Cow's Milk vs Soy Milk

Hi S., just wanted to give you some advice i received when having a problem with cows milk for my son. I have seen homeopaths and doctors for a long time. Here is the info i was given. Too much soy can be a bad thing. Some soymilk is not gmo free so you dont know if it is the real thing. Too much soy for infant boys is not good as it apparently contains a lot of oestrogen, which could be detrimental to a male. I was told to use goat milk, which is better than cows milk , as it can be digested much easier than cows milk and also does not contain lactose(Ithink thats what is was or lactin) anyway cows milk is harder to breakdown and digest. Goat milk worked the best for me. Also most soy milk contain a lot of sugar, and with my son he had a sensitivity to sugar and dairy, i could alternate the days he had the two and he would be fine. Anyway i stuck to goat milk, its an aquired taste, but then again so is plain soy.

Hope that helps in anyway, maybe search online on the American institute for Homeopathy - milk versus soy or goat milk.
Regards
D.

www.notmilk.com
www.kellymom.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mobi/

Good resources with tons of information. Last two links have forums where you can join to get personalized advice.

Hi S.,
I had the same plans with my son as he turned 1 year old. I planned to give him cows milk and he tasted/tested 1% 2% and whole milk. When he was 1 year old he didn't want any of them. He also came down with a rash on his 'tushy' from the whole milk. At the time I was drinking Soy milk and that is what he eventually preferred. I don't know if it was because he saw me drinking it everyday but that was his preference. And it was either chocolate soy milk or vanilla flavored soy milk.
Of course, you should talk to your pediatrician to get their input. You may find in the end that your daughter will let you know what she would like to drink.
My son is now 3 years old and he drinks 2% milk. The soy milk phase with him lasted 6 mths and then on to 2%.

Hope this helps a bit.

Hi. Our son has thrived on Goat's milk and our local Jewel stocks it (
Meyenberg brand). http://www.askdrsears.com is a great source of information on this topic.

I hope this helps.

MJL

S.,

My daughter has been drinking soy milk for the last 3-4 years (she is now 6) because we discovered she has dairy allergies. I worried some bout her getting enough of all the nutrients in cows milk, but it is actually pretty comparable and she loves it and so does her younger sister, although the younger one prefers cows milk. If you are concerned about hormones in cows milk, you can also purchase your milk from Oberweise (as they use cows that aren't induced with the hormones). Perhaps you can let your child decide since both have nutritional value that you will want to her get. there is quite a bit of dairy in the things they eat daily already (butter, cheese, yogurt, etc.) that I am of the feeling that you do what you are comfortable with and what they will drink/eat to allow them to get the nutrients they need.

I would suggest Organic Whole Milk Or Orberweis Whole Milk (No Hormones)
My Children just could not handle Milk from the regular store it always came back out one way or another. I have a friend that her son is allergic to soy and some just don't like the taste of soy it also comes in small containers that can be costly. I also figured if it is something I wouldn't eat or like I wasn't going to make my chilren eat or drink it. Have A Great Day.

Hi S.-I have a little girl who will turn 3 in April and she would not drink cow's milk after weaning. We eventually got her to drink rice milk and then soy. My son is 10 months old and we are still nursing but I think that we will start with a combination of cow, rice and soy milk to see what he likes. Hope that helps--Jennie

Are you breast feeding or formula feeding?

If you are breastfeeding, I just wanted to let you know that you don't have to stop just because she is turning one. I know society puts a lot of pressure here, but the 12 month mark is very arbitrary and breast milk has huge benefits for a child older than 12 months...so there is no reason to force them to take other milk unless you genuinely want to wean your child.

If formula feeding, I would understand wanting to switch. My 21 month old drinks cow's milk and breast milk, but I know there is alot of information out there regarding hormones etc given to cows. Unless you have some reason you want to give her soy milk (allergies etc) I would do cow's milk. If you are concerned about the hormones, etc, you can always go with organic milk. I don't have any research or anything to back it up, just my opinion. Not that soy milk would hurt her (in fact some soy is good) but I don't know that I would make it her main milk nourishment unless she needs it for some reason.