Is it okay to give my 11 month old soy milk (Silk) as an alternative to breast milk?

MARYAH - posted on 01/10/2013

Ive been struggling with my son for the past 4 months with formula he REFUSES to drink it ive even tried different brands, and even tried putting half chocolate milk (pediasure) half formula . Nothing . He wont take it so my mom suggested soy milk the vanilla kind . He absolutely loves and drinks every last bit about mostly all day he drinks it.. Hes going to be one next month and i was a little concerned but he seems perfectly fine better then when he wasnt drinking milk at all . Hes also finally gaining weight !

Jacqueline - posted on 09/12/2010

my daughter does seem to like to formula she will maybe only drin k 2 bottles aday if im lucky she is 8 months old same with juice but more so the formula i just recently baughte her some organic soy milk she absolutely loves it i did try milk but she endsup cranky gassy and pukey which shes always had a gas issue while on the formula just not as bad when it was cows milk that one time so never gave it to her again but with the soy she has no gas she loves the taste and drinks her whole bottle i dont see anything wrong with it because if u look it up most of whats in the soy milk is in the formula and just a few that arent and minor differences so its just as good as the formula and better for a child who is sensative to cows milk thebrand i baught is called so nice its organic but it is low in fat but they carry other kinds which i plan on buying next didnt realize that when i bought it but it has the omega 3 and 6 fatty acids which most formulas dont especially if u buy the wal mart brand like i do so over all soy has been the best thing for my daughter thus far and noi havent eliminated the formula but if it keeps going well and i see no problems with my daughter then shes strickly going to be on soy

Rachel - posted on 07/17/2009

Thanks for the replies. I tried to give her cows milk about 3 weeks ago and she fell asleep and woke up to puke everywhere. I didn't do half breast milk/ half cows milk, but I don't have to with soy milk. She has been drinking it here and there since she was 8 mths old. Of course I was still BFing her too. She’s not lactose intolerant b/c i give her dairy, but Im worried to give it to her again. I figured her system wasn’t ready. Don't they put soy in formula? Is there a difference? I just wondered if anyone else had heard anything or had any issues with Soy Milk, specifically Silk.

LaCi - posted on 07/17/2009

I give mine soymilk sometimes. mostly I stick to hemp milk, the protein is more easily digestible and doesn't cause gassiness.

Jackie - posted on 07/17/2009

My son has been drinking it since he was a year old. He's allergic to regular milk and he's fine with it. He loves it, especially the vanilla flavor for kids. My 3 year old actually drank it and liked it too, he's on regular milk. Did they say how old the babies were?? Maybe they were under a year, and the kids stomachs couldn't handle it or something.

Ashley - posted on 07/17/2009

There is a pro and a con to everything. I breastfed my 3 boys each for between 21 and 27 months. My middle son had a dairy allergy and so I had to switch to drinking soy milk while I was nursing him. He always drank soy milk after that. I don't see a difference between him and my other two. All are healthy,thriving, intelligent boys. Whatever works for your baby I would stick with.

Kate CP - posted on 07/17/2009

I agree with Natalie completely. :)

Natalie - posted on 07/17/2009

I have heard that soy mimics estrogen (if you notice, a lot of "natural" menopause remedies recomend soy), and I know our doc strongly discourages using soy milk products unless it is medically necessary. If she isn't allergic to cow's milk and you are weaning from the breast, I would say go with cows milk...but of course you could get your ped's opinion. What bad things have you heard about cow's milk...I've certainly heard about the hormones and antibiotics in it, but you can get it without, I know at costco and kroger all of their milk is made without growth hormones and antibiotics now...and of course you could chose organic cow's milk as well (if you can afford it, that stuff is so expensive! :) I would say if there is no reason medically why NOT to give her cow's milk, I would give that over soy, just from what I've read. But I'm certainly no expert, I'll be interested to hear what others say...