Soy milk or goat milk which is better? which is easier to digest for a baby who has been breastfed for 5 month?
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One difference that I noticed between the two farm shows I’ve attended this summer is the number of goats. At the Hunterdon County, NJ, event, it seemed that there was always milking going on.
Question by Jessica B: Soy milk or goat milk which is better? which is easier to digest for a baby who has been breastfed for 5 month?
Which one of these is easier for a breastfed baby to digest after being breastfed for the past 5 months? Can you mix formula and breast milk together to get the baby’s digestive system used to the transition?
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7 Responses to Soy milk or goat milk which is better? which is easier to digest for a baby who has been breastfed for 5 month?
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I’ve heard you never mix them, but I don’t know why that is. If you were changing an animals food you would mix the two feeds together until you switched. I’m not sure that goat milk would be easy to digest for a five month old, and I’m positive soy milk would not provide the right nutrition. Soy based formula would be better and more appropriate.
megan m
September 22, 2012 at 4:37 am
You can mix formula with breastmilk but make sure you use it within an hour of mixing. At 5 months however, a baby should not be given cows, goats, or soy milk. They should be on breastmilk and or formula for the first year. They cannot properly digest other types of milk and Soy milk itself does not offer an infant much at all, however my daughter prefers soy based formula as she cannot have milk protein. I give her 3 formula bottles a day and only breastfeed when she is going down for a nap and at bedtime. She has also been eating solids since 5 months (started with rice cereal) Hope this helps.
intrigue1813
September 22, 2012 at 4:44 am
the easiest food for an infant to digest is 1) her mother’s breast milk, or 2) another (human) mother’s breast milk.
you don’t want to mix the breast milk in a bottle with the formula — if the baby doesn’t drink the whole bottle, she has lost a proportionate share of that breast milk.
ideally, if a mom decides to add in a bottle, it should be after a breast feeding, or a breastmilk feeding, without forcing the infant to take more than it wants.
soy milk can create allergic responses, and isn’t necessarily a complete nutrient for an infant. someone said that with a milk allergy, baby should be given formula. most formulas are based on cow’s milk.
i don’t think that goat’s milk is any closer to human milk in composition than cow’s milk. i seem to remember that momma rats provide the closest food to human milk. (this isn’t a put down, just a half-remembered fact, and if i wasn’t so lazy right now, i’d try and google it.)
often the problem is not that the digestive system won’t make the transition. sometimes the baby doesn’t want to. many ways to get a baby to take a bottle, without forcefeeding him.
being an avid propronent of breastfeeding, and a lactation consultant, i am loathe to help anyone bottlefeed. but for whatever reason, you will be bottle feeding, and i hope to keep you at least aware of the best way to do this.
chanita
September 22, 2012 at 4:59 am
My daughter is 4 mos old, her pediatrician says not to give an infant any type of milk before they are 12 mos old. Formula is your best route. Try a regular formula first, one with DHA ARA (they are nutrients found in breast milk). If your baby has trouble, try one with Natural Cultures, it helps aid digestion, if he/she still has trouble, then try soy (it’s nutritional value is the same as reg formula’s, but isn’t as close to breast milk b/c it is not milk based). My daughter had trouble spitting up alot, those are the three formula’s that her doc had me try, in that order. We used Nestle Goodstart Supreme DHA/ARA, then Natural Cultures, then Soy
Amanda G
September 22, 2012 at 5:19 am
I didnt think you could give babies goats milk!
scuppo
September 22, 2012 at 5:30 am
I have never thought about mixing breastmilk and formula, I think it would be better to just go to formula straightaway. Soy milk formula and Goat milk formula are widely available, maybe you can go to the pharmacy and see if they have got samples or small tins just to see which one your child prefers or if it brings any allergic reaction. Soy is a known allergen.
Kea
September 22, 2012 at 6:11 am
Goats milk is the closest thing you can get to human milk and is the next best thing to feed them if you can’t nurse. The main nutrient it is low in is Iron. (So is soy milk)
I would stay away from soy milk and formulas as much as possible – God did not design a baby’s stomach to digest soybeans no matter how processed. Many babies have allergic reactions to soy formulas as well. See the baby info article listed below.
Compare goats milk, cows milk and human milk –
http://www.saanendoah.com/compare.html
http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/goatmilk-breakdown.html
Breast milk is certainly the best milk for your baby, but if you need to supplement it, I would go with goats milk.
Eliya
September 22, 2012 at 6:30 am