Replacement for milk?

DD is currently 2 years old and still takes her milk in a bottle.
She drinks about 7oz at a time 3 times a day (so she gets approximately 21oz a day of milk)

She has had eczema all her life and my sister recommended stopping milk (the allergist said she does not have a milk allergy)

I assume the benefits of milk are: Calcium, vitamin D, DHA (we use the organic horizon milk with DHA) and...what other benefits are there? lol

Is there a good replacement that we can give her 3 times day that will fulfill all the benefits of milk?

My sister mentioned Almond or Soy, but isn't too much Soy bad? (heard it has estrogen)

Thank you!

Re: Replacement for milk?

I gave my DS almond milk when he transitioned to milk because he had a slight milk allergy

Re: Replacement for milk?

Eczema can be allergy related, but doesn't have to be. Does he have other allergies? DS is allergic to nuts and has eczema. But stopping milk would have no effect on him.

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we use almond milk

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My 3rd ds has eczema - when he was a baby we switched to allimentum a non dairy formula and it did not help the eczema. He drinks milk and all dairy products and the excezema didn't get worse. I will say this past winter he is 2.5 and the eczema disappeared. Now that the weather warmed a bit it came back :(

Replacement for milk?

JDubs and NervousNell,

A few questions:
1. Why don't you use milk? allergy?
2. Does almond milk have all the same "nutrients" (vit D/Calcium/etc) as regular milk?
Thank you

NYCGirl80,
>>Does he have other allergies?

She is also (according to the Prick test she got) ALLERGIC to Walnuts, and a bit allergic to Pecans, Cashews and Sesame.
hmmmmm would this mean that Almond milk is out of the question since it is a nut also?


>>DS is allergic to nuts and has eczema. But stopping milk would have no effect on him.

Thats what I told my sister but she said "whats the harm in trying, could only help"
*shrug*

Re: Replacement for milk?

DD used to get very constipated and dairy seemed to aggravate it.

Almond milk, to me, tastes better, has less calories, more calcium, i THINK more protein and i just prefer it taste wise.

I also have issues with dairy so it's easier on my stomach

Replacement for milk?

Switch to almond or coconut milk. My dd has never had milk unless it was cooked in something. She was breast fed and then switched to coconut and after I knew she wasn't allergic to nuts, almond or coconut.

Your dd is 2. She can get her nutrition from food. She doesn't need a bottle anymore. If she wants one that fine, but doesn't need it. My dd had bad eczema too. Once I cut dairy out of her diet for 3 months (nothing) I believe it "reset" her body. So sept till dec no dairy and then in January I reintroduced it in very small amounts.

She hasn't had ANY eczema this winter and her asthma has been pretty much fine. She got sick once and it wasn't a big deal,compared to least year which was a nightmare.

Now if she's at a bday party she'll have pizza or every now and again Mac and cheese. But no milk,ice cream, yogurt...she gets coconut milk ice cream from trader joes. It's made a huge difference for her.

Replacement for milk?

Also to add soy is horrible 95% of it is gmo. If you get organic it is also horrible because it mimics estrogen in the body.

dairy is extremely inflammatory. For everyone, some can tolerate it better. But in your daughters cause if she has eczema it's kind of her cup runneth over. My daughter was allergy tested and has no known allergies. I don't think it can hurt to try and see if there is a difference without it.

Replacement for milk?

Ds drinks soy. He is lactose intolerant. He can have some dairy in small amounts. Yogurt usually is not an issue due to all the good bacteria. If he has say pizza for lunch then thats the dairy for the day.

We picked soy because they had it at his daycare. I would have rather done almond because I tend to use it but since its a nut free facility we went with the soy. He doesn't drink much. probably 10 oz so I'm not worried.

Replacement for milk?

At 2 my doctor said 16oz of milk should be the max because the child is getting vitamins from food, and the milk fills them up -- so they eat less actual food when they drink too much. My child would drink milk all day long if i let him -- he asks constantly. It is so hard not to give it! Doc also says that more milk than that can cause constipation, etc. So we try to give milk in the morning and before bed, water otherwise. Good luck

Replacement for milk?

My dd does not drink any type of milk. She eat cheeses and yogurt. She also eats almond which have calcium. She takes a vitamin d supplement and tums (as per her pediatrician) for extra calcium- I buy eggs fortified with DHA and she eats fish.

Replacement for milk?

That's a lot of milk...which can cut down their iron absorption and fill them up from eating "real" food.
The nutrients in milk are easily substituted with fruits, green veggies, fish. Do a quick Google search.

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Re: Replacement for milk?

Replacement for milk?

My dd is still on formula but I don't think I'll give cow's milk when she's a year (she has a possible milk protein allergy).

I'm pretty lax with food and drink and even I won't go near soy. It's terrible for you. Yes, it increases estrogen production and has been linked to various cancers.

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Hi- to answer your question from earlier, at my DS 1 year bloodwork test we had them test for a milk allergy (he was on alimentum formula) and it came back slight... so we used almond milk which was fine because you can get nutrition makeup in other foods as well. I think they make calcium fortified almond milk too..

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Re: Replacement for milk?

Last year, I cut all dairy from my DS' (13 months) and my diet (he is still BFing) due to his eczema. (I also cut out soy, eggs, berries, and nuts). After 6 weeks, I saw no improvement in his skin and I reintroduced the foods. We took him to an allergist and he does not appear to be allergic to anything. This winter his skin was so much better than last year. I've been religious about using his humidifier. He has a tiny bit of eczema on his face, but that is because he is a drooling king and refuses to let me put lotion on him.

As for dairy substitutes, I personally liked coconut milk best as the consistency was most similar to regular milk. I found almond milk to be way too watery PLUS I would be hesitant to give it to you DC if they have a nut allergy.

Replacement for milk?

Leb,
>>soy is horrible 95% of it is gmo. If you get organic it is also horrible because it mimics estrogen in the body.

Thats what I heard. But what is the harm in excess estrogen in a girl?
I know for a guy if he got excess testosterone it could be a benefit (of course I am referring to adults and TRT)


b2b777 and Katareen
>the milk fills them up
>fill them up from eating "real" food

Thats kind of what we thought...we give her 6-8oz (depending) when she wakes, before her afternoon nap and before bed.
But the only thing that might fill her up is the morning bottle because its before breakfast. The afternoon one is after lunch and the bedtime one is after dinner so I THINK it shouldn't fill her up...?


Maybe-Baybe
>Yes, and contrary to popular belief, milk can also decrease calcium absorption.

Why does everyone (and doctors) always recommend people drink milk?


NYCGirl80
>If your daughter has an allergy to walnuts, pecans, cashews and sesame you absolutely should not use any kind of nut-based milk, including almond milk

Yeah, thats what I was thinking.

So now I'm not sure what to replace milk with.
She seems like a healthy girl (other than eczema) so the milk isn't messing her up that much.
I'm assuming we cannot do Almond milk (since he has a tree nut allergy) and it sounds like a lot of people here think Soy is bad...

Maybe I'll look into those Enfamil toddler shakes...but I think those are probably milk based.

Replacement for milk?

Thanks everyone!

Replacement for milk?

Try coconut milk. They also have coconut ice cream and yogurt. All are delicious.

Re: Replacement for milk?

Replacement for milk?

I agree with everything that's been said. DS was dairy intolerant up until very recently (he's 19 months) and even now can only tolerate small amounts of dairy without his eczema or reflux flaring. We use primarily almond milk but he only drinks about 8-9oz of it before bed. We've also had luck with coconut milk. Hemp milk is an option too and is very nutritious. I think whatever path you choose you'll probably have the best luck transitioning your DC oz by oz. Americans place way too much emphasis on the importance of milk but frankly only baby cows need cows milk. There are definitely ways to make sure kiddos get their vital nutrients and calories through food sources so try not to stress if she doesn't go for another type of milk :)

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