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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Toddler/Next Step Formula?
childcarebytori 08:04 PM 08-13-2011
I have had one of my daycare children in care since the itty bitty age of 3 weeks. Smarty-pants is now an extremely smart 2-year-old who is the only child under 3 years old who I include in our Preschool lessons. She counts to ten in English and Spanish, she recites the entire alphabet almost perfectly (her L,M,N,O and P still sound like "elmo pea"), she speaks in clear sentences, she knows all of the other dcks' parents by name and will greet them in the morning, and she is a well-trained sign-language 'speaker'. I would most definitely say she is advanced for her age.

The week of her 1st birthday, her mother and I slowly started the transition from formula to cows milk. We added more and more milk to her bottles each day and by Thursday DCG is sent home for continual vomit and loose BM's. Doctor suggests DCG is lactose-intolerant and we make a plan to start soy milk the following Monday. Monday we start adding soy milk into her bottles and on Wednesday DCG is back to loose bm's and frequent vomiting. By now, she is refusing bottles and cups all together, even with water or juice. With no liquids going into DCG, it warrants another trip to the pediatrician and Mom is recommended to try Next Step Formula. The doctor told Mom she thinks the DCG's stomach is too sensitive for whole cow milk and that soy milk doesn't taste the same which is why DCG refuses bottles and cups.

Monday we take a bandaid approach. We took away the infant formula and gave her Next Step in her bottles instead. When Friday came and DCG hadn't thrown up or had a loose bm, we decided the Next Step formula was a success.

Fast-forward to present time. DCG is thriving and Mom makes jokes sometimes that she thinks the Next Step formula made her daughter a genius. DCG is still on Next Step toddler formula and she will have formula to drink when the rest are having cow milk, or very rarely coconut/almond milk if she likes it that day. Mom has plans to purchase the Next Step 3 formula that is a vanilla flavored formula since we once in a blue moon flavor our milk at daycare for a special treat for a birthday party, and she doesn't want DCG feeling left out now that she knows she has different milk than the rest.

Has anyone else had any experience with toddler formulas? Mom has said that the doctor may think she's a crazy parent if she suggests to them that the reason her daughter is advanced is because of the extra nutrients and vitamins DCG receives from the toddler formula. I think she could be onto something.
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erinalexmom 05:21 AM 08-14-2011
first off this child has several advantages in life that lead to them reaching thier high potential. Sounds like she has wonderful mother and a wonderful child care provider but I will say there are studies that show that if a people get alot of omega 3 in thier diet it has a positive impact on thier brain. I would imagine that formula would have alot of omega 3 in it. So it might not be so "crazy"
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SilverSabre25 06:15 AM 08-14-2011
Well, their diagnosis of lactose-intolerance was most likely right on the money...and I doubt it was not liking the soy milk, because it gave her the same reaction--the protein in soy is VERY similar to the dairy protein, and many people who are dairy allergic/intolerant, are also soy allergic/intolerant.

As for the smarts, it's hard to say--it certainly could be, but then again, it's impossible to know if she would have been this bright otherwise.
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Abigail 10:00 PM 08-14-2011
So this child is three years old and drinks formula? Do you make it in a cup? How old does she have to be before she needs to stop drinking the formula? I know of a friend who uses step 2 formula but her baby is only 1 years old.
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Kaddidle Care 04:44 AM 08-15-2011
We all know that proper nutrition plays a huge role in infant and toddler development, both mental and physical.

As far as the child being advanced, it's more likely that high intelligence runs in the family. Chances are the child is a one and only and is getting a lot of learning/training at home as well as in your place.

I've found that children that are bright like this are a huge joy to adults but tend to be socially awkward with their peers. As I've said before, you can't have it all.
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AnneCordelia 05:06 AM 08-15-2011
My eldest son was on step-2 formula until age 3 because of a dairy/soy intolerance. I was going to say the same thing as the PP that it was probably an intolerance to soy as well...dairy and soy intolerances often go hand in hand.

At age 3 we slowly integrated more and more dairy into his diet and he did well with it. Yogurt, cheese, sour cream and such first and finally he does get occasional milk but still has trouble just drinking a big glass of milk. He's fine with all the other dairy.

My DH wanted us to buy the flavoured formula but I won't for my own. There is 19 grams of sugar in every 6oz glass of flavoured formulas...that's like a can of soda. If we were going to have a treat of chocolate milk then I'd just put a small squirt into his cup of formula and control it that way.
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harperluu 05:49 AM 08-15-2011
Isn't formula cow's milk-based? Is it diluted? Was she on a special formula formula? Even in breast milk a child that has a milk protein allergy will show symptoms if the mother is eating milk and milk products. This is just odd to me that the child has NO symptoms with milk-based formula but symptoms with milk.

I'd say seek more answers.
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SilverSabre25 06:13 AM 08-15-2011
Originally Posted by harperluu:
Isn't formula cow's milk-based? Is it diluted? Was she on a special formula formula? Even in breast milk a child that has a milk protein allergy will show symptoms if the mother is eating milk and milk products. This is just odd to me that the child has NO symptoms with milk-based formula but symptoms with milk.

I'd say seek more answers.
With intolerances, things often aren't as clear. Intolerance is VERY different from allergy--the body's reactions are different, the symptoms are often different, and the effects are different. She is more likely intolerant vs. allergic. The important thing to note is that lactose-intolerant people are frequently able to eat other dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, baked goods with dairy, etc and are NOT able to drink liquid milk or eat ice cream (or at least, not much). Formula, being highly processed as compared to a glass of milk, could certainly be tolerable for someone with a low-to-moderate intolerance that only shows up when drinking large quantities of regular milk.

ETA: It's possible she has symptoms that she doesn't realize and never says anything about--when you've lived with a stomachache your entire life, you don't tend to notice it until it's gone (after taking the offending food out of your diet for some other reason). She might have a stomachache that seems normal to her, she might feel sick after drinking her formula but never say anything because it's so normal for her.

Take it from someone who has had multiple food intolerance for most of her life, and just in the past few years has identified and removed the foods from her diet. These things are tricky and NOT as clear as allergies.
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AnneCordelia 06:18 AM 08-15-2011
Originally Posted by harperluu:
Isn't formula cow's milk-based? Is it diluted? Was she on a special formula formula? Even in breast milk a child that has a milk protein allergy will show symptoms if the mother is eating milk and milk products. This is just odd to me that the child has NO symptoms with milk-based formula but symptoms with milk.

I'd say seek more answers.
2 of my babies have had dairy intolerances. My first son was formula fed and would vomit/diarrhea with cows milk. He was fine on a cows milk based formula. Our ped explained that the casein in the formula is broken down partially already (as it is in cheese and yogurt) so it's more likely to be tolerated. That's why when we introduced dairy we did so with cheese and yogurt first.

My third child was breastfed and I ended up having to go dairy free to accomodate him. Both started tolerating limited dairy in my diet and their own by a year but neither were able to drink a glass of milk until their 3rd birthday.

This is one of the most common food intolerances and it is normal to see symptoms with fresh milk and not with processed formulas.
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GretasLittleFriends 07:25 AM 08-15-2011
My youngest dd is lactose intolerant. We are huge dairy eaters and milk drinkers. I was worried/upset because I didn't know how to deal with this. She was put on soy formula about 4 months old when we finally figured out what was going on. She is 15 months old now and she drinks Whole Lactaid. She can eat yogurt and LOVES cheese, but milk and ice cream really bother her.

I have two cans of the Enfamil stage 2 stuff... I haven't given her any because I didn't want her to react like she did to the regular formula. I might give it a try just for grins, that way I can use it up, as I don't have any other littles that would drink it.
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AnneCordelia 07:33 AM 08-15-2011
If the cans are still sealed then you can donate them to a food bank or women's shelter. They always appreciate formula.
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childcarebytori 06:27 AM 08-16-2011
Originally Posted by Abigail:
So this child is three years old and drinks formula? Do you make it in a cup? How old does she have to be before she needs to stop drinking the formula? I know of a friend who uses step 2 formula but her baby is only 1 years old.
Abigail, the child is 2yo, and yes it's prepared in a sippy cup.

Originally Posted by Kaddidle Care:
As far as the child being advanced, it's more likely that high intelligence runs in the family. Chances are the child is a one and only and is getting a lot of learning/training at home as well as in your place.

I've found that children that are bright like this are a huge joy to adults but tend to be socially awkward with their peers. As I've said before, you can't have it all.
Kaddidle, you are right on track with the first part. She is an only child and she gets a lot of attention at home.

This child couldn't be MORE social if she tried. She's very much able to play and conversate with her peers, especially the ones older than her. She has no problem getting her point across and the other children enjoy having her around as much as I do.

Originally Posted by SilverSabre25:
With intolerances, things often aren't as clear. Intolerance is VERY different from allergy--the body's reactions are different, the symptoms are often different, and the effects are different. She is more likely intolerant vs. allergic. The important thing to note is that lactose-intolerant people are frequently able to eat other dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, baked goods with dairy, etc and are NOT able to drink liquid milk or eat ice cream (or at least, not much). Formula, being highly processed as compared to a glass of milk, could certainly be tolerable for someone with a low-to-moderate intolerance that only shows up when drinking large quantities of regular milk.
Silver, you couldn't be more right. DCG is considered lactose-intolerant and she is able to eat cheese and yogurt just fine. They are actually some of her favorite foods! She does get a bit of a stomachache after eating regular ice cream, so I do know her mom buys her dairy free ice cream like Soy Delicious. She brought DCG some last month for a party we had and it actually tasted pretty darn good.
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