Best milk sub for lactose intolerant baby

amother

Thu, Mar 16 2023, 3:13 pm

My baby is fairly lactose intolerant (very recently has been able to tolerate yogurt, still not able to tolerate cheese).

She is turning one soon when you would typically switch from formula (she's using soy currently) to milk.

What milk subs would you recommend in terms of taste, nutritional value, and price?

My pediatrician recommended Ripple Kids but it's very pricy.

Thanks.

Ema of 5

Thu, Mar 16 2023, 3:34 pm

amother OP wrote:

Would a lactose free milk work? Like lactaid or fairlife?

amother

Slategray

Thu, Mar 16 2023, 3:41 pm

Nothing. They don't need it. Make sure they have enough calcium and protein in their diet. That's all.

amother

Thu, Mar 16 2023, 4:24 pm

Ema of 5 wrote:

Would a lactose free milk work? Like lactaid or fairlife?

Possibly. We could try that, thank you.

Does it have the same nutritional value as regular milk, just without the lactose?

amother

Thu, Mar 16 2023, 4:26 pm

amother Slategray wrote:

Nothing. They don't need it. Make sure they have enough calcium and protein in their diet. That's all.

Interesting.

She definitely gets plenty of protein. What ways would you recommend to include calcium in her diet?

Ema of 5

Thu, Mar 16 2023, 4:26 pm

amother OP wrote:

Possibly. We could try that, thank you.

Does it have the same nutritional value as regular milk, just without the lactose?

I’ve never compared, but you can probably find the nutritional info online.
I found this from the fairlife website

https://I.imgur.com/gQYAW4c.png

Fairlife ultra filtered 2%
Protein 13g
Sugar 16g
Calcium 380mg

Regular milk
Protein 8g
Sugar 12g
Calcium 276mg

amother

Thu, Mar 16 2023, 4:35 pm

Ema of 5 wrote:

Wow sounds good! Thank you for your help, we'll see how this goes.

amother

Aquamarine

Thu, Mar 16 2023, 4:37 pm

OP people assume babies who don't tolerate dairy are lactose intolerant but very often it's actually the casein that's more difficult to digest and lactose free milk won't make a difference for that.

We like almond milk as a sub, but none of the non dairy milks are very nutrient dense. The good news is your baby doesn't actually need milk in their diet as long as they are eating a nutrient dense diet.

amother

Thu, Mar 16 2023, 4:42 pm

amother Aquamarine wrote:

I find what you're saying about casein interesting because she has been in so much agony after eating cheese.

amother

Aquamarine

Thu, Mar 16 2023, 5:05 pm

amother OP wrote:

I find what you're saying about casein interesting because she has been in so much agony after eating cheese.

There you go.

Stars

Thu, Mar 16 2023, 5:25 pm

12-15 months is the best age to wean off bottles. Oat milk or water from a cup is fine if she’s eating 3 healthy meals a day.

balance

Thu, Mar 16 2023, 7:53 pm

My doctor told me to leave milk out of the diet completely and just give tahini for calcium. If you are sure it is lactose you can buy lactate powder which provides the enzyme.

amother

NeonGreen

Thu, Mar 16 2023, 8:04 pm

You can use a toddler soy formula.

You can also add ground flax and chia seeds to things like yogurt.

amother

Dandelion

Thu, Mar 16 2023, 8:29 pm

amother NeonGreen wrote:

You can use a toddler soy formula.

You can also add ground flax and chia seeds to things like yogurt.

There's only one brand that makes toddler soy formula and it's pretty hard to find (speaking from experience here) we do about half soy formula still and half soy milk. Ripple is definitely the most nutritious of the alternative milks, but my kid reacts to pea protein.
Soy, almond, ripple are all nutritious options. Oat milk depends on the brand- some are fortified than others. Rice milk doesn't have enough nutrition to make it worth it.