Soy-free baby formula

allrgymama

Wed, Jan 25 2012, 9:46 pm

We're currently exploring the idea that DD #2 is allergic to soy (sadness!) and, at our allergists recommendation, are to switch her to a milk-based formula for 4 to 5 days to see if there is any change.

But after two days on Similac Advanced (the one in the blue can) I read the back of the label and saw that it contains soy ingredients.

I stopped by Shop-Rite and as far as I can tell, ALL formulas contain some kind of soy.

Am I missing something?

rachel6543

Wed, Jan 25 2012, 9:57 pm

Check with your doctor, but maybe Goat's milk might be an option depending on the age of your baby? After my mom stopped nursing me as a baby, I became allergic to both milk and soy based formulas and lost a lot of weight. My mom discovered goat's milk on the recommendation of my grandmother and I was raised on that until age 4-5 when I outgrew the allergy and was able to switch to regular milk.

allrgymama

Wed, Jan 25 2012, 10:01 pm

My pediatrician recommended allimentum (which he said is batul b'shishim, not straight out treif) but when I called my allergist to double-check, she said there was no sense in going to a less-than ideal formula for no reason and that milk-based would be more ideal.

I'm stunned that I didn't think of checking the ingredient label earlier (what with having an older child with food allergies) but I sort of assumed that a milk-based formula would have no need for a soy ingredient?

@rachel6543: I was under the impression that the protein found in milk that people are allergic to (casein) is found in goat's milk as well? Do you have any idea of why that was okay for you?

DD #2 is barely three months old. I don't think goat's milk would be okay.

rachel6543

Wed, Jan 25 2012, 11:25 pm

At 3 months old, your baby would be too young for goat's milk, but it may be an option to consider when your DD is a toddler if she isn't able to drink cow's milk or other formulas.

Apparently the casein in goat's milk is easier to digest than cow's milk, probably why it worked for me.
Meyenberg (major producer of goat's milk) has a link to an article from a medical journal on their website explaining the differences between cow, milk vs breast-milk you may find interesting: http://meyenberg.com/pdfs/calciumreq.pdf
The bottom of the article discusses milk and baby allergies. I noticed the article is from 1992, so it's a bit old now, it would be interesting to read what newer research has to say.

allrgymama

Thu, Jan 26 2012, 8:11 am

@rachel6543: That's really interesting. Thanks!

@punchike: Well, we started out nursing and that was going really well. Then I had surgery when she was about 5 weeks old and my supply really just never caught up, so we started supplementing with soy-based formula (soy because DD #1 has a severe milk allergy). Then she started refusing to nurse altogether, so I was pumping and bottle feeding and she was getting even more formula and then we stopped altogether. The more formula we added to her diet, the more congested she got and she ended up with this really ridiculous diaper rash, considering that she's never left in a dirty diaper and rarely in a wet diaper.

I discussed it with the pediatrician who suggested that (while both a stuffy nose and diaper rashes are normal parts of infanthood) the fact that both got noticeably worse the more formula that she got probably indicated some kind of an allergy (or a cold or a combination of both).

He did suggest Allimentum but, like I said above, my allergist said that we should try a milk-based formula first instead.

Her congestion has cleared up almost completely and her diaper rash is mostly gone. If this keeps up through Shabbos, we're going to go back to the pediatrician and do a blood test for a soy allergy.

______

So no one knows of a completely soy-free milk-based formula? It would be so much easier to determine this if she wasn't getting any soy at all.

mommee

Thu, Jan 26 2012, 9:14 am

There are certain components of soy that will not set off an allergic reaction, even in a child with soy allergies. My child is allergic to soy (among many, many other foods Sad

) and we met with a specialized pediatric allergy dietitian who informed us of this (but I forgot which components they are, sorry). There are two different levels of hypoallergenic formulas. One type is more broken down than the other and therefor makes it easier to digest. Either type is fine for kids with soy and milk allergies (regardless of what is listed in the ingredients). Allimentum and nutramigen are one type and the more broken down/digested type would be Elecare or neocate. These are very expensive (however you can get reimbursement through insurance with paperwork) so I would definitely discuss with your doctor whether it's a necessary move.
Good luck...