Problems with My 12 Month Old Drinking Both Regular Milk and Soy

My middle son had a milk allergy and the only substitute I found that worked for him was rice milk. I bought the Rice Dream enriched rice milk. It was fortified so it had the same amount of Vit D and calcium as milk. You just have to substitute the fat for brain development. I would cook his veggies in oil. When I first switched him it took about 3 days for the diarrhea to stop.

Hi T.,

I don't think rice milk has the proper nutrients in there. If you add blackstrap molasses that would increase the calcium, iron and add some potassium. However, I would try sodelicious dairy free coconut milk. It has tons of nutrients and you can get it at Wegman's in the gluten free area fridge. I give that to my son and he loves it. I put a little cereal, applesauce and sneak some powdered veggies from Trader Joe's warm it a bit and 9 ounces later he's ready for bed.

Best wishe : )

Hi T.! I am going to offend some people here but....soy milk or soy formula is garbage. The estrogen is so high, it will damage your little boy's endocrine system.
Have you tried goat's milk? That is what my daughter uses as she is sensitive to cow's milk. It is the closest thing to human milk and will be very easy for your son to digest.
If you are on the WIC program, you can receive goat's milk at no cost.
Rice milk does NOT have the nutrition that your baby needs and is high in sugar. I recommend almond or hemp milk if you don't go with goat's milk. And even then I recommend a fish oil supplement for your son to receive the good fats that your son's brain needs. Then you should be good to go!
Good for you, mom, for searching out answers for your son!

if you really want to rule out a "milk" product he should be having normal bowels before he tries something new. otherwise you cannot say what the cause of the loose stools are. btw, if his stools are loose with all the varieties of milk than it could be that his flora (the bacteria that live in out GI tract that we want) need to be replenished. very young children body's have a hard time recovering from bad diarrhea sometimes. ask you doc about this. once his bowels are back to normal you can try the different types of milk making sure you leave enough time for his system to recover between the different types. good luck!

Thabita, The situation with your son sounds exactly as what I'm going through with my 13 months old daughter. I do not have an answer to best milk substitute because I have not found one that works for us so far, but the diaper rash that does not heal sounds familiar. My baby girl had it, eventually we went to the pediatrician after about a week of it not clearing up despite bare bottom time etc and it turned out it was a yeast infection (very common with diarrhea). Dr advised we get lotrin cream and after using git for approx. 5 days it cleared, even though the poo situation is still not resolved.
Another thing you might consider is giving him Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG to restore the health of his GI tract (that's what all kids of my friends in Europe get as standard medication when have diarrhea. Good luck and please update us once you do find a solution. J.

If you go gradual, he should be fine. My daughter had the diahrea the first week we tried milk, so we switched to lactaid and she still had it. I took her completely off for a few days and then did the gradualy process of mixing with formula. She now drinks the lactaid whole milk with no problems. It is a shock to the system, that's all. Kind of like when you are going to switch a dog's food, you do it a little at a time or you have some fun clean up to do! Take him off, let him heal and then take it slow. Good luck.

It could be that your son can't digest the milk and soy protein. It is a protein intolerance. This is not the same as lactose intolerance which is an inability to digest the sugar in the milk. It's also not the same as an allergy. My daughter is unable to digest milk and soy protein as well. She is 14 months and I am still breastfeeding because I don't want to try any allergenic formulas. Whenever I have something with dairy (which I do seldom - only by accident), she will have diarrhea, rash and get cranky. It takes some time for her system to calm down - usually 5 days or so. Rice milk doesn't have enough nutrition to really replace the cow's milk or soy milk in your son's diet. Unfortunately, goat's milk will likely produce the same symptoms after a while. I've been told my daughter will eventually grow out of it. If you have access to the Internet, you can google Milk-protein intolerance or soy-protein intolerance. Good luck.

I would stick with what the doctor says. My daughter was on soy also. The diahrea could be from the diet change. it takes a while for a childs system to adjust. Diaper rash is a normal thing for most kids, if you keep it dry and clean it should clear up over time. There are many other creams that work great. try A&D :) Good Luck

Did you suddenly switch to milk or did you gradually wean him to it? Sudden change in their systems can cause diarrhea and rashes.

When we switched my son to milk we replaced formula with whole milk 1 oz at a time (5 oz formula, 1 oz milk; 2 days later 4 oz formula, 2 oz milk...and so on). Cody didn't have any issues with the switch but we allowed his system to adjust slowly.

As for the rash, can you give him some "diaper free" time each day? Whenever Cody gets a rash, we let him have about 15 mins before bed to run around diaper free. The air on their skin does wonders! (in the summer we will put cotton shorts on him without a diaper and let him play outside)

My son (2) has similar (but much less dramatic) issues with cow milk, and I don't personally like soy b/c it makes me gassy (just background info ;) )
So we asked the pediatrician and he said that rice milk is fine as long as it's calcium and Vitamin D fortified. The doc also suggested that we keep a close eye on dairy servings to ensure he's getting enough calcium, which we were told is 3 adult servings. If you can add a yogurt or two to his diet and make sure the rice milk is fortified, he should be fine.

I don't think that rice milk does have all the nutrition. Have you tried Goat's Milk? It seems to be a little easier for babies to handle than cow's milk.

T.:
I definitely have experience with this.. my eldest is 11 and we went through this when she was young. Now my 3rd child, 2yrs old, has the same issues as her. I would suggest you try Goat's Milk. It is some what expensive but it has the nutrition you need for your son and doesn't have the lactose nor cow or even soy allergins that you experienced with Soy milk & the Lactaid Whole Milk. As for the Rice Milk, the diaper issues are probably not from that milk but the others..it can take a few days to work the lactose out of the system. Anyway, if you get Rice Milk (which we only switched to after my 11yr old turned 2) make sure it says ENRICHED with Calcium & Vitamin D. If it doesn't say enriched your son is not getting the added nutrients he needs. The other half of your son's issues is if he has blockage in his system (bowels). Only a DR, gastro, can let you know this. Again my daughter seemed fine because she was going everyday...but we never had formed stools. Turns out she had a plug and although she was going, the stuff was going around the plug.

Recap: Try Goat's milk if after 2more days the Rice Milk isn't clearing your son up. Also see if you can get a referral & see a Gastro Dr..tell the DR your experiences and see what he/she has to say.
Good luck!!

I am not sure if this will help, but we use Almond Breeze. My kids love it, and it does not give them the loose stools that other non-cow based products did. I buy it at Shopper's or Safeway.
On another note, cow's milk, or any other animal's milk, is for their young, not necessarily for baby humans. Your child can get the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that his body needs through a variety ways. A balanced diet and GOOD vitamins and supplements are the best way.
I agree with another post, before you can determine what is causing the problems, you need to get his intestinal flora back into a good range. I suggest a yogurt or cottage cheese that DOES NOT contain any high-fructose corn syrup, as this can cause further disruptions.

you must make the change very gradually to give his body time to adjust. personally i would be very careful with soy. if you do end up staying with non-animal-based milks (which are actually juices) make sure that you are giving him the necessary supplements to balance it out. goats' milk is an excellent thing to try, as well as milk derivatives such as yoghurt.
good luck!
khairete
S.

Hi T.,

My son had that same problem and it's caused by not being able to digest the proteins in regular milk/formula. Keep him on the Rice or the soy milk. Both are very excellent. I had my son on that for about 2 years before he was able to drink cow milk (which I can't stand). He is now 3 years old and can handle Skim Milk. If he had his choice, he'd chose the Rice milk though. It just tastes better and is easier to digest. Also, have you tried the Huggies Liquid Powder with Cornstarch? It works really well and goes on like a liquid, but dries like a solid. It's really awesome. You can also make sure he's getting things like Bananas, Rice (or Rice Milk), Apples, Tea (Green tea is the best as it does not have caffeine in it), and Toast (or plain bread). This is known as the BRATT diet. It will help fight the loose stools. Hope your little one feels better. God Bless.

Cows milk is NOT a nutritional requirement for your child. Drs. push milk b/c it is the easiest way to get calcium and fat into your child. If your child is eating vegetables like broccoli and other things like beans, you do not need to give your child milk. You can look up calcium rich foods. My son is 20 months old and has always refused any milk other than my breast milk. He is healthy, in the 95% for height and weight and smart! Try a balanced diet that includes yogurt and cheese if he can handle it! Good luck.