Can I feed my 7.5mth old farm or supermarket goats' milk in lieu of one formula feed?

[Isisguises]

Xposted. GP suggested we change formula to non-diary non-soy, preferably goats' milk based. I part bf, part formula due to child care arrangements. DC is BLW-ing but doesn't yet eat much mostly just nibbling, so by far majority of calories need to come from bf and formula. I'm at a loss as to products and wonder if, while I look around, I can feed DC some goats' milk to supplement? Just a bit once or twice a day, or is this a big no-no? Any advice?

[addictedtosugar]

What is the reason for goats? afaik, many of the proteins in goats milk are similar to those in cows milk (as are soya proteins, so I get that).
Could you express for the feeds you are at work for, and use something like oat milk in cooking?
I didn't get on with expressing, but think thats the way I'd have tried.
From about 10 months, we did the occasional cows milk in place of bm - but one or 2 a week, not a day.
I suspect your child is too young for a couple of milk replacement feeds a day. Could the GP prescribe something that meets the requirements?

[addictedtosugar]

Ah, inspiration goats milk formula

[AnotherStitchInTime]

You can buy Nanny Care goats milk formula from Waitrose or Ocado. I wouldn't recommend giving your baby goats milk unless in formula as it does not provide everything your baby needs nutritionally at that age.

[Isisguises]

The gp said allergy to milk proteins; that goats' milk has fewer or different ones that might help, Addicted? He couldn't tell me what to get and suggested I look around, but to stop the old formula in the mean time. That link is good though, and thanks AnotherStitch as well! I've struggled to express enough to sate DC's appetite, hence the formula. Am a bit miffed about the whole allergy diagnosis as (a) i often think these things are over-diagnosed and (b) no-one in my family has allergies. But i think the gp probably has it right based on symptoms. Said DC will grow out of it in a year or so and it is relatively common. I also like the oat milk idea for adding to e.g. rice. Suppose almond milk might work for that too?

[addictedtosugar]

I suspect if you are eliminating dairy (don't forget to eliminate in food as well!), Goats milk won't be a useful substitute. The proteins are pretty similar.

We were advised to avoid rice milk, but any other nut/grain milks were fine. We went for Oatly, which was calcium enriched.

Did you see a difference in your baby when you introduced formula?

[Isisguises]

Oh crumbs, I didn't think at this age it made a difference to whether I ate dairy or not? I sort of supposed it was just if you still had a wee little one. Hadn't thought it through obviously. So, does this mean no more cheese? No more ice cream? No! So if not goat's milk formula if the proteins are similar, what then? Can't do soy of course. Research needed. No, I didn't see a 'problem' as such when we started DC, although DC needed weeks and weeks of persuading to drink from the bottle and the formula. It was a gradual build-up of mild symptoms which we ignored or passed over as something else e.g. rash that wouldn't completely lift, runny nose but no cold, lingering reflux, and a handul other things easily attributed to the "DC will get over it" school of thought. Just didn't connect the dots as it was gradual. Thanks for the rice milk tip. Do you know why?

[bakingtins]

My son was MSPI (milk and soya protein intolerant) and we had a similar problem. There are degrees of sensitivity, if your DC was fine on breast milk only ( not reacting to dairy in your diet) then you should have no need to change your diet. It's common for an intolerance to become apparent when dairy or formula is introduced directly.
The proteins in all animal milks are similar so it's unlikely goat's milk will be any better.
Almond, oat or coconut milks can be used in cooking or for cereal, but the are all too low in fat and protein to be a main drink for a child under two years.
Rice milk is not recommended due to tiny traces of arsenic, potentially a problem if it was a mainstay of your diet.
There are special formulas which the GP can prescribe should know about you will probably be ok with a hydrolysed formula e.g. Nutramigen 1, Aptamil Pepti, children who are very sensitive need amino acid formulas like Nutramigen AA or Neocate. The problem with them is they taste unpleasant vile so it can be difficult to transition an older baby to them.
You will have to avoid all dairy (and soya if that's also a problem) for your DC and you would benefit from referral to a dietician as GP does not sound clued up. You need to be aware of DC getting enough calcium on a dairy free diet esp as you start to cut down BM or formula.
My ds2 was very severely intolerant, would react to me eating traces of dairy, and never managed to persuade him to take Neocate. I bf until he was 2, dairy free myself for the majority of that, used oat milk in cooking from 6m and as an additional drink from 1 yr+ (ensuring he got fat/protein elsewhere) and he had calcium and multivitamin supplements prescribed. He outgrew it completely by 2.5 and now lives on cheese sandwiches and yoghurt.

[Isisguises]

Wow Baking, this is amazing! Thank you so much! I think then I will cut down a bit on my own dairy intake like avoiding drinking a glass of milk, but keep the cheese toastie going , unless things don't improve. I will look for the brands you mention. Yes, I was a bit disappointed with the gp in giving us further guidance, but at least he was capable of diagnosing what may, due to it being so gradual, have been missed by another gp as just a collection of unrelated non-worry worthy symptoms. Good also to know that your DC outgrew it! I cant imagine how terrible it mist be for a child to have to grow up without ice creams and definitely wouldn't want it for my dc. Thanks again for your great advice!