question soymilk VS cowmilk whats yr opinions what would you prefer

[ash1800]

Hi all,

sorry its kinda long

i have a few questions about soymilk milk and regular cow milk i have 3 kids

5.5 yrs
2.5 yrs
and 7 months

i am nursing my now 7 months who is milk intolerent so i have to be completely off dairy ever since he is 3 weeks any time even i eat something even with a lil bit milk ingredient my 7 month starts having SORRY TMI diarhoea with blood and mucous so i m very careful and read all labels

my other 2 were only lactose intolernt and that did go away when they were about 6 - 8 months and now they do fine on cow milk and or any other milk.

now this new 1 is completely intolerent just last night i had something without reading labels and today he has had 3 bloody S*****
so he sure is different from my other 2 i am fine drinking soymilk i mean atleast now as i forgot the taste of regular milk

but now since we buy soymilk alot (as i drink 3 glasses a day) my other 2 wants it also infact my eldest only wants soy saying it tastes better then the cow milk:shrug7:and if i dont have enough cow milk i sometime even give my 2.5 year old soy milk

so what do u guys think its fine for me to switch all to soy milk or will they miss some nutrients :shrug7:not drinking regular cow milk its kinda too early to tell if my lil one will be ever able to eat/drink dairy but i plan on nursing atleast 18 months - 2 years and may be by then he will be fine with dairy otherwise ill have to put him on soy also

i would love to get some opinions

[greenrays]

My ds who is 2 now is severely allergic to dairy, there are some threads on here about allergies somewhere.... We found out around 8 months old.

He has been on soymilk since he was 11.5 months old and finally stopped nursing at 13 months.

It is perfectly FINE to only drink soy and not cows milk for the entire family. There are several fortified soymilks that have the same and more to offer as far as vitamins go and calcium. They are more pricey than other soymilk varieties though. The fortified Silk soymilk ranges from $2.79-$3.99 when you can buy a double pack of silk for $4.95 but it's not loaded and foritified as much.

So you just have to figure out which brand you like best, which one has enough nutrients in it for you to feel ok and buy that one. I also give gummy vitamins to my toddler just incase!

We don't do any dairy in our house b/c my ds is contact allergic to it also.

[tmsmalley]

If you don't mind the cost and it is fortified, there's no reason not to drink soy. Soy is a lot more costly than regular cow milk though. I get a gallon of regular milk for $1.99 whereas soy is $2.59 per quart, so $10 a gallon.

Tess

[ash1800]

Originally Posted by tmsmalley If you don't mind the cost and it is fortified, there's no reason not to drink soy. Soy is a lot more costly than regular cow milk though. I get a gallon of regular milk for $1.99 whereas soy is $2.59 per quart, so $10 a gallon. Tess

where do u live we pay $4.69 a gallon here:shrug7:in MA

walmart supercenter sells soymilk for $2.69 a half gallon and i use $1 - $2 coupon every time i go in depending on what i trade for

[tmsmalley]

My stores don't even carry it by the gallon, only in quarts. That's ok with me, I don't like it anyway :)

[ash1800]

Originally Posted by tmsmalley My stores don't even carry it by the gallon, only in quarts. That's ok with me, I don't like it anyway :)

ours have 8th continent half gallons at a gr8 price so with $2 ip its good

[greenrays]

Originally Posted by ash1800 ours have 8th continent half gallons at a gr8 price so with $2 ip its good

I'm not a fan of 8th at all, it has fructose in it and a bunch of added fillers, less fat (young babies need that fat unless you sub lots of avocados and olive oil etc..) and less calories. Once they are older it's ok, but I think it's important from age 1-3 for them to have the extras

the qts are a ripoff bc 2 qts= 1 half gallon.....yet they are the same price or almost same price.

We buy about 4-5 half gallons a week, $$$$ but what can ya do when the kiddo is allergic?!

[cbms]

Silk has one that has DHA in it. It's the brain and bone health one. It's fortified with the same vitamins that are in cow's milk.

Cow's milk is a completely unnecessary thing that the FDA pushes. Many cultures drink little to none of it, and they are perfectly healthy (much healthier than Americans, in fact).

I prefer soy, myself. I get it for my children. It's convenient that I have two of my four that have to have it-as it gives me a good enough reason to just forgo the cow's milk altogether.

[mzbeers]

I chose "other" as the poll option:

They have been saying alot about all the hormones that are given to cows to produce more milk, and many people say that is why so many girls are maturing at such a young age. I give both my girls the Silk Soy Milk, I buy it when it's on sale, and have Q's. I buy the unsweetened kind. They also like the Silk Chocolate milk, I let them have it once in a while.

[tinabohio]

We watch soy milk around here because my husband has a thyroid condition and there's growing research showing the estrogen in it may actually hurt people with thyroid problems or worse, may activate it (my neighbor lady has the same condition and her nutritionist gave her info). Cow's milk is just nasty, made to fatten up baby cows and not needed by humans (and with our family history of kidney stones...). We go with rice milk here for when the little one, who isn't lactose intolerant (most likely a milk protein allergy, testing isn't until after she's 3) wants some. She gets lots of foods that provide what cows milk would, but actually are better.
Even if I wanted to, my youngest has issues with soy, as do most people who have milk protein issues (according to her doc).