To think no milk at ALL will be ok?

[stellenbosch]

I'm not sure. Dc, 22 mo, has been taken off Neocate (previous cmpi, but blood tests came back clear). Dietician says it's just sugar and doesn't need it as is eating normal, albeit dairy free diet. However, dc won't drink any milk substitutes, just water. Now I feel like I have to constantly feed dc and give sips of water...

Sigh

Mine just suddenly went off milk and yoghurt one day as a toddler. She does eat cheese though. We give her the gummy vitamins that contain calcium (she loves them) as a back up but she probably gets enough from her diet.

@Ponderland what a shame you were misinformed by your GP.
Of course you can give your child the right nutrition without milk...lots of babies with cmpi stop neocate age 1 (or stop bf) and have no dairy in the diet and are fine.
GP should have referred you to a dietician for better advice though.
Tinned fish, green leafy veg, tahini, drinking orange juice are all good sources of calcium and over a day provide the amount a child need.
OP hope you are reassured that lots of our children live without dairy for whatever reason and are healthy and happy ☺

stellenbosch you may not like fish, but your child might.

Canned salmon is a huge source of calcium, and versatile.

My kids loved home made salmon fishcakes. Mashed up canned salmon, mixed with mashed potato, covered in breadcrumbs and baked.
Eaten with ketchup.

DC1 didn't have milk to drink after 12 months when we ditched the bottles.

She had it with Weetabix, lots of cheese and yoghurt (not together though ).

@bostonkremekrazy thanks for that Boston, every child is different and requires milk for longer than others. I'm quite happy with my son still on milk, he has a very poor diet, he didn't eat a thing until 1 and now lives on bread. Leafy greens and fish are a long way of but I'm sure we'll get there.

Tofu, cherry tomatoes, 50/50 bread, brocolli all contain calcium but it’s not as bioavailable as that found in milk so you need to eat more of it. Not a problem if you’re in SE Asia; not so here!

I had a DD who came off neocate at the same age and didn't drink any milk after that. She would have oatly (calcium-added) on cereal though if that would work? Also, I made a lot of custard, rice pudding etc with oatly that she ate. If she is symptom-free, I would also start the milk ladder.

@Ponderland I agree, I have twins who are almost 5. they are on specialist milk and under dieticians and salt feeding team and they are adamant they are not to come off as they simply don't eat enough. some children do NEED the milk, others manage with their diet. we have only just managed to reduce from 10 bottles of milk in a 24 hr period (each) to 4!

As long as they get 350mg of calcium that is 3 soya yoghurts. Kingsmill 50/50 bread is calcium enriched.

DD is also dairy and would not have milk until at about the same age of your daughter we tried oatly barista milk and now she loves it. Soya yoghurts tend to be high in added sugar but Oatly barista has no added sugar.

For drinking water. I would encourage him to play with it. Get a tea set and straws for him to play with. Dd went through a phase when she would not drinking durring the day but would drink a full tea pot in the bath. Toddlers are weird creatures.

@bigarse1 I think knowing that you have the milk relieves some of the stress from meal times doesn't it. My son has been losing weight so I think we're going to be giving him 4 bottles a day now. He's on two at the moment and it's a battle with that at times.

@Ponderland we have battled for years and the twins weight is stable but mainly only by milk. they will go days without eating anything. now that they are at school fulltime it worries me more as we have less control. does he not like the milk or just not interested in it? mine would have it all day long if they could.

A GP saying nothing but milk will give a child the right form of nutrition is spouting nonsense.
Repeating it to an worried parent asking for advise is not helping.
If your own child doesnt eat a balanced diet for whatever reason that is a different issue altogther.

I think what the gp meant was that my sons best chance of getting that nutrition is with neocate. The milk he's always had and drinks 14oz of. obviously my son has other issues going on which could be why he said that..

I also don't think it is a different issue for now. My son doesn't eat a balanced diet yet so he has neocate.
I'm sure if the problem persists or gets worse then they'll look into it more but they don't have the time or money to refer every child for things like that. He also has ketotic hypoglycaemia (low sugars during fasting, over night etc) and constipation, we just get told to keep going as we are and hope the problems go as he gets older.

@PonderLand
☹️ That sounds so stressful

DH was at a scientific conference a while back with specialists/consultants despairing at the focus on dairy products as the best source of calcium. Supposedly the calcium in leafy greens is better absorbed/ more available. The opinion there was the dairy focus comes from historical marketing campaigns and has nothing to do with science.
NB I have no bias just a dairy-allergy child so have explored alternatives.

How do you get a toddler to eat greens?

🤣

Easy if they're my DS! It's only milky food / drinks he won't touch!

DS gave up all milk and refused all dairy since he was 12 months. Never did him any harm.

He's nearly 2 years old right?

Mine had TERRIBLE reflux. She voluntarily started refusing her bottle around 8 months and by 10 months she was off them completely. She wouldn't drink anything other than water. She is 7 now and still won't drink anything other than water. If it is the calcium you are concerned about you can use calcium enriched milk alternatives such as soya or oat milk. My aim was to use as much milk in cooking as possible to replace what she wouldn't drink. So pancakes, custards, yoghurts, etc.. Even now I try to make sure she gets 4oz of milk within her breakfast option - it is a habit these days. You can see a dietician (GP or HV can refer) if you are concerned.

None of my children drink milk. I didn’t either.

@stellenbosch most toddlers I know eat greens 🤔. It's more unusual not to.
Yes toddlers can be fussy, but give them a broad range of foods, eat together as a family, think outside the box if you need to, and make mealtimes fun.

stellenbosh happy to supply you with tasty recipes if you need them.