Soya for 8mth baby

[Southwestwhippet]

My DD seems to be allergic to dairy produce, she gets excema around her nappy area if she has it. She can tollerate small amounts (a bit of butter on her toast) but I can't give her cheese/yoghurt/milk. She is still BF and we did a mix of BLW and spoon feeding - it went well and she is happy eating family meals with us.

I've been giving her Alpro-Soya yoghurts sometimes which she enjoys. Also occasionally she has had a drink of soya milk. I left her for the evening with my mum and she had EBM topped up with soya milk (finding it hard to express much atm).

I've been unable to find out anything about soya milk for babies on the internet other than the fact that it isn't suitable as a replacement for formula/breastmilk as it is low fat. However I'm not using it as a replacement, just as a supplement to her diet (i.e. in a yoghurt) or very very occasionally to top up EBM.

I spoke to a HV the other day and she said babies weren't supposed to have soya though... does anyone know anything about this? She couldn't tell me why so I'm not sure if she is confusing information about soya milk being too low fat for babies or if soya itself is actually not very good for them. Can anyone advise?

I didnt think soya milk was suitable for under 2's. You can get soya formula which would have more nutrients than plain soya milk.

I wouldn't use soya milk as a top up for BM unless it was to add to cereal/cooking. The only milk she should be having as a drink at this age is breastmilk or some formula, soya or otherwise. Not any other milk. It is fine to use other soya products such as yogurts, cheese and spread.

I had heard the hormone thing as well.

so with the phytoestrogens, are they in all soya, or just in soya milk? Can she still have the soya yoghurts?

Also, I thought the guidance said that you could give cows milk from 6 months now (if DD wasn't alergic).

Also how toxic is toxic? Should I be worried? She has probably had a small amount of soya milk to drink on three occasions in total.

thanks everyone for the advice. going to google phytoestrogen now

re: your latest post - cow's milk in cooking from 6mo, not as a drink.

cows milk can be used in cereal and foods/cooking from 6 months but the main drink should still remain as breastmilk/formula until the age of 1.

Leonie- if her DD is allergic to dairy then she doesn't have much alternative.

An 8mth old I look after has awful eczema and her mum has taken her to see a dietician who has put her on soya formula and removed dairy from her diet altogether as they think that it could be an intolerence/allergy to dairy. I doubt a dietician would recommend soya formula if it was 'toxic'.

'she doesn't have much alternative' ... not really true though TheMulledBloodsOnMe - the OP is breastfeeding so doesn't require formula. Doctors may recommend soya formula for dairy-intolerant infants when they are already FF.

Some materials on the toxicity/problems with soya on the BMJ.

My baby is dairy intolerant and gets exzema when I give him dairy products. We see a dietitican at the olcal hospital regularly. He is BF (now 17 months old) and also has soya milk to drink.

Soya milk is not the same as full fat milk though it is only equivalent to semi skimmed milk. My DC also has soya yoghurts daily and other soya products. The dietician siad this was fine. She said that rice milk was recommend for children under the age of 5.

You can get hypoallergenice formula on prescription. We had nutramigen but DS2 never really drank it as it tastes foul. I did use it for cooking and cereal till be was 12 months old though. I now just use soya milk. You can also use pure margarine, which is dairy free.

rice milk is now not recommended for children as it has arsenic in it - The food standards agency says children between 1 and 4 1/2 shouldnt have rice milk as a replacement for formula, cows milk, breast milk, etc

arsenic in rice

DD had soya milk, yogurt etc, etc from about 12 months and is a very healthy 2 and a half year old - big, strong and bright! I wouldn't touch cows' milk.

I also BF her until she was two (although only once, before bed for the last six months of this).

Nope, that's not the full story. This is a bit lengthy, but worth a read.

From the Alpro site: www.alprosoya.co.uk/soya-products/juniormilk.html?no_cache=1

thank you for the links and the discussion, they are very useful.

I don't know huge amounts about the soya thing but it seems a bit daft going to a soya milk retailer for info on the dangers of soya. It's like asking McDonalds if their burgers really make you fat.

sorry meant to say that rice milk is not recommended for under 5s.