Rice milk formula

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Hi,

I am keen to try my son (6 months) on rice milk formula as he's allergic to everything else - but can't seem to get hold of any in the UK or from elsewhere via the internet.

Has anyone managed to get hold of some? If so, could you let me know how and where?

Many thanks,
Rachel

I've never heard of it - doesn't mean it doesn't exist but tbh I'd be surprised as rice milk itself doesn't contain much protein (in the way that soya and milk do), so they'd have to add protein from another source.

Has your GP been able to advise anything useful?

You can ask your GP to refer you to a paediatric dietician, or to be prescribed hypoallergenic formula such as Nutramigen, but GPs seem to vary a lot in their knowledge and attitude about dairy intolerances/allergies.

Thanks - we've tried the hypoallergenic ones but my son is allergic to them all except Neocate (which he refuses to drink). I've seen a paediatric dietician and a paediatric consultant - and both said give rice milk formula a go (but couldn't tell me where I could get hold of it!).

hmm that wasn't very helpful of them was it?!

What is he having for milk at the moment? Have you tried titrating Neocate with that (adding 5% Neocate to 95% usual milk, then increasing the amount if he will accept it)?

My DD drank rice milk from 6 months, but only once a day as an addition to breastfeeding as it's not nutritious enough to be a milk replacement. It does have calcium though if you get the calcium supplemented version, and you can add baby vitamin drops, so is quite good as a drink.

There are recipes for making your own non-dairy based formulae here though I would not use them as a sole source of nutrition.

Is he weaned, and if so what is his diet like?

Normal rice milk is not high enough in fat/protein - you can get vitamin enriched ones but still not suitable as main drink really at this age.

Have you tried goats milk?

Sorry, I haven't heard of rice milk formula.

Which of the hypoallergenic formulas have you tried?

As far as I know there is:

Nutramigen
Nutramigen AA
Neocate
Pepti Junior
Pregestimil

There is also soya formula, but it's not really recommended for dairy allergy.

Nutramigen AA is similar to Neocate in that it is amino acid based and your DS is less likely to react to it than normal Nutramigen.

Normal rice milk is too low fat and doesn't contain enough iron or vitamins to use at 6 months old.

When we were prescribed Neocate we were told to mix it with Nesquick and gradually reduce the amount of Nesquick until it was pure Neocate.

Your dietician and consultant haven't been much help!!

Neocate Advance comes in Banana and Blackcurrent flavors, if that's any use...