Want to wean breastfed baby to almond/rice milk

[avag]

Hi my ds is 9 mos old and I am ready to wean him.  I am finding it hard at this age and tired of it also as he is the 3rd child.  Anyhow i would like to put hime on almond milk.  Is almond milk the same as nuts as in it could be highly allergenic?  There is no nut allergy history, but I am still wondering.  I have been using almond milk on myself for the past 3 mos, so I am guessing he would have been getting it through my milk.  Rice would be the other choice, i used it w/ my second but found it to be comparable to a skim milk. 

[Lolly]

I'm not sure about almond milk but UK advice is not to give rice milk to babies and toddlers anymore.

Also, at 9 months the only suitable milk for your baby is breastmilk or formula - other milks can be used in cooking but not as drinks until 1 year. If you want to wean before 1 year then really a hypo-allergenic formula would be the alternative.

Laura

[~Emma~]

I agree with Laura. I weaned DD at 8 months and we went on to neocate formula. Almond milk is not suitable as it doesn't contain all of the nutrients needed for a balanced diet especially as formula/breastmilk is the main part of a LOs diet until they are 1 year.

 Rice milk is not suitable for kids under 5 due to the arsenic content.

[Shiv52]

Agree with Laura.  If you want to wean BFing then the best/only alternative until 1YO is formula.  Almond milk or other won't have the right balance of nutrients and vitamins needed.

How many BFs is he having a day?  If he has a good balanced diet with a good amount of dairy he should only need 3-4 BFs at this stage.  I understand you wanting to wean but if there is anything we can do to help with the BFing side of things if you didn't want to move to formula just shout x

[Roseii]

I combined bf/ff at this age (DD2 had 1 x bottle of nutramigen and 2 x bfs at about 9mo) When she was over 1yo I started giving her oatmilk (at first mixed with her nutramigen then whittled down to just oatmilk) Continued combined feeding until she was 13.5 mo (she self weaned *sob*) and now she has 1 x bottle of oat milk a day.
HTH x

[avag]

I do not want to give formula/dairy as I had to cut it our of my diet because of him.  He can not tolerate dairy, he poops non-stop from it, and now has developed excema on his cheeks also.  Nursing has always been easy for me w/ all 3, I am just not enjoying it anymore.  extremely tired with this one, the oldest is 5, then 3 ys old is the next.  This one does NOT sleep, naps maybe an hr in am, the 45 pm, and is awake by 5:40 am for the day.  And is miserable so clearly needs more sleep.  I would like to be able to give him a bottle and leave him with someone already.  I know sounds terrible, but i am exhausted.

[Shiv52]

There is a formula you can get for LOs who are MPI but you would have to get it through the doctor.

Hugs for being so tired. Can DH take over for a few nights to let you get a proper break?

[Mom to M&M]

Agree on hypo-allergnic formula. And/or can you pump quite a bit and then give EBM in bottles?

I would NOT do almond milk at this age. Apart from risk of allergies, it is really low in calories/fat. Coconut milk would be a much better option - NOT in place of BM or formula but in addition to at this age...

HUGS, it's hard being so tired.

[Roseii]

Nutramigen and neonate, the ones Emma and I mentioned, are for MPI babes-as Shiv says they need to be prescribed x

[LizzieN]

Sounds to me like you are really struggling, biggest hugs.  Does your LO reflux through the M(S)PI also, the lack of sleeping and excessive crying makes me wonder if your LO is in pain still....
So sorry.
My DS went onto an elemental formula - no dairy, no soy when he has suspect milk soy protein intolerance, he liked it and it caused him no problems at all....I strongly suggest you go and talk to your doctor, these other "alternative milks" just don't have the nutritional properties that babies and young toddlers need.  Also wanted to say that you should not feel guilty for being tired and needing a break, you are doing your best!!!

Hugs
xx

[Hedgehog17]

Depending upon the severity of the MPI you can use hydrolysed protein formulas (eg Aptamil Pepti) which also have to be prescribed. DS is fine on Pepti and it doesn't smell or taste bad 

[Mashi]

Nutramigen and neonate, the ones Emma and I mentioned, are for MPI babes-as Shiv says they need to be prescribed x

Nope, you can buy Nutramigen over the counter, you just have to ask for it.  Neocate I know you can order online and so assume you can get it from the chemist as well. But you can definitely get them - they are expensive so you don't want to have to, but if necessary because a doc will not do a script, it is totally possible!

[Roseii]

Sorry, true, you can buy them-I just never did cos I got it prescribed (and it's v expensive!) x