Moving off Nutramigen - need some advice please.

[mumat39]

Hello

I am slowly moving my DD and DS off nutramigen 2 and onto regular cows milk. I'm up to swapping in 3 oz of semi skimmed milk instead of 3 spoons of the formula, 3 times a day and so far (i'm scared of saying this as I'm sure to jinx things!) so good.

I'm doing this really slowly with a half oz added every 5-7 days but I'm as DD is having a viral rash flare up which makes things a bit confusing, for me anyway.

So, I need advice on how much dairy and other things they would need to ensure they'll be getting the same levels of nutritents etc.

I have read the tin and tried to figure this out but I am completely useless when it comes to nutrition and trying to figure out things like how much dairy they should be having or do I need extra vitamins.

Has anyone else been through this? DD has (so far) grown well and I'm convinced it's down to the fact that she's been on 3 bottles of nutramigen a day. I did move them off nutramigen a few month ago and onto Kara coconut milk but they both ended up losing alot of weight as it seemed to give them an upset stomach, so I'd like to make sure this doesn't happen.

I really am not a good cook and am even more rubbish at meal planning and nutrition.

Also, I know they shouldn't still be on 3 bottles of milk a day, but how much milk do other kids have?

Many Thanks in advance for any help or advice anyone can give.

the amount of milk they are supposed to have varies with age - what age are they? Semi-skimmed isnt recommended before the age of 2 as it has less fat and fat soluble vitamins. Between the age of 1 and 3 around 350mg of calcium is recommended which equates to around 12oz (300/350mls) of full fat milk. They dont need to have the full amount in drink form as you can get calcium from other sources.

Yes, you need to tell us how old they are.

Oh, sorry. See I know NOTHING!!

DD is 4.5 (5 in Sept) and DS is 2.5 (3 in October )

The only reason they have semi skimmed is that's what DP has (i can't eat dairy) and the allergy nurse said this would be fine.

Thanks for your help.

Why were they on Nutramigen if they can have cow's milk?

Anyway they are both old enough that you shouldn't have to worry too much, they should be getting enough nutrients from their food and probably if they are having milk on cereal and some milk before bed then they'll be fine.

Thanks trixymalixy

DD was put onto Nutramigen at 8 months by the dietician at the local hospital so they could get her skin under control from eczema for skin prick testing. She has alot of allergies and whenever we tried to introduce milk in the past she seemed to not tolerate it and we were advised to stick with the nutramigen.

DS, didn't thrive at all when I was breastfeeding him and his weight had dropped off the scale. The HV and GP decided that he should be on the same formula as DD, given the fact the she is such an allergic thing, bless her.

This is the first time (touch wood) that we've managed to give her milk for this long so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she carries on tolerating it.

What about all the other things in Nutramigen? They have a lot of red meat so I'm not too worried about iron, but not sure whether dairy is a like for like substitute for nutramigen in terms of the 'other stuff'

By the way, I'm hoping to make the cupcakes you recommended on another thread. DD has a wheat allergy so hoping they come out well with some GF flour.

Many Thanks again.

That's brilliant that she seems to be tolerating it, fingers crossed it continues.

I think as parents of allergic children we worry far more about the nutritional content if our children's food than we need to. As long as they are having a balanced diet then they'll be fine. Remember that Nutramigen was a substitute for dairy, not the other way round!! Over age 2 there's no need for hypo formula as a substitute for milk as they should be getting enough nutrients from the rest of their diet.

Good luck with the cakes! I like baking, but it would be so nice sometimes to just be able to buy my kids a cake.

Remember that Nutramigen was a substitute for dairy, not the other way round!!

Gosh, you know, I've never even thought that. Honestly, that's the best thing anyone could have said to me. I've always thought nutramigen was some miracle thing and I've always really depended on it too much as somehow making up for a balanced diet, which I don't think any of us have as a family.

Between DD's allergies and my fear of anything new it's really tricky.

But honestly, your reply has just made me feel so much better. It's a real revelation and one less thing to worry about.

Thanks SO MUCH!!!