Cheryl Rogers
There is a soy milk baby formula and there are lots of soy milks -- flavored and unflavored -- at the health food store. Have you tried goat's milk and cheese? You also may want to consider almond milk, which you can buy or make yourself in the blender with the nuts and water (you can add fruit, or sweetener if you like. I like to add banana, dates, coconut and ice). I would not overdo the soy, but you could also introduce soy cheese and tofu. There are a number of other foods you could introduce that also are high in calcium: canned sardines, broccoli, dark green leafy vegetables like collard greens, sesame seeds or tahini (which is made from them. The tahini can be thinned with water, sweetened if desired, and spread on toast or used as a dip for raw veggies. It is in hummus, which also is nice on toast or crackers or wih veggies. I realize at age 1 all of this won't be palatable, but hopefully a soy and/or goat milk will hold you until you can get your child interested in tahini (at the peanut butter stage.) Your child might also enjoy an occasional marzipan or an almond candy like turron (of Spanish origin). My 4-year-old son liked human's milk so much I couldn't hardly get him to drink cow's milk. Once in awhile, he drinks hot cocoa or chocolate milk. He likes cheese and yogurt and ice cream, so we do what we can. It's not always what we prefer. You may find after your child abstains from dairy for awhile that it can be reintroduced. Doctors recommend eating it only once in a four-day period to reduce chances of a reaction. I used to be allergic to cow's milk myself. That's how I know a lot of this. I am no longer, praise be to God. I do not even follow the four-day rotation rule. I pray God will do the same for your child.