Non dairy non soy source of calcium

[kakacarmen]

Hi, DS is 8months old and is allergic to cow's milk and soy, my health visitor mentioned something calcium from solid foods but she has no idea what food if not from dairy or soy. Does anyone have any ideas?

[*Kara*]

Dark green things - broccoli, spinach... 

Also, almonds, oranges, molasses

You can also find many things like coconut yogurt/milk that are fortified...

[Sam-n-Max's Mommy]

I *think* blackberries too.  This was a struggle for us too.  DS drinks almond milk (after totally being off of any milk after we stopped the cow's milk) and it is fortified.  I also give him orange juice in the mornings and you can buy it added calcium.

[kakacarmen]

So is almond milk ok for a 8month old? Health visitor said she can't recommend nuts, might be its choking hazard rather than it being common allergic food??
And do you dilute the orange juice as well? and if you do, how much?

[Sam-n-Max's Mommy]

Ah sorry about that didn't think about the nut component.  My DS was diagnosed with his food intolerances at 2 years old so we didn't have the allergic reaction concern (and he had eaten peanut butter and almond butter way before that anyway).  I would specifically check regarding the almond milk.  If not, coconut milk is another good option. Oh and if you do go the almond milk route, they sell versions that are sweetened or vanilla or both.  Just watch the sugar content.  Luckily my DS likes the unsweetened version (I have no idea why). 

I do dilute the orange juice.  I usually do one quarter OJ/ 3/4 water in his sippy cup.  In my DS's case, he didn't like it diluted at first, so I had to work up to it.  Now, I can do even less juice and more water and he'll drink it that way, but in the morning I usually stick to 1/4 -3/4 so he gets the Vit C and Calcium from it.  If he wants more later or in the afternoon, I usually do water with a splash of juice.

If your DS likes yogurt, Kara has a good rec in trying coconut milk yogurt.  My DS liked it, but then got iffy with its texture . 

[*Kara*]

So is almond milk ok for a 8month old? Health visitor said she can't recommend nuts, might be its choking hazard rather than it being common allergic food??
And do you dilute the orange juice as well? and if you do, how much?

Not a choking hazard at all, there are no actual almonds in the milk.  The biggest risk is a tree nut allergy.

That said, you should not be using anything other than infant formula until bubs is a year old.  Once you do move from formula, then you can look at milk alternatives   They all have pros and cons.. and honestly, almond milk doesn't have much going for it... minimal fat and protein.  Coconut milk is a better choice as it has the healthy fats that are the main reason for giving cow's milk to toddlers.  Or, you could just keep him on the formula   Move to the Lipil 2 (it has extra calcium) and use it as a drink as you would cow's milk for a toddler.

The fortified OJ contains very little calcium if not given undiluted.  Tropicana contains about 35% of your RDA per 8 ozs.  And the sugar content is extreme. 

If you are really concerned about calcium, there are liquid supplements for kids

[Sam-n-Max's Mommy]

Agree with Kara - unless your hv has told you for some reason to switch from formula, milk should wait until a year old. I misunderstood your question.

Re almond milk- it is lower in fat but we use a brand that has as much protein as coconut milk. The fat is lower, but neither is comparable to whole cows milk.

Important to note from btdt experience that sometimes when your child has multiple allergies, you do what you can to get them what they need -- even if you have to piece it together from multiple sources or it has more sugar than you'd normally want to give them

[*Kara*]

Absolutely, and you can purchase unsweetened versions of most alternative milks now thankfully!  Though rice milk is high in sugar simply because of the rice in it.

The protein level of coconut milk is negligible, as is that of almond milk.  They only alternate milk that is comparable to cow's milk is soy unfortunately.  The fat is coconut milk is the good fat you are looking for, cow's milk is actually a few different fats, some good and some bad.  Coconut milk is comparable to infant formula in terms of fat.

It is a tricky dance with these kids who are allergic to so many things!  Thankfully, they will outgrow some of these intolerances as they become pre-schoolers

[lilybug25]

I would try goat yogurt. Comes in many different flavours.i don't know where you are but here in canada you can get it at organic health food stores. My DD2 is also allgeric to milk and soy, she is also allgeric to corn so I ened up making her formula with goat's milk.

[kakacarmen]

Thank you for all your suggestions, I was mainly looking for alternative of cheese and yogurt for solids, sounds like coconut product is a good alternative, DS is very difficult when it comes to feeding on both solids and bottle, so I am trying to figure out what is the best thing to do, we are on the aptamil peptit 2 at the moment

[Sam-n-Max's Mommy]

Don't know where you are located, but we buy a brand of cheese called Daiya which is dairy and soy free.  I'm not a huge fan of the taste or smell, but DS likes it .  He eats it as is or melted.  It's not a good source of calcium or anything else, but it's "cheese" lol.  Good luck!!