my baby hates cow's milk - not a big deal? (meal, picky eater)
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In an effort to stop paying $20 a pop for formula every 10 days, and to get away from the bottle, we've started for the 2nd time to transition to whole cow's milk for our 18-month-old. We stopped the first time because he seemed to be getting colds incessantly from preschool and the milk was just aggravating his runny nose and phlegm in his throat. When we started transitioning again recently, our new pediatrician, who tends to the holistic side, said that given his blood type, he shouldn't be drinking/eating dairy or eating wheat/gluten, which is interesting considering that I was just diagnosed with Celiac's myself... and so, not surprising he doesn't like it, not even organic chocolate milk when he had it one time.
I'd rather not push it since drinking whole milk isn't that huge a nutrition benefit anyway, but I'm concerned about his calcium intake. He doesn't drink juice nor are we pushing that either so his only calcium sources are whatever he gets from food (already disliking veggies except for sweet potatoes - sigh - but he eats tons of fruit and meat), a little cheese and yogurt. Is this enough? Are babies fine without milk?
In fact my older one, who's 4, doesn't like plain milk either....
I'd rather not push it since drinking whole milk isn't that huge a nutrition benefit anyway, but I'm concerned about his calcium intake. He doesn't drink juice nor are we pushing that either so his only calcium sources are whatever he gets from food (already disliking veggies except for sweet potatoes - sigh - but he eats tons of fruit and meat), a little cheese and yogurt. Is this enough? Are babies fine without milk?
In fact my older one, who's 4, doesn't like plain milk either....
No. It's not enough. Milk has more than calcium. Milk has vitamin D and other important nutrients like potassium. If your kids are picky eaters, they need to take daily vitamins.
Since he might be allergic, you most certainly shouldn't give him milk. There are other alternatives that are fortified with calcium, like Almond milk. Talk to your doctor.
It's not about the calcium (you can get that anywhere), it's about the protein intake. Cow's milk is one of the primary sources of protein for younger kids. Formulas and second stage formulas contain protein, so they supply what your child needs as long as they are consumed in sufficient quantity as what you would with cow's milk.
My 2 1/2 year old DD was dairy intolerant from birth. She ended up on soy formula which suited her just fine. When we started transitioning her off formula around 14 months we introduced calcium and vitamin D fortified rice milk in place of the cow's milk. Over the next 2-3 months we started to notice that her hair was thinner than it used to be and wasn't growing as fast as it had been. My MIL actually noticed it first.
I did a little reading online and found that it could be caused by protein deficiency. Did a little more reading and stumbled across something known as Kwashiorkor Syndrome, which most often effects children in the developing world do to low protein diets and insufficient nutrient intake, but is becoming more prevalent in the west do to vegan diets that exclude animal products. Some of the first signs are thinning hair. I also read several studies about Kwashiorkor cases in NYC caused by parents using fortified rice milk in place of cow's milk. Took my DD to the pediatrician and they confirmed our suspicion of a protein deficiency.
We immediately placed her back on formula for a month and then transitioned her to second stage formula. Her hair started growing like crazy and was much thicker and her overall health seemed to improve. By around 22 months we decided to give milk another try and she had seemingly outgrown her intolerance. She is perfectly fine today with no ill-effects, but I thought my story might be pertinent to you.
btw, don't do soy milk unless you absolutely have no choice. My son was on a soy formula because he was allergic to milk as an infant. The doctor switched him from soy to whole milk at age one because children can develop an allergy to soy if they have too much of it. Considering almost everything is made of soy, that would be a terrible thing, especially for a child like yours who can't have dairy and gluten. The last thing you want to happen is soy getting added to that list.
I just read up on the whole blood type/gluten thing.... eh, take it with a grain of salt. There may be some weight to it, but my son's blood type is A and he has never had stomach issues and can drink milk (prefers whole, but we get 2%) by the gallon. No weight issues, no intolerance.
That being said, have you thought about 50/50 milk/formula and introducing milk slowly?
Get a new pediatrician. I have Celiacs, neither of my kids do. To say a child shouldn't be eating milk or dairy or wheat/gluten is ridiculous.
You are newly diagnosed so you may not have the full effect of the living hell of a gluten free lifestyle. Please do not subject someone to this unnecessarily, particularly a child.
Try Almond milk or chocolate again or strawberry maybe. I actually hate milk too, but it really is so good for them.
Rockinmomma, yes, I'm going to transition slowly again. I've already started watering down the formula a bit (partly not to go thru it so quickly since he is a big eater and can drink a 9 oz bottle within a few minutes!) so I am going to start adding a little milk. I will try rice milk or almond milk - I know my husband has read up on soy too and he's wary of it for the boys because of the estrogen-like properties that soy can create.
The whole blood-type thing struck me as a little odd too - I'm sure there are more legitimate reasons to stay away from too much dairy/gluten (genetic allergy inherited from parents since DH seems to bloat immediately upon having wheat, especially lager). We reduced the gluten intake for my older one and his mood seemed to improve. Because of my Celiacs (or early Celiacs), DH and I've started doing gluten-free and we no longer feel so bloated/inflamed/sore in the mornings. My MIL too. Go figure! I was eating tons of pasta, bread, wheat, etc., for 35 years and all of sudden, my body can't take anymore!
At 18 months, try replacing his bottle with a sippy cup as well. Plus fortify his diet with food instead of a bottle (sippy cup). Maybe replace his midmorning bottle with cereal/fruit/grahams/goldfish and a sippy cup of milk/formula hybrid. Same for his after dinner bottle.
It sounds to me he is drinking so much formula because he is hungry..... use this opportunity to replace a liquid meal with a solid meal.
I've drank rice milk before. It's has a thinner feel in the mouth than milk. thinner than milk and a vanella taste. He might like it if you take rockinmommas advice and switch to a sippy cup if he's associating formula with the bottle.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Razz2525
The whole blood-type thing struck me as a little odd too - I'm sure there are more legitimate reasons to stay away from too much dairy/gluten (genetic allergy inherited from parents since DH seems to bloat immediately upon having wheat, especially lager). We reduced the gluten intake for my older one and his mood seemed to improve. Because of my Celiacs (or early Celiacs), DH and I've started doing gluten-free and we no longer feel so bloated/inflamed/sore in the mornings. My MIL too. Go figure! I was eating tons of pasta, bread, wheat, etc., for 35 years and all of sudden, my body can't take anymore!
Celiacs is genetic. It would be a shame for children to go through decades of misery before being diagnosed. I agree with erroring on the side of caution here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rockinmomma
It sounds to me he is drinking so much formula because he is hungry..... use this opportunity to replace a liquid meal with a solid meal.
Maybe I'm crazy but aren't 18 months old supposed to be receiving three meals of food along with daily snacks with milk being a drink with a meal, not an actual meal itself?
In an effort to stop paying $20 a pop for formula every 10 days, and to get away from the bottle, we've started for the 2nd time to transition to whole cow's milk for our 18-month-old. We stopped the first time because he seemed to be getting colds incessantly from preschool and the milk was just aggravating his runny nose and phlegm in his throat. When we started transitioning again recently, our new pediatrician, who tends to the holistic side, said that given his blood type, he shouldn't be drinking/eating dairy or eating wheat/gluten, which is interesting considering that I was just diagnosed with Celiac's myself... and so, not surprising he doesn't like it, not even organic chocolate milk when he had it one time.
I'd rather not push it since drinking whole milk isn't that huge a nutrition benefit anyway, but I'm concerned about his calcium intake. He doesn't drink juice nor are we pushing that either so his only calcium sources are whatever he gets from food (already disliking veggies except for sweet potatoes - sigh - but he eats tons of fruit and meat), a little cheese and yogurt. Is this enough? Are babies fine without milk?
In fact my older one, who's 4, doesn't like plain milk either....
My kids won't drink white milk or organic chocolate milk. but, you know what they will drink? whole milk with hershey's syrup mixed in it. almost all pre-made chocolate milk is lowfat milk, which tastes a lot different than whole milk.
I suggest you spend 5.00, buy a quart of whole milk, a small container of hershey syrup and give it a whirl. you might even want to warm it up a little before you serve it, that how my kids like it best.
kids need milk from some source. my oldest had a milk allergy from 1 until she outgrew it at around 3. during that time, she drank goats milk and ate yogurt from buffalo milk. It was an expensive alternative, but since she didn't like soy or almond milk, we didn't have much choice.
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