We went through this with our son about a year ago (we're vegetarians). You'll eventually have to move away from formula, but unfortunately, most nut or soy milks lack the fat that your growing baby needs. If you do opt to go for a non-dairy milk, be sure to do a lot of research and talk to your ped. You will need to supplement additional nutrients and have base your meals/snacks more on healthy fats, such as peanut butter, avocado, etc. Dairy milk has a lot of vitamin D and calcium as well, and while most milks are now fortified with it, it is something you need to pay more attention to.

We eventually decided to switch our son to organic dairy milk (and not commercialized organic, we purchase milk from a farm-coop so we know it's really organic). Our DS really didn't take well to almond or soy milk... if he had, we might have gone with one of those and supplemented fats into his diet. We're hoping as he grows older, he'll switch to a vegetarian alternative.

 

Yup, I considered organic dairy milk, too. I didn't know I had to be concerned for the fat intake. Thanks for the reminder. I'm not worried about Vit D, she can get that outside... but Calcium, oh my, even I am low on that. Hmmm, could I give my one year old green smoothies (greens w/ calcium)... maybe not every day, but I hope it's an option. I forgot to mention my DD doesn't even eat solids. She tries some here-or-there so I really hope she eats more soon.

That would really minimize the amount of 'milk' she needs to drink... I think.

 

After my DS turned one, he started drinking fortified soymilk. It has loads of calcium, B12 & vitamin D and the fat content is good. In general soymilk is better for little ones than other plant milks because it has adequate content of fat and protein. I think I started making smoothies with greens for him when he was around 18 months. Hope this helps!

 

I really like raw cow milk and goat milk if a kid doesn't get breast milk between one and two. My kids drink hemp milk at one, but we still BF a few times a day. I am not a fan of soy milk, and I just think that high quality animal milk is better for that year, unless you are vegan. Then a combo of hemp, almond and coconut can work. The thing about breast milk and formula is that once for ounce they are calorie packed. It is almost impossible to replicate that in plant milks. Hemp milk, the fattiest of the milks, is only 100 calories for 8 ounzes! I think breast milk is up around 250. Whole milk is like 180 I think and a lot more fat, vitamin D and calcium.

 

I would recommend goat milk. I seems to be a little more digestable, and compared to organic cows milk, it's not that much more expensive. I hated the smell of formula too, but didn't realize I had options. GO YOU!

 

Thank you, thank you for all the advice. This is good info. We're vegan at home, but I think my DD will be vegetarian (organic dairy). However, I will be looking into all these alternatives. I think I would have to make my own hemp-almond-coconut milk - eh? So much work... Hmmmm, maybe I will alternate between all these. I wonder if that would be okay for my DD's digestion. Speaking of which, he current formula makes for some paste-y poops!

Thanks all.

 

a friend of mine gave her son what they called "rygrt" it was whole grain brown rice milk (unsweetened) blended with full fat whole milk plain yogurt. he loved it and she gave it to him from about 14months on.

 

If she is not eating a fair bit of solids, then she still needs formula at a year. It does make the poo more pastey, and you will adapt to the smell. The first few days are pretty bad.

Once she's eating solids, you can consider transitioning her to animal milk if you like. My 2nd choice would be full fat coconut milk (not the drink in the carton). I wouldnt even consider soy, personally.

We also went donated BM to formula, and at 18 mos, my guy is only in the last few weeks eating enough solids i would be comfortable switching off formula completely. Only he's not the slightest interested in any of the alternatives. So he still gets formula several times a day, but he is slowly weaning.

HTH

 

We're vegan so we switched to soy milk. Our doctor, dietician, and all the mainstream nutritional recommendations for vegan children say to use fortified soy milk unless there is an allergy to soy. We choose organic non-GMO soy milk. And of course, we use the normal one, not the reduced-fat.

Aside from the animal issues, I personally would not trust goat's milk for my child. Unless it was fortified and I had the recommendations of my doctor and dietician. Goat's milk is designed for baby goats, not for humans. Soy milk is a human creation and is specifically dsigned for human consumption. It's been used for ages in many cultures. There are lots of good reasons why the leading nutrition experts recommend fortified soy milk for vegan toddlers.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by marsupial-mom

We're vegan so we switched to soy milk. Our doctor, dietician, and all the mainstream nutritional recommendations for vegan children say to use fortified soy milk unless there is an allergy to soy. We choose organic non-GMO soy milk. And of course, we use the normal one, not the reduced-fat.

Aside from the animal issues, I personally would not trust goat's milk for my child. Unless it was fortified and I had the recommendations of my doctor and dietician. Goat's milk is designed for baby goats, not for humans. Soy milk is a human creation and is specifically dsigned for human consumption. It's been used for ages in many cultures. There are lots of good reasons why the leading nutrition experts recommend fortified soy milk for vegan toddlers.

 

we went through the same thing a few months ago... we decided on organic cow's milk. His solid's eating has been spotty, so we (just this week) have started him on baby vitamins. I still supp with breastmilk, now that my milk is back, but that is every now and again, not every day. Looking for better solutions!

 

If DD is not eating solids, then what she is drinking is her only source of nutrition. In that case, I would not go with anything other than formula. It has lots of fats and other nutrients that she needs. If she were eating solids, I'd go to cow's milk - the full fat kind. But milk on its own is not a balanced diet.