheese etc. - as the proteins are easier to digest.

Okay, so when you talk about goats milk for kids, in what form are you talking about? I've only ever seen it in UHT packs. Mind you, I've never actually gone looking for it!

So what and where should I buy it?

I eat a LOT of fish and am always told by my doctors I need to look at calcium intake... but then my blood tests prove otherwise. But people freak out when I don't have milk in tea or coffee because my bones will crumble - and I work in a hospital! Hence my letting DS eat as many yoghurts as he likes. I'd rather he eat brocolli, spinach and fish, but he loves yoghurts atm.

janie you can but it fresh in the milk section!
i got it from woolies but not sure of other shops that might sell the fresh stuff.