Weaning Onto Rice Milk?

[yudsmom]

Hi, my son is going to be 1 soon and I would like to wean him from nursing. Is it safe to put him onto rice milk? Does it have the necessary nutrients? He is not good at tolerating soy or milk. Any other suggestions?

[lonewolf]

Hi, my son is going to be 1 soon and I would like to wean him from nursing. Is it safe to put him onto rice milk? Does it have the necessary nutrients? He is not good at tolerating soy or milk. Any other suggestions?

The only thing you need to be careful about is making sure he gets enough fat and protein. (Children under 2 should NOT be on a lowfat diet because their brains are still developing.) I put my son on rice milk at the same age and almost always mixed in some protein powder (rice protein) and usually some kind of oil. I would recommend giving him some coconut oil (use organic, virgin coconut oil) since it has a lot of the same type of fatty acids as breast milk. It won't mix well with cold milk though, so you would have to add it to food.

Rice milk is low fat and low protein and often high in sugars - look around until you find one that is gluten-free and low in the carb/sugar count. I used a store brand (Natural Value) for my son.

[jnclelland]

Hi, my son is going to be 1 soon and I would like to wean him from nursing. Is it safe to put him onto rice milk? Does it have the necessary nutrients? He is not good at tolerating soy or milk. Any other suggestions?

Sorry if this is butting my nose in where it doesn't belong, but why wean him? If he really can't tolerate milk or soy, breastmilk is going to contain much more nutrition than any other substitute. If you feel strongly that it's time to wean, then so be it, but if not, food intolerances are a *very* good reason to consider extended breastfeeding.

Jeanne

[Fiddle-Faddle]

I agree with jnclelland. BTW, it's wonderful that you have nursed this long--it's probably kept your baby from the kinds of problems many on this board have seen with their children.

If you feel it's necessary to wean at this time, that's certainly your decision, but if you are being pressured by friends or even a pediatrician to wean, then it's time to get new friends and/or a new pediatrician!

[KayJay]

Hi I don't know your son's story but I just wanted to let you know what we did. Maddie couldn't tolerate milk or soy either and I was wondering what I was going to wean her to also. The doctor told me to give her a milk challenge when she was a year old. I did and she didn't do so well with the formula. So I tried regular milk and it was better. Then I tried lactose free milk and she has done wonderfully on it. She has started gaining weight and growing again too so it is great.

I just wanted to let you know that sometimes they grow out of it at a year. Again I don't know your story but Maddie was having pretty bad reactions to milk since she was born. I was nervous about giving her milk and it amazed me that she can tolerate it.

Just wanted to let you know. I have no idea about rice milk but I have heard goat's milk can be used too.

[TCA]

Both my kids are/were allergic to milk. I nursed my son until 21 mos because of his allergies. I stopped as soon as he outgrew his allergies. My daughter won't nurse, so I'm still pumping for her. She's on a special formula formulated for babies over 1 and I just supplement. You might check into some formulas like this to replace the breastmilk if you need to stop nursing. I know what it is to have family pressure to stop nursing, but I continued it anyway. My daughter is on Neocate 1 + for highly allergic kids. There is also Elecare and some others. I'm sure you could talk to a nutritionist or your ped. to find a good fit. Let me know if I can be of any help.

[tarnalberry]

Rice milk is mostly carbs (a lot of it sugar); not really good growing-baby food. If you can't nurse or pump, or find a forumla to supplement the rice milk with, perhaps you can look into other food options to keep the nutrients right. There's no actual need for milk or milk subs in anyone's diet - the fat and protein can be gotten from other sources. (Hmm... I wonder if coconut milk would be good here...)

[Laura--G]

I had the same milk issues with my son. I decided (mainly because he was teething OUCH) to stop breastfeeding and pump instead. My son was allergic to so many foods it seemed everytime I introduced something new he got sick. The doctor said rice milk would be ok after a year and a half to two years but since he couldn't/wouldn't eat much else I kept giving him breast milk for nutrients. At around 22 months I introduced rice milk and he loved it.

[prinsessa]

I agree with a few others that suggested extending nursing. I never thought of bfing my DS to a year, but now he is about to turn 3 and he still bfs a couple of times a day. He was a picky eater for a while and sometimes would get most of his calories from breastmilk.

If you don't want to bf any longer, than I don't think going to rice milk is a good idea. I drink that and almond milk sometimes and they both have a lot of sugar in them. Humans don't really need milk after weaning. You can make sure he gets enough fat from other things like avocados or olive oil. I sometimes mixed a little olive oil into things like apple sauce for DS because he was (and still is) very skinny. He also really likes flax seed oil and fish oil. You could also look into formulas to supplement his diet if you want to wean. Good luck!

[AndreaB]

I echo most of the others that have responded. Is it you or the baby that want to wean, or someone else? I nursed both of my older children until they were 2 yrs 10 months. I had originaly wanted to go 3 years, but cut it short by 2 months with my daughter as I was tandem nursing her with the baby. Once I weaned her at that age I weaned my oldest son at that age also.....during my 3rd pregnancy. Teething does hurt but the baby can be trained to not bite. My older two went through it. I told them no and if they were biting they weren't hungry enough to nurse. If they didn't listen I cut the nursing short. It only took a couple times that they couldn't nurse because of biting and they didn't do it anymore.

I don't recommend a steady diet of sweet milks either. Mine started on soy milk at the time but didn't have that much before they were 2. We don't drink or eat soy anymore.

I liked the convenience of nursing through when a child is sick because their appetite drops so much but they will always nurse. If you can continue I would highly recommend it, but both of you need to want to do it or it won't work. It would not be good to continue if you have your heart set on quitting when your child is one.

[Michi8]

As others have suggested, continued breastfeeding, if it will work as an option for you, is the best choice. All three of my kids nursed to around 2 years of age, but the one who benefitted the most (and went the longest - a few months past 2) was my son who had trouble accepting solid foods. And I was a big fan of being able to continue providing breastmilk when my kids were sick...provides all the nutrition & electrolytes needed in the most genlte format for the tummy. Wish I could have nursed them longer, but my body couldn't handle it (got an antsy feeling, kind of like restless leg syndrome) when I was a few months into the next pregnancy.

Michelle

[yudsmom]

Thank you for your replies. The reason i want to stop nursing is because I have a 2 year old, an 11 month old (who is the one nursing) and I am pregnant. And it is sort of sapping my energy. Plus, my 11 month old has bit me so hard that I have started bleeding a few times. (That never happened with my now 2 year old.) So, I'd really like to try other milks for him.

[Ursa Major]

You know, three of my kids wouldn't accept anything other than breastmilk from the breast (they'd spit a bottle nipple out in disgust, and wouldn't allow a spoon in their mouth, or any food) until they were nine months old. Then, fairly suddenly, they decided they wanted solids, and liked them so much that they refused breastmilk soon afterwards and weaned themselves, even though I didn't really want to wean them.

I did breastfeed my youngest until she was two, the last while in the mornings when she woke up, before naptime and then at bedtime at night.

My oldest weaned herself at the age of seven months. I got pregnant with my second daughter when the oldest was six months old, and she refused to nurse, I guess my milk changed and she didn't like it. I forced her for another month, making both of us upset. I tried milk then, and soon found out that she couldn't tolerate it, and gave her formula until she was a year old, and then just fed her normal food, and gave her juice and water to drink.

The other three got formula for a while after weaning, but around the age of one I didn't see the need to give them any substitute for the breast milk any more. And they didn't need it, either.

If a child eats well, gets plenty of protein, fats, vegetables, fruit and good water to drink, then there is no need at all for milk of any kind, as far as I am concerned.

Besides, I can see how you would be totally worn out by looking after a toddler, a baby and being pregnant all at the same time, and nursing on top of that. I can understand why you would want to wean your baby.

I wouldn't give a child that young rice milk or real milk (and definitely not soy milk). Why don't you give him formula for a while? I found that the powdered ones taste the most like breast milk, while the ones they sell in cans are gross (well, at least they were when my four older kids were little, which is over 20 years ago).