The only missing baby products Malaysia is powdered milk in your house. Perhaps your local store is running out of cow’s formula milk. Or even rarely, maybe your child is allergic to it. You know that you can’t breastfeed for as long as you think, as eventually your child has to move on from that and still be provided with milk.
Before you can feed your baby with alternate milks, be sure to talk to your health counselor, pediatrician or doctor first and listen to what milk they can recommend for the time being. Many of the milks here are nutritionally inadequate since they lack proteins, fat or calcium.
Only feed your baby with such if your pediatrician says so, otherwise stick to cow or soy milk.
Soy milk
Soy milk is the only plant-based milk that is recommended by experts since they are nutritionally equivalent to cow’s milk. This is the alternative to take if your child is allergic to cow’s milk, but be warned that some children with that allergy can also have the same condition towards soy milk.
Thus, only take soy milk according to your pediatrician’s recommendations under certain circumstances. Look for those that are unsweetened and fortified with calcium and vitamin D.
Toddler formulas
Toddler milks are generally considered unnecessary and not recommended because they have too much sugar, something that is unhealthy to your baby. It doesn’t matter how picky your baby will be, do not feed them with toddler milk unless you have to.
The cow’s or soy milk, in addition to food, is already enough to provide them with nutrients to keep going, so there is no need to be excessive by feeding them toddler formulas.
Rice and almond milk
Rice milk may be a choice for you if you are providing your baby with a vegetarian diet or it is allergic to both soy and cow’s milk. Like toddler’s milk, however, it is also high in sugar. Additionally, since rice is its primary ingredient, it lacks other nutrients including protein, fat and other vitamins and minerals that other dairy alternatives have.
Buy one that is unsweetened and fortified with calcium and vitamin D, then supplement your baby with other sources of protein and healthy fats.
The same goes to almond milk, which unlike rice, has a bit of fat that is more or less the same amount as a cow’s milk. Between rice and almond, choose the latter when you can buy it.
Hemp milk
If you are asking which milk alternative has the most fat, hemp milk is the answer, especially when it is unsweetened. Some of them contain only a gram of carbohydrates and two for protein, so besides picking one that is fortified with calcium and vitamin D, feed your baby with protein based foods too.
Coconut milk
Coconut milk contains more iron than cow’s milk. If you are choosing this, protein, vitamin D, calories and healthy fats are the nutrients that you must supplement in addition for your baby. This is also important when you know that coconut milk has much less of these than other milk alternatives.