Anyone wanting to try another kind of milk?

dinamommy · #1 June 18th, 2011, 10:06 AM

I have heard/read that cow's milk really isn't all that healthy for people to drink. My older two aren't much of milk drinkers anyways (they get lots of calcium other ways), but I was thinking of trying something different with Eli. I've heard that goat's milk is actually the closest thing to human breast milk, but I don't know if that's the case after it's been pasturized. I'm kinda chicken to try raw goat's milk. I don't know what to do. Anyone else thinking this way? I know....I'm a weirdo....I hear it all the time.

Daffodil · #2 June 18th, 2011, 10:19 AM

I didn't know cow's milk wasn't healthy...I've had it most of my life and haven't noticed anything bad unless it pops up later!

#3 June 18th, 2011, 10:21 AM

Kaileigh is on soy milk as is my oldest. Kaitlyn is allergic to cows milk, and when I tried whole milk Kaileigh threw up all day and had massive diarrhea. I did it for a few more days to see if it got better and it didnt. Poor girl just doesnt digest it very well. We're sticking to soy for now. We buy the brand 8th continent soy milk.

Vincent'sMommy · #4 June 18th, 2011, 10:48 AM

I've thought about it before but DH is insistent that Vincent is on cow's milk. I think he thinks anything else is weird. I've heard that about goat's milk too but have never tried it. I tried not drinking cow's milk myself for a little bit but I can't find anything I like as well. I tried almond, soy, and rice milk. Vincent's still 100% on formula right now so we haven't tried anything with him yet but I'll probably just stick to regular whole milk unless I can convince DH otherwise or he won't take it or something.

starrsgirl · #5 June 18th, 2011, 10:49 AM

I gotta be honest....I'm not sure I buy into the whole "cow's milk is bad for you". I saw the most recent look floating around FB and think there is little science in that article. Now, that said, I do know that lactose intolerance affects some people PLUS I do agree there are often a bunch of added hormones in cows milk. I guess, if I personally wasn't going to use cows milk, I would offer water instead. Then I would make sure babies diet was packed with other sources of calcium and Vitamin D (like spinach).

Hollybear · #6 June 18th, 2011, 12:10 PM

Yeah, there is just so much controversy around milk. Now there's studies that claim soy (not just in milk) can be bad for you. Then Rice milk they say has too much sugar. Can't remember what the gripe was about almond milk. I mean there's always something. (Sean and I drink either soy or lactose-free milk, you don't want to be at our house if we have whole milk haha)

I don't know what to do either. I have been trying to pump at night to store breastmilk to give in a sippy but I'm really not getting that much anymore.

I am more worried about the hormones, puss, nasty stuff in non-organic cow milk. rBGH is really really nasty and scary. (Bovine Growth Hormone: Milk does nobody good...) I have been to several dairy farms (I used to do dairy judging with FFA, haha how lame is that?) and it's awful some of the things they do to those cows. At this one farm in Idaho we were at, the cows were almost like on a conveyor belt. Then I also saw a cow give birth to twin calves, one was a female and one was a male. Sometimes calves need help when they are first born, they let the male die because a dairy bull is basically worthless since most of the cows are AI'd with purchased semen.

Okay I know I am totally OT now hahaha....I cried for weeks about that baby bull when I was in HS, lol
P.S. - I totally have pictures that I will share later if anyone wants to see!

Daffodil · #7 June 18th, 2011, 12:15 PM

Awww, that's so sad!!

We only drink organic skim milk and are giving Arie organic whole milk... but sometimes when we are at restaurants, she will prob get whatever milk they have.

jessanddane · #8 June 18th, 2011, 01:40 PM

We are using organic whole milk and she hasn't had any reaction yet. It's been about a week now.

dinamommy · #9 June 18th, 2011, 01:50 PM

I went completely off of dairy for about a month before I had Eli because I figured out that my oldest two's "colic" was really a dairy sensitivity. You'd think I would have figured it out after the first child, but I'm really glad I got it by the third! Anyways, Eli was a very easy and content infant and I know that made all the difference. I really wonder if many babies who have colic really have a diary sensitivity. I don't know.....I guess I'll see how he does on regular cow's milk. I do buy Viva because it doesn't have the hormones in it like the wal-mart store brand does. The hormones really are disgusting and are doing a lot of bad things to all of us. Kids are going through puberty at really young ages and they are attributing a lot of that to all the hormones we consume.

Vincent'sMommy · #10 June 18th, 2011, 01:57 PM

I hate reading so much conflicting stuff on cow's milk (or soy or whatever) because I never really know what to think.

Since we are going to stick with cow's milk, though, I really want to only give him organic whole milk. I think organic milk tastes so much better anyway and would buy it for myself if it weren't so expensive. I just hate that it costs twice as much, especially when we will be getting WIC vouchers for store brand whole milk. Someone told me that ALDI's milk is hormone-free, so even though it's probably not organic I might just have to get my milk there if they will take WIC.

Jule'sMomInOR · #11 June 18th, 2011, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinamommy

I went completely off of dairy for about a month before I had Eli because I figured out that my oldest two's "colic" was really a dairy sensitivity.

It took me until 7 months to figure out the same thing with Juliana. Because of this, I'm too scared to try cow's milk but I hadn't heard this about rice milk and almond milk being bad. I think the ideal thing would be to keep her on breast milk for a while longer. I do have a huge stash for her to use up, but after that IDK. There's always so much to research!

dinamommy · #12 June 18th, 2011, 03:59 PM

Yeah. We'll be on breast milk for another year, if Eli will keep nursing (has no signs of slowing up yet), so I don't know why I'm even worrying about this. I could just give him water in a sippy when he wants a drink.

GinaOfAllTrades · #13 June 18th, 2011, 06:26 PM

I agree with Michele. I don't know what to believe either.

I do know though that everything will eventually kill us.

ElizabethS · #14 June 18th, 2011, 09:21 PM

I started my older two on organic whole milk, but now they are on regular 1% milk. I spoke with a guy that works for TG Lee and he said the regular stuff they sell comes from the same cows/farms that most of the organic milk comes from. So, I'm started Ethan on regular whole milk. I'm sure he'll be fine. That's what I was raised on and I turned out ok!

SarahBethsMommy · #15 June 19th, 2011, 03:49 AM

I wouldn't buy organic milk since it is so expensive and I have a good friend who is a dairy farmer out here and sells his milk to both organic bottlers and regular bottlers. Same cows, same farm, everything.

I also read the articles about cows milk being bad and there really isn't science supporting that. But if your baby has a dairy sensitivity, sure it is not a good thing to give them.

My son who is 4 is on a completely casein free diet which means he gets nothing with any of the casein (whey) in it at all. Even the soy cheeses and such have casein in them, so he doesn't get it. We do almond and rice milk for him. I personally really like the taste of the almond milk (especially in cereal) and I can't tell a difference when using either of them to bake.

I've tried Daniel on regular whole milk, but he got a red rash everywhere the milk touched on his face (something my mother said we did as well). So I'll probably just stick with giving him rice milk. It is easier than buying a bunch of different things anyway.

There is some research that shows people who consume TOO much soy might develop a sensitivity to it. Really this is only an issue if you are eating only soy, drinking only soy, that kind of thing. As long as your diet is varied you are probably fine with soy milk, but my 4 year old has a senstivity to it too, so we just stick with rice and almond.

TarrahLovesHuLo · #16 June 19th, 2011, 04:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinamommy

I went completely off of dairy for about a month before I had Eli because I figured out that my oldest two's "colic" was really a dairy sensitivity. You'd think I would have figured it out after the first child, but I'm really glad I got it by the third! Anyways, Eli was a very easy and content infant and I know that made all the difference. I really wonder if many babies who have colic really have a diary sensitivity.

I feel inclinded to agree. They said my daughter had "colic" but she also had a diagnosed milk allergy. I'm positive she was only irritable b/c the milk was always in her system in some form of gas or upset.

Lilly Bella · #17 June 19th, 2011, 05:54 AM

too much soy IS a bad thing. it's really genetically and engineerly (made up the word) compromised. i do buy organic milk, i've done my own research for years

we also drink a lot of almond milk too.

AmandaEliz · #18 June 19th, 2011, 06:54 AM

On the goat's milk thing... We have a friend who has 2 goats & the only drink goats' milk. She swears by the stuff & makes her own goats' cheese as well. Ethan loves goat's cheese, but I've never purchased goats' milk because it's more expensive than organic cows' milk. I dunno, I have trouble getting over the fact that it comes from goats.

AndiNW · #19 June 20th, 2011, 11:19 AM

Cows in Canada are not allowed to be given any growth hormone. Also it is illegal to sell milk that contains antibiotics. So with that, I just go with regular whole milk.

Besides the hormones/antibiotics and lactose sensitivity, are there other reasons why milk is considered not that healthy? Just curious.

*BabyMaMa* · #20 June 20th, 2011, 02:02 PM

That's it...I'm moving to Canada, lol.

Seriously though...I'm going to probably switch Leah to whole organic milk at about 14 months. She's so tiny, and isn't the best eater, so I think I'm going to keep her on formula just a little longer. I'll see what the pedi says about it.