Too much soy milk? DH worried

Max & Lily drink soy milk due to Max's milk,butter,whey allergy. They share so much the ped recommended we keep them on the same diet. Anyway Max drinks about 3 to 4 7-oz. sippie cups of soy milk a day along with his water. He also eats pretty well, but I think he is going through a growth spurt because it was 2 to 3 a day about two months ago. DH is worried, but I think he is thirsty and gets sick of water. Both of them hate juice, so that leaves water and juice. Lily loves drinking her water, especially when I put ice cubes in the sippie cup for her.

Of course at the 2-year well baby check up the ped told us they should only be drinking about 1 or 2 sippies a day. My feeling is soy is better than cow's milk and both kids are in the 50% for weight, so it shouldn't be an issue. I could see if that is all he wanted to drink and refused water, but he drinks them both. I think I would get sick of just drinking one thing too.

So how much milk or soy milk do your kids drink at 2-years old?

 

I've also been told 16-20 ounces a day for milk by the pediatrician. My DS also drinks soy milk and he is given 2 sippies a day, but doesn't always finish them. DD is on whole milk because she's teeny tiny, and I sometimes give her 3 sippies a day. On days when she eats like a bird, I will give her an extra cup of milk.

I think you're going to find conflicting information on how much soy is too much. Some people are very against soy milk and soy foods for growing boys, period, due to the phytoestrogens. I personally think it is fine. IMO, I wouldn't be concerned about 3-4 sippies of soy milk a day as long as it wasn't affecting his appetite or causing excessive weight gain from extra calories.

 

We were told 16oz max after 1... we're lucky when our kids drink 10.

 

I have OJ at breakfast and drink water the rest of the day. It's not a problem, and I think if you don't present it as a problem, you children will not find it to be a problem. As adults we are used to variety in our drinks, but babies are born expecting only milk. Way back when, humans drank nothing but water until they learned to make wine and beer. Fruit juice could only be had fresh, so was a treat. There is nothing inherently wrong with drinking mostly water. My children drink only water except at meals, and one of my sons (who turns 16 this month) often drinks water at meals as well. If you do not act like drinking water is second-best or a sacrifice, it is unlikely your children will think it is a problem. All kinds of milk have a lot of sugar, and the ped is probably worried about excessive sugar intake. It's so easy to get into the habit of having lots of sugar, and it's very hard to break that habit.

 

Our pediatrician (at 2 year WBV )wants our kids to have around 16 oz per day, they usually drink that much most days and some days I'm lucky if they drink 10 oz of it. Mine also love water and are pretty good about drinking it. They only get water and milk daily and some times for a treat, I will put a splash of juice in their water.

 

We only give them milk sippies at breakfast and dinner. Otherwise they get water or juice. They are only allowed to drink milk at the table with those meals as I don't like them walking around with milk and having it drip or spill all over the place.

 

Man, my kids still love milk. I try to limit them to 3 cups a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner), which would be about 18oz if they finished each one and sometimes they don't. Sometimes they get more if they haven't eaten much. They like juice but we don't always have it so I try to get them to drink water.

 

At my boys' 2 yr WBV I got scolded by our Ped. My kids would live on milk, if I let them. They used to ask for it incessantly, but now they know better. I was giving them as much as they wanted & didn't realize TOO much could cause anemia & other problems (according to our Ped anyway). So, now mine get a 2-4 oz glass with all 3 meals & an 8 oz sippy when they wake up. They sometimes finish all of it, sometimes get a 2nd helping with a meal, or sometimes leave almost a full glass behind. It all depends on the day. They get LOTS of dairy in their food though (ie cheese, yogurt, etc). In between meals, mine either drink water or flavored water...which they call juice. No REAL juice in this house!

I know nothing about soy & it's difference from milk itself, so I'm not sure what drinking too much soy milk could do. I would definitely worry that it'd fill him up, but if he's still eating, then that's not an issue.

Have you tried flavored water with him? We use Fruit2O a lot & it comes in lots of different flavors. It's not as sugary & fattening as juice, so I'm ok with letting my kids drink it (they usually get a sippy a day of that & a sippy a day of water). Or I know some people put a splahs of lemon in their kids' water. I, personally, hate that so I haven't tried it with my kids, but it's still an option!

My guess is that if your Ped mentioned he was getting too much, despite knowing how much he eats, I'd listen to him/her. There's usually a reason to why they want you to cut back. Maybe ask?

 

Have you tried almond milk? Jessy has reallt bad allergies and almond milk helps her not be so congested

 

It's not just about calories but also what a pp mentioned about it causing anemia. low iron etc.... I would DEF follow your peds reccomendation.

I am also one of those people who would steer clear of soy milk for boys and girls but my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago and I don't think that the estrogen is good. I would DEF DEF try almond or rice milk.. but that's just my 2 cents...

and ditto other people about water being just fine. My kids get 1 cup of milk wiht bfast and lunch and it's water the rest of the day and they drink a TON of water especially in the summer!

 

I heard horrible things about soy, linked to arcensic and what not. Not sure if I believe it but due to allergies my son is on almond milk which is good for you and flavored vanilla or chocolate, he loves it, you could try that instead?

 

Just found it at our local grocery store last night. We are going to try it because my chiropractor who is a health nut says doctors worry about soy in boys because it causes estrogen levels. That could cause infertility issues for him as an adult which we went through and we don't want to pass that on or it could cause things like male breast tissue growth. He said they are really starting to study its longterm effects more since the 90's. He also suggested the almond milk or rice milk (which was crazy expensive).

 

Good luck, again depends on the kid I am lucky my one who needs the almond milk loves it, my daughter who of course is fine would never go for it so I am lucky in that way Good luck! Start with the chocolate maybe