Charlie has a sensitive gag reflex, and has always thrown up pretty regularly. I didn’t think that he had a milk allergy until our pediatrician suggested it at a recent appointment, because Mr. Bee and I don’t have a family history of food allergies. Charlie was also tested for environmental allergens when he was younger (over 80 pin pricks in his back), and they all turned up negative. And while he would throw up regularly after drinking milk or eating, it usually happened when he was coughing so I didn’t associate it with an allergy.
Before we switched Charlie to cow’s milk when he turned one, I starting hearing a lot of anti-cow’s milk information, so I did some research on some of the different types of milk out there including regular cow’s milk, raw cow’s milk, goat’s milk, and soy milk.
A lot of people in our neighborhood are proponents of raw, grass-fed cow’s milk, because the pasteurization process destroys certain enzymes which make milk more difficult to digest. Regular cow’s milk is also associated with other maladies including increased ear infections, colds, allergies and diabetes. I actually lived next to a small dairy farm in Korea, and drank raw cow’s milk all the time when I was little. But the thought of giving Charlie unpasteurized milk was a little scary, and for all the anti-milk literature out there, this post by Dr. Sears helped me feel ok with giving Charlie cow’s milk. At the time I also preferred cow’s milk to soy because I’d read so much about the estrogen-mimicking compounds in soy, which can reduce fertility, and trigger premature puberty. I’ve long known that kids are starting puberty at much earlier ages, and that really freaks me out!
Since Charlie has been having a lot of problems with constipation the past couple of months — dairy can be constipating — our pediatrician suggested that we try switching Charlie to soy milk to see if his vomiting improves, while helping his constipation at the same time.
Though I wanted to do a little more research, we made the switch to soy milk a couple days ago moreso for Charlie’s constipation, which has caused him to cry in excruciating pain 3 times over the past 4 months, and regularly have hard stools. But I’m definitely going to do more reading and consult with my friend the nutritionist to figure out the best option for Charlie, as he’s a little milk monster who’s not going to give up his milk any time soon. We’ve already tried rice milk to help with constipation, Charlie was not a fan, but there are many other types of milk out there. For further reading, this article lists some of the the pros and cons of many different types of milk.
What type of milk do you feed your LO? Do you worry about giving your LO cow’s or soy milk?
grapefruit / 4681 posts
What about hemp, coconut, or sunflower milks? You can literally make a “milk” from anything (I thought this was interesting).
DS reacts to all forms of milk via my breastmilk (blood in stools and vomiting) except for sunflower milk, so when we switch from breastmilk that is really our last milk alternative! Hopefully he doesn’t react.
apricot / 498 posts
Watch out on the coconut milk though. A lot of them add sugar
guest
You should really give raw milk a try.
There were only issues with bad milk when we started transporting milk a lot during the industrialization of America. We hadn’t yet figured out refrigeration so there were obviously issues.
Raw milk also has a lot of those healthy fats that babies need for good brain development.
If you feel like reading more about it, the book “The Untold Story of Milk” is an amazing resource.
pea / 19 posts
almond milk is supposed to be good too.
apricot / 321 posts
My son has a cow’s milk allergy so he’s been on soy milk since being weaned from breastmilk and soy formula. I had a lot of the same concerns about the phytoestrogens and puberty stuff but in the end I think soy has been the right choice for us. We use an organic one that’s non-GMO and he has done very well on it.
grapefruit / 4120 posts
I would also be too nervous about raw milk. Unfortunately, what Kirsten says is not 100% true… every so often these days you hear about e. coli outbreak linked to raw milk. I don’t think it’s super common, but you have to be comfortable with the decision you’re making.
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@anbanan15: yah i had no idea that there were so many different types of milk! but most are not as nutritionally dense as cow’s milk.
guest
Please, please, please do not make the switch to raw milk. If there are any benefits, they do not outweigh the risks – and these risks are even more so for those with less robust immune systems (children and elderly). The FDA has recently issued an FAQ addressing raw milk. http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/consumers/ucm079516.htm
I am all about natural and organic foods, but some processing of food is worth it – especially to ensure the safety of our kids!
grapefruit / 4681 posts
@Mrs. Bee: from what I understand hemp is a good alternative, to cow/soy but Charlie might not like it’s grassy, earthy taste.
I’ve even seen oat, almond, and cashew milks locally, as well as pumpkin seed milk! I’ve also heard of people making a “formula” from meat broths (GAPS) and chia seeds for allergic/intolerant babies (DS is also allergic to meats so we can’t test the GAPS either). Good luck! Hope Charlie likes it
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@anbanan15: he won’t get high?
i actually looked into the gaps diet because someone on my local listserv was a huge proponent and said it changed her life. it’s so hard for me to change the way we eat though… it’s really a lifestyle choice!
cantaloupe / 6730 posts
I grew up on raw milk (we lived on a farm). It was so yummy. Is it possible to buy raw milk in the US? I believe it’s illegal to sell raw milk in Canada.
grapefruit / 4681 posts
@Mrs. Bee: I get that comment ALL THE TIME! and no he won’t
guest
My son loves coconut milk. He had a hard time transitioning from breast milk. We tried everything, finally settling on unsweetened coconut milk.
kiwi / 718 posts
@sloaneandpuffy: you also hear about e coli being linked to commercially made peanut butter, & commercially grown spinaches, & cantaloupes, too, among other things
@Grace: depending on the state you can. each state has different laws. in tx, where I am, you can only buy raw milk from the farmer himself, on the dairy – it’s illegal for raw milk to be sold in stores
if you’ve done research & have visited the dairy, which would probably be a really fun trip to take with charlie {or any child} anyway, there’s no reason not to buy raw milk. you just have to make sure that the dairy is clean & has stringent hygenic practices as that’s where the risk of e coli or other diseases come in. from what I understand, the reason that pasturization was put into place in the first place is because in the industrialization time period, there were so many families moving into cities to work in factories, & away from farms, there was this huge demand for milk. so unscrupulous business people {surprise!} decided to make money off of them & had these awful dairies where the cattle were treated basically like machines {sound familiar?} but the milk was also cut with all sorts of other substances from chalk to water to god knows what & then sold. lots of people got really sick, died, etc. it was found that by heating the milk & gowernmental regulations on what milk can actually have in it, the amount of people getting sick was vastly lowered & thus pasturization was born. a smaller modern dairy, in order to survive now-a-days has to be really on top of all their shizz, & from the ones I’ve seen, is always super welcoming to new, curious customers. plus the milk tastes SO much better & has so many health benefits.
I’m betting that NY has an abundance of options, if anyone is interested: http://www.realmilk.com/where07.html#ny
pomegranate / 3053 posts
Sorry to hear that Charlie is allergic to milk.
Kind of makes sense now that you mention it. Sucks… especially since he likes milk. Hope you can find a good substitute for him that you’re all happy with.
coffee bean / 48 posts
I don’t really have plans to feed my future kids any milk at all (well, other than breast milk I guess). I figure there are plenty of other ways to get nutrients without including the more allergenic stuff… Then again it’s all in the theoretical stage for me still so I can talk as big of a game as I like.
guest
My son is very sensitive to cow’s milk. As an infant, he drank Elecare (an amino acid based formula, not soy or dairy but protein). At 1, I tried cow’s milk and it gave him awful tummy problems – gas, pain, etc. I immediately switched to goat’s milk and it is a blessing. Apparently, it is very similar to human milk and so easily digested. I do give my son Almond and Coconut milk (organic) on the rare occasions where we are out of goat milk and we can’t find a store that carries it (like when we are traveling)… but I will never, ever give him soy milk – ever. I strongly urge you to read “The Unhealthy Truth” by Robyn O’Brien. It is specifically about “allergy kids” and the horrors of what we are feeding them (all the while, thinking we are choosing the healthiest items which really aren’t at all)… Soy is one of, if not the most, Genetically Modified food we consume. It is in EVERYTHING! And it is strongly linked to future peanut allergies. If your son can tolerate goat milk, please give it a try. Note: With goat’s milk, it is recommended to give them a baby multi-vitamin because it doesn’t have as much B vitamin as they need.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
Interesting that sheep’s milk isn’t mentioned at all, I’ve heard it can also be a good substitute, but YMMV,
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
Are you producing enough to give him breastmilk?
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@chopsuey119: i wish i could give charlie breastmilk!! i don’t have an oversupply, but if i added two more pumping sessions, i could produce enough to give him one bottle. but it’s hard to pump 4-5 times as it is…. i really want to quit!
i could give olive formula and charlie some of her breastmilk, but i feel like she needs it more since she was born early. and charlie had exclusive breastmilk until he was 9 months so i have to at least do that for olive!
pomegranate / 3388 posts
I’ve switched from soy to almond milk during my pregnancy b/c I’m worried about the estrogen-mimicking effects of soy. Would that be an option? There’s already so much soy added into a lot of packaged foods that we buy — especially if you try to shop at natural foods stores — so I really worry about overloading small kids with too much soy.
honeydew / 7968 posts
sigh. just another one to the list of things i have no idea about and who knew we needed to watch out for these things?
persimmon / 1255 posts
@Mrs. Bee: You may want to try Chia seeds to help with Charlie’s constipation. Lots of health benefits to chia, one of which is it binds to water and helps soften stool. My LO eats chia seeds (in gel/pudding form) and I actually have to be careful not to give her too much cause it’ll actually cause super mushy stool. You can buy the seeds themselves or try these fruit/veggie packs from HappyTot – they contain salba which is just their formulation of chia seeds.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_14?url=search-alias%3Dgrocery&field-keywords=happytot+superfood&sprefix=happytot+super%2Cgrocery%2C360
My LO is allergic to dairy, soy, nuts, goats milk and I’ve tried to get her to drink coconut and rice milk (sweetened and unsweetened) but she doesn’t drink more than a couple sips. Gonna try hemp milk next but I’m not too optimistic since it has an earthier taste that may be too strong for her.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
@Mrs. Bee: yeah I feel ya. I wanted to quit many many times but was forced to continue nursing bc Lo would not take a bottle. I agree that olive should get your milk for as long as possible..
Just hope you can find a good cows milk substitute for Charlie!
honeydew / 7504 posts
@tequiero21- Me, too! No idea. Gonna have to look into it and consider switching to almond milk myself while ttc/pregnant. I have been drinking soy for a few years now because I am lactose-intolerent. Hmmm…so much to consider and think about!
pear / 1728 posts
Our pediatrician actually strongly advises against cows milk and any dairy based formulas except Good Start beacuse of the casein protein that is in it (GoodStart apparently uses a different type of protein and removes the casein, but thats all I know since liv was BF.). Casein is present in almost all (if not all) mammal milk except ours, andcows milk has the highest levels. Casein is hard to digest, and they are starting to link it to more and more health problems. Because of the hormones and changing standards, the casein is acting more strongly now than it was when we were children (similar to gluten. There are so many gluten allergies now because its eveolved to a super guten to produce fluffier breads and baked goods) which is why this is just becoming an issue. Even as a BFing mom, her pedi has told me to not eat ANY cheddar, gouda, or fresh mozzarella cheeses, and to not drink cows milk. I havent touched any of them in 7 months. I dont know what we will put her on at a year, but they suggest goats milk as the proteins are smaller and more easily digested, and the casein levels are much much lower… so maybe that.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
personally I love our raw milk straight from the farm. I actually think the benefits of unpasteurization (like the removal of many nutrients and enzymes) outweighs any “risks”. I’m so glad I made the switch.
I think both coconut and almond milk are great options. I actually read that coconut milk is the only type of milk that has some of the same nutrients as breastmilk! If you get canned coconut milk, make sure you buy the BPA-free cans!