Transitioning from formula to "milk"

[Seattle Emma]

Hello,
My son is about to turn sixteen months, though he was born prematurely so he's really about 14 months. Nevertheless, it is getting to be time to move him from formula to some milk substitute and I'm wondering what others on this list have done when they moved either from breast feeding or formula to "milk." I'd like to avoid soy milk since he gets a lot of soy in his day already. Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks!
Emma

[celtic-womble]

We use mostly soy milk but sometimes we use rice or hemp milk to mix things up. Trouble is the rice milk isn't as nutritious as soy milk and the hemp milk is difficult to find (only Wild Oats seems to stock it around here and that's way out of our way) and much more expensive than soy. We add a tsp of flax oil to his first cup of the day to up the fat content and get some omegas in to him. I think he really likes that because he's been known to bring the flax oil to me with his cup and ask for more :)

[Seattle Emma]

thanks so much! The idea of adding flax oil is great. I appreciate the input.

[mjm]

hi! we switched from formula to soy milk at a year. a few months later we started doing enriched organic rice dream with a half a tablespoon of brown rice protein powder and a half a teaspoon of walnut oil to add some good fat. we have one bottle of soy a day and two of the rice milk combination. we wanted to cut back on the soy as well, and now it gives us more room to do a few other soy foods here and there. from what i've read it's pretty important for them to have lots of good fat and protein from their milk at this age, and soy and cow milk have both. my pediatrician seemed to think adding these items to the rice milk was ok. i haven't been able to find any enriched almond milk that doesn't have sugar. she is 19 months now, and we will probably continue the bottle until her second birthday...

[VegParent]

I know you mentioned that you wanted an alternative to soy milk, but we like Silk Enhanced, which was recommended by a dietician on this site for little ones because it has flax oil added to it. I liked not having to remember to add flax to the milk. I love the stuff cause it's so rich tasting. But I also drank it while I was pregnant to be sure I was getting adequate omegas. Just a thought, but if you are worried about your soy intake, you could cut down elsewhere in your diet.

[celtic-womble]

I'm surprised a dr OKed walnut oil or almond milk for a baby, everything I've read says no nuts till at least 2 and every pedi I've spoken to has agreed with that. We're not doing nuts till at least 4 years old (well not on purpose anyway, they're in so many things that some have slipped by :rolleyes: )because my hubby is allergic.

Trader Joes has an unsweetened almond milk though, not sure how fortified it is though. I generally don't check for myself and I only buy it as an occasional treat anyway so it's not a major concern.

[Seattle Emma]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I like the idea of adding protein powder and oil to rice milk! Unfortunately, the brown rice protein powder made my son vomit when I put it in food. That said, I'm sure I can think of something that will work based on the general idea of adding to the milk.

I really appreciate the help!

Emma

[PikkuMyy]

I buy Almond Breeze unsweetened almond milk but it's way less fortified than the other nondairy milks out there.

Does your child need to have a milk? Can you simply continue the formula as you introduce more solid foods until it's all solids?

[Seattle Emma]

That's a good question. I'm taking him to see a nutritionist next week and hope to find out if there's any real rush to get him off the formula. I guess I just assumed he has to have a milk since that's what people seem to do. :) I'll make sure to ask now, so thanks for asking the question!