What does your dairy allergy toddler drink?

[HotMommy]

Hi all

My nearly 23 month old still has Nutramigen twice a day. I have been advised by GP and dietician that she doesn't need it anymore and can get calcium etc through an adequate diet, so I want to wean her off of it by 2 yrs.

My concern is that she doesn't seem to like any of the alternatives. The only milk she will drink is the soy milk made for toddlers that is quite sweet, but it gives her a tummy ache. We have tried coconut milk (she has it on her cereal but won't drink it) and oat milk (she really hates it) with no luck. Almond milk is not an option as she has a nut allergy.

Those of you with tots who have dairy allergy - do you worry about giving them a milk alternative if they don't like it?? Just let them have water instead, or keep persisting?? How have you managed to wean them on to a new "milk" after a prescription formula?

Thanks!!

Im surprised a child would turn down anything if they can drink nutramigen yuk.

Mine has soya, but that alpro soya giraffe one is awful for sugar content.

Have you tried mixing her formula and soya milk say 3/4 nutram to 1/4 unsweetened soya at first then gradually increasing soya by a really subtle amount each day?
A child I nannied for had this (but with cows milk) when he just wouldnt accept cows at first, it worked really well.

If she doesn't take anything else tell the GP that she won't and you want to continue with nutramigen. Just be firm and insist on it, and that you'll try again in six months time.

Don't give her soya milk if it gives her tummy ache.

Coconut milk with chocolate nesquik.

My son is allergic to soya but chocolate has soya lecithin in, some are fine with that.

Its got added calcium and vitamin b12 and makes coconut milk actually taste of something.

Thanks all! I think coconut milk is our main option as soy gives her a tummy ache and she is allergic to nuts so almond is out. And she really hates oat milk (actually gags...). She is also allergic to dairy, egg, sesame, peanuts and also has reactions to tomatoes, tuna and soy in large quantities. As she is nearly two and otherwise has a very good diet, we are not going to force the issue but I would like her to drink the coconut if I can get her on it. Will try a little bit in the nutramigen and gradually more and more. Will also try some other tricks to get her used to the taste of it - Popsicles, smoothies, etc.

We just give dd a haliborange calcium/vitamin D supplement once a day. She loves her "sweetie" and I don't need to worry about the lack of dairy etc. Anything extra is a bonus

Our Consultant and Dietician said that once our lo reached 2 he no longer needed the specialist formula he was on (Neocate.) At that age you can switch to semi skimmed milk for a child without allergies, so he only needed something with an equivalent level of fat to that (2g per 100ml).

All of the supermarket sweetened (usually just with apple juice) soya milks that I have found contain this, and are also fortified with extra calcium (Dietician said needs to be 120mg per 100ml.) We currently use Aldi sweetened soya milk - cheap as chips too!

DS drinks unsweetened soya milk.

Some of the supermarket own brands make one with added calcium and Vit D so have a look. I was shocked at how much sugar goes into the Alpro giraffe one. DS became addicted to it because it's so sweet so we swapped and buy unsweetened soya now.

Hemp milk, apparently it has the best nutrient comparison to cows milk plus more of certain vitamins and minerals.

hemp milk comparison chart

Another, the one you have linked to is from the USA, and appears to have a lot more vitamins and minerals, like iron etc. wheareas the one sold in the uk only has added vitamin d and calcium?

Some of the other vitamins and minerals are naturally occurring in hemp seed. Good hemp milk brand list some here in the text at the bottom.

Thanks Another!

I'm going to try it with my DD. how did your LO? I'm worried my DD won't like it.

Also DH said hemp is a drug? I replied, well good, hopefully she will sleep at night then!

Hemp milk is produced from industrial hemp , it is a variety of cannabis sativa, but has low THC levels unlike cannabis grown for psychoactive purposes. Good info here.

Dd likes it, she also likes coconut milk, but I find it a bit watery. My mum says coconut and rice milk is a bit thicker.

Koko coconut milk. TBH I'd try and ho cold turkey and take her off the soya, and only offer water or Koko. My DD only has this (no juice or squash, otherwise she'd never want anything else!)

The reason I say that is it is high in calcium, and it can be hard for dairy free toddlers to get enough from food. Soy isn't a great idea as she may be sensitive to soy if she is to dairy, and it has a lot of plant oestrogen's which aren't ideal for a developing endocrine system.

I think at 2 years she is fine to just drink water in the day, as long as she is getting enough calcium in diet. At 2 mine only had breastfeed in morning and no other milk drink in day but had stuff in food

So water to drink and then:

Porridge or cereal etc in morning with calcium oat milk or koko milk

Green leafy veg is high in calcium

You can also give dairy free yogurts, make rice pudding with dairy free milk, etc etc

A child's multivitamin can be given for reassurance

My DS drinks oat milk, which he wasnt keen on at first but now likes. Wonder if it's worth persisting with any of the non-dairy alternatives?

Dd is now 4 but she has drank unsweetened soya since she was 1. We use the Morrisons own brand UHT version which is quite a mild soya in comparison to Alpro. We did use Alpro 1+ for a while but it is so sweet and full of sugar.