Almond/soya milk vs cows milk for a 17 month old

[Doublechocolatetiffin]

I've been trying to wean my 17 month old but she really doesn't seem to like cows milk. I've tried off and on again since she turned one, but she just has a sip and then stops drinking. I have tried making milkshake and adding sugar to sweeten, but she still hasn't been very interested. I am still breastfeeding her, but it's now down to once a day and I'd like to stop completely.

She tried almond milk yesterday and loved it. Is that a suitable alternative? I still give her cows milk on her breakfast and in any cooking that requires it. Plus she has cheese and yoghurts. The almond milk would just be for morning and night drinks. Would that be ok do you think?

I don't think it's a great alternative. Soy milk is very low fat, almond milk is low in protein and both are low in calcium and vitamins unless added. All quite important for young children. If she's getting all her nutrition from her meals maybe it's ok but maybe check with your hv.

If she's breastfed still and is having cheese and yoghurt I think that's fine. There's loads of protein in some veg - calcium too.

Koko coconut milk has added calcium and vitamin D to the level of cows milk. Soya isn't recommended but I can't remember why and almond milk has little available calcium

My 21 mnth granddaughter is CMPI.
She can't have any dairy at all so no cheese, cows milk or yoghurt.
She has Oat Milk which she loves, her mum makes her porridge with it, she has a bottle of Oat milk at bedtime but she won't drink it at any other time.
We've discovered dairy free yoghurt in the Free From aisle in Tesco which are a big success.
She's thriving on her dairy free diet though.

Hemp milk is one of the best alternatives for children.

Alpro make "junior" soya milk which is intended for kids aged 1-3, think it's higher fat than normal soya milk.
DS has cows milk protein allergy and that's what we would have been recommended to wean him on to if it weren't for the fact he also has a soya allergy.
Dietitian recommended Oatly (ideally the foamable as its higher fat but the standard "blue" Oatly is ok if we can't get foamable)
If your DD is eating cheese and yogurt then you should be fine with one of those.
I would steer clear of nut and coconut mills if poss as they aren't high enough in fat really.

My dd has cmpi and I was told soya is best out of alternatives. I'm pretty sure oat milk is not recommended for an under 2.

Our dietitian says oat milk is fine for 12 months plus

My 15 month has a cows milk alergy, we were advised by the dietician to use alpro junior 1-3, she said the others alternatives like almond milk etc didnt have enough calories and shouldn't be used till they are older.

Our dietician recommends oatley. They still need extra calories though.

As a PP mentioned, hemp milk is a great alternative. It has good levels of omega fats etc.

I don't use soya as it reportedly has estrogenic properties which worries me a bit.

Thank you everyone, i didn't realise there was an approach junior - I'll try her on that and see if she likes it. I will also try and wean her slowly over to cows milk starting with the alpro junior and gradually adding more and more cows milk - hopefully she'll then get used to the flavour.

It's a mine field feeding a baby isn't it!

My DD is slightly older than yours and sinks no milk at all, hasn't for months. She gets lots of dairy in her diet and the HV said as long as it equates to 17-20oz of milk a day then it's fine she won't drink it. I just make stuff like rice pudding, cheese sauces etc with whole milk and she loves cheese and yoghurt, also eats a lot of calcium rich vegetables.