WDYD for calcium/milk after one year with your MSPI kid?

[Canadian_Mom]

Wondering what people actually did/do with their MSPI/Milk allergy kids once they were one year+.  I know all the alternatives out there for milk, but wondering what people actually are doing with their kids? Did you go with Neocate junior? Coconut milk? Rice milk? Almond milk? Combinations? Did you do one thing and then as your LO grew older did you do something different?

[Buntybear]

Well Olly was EBF so we didn't have any formulas to move onto. We were already using oat milk so stuck with that and he still has it now at 3 years old. Coconut milk not available here at the time, wasn't going to risk using a nut mik and we still had a query over the soy at that time.

[Jimbob]

My day was on neocate advance (which I think is the same as neocate junior) until he was around 6 years old. This was due to him having multiple food allergies and a feeding aversion though.

[ZacsMumme]

I was just recently advised by my dr to keep T off all milk and soy proteins till at least 2-3 I'm assuming this is standard advice now for MSPI LOs.
Did your dr/pead have any advice?

Hugs

[rach321]

We use and still use coconut milk.

[Canadian_Mom]

Thanks so much everyone!!  It is interesting to see all the different things that people have chosen, which I am kinda glad to see so that I am not missing the obvious choice!
My ped said that none of the milk alternatives out there will give enough fats that he will need so he HAS TO continue with the Neocate   I don't always full on go with what he says though, as I went against his suggestions and trialled Neocate when DS2 was 8.5 months old as I didn't think that this was as good as it got, and low and behold I now have had a "brand new" happy LO for almost 1.5 months!  So far DS2 doesn't really seem to be too picky of an eater, and eats a wide variety of veggies, fruits, grains, meats, meat alternatives, and seems quite willing to try new things, so I am having a little internal dilemma about really needing to feed him formula (ok, expensive formula!) for the years to come...thinking I will keep with Neocate in the bottles, but he drinks quite well out of a cup so as the transition from bottles to cup comes along might go more with an alternative milk rather than have to mix up formula to keep in the fridge...and then die a little inside when he doesn't drink it all and I have to waste some of it...sigh...I think I am making this more of a hard decision than it really is!!!

[ZacsMumme]

Nadia...I could be mad but what about 1/2 1/2 of neocate and another milk ie coconut or oat?

[Canadian_Mom]

Lol. You aren't mad, as I probably will do something like that I guess I was just a little frustrated with the ped comment that there was absolutely no other way to get those good fats into him, as I knew better than to believe that (through nutrition research I had done as well as my training as a nurse).  It is just the easier way to get the fats and calcium...who knows, maybe he will love the taste of the flavoured Neocate and we will never waste a drop

[skatty]

After giving up BF at 1 year (the dairy/soy free diet was killing me by then  ) we were advised to give a calcium supplement which we did until she started to be able to eat yoghurt and cheese 

[clazzat]

I have only recently stopped feeding my mpi lo for that reason, and I have wondered a bit about how to get calcium into him. He drinks coconut milk, which is fortified but not enough, and has soy yoghurts. I also give him goats cheese and spinach scones, which I think gives him a bit more. If your lo can tolerate goats cheese or sheeps cheese then that can be a way to make up for it. 

Katt - where did you get calcium supplements for a one yo? I have tried to find them, and none of the supplements with calcium in them are okay for under 6's.

[Hedgehog17]

We stuck with formula (Pepti 2) until after 2yo. He gradually got less milk as he ate more solids, so it all balanced out nutritionally 

At 2y2mo A2 milk became available in the shops and as MPI DH didn't react to it, I tried DS on it, and he's been having it ever since  He also gets a daily vitamin supplement which contains calcium.

He can tolerate a small amount of goat's yoghurt (he likes the honey variety) but can't tolerate sheep's or goat's cheese at all yet (I tried him again 2 weeks ago and he got an eczema flare and rancid nappies  )

We also give him oat milk or coconut milk occasionally with no issues 

[skatty]

Katt - where did you get calcium supplements for a one yo? I have tried to find them, and none of the supplements with calcium in them are okay for under 6's

We had them prescribed, the box said they were only for children over 2 or 3 (sorry can't remember  ) but I think that is so people don't give them without having a doctor say if it's necessary. The first were dissolvable tablets which made a fizzy drink  We told them that wouldn't work and then got some chalky medicine but that went down ok in a cup of oat or rice milk.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

We ended up sticking with formula due to a restricted diet, but she still cant handle dairy so we started a calcium supplement. Masyn takes one too as she isnt a big fan of dairy. 

[roimata9]

Our whole family is dairy free, and I give my DS bone broth for calcium. Basically you just cook up soup bones for 24-48 hours with a bit of vinegar, and the acid leaches the calcium and minerals out into the broth (if you ever did the science experiment where you soak chicken bones in vinegar and they become bendy - that's the idea!). I then reduce it (it makes amazing jus/gravy!), freeze in ice cube containers and cook all his meat and veges with a couple of cubes. It has all sorts of good things in it and the calcium is easily digestible.
We do some rice milk, but only to get liquid in him, not because of nutrition, and also some coconut milk or cream.

[EloysH]

we are same as romiata. My son is 3 now.  we are just about to get his 6 blood test results for everything including calcium and Vit D  (as we keep an eye on things). So the proof will be in the pudding tomorrow I hope!

He drank little bits of rice milk for something "wet"after the age of 13 months... but it has little nutrition. Bone broth is high in  magnesium and phosphorus too all in the right ratio for optimal calcium absorption, unlike cows milk where phosphorus content is too high in relation to calcium.  We were lucky that we got him onto ghee at 15 months, and this provided most of his essential fatty acids in his diet along with oily fish.
 
He was intolerant to coconut milk and almond milk at the time so these were not options for us. If we were able to do any of those I would perhaps give half rice half coconut milk if he required anything to drink with occasional almond milk. Nut milks are hard to digest though unles the nuts were soaked overnight before making into milk  (due to phytic acids and enzyme inhibitors) and high in copper, which is a no no usually for food intolerant kiddies as it depletes zinc. zinc is an essential mineral.

[EloysH]

For the sake of following up, we got Ds2's bloods back and his calcium  albumin is excellent as is vit D, goes to show you don;t need to eat dairy to have good calcium:)

[ZacsMumme]

[Buntybear]

goes to show you don;t need to eat dairy to have good calcium:)

Do you think it is the broth that has provided Kai with most of his calcium? Olly won't eat soup so not sure how I would get it in him?

[ENMS]

BB, I cook everything in my homemade broth... rice, veggies, etc. Not sure if it's as effective as just drinking the broth or eating it in the soup but I assume so.

[ZacsMumme]

We just mix it into Ts food like you would stock or milk into a meal I guess.....
If you puT in a little vinegar the calcium comes out of the bones during cooking

[EloysH]

Yep I do think its played a major role. We r same cook grains in it - they r tastier that way too. He doesn't eat much soup either, he will dip his bread in thats about it. Any meat based casserole or spag Bol is cooked with chicken broth as the liquid component. They taste so hearty that way too. 

How is you little man BTW ?

[Buntybear]

Cooking bolognaise with stock is a great idea. he will eat LOADS of that - no stews though  And rice is good too. Now I need to make the stock 

He is good thanks. Still not allergies to wheat and egg but now 'just' an intolerance to milk. He can have tiny amounts of processed dairy (ie a few cheese crisps at a party) but any more and he gets itchy and eczema. He is still off high fructose fruits mostly too. If he has any at nursery then we can tell as he is trumping all evening!

[Canadian_Mom]

Lol, I go camping for awhile and come back and I have missed a lot!

Interesting to hear about the broth and calcium! Love all the alternate ways to get calcium into our diets! I am hoping to chat with the public health nurse at DS2's one year immunizations about doings a nutritionist/dietician consult to take about good fats and calcium.

My brother, sister, and I never had milk as children as we had a wide variety of allergies and intolerances so I know that we can grow up with strong bones and smart minds without milk calcium and those good fats can definitely be in our diets without milk (and expensive formula!)

[EloysH]

Good idea Nadia. By the way I have found big differences in approach between dieticians and nutritionists approach to healthy eating. Dieticians are more mainstream reductionist approach, nutritionists more wholistic and traditional.

Good news Ollie is improving Claire awesome . If you can get some broth and also coconut oil into the diet I reckon that will help even more   I am a big fan of coconut oil, heals all ills in my book. Very stable to be heated at high temps and a highly saturated medium chain fatty acid. Very good for metabolism and has anti bacterial and anti-fungal properties and loads more.

[My little Liam]

How exactly do you make the bone broth? Is it with chicken bones or beef? How much vinegar? Do you do it in the crock pot?

[ENMS]

Here's a link with more info about the broth. I do it either in the crock pot or the stove top, it depends on how much time I have!

http://www.townsendletter.com/FebMarch2005/broth0205.htm

[Canadian_Mom]

Wondering if anyone knows what is "bad" about the coconut "drinks" that are out there and fortified with calcium?  My pediatrician had said that they just aren't good enough, but looking at the nutritional info, I don't really get why they aren't   I will be trying for a dietician consult when we eventually go for DS2's one year immunizations, but wondering if any of you know why it isn't "good enough" or what is wrong with it?

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Hmmm not enough protein? I really dont think any whole milk or formula substitute on its own can really take it place, but if you can get the fat and protein elsewhere in the diet it shouldnt be a big issue.  We had a health nurse who lectured me on why Spencer still needed formula if she couldnt have whole milk but had no answer when i told her how i was making sure she had adequate fat and protein in her diet!

[EloysH]

Coconut drinks as opposed to coconut milk are bad. Coconut drinks usually have water added and thickeners and natural flavourings. So the idea of drinking lovely wholesome coconut milk gets thrown out the window with processing.

Calcium fortified drinks aren't really that great, because the body Finds it hard to absorb it in such an artificial state without other complementary  minerals ( that are present in whole foods). I personally would opt for real 100% coconut milk as it is a great source of saturated fat and little kids need this for the development of their brain and nervous system, saturated fats build myelin, which is still developing for toddlers.

My LO did not drink any milk past 1 - just the odd rice milk for something wet and his calcium is good. You can get it from dietary sources. I did see dieticians and nutritionists though.

[Canadian_Mom]

You ladies are so quick with your responses! I was so happy to do a quick read of them before we left for camping so thank you (but sorry I didn't have time to respond!)

I had been having a discussion with a couple of my friend's about coconut milk and they did not know that there was a difference between the beverage/drink or real coconut milk.  I was surprised when they told me that the refrigerated coconut milk that they bought had calcium added to it.  But I showed them the amount of ingredients in the drink compared to the can of coconut milk that I use for baking etc with DS2 and they were shocked.  They thought they were being "healthier" with drinking the coconut drink rather than milk.  I don't plan on changing what I am currently doing with DS2 (formula in two bottles which I will eventually wean and perhaps put in a cup, coconut or rice milk in his cup to drink or for baking/cooking, and starting to use broth like was suggested!), but I didn't really have the right words for the initial discussion with them so thank you for helping me with it. 

It is so nice to have a sounding board for the things that I am finding in regards to allergies/intolerances so I appreciate having you ladies around! Thanks!!!