Soy Milk?

[Jessica Cordova Kramer]

Hi all,

We're considering giving our daughter only soy milk, not cow's milk, when she turns one. We don't drink cow's milk -- we think it's gross -- although we do eat other forms of dairy and we're not vegetarians. Does anyone have any advice on the matter?

Thanks!
Jessica

[Zicea Becks]

No advice. Just give her soy milk if that's what you wanna give her.

No big deal as far as i'm concerned.

I gave my kids cow's milk...they didn't explode. and i don't think they'd explode from soy either.

my husband bought some soy milk a while back, and he tried to give the kids some...in their cereal.

i'm not a huge fan of kids eatting cereal for breakfast, but you can only b*tch so much.

anyways, Penelope-7 immediately was grossed out.

she thinks anything that is soy is only "pressed beans" so she didn't eat her cereal.

the other kids tried it, but weren't crazy enough about it to continue using it....neither was my husband.
it's great for when i make smoothies though....


anyways, for your kid, i'm sure it won't be an issue. especially if you give breast milk. soy is sweeter in taste versus cow's milk, so it won't be a huge shock to the taste buds.

i gave breast milk and when each child was about 7-9mo i would mix the breast milke with regular milk. by the time they were 1, they were totally on the regular milk.

so you can try that.

[Noelle]

My son just turned one at the beginning of this month. We don't eat any dairy at all, so he's tried soy, almond and rice milk, and likes them all pretty well. He's still rockin' on the breast milk most of the time, though.

As for advice? Not much, really. What Zicea said: give her soy milk if that's what you want her to drink. Cold, and in a cup (not a bottle) seems to be the preferred method of non-dairy milk administration as far as my son is concerned, but your mileage may (and probably will) vary.

[momolly]

Soybeans are one of the most heavily pesticided plants on the planet.
I would try giving your kid rice milk instead. Soybeans in this country
are mostly genetically modified and heavily sprayed with Roundup, a
proven cancer-causing pesticide.
Google "Monsanto soybean pesticide" to read about it for yourself.

[Mary Ann]

Our 13-month-old daughter has a severe milk allergy, so she started on organic soy milk and/or rice milk last month. (She's adopted and was only breast fed for her first three months.) The only problem -- according to our pediatrician -- is that soy and rice milks don't contain the same fatty acids that whole cow's milk does, and those fats are really important to toddlers whose nervous systems, etc., are still developing. So we give her toddler formula in addition to the soy milk. She basically gets half powdered formula (mixed with water) and half soy milk at meals and then just soy milk at snack time or whenever. We'll be able to try dairy products again at age two to figure out if she's outgrown this allergy, but in the meantime, it's non-dairy milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.

[Babyhealthblog]

Hi Mary Ann – My name is Sarah and I’m a nutrition specialist for Nutricia North America. If your little one is feeling better on the soy milk/formula diet, then that’s great. However, babies with milk protein allergies are often allergic to soy milk as well. If any of your baby’s symptoms come back, you might want to completely switch to a formula. Often, amino acid-based formulas are the best for milk protein allergies because the protein is broken down to its simplest form, making it easier for babies to digest. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [e-mail].