Originally Posted by Solandia:
My 1yo & 2yo drink soy, rice, or almond.
My 2yo has milk issues/reflux and was on soy formula from a couple weeks old, so when we got past formula the natural progression was to soy milk. We stuck with soy at the time because it has more calories than rice or almond... we didn't want to cut the baby's calories so drastically all at once. Not to mention it was much, much easier to find soy in the store and not hunt to find it, IF they happened to sell it that week or not.
2 years later, our Aldi's carries almond as well as soy, so we alternate almond & soy. The boys only get 'milk' right before bedtime...the rest of the day we drink water only. I doubt the 6oz of soy milk my boys get a day has enough estrogen to be a concern. Even if they drank a quart a day, the very minimal risk is worth the huge benefits of not consuming consuming dairy milk for them.
My 2-year-old drinks soy for the same reason. He is allergic to milk & doesn't eat/drink any dairy products. He is a picky eater and I preferred soy because it has a bit more fat & calories. He does have looser than average stools, but doesn't have problems with gas.
Also thanks for the tip on Aldi, I hadn't thought to look there for almond & soy milk!