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My 2 year old son just loves his milk, and can be a picky eater. So getting him to eat fruits and vegetables can be a problem. Unfortunately, drinking milk causes him to be quite constipated. He may have a bowel movement every 2-3 days. And when he does, I can see that it causes him a lot of pain.

He'll drink water, but is not a big fan of juice. I want to keep him hydrated and want to offer him something that he likes and his good for him.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a milk substitute?

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  • I do not know enough about this to answer but wonder what doctors think about those yogurts that are labeled 'pro-biotic'? Please know this is at most a suggestion.
    – WRX
    May 13, 2017 at 0:25
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    The problem is that milk is a great source of protein and calcium. You can ask your doctor, but I think I'd keep milk in his diet and try to work in more water and fiber. Smoothies are an easy way to sneak fiber into their diets. Many of my smoothies have milk or yogurt in them.
    – anongoodnurse
    May 13, 2017 at 21:19
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    How do you know it's the milk that's causing the constipation? Could it not more likely be the fact he's not getting enough fibre? Water is just fine for young children, in fact it's far better than juice which can cause tooth decay. I would try to concentrate on getting the fruit and veg into him via his meals, perhaps hide it.
    – Nathan Brown
    May 15, 2017 at 8:58
  • The more I read about it, the more I think that it's an intolerance to cow's milk. Possibly an allergy. I found an interesting article that suggests switching to soy milk for a couple of weeks.
    – J. Eikcam
    May 15, 2017 at 13:43
  • google.ca/amp/s/amp.drgreene.com/questions-and-answers/…
    – J. Eikcam
    May 15, 2017 at 13:43

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Soy milk seems like the first, best thing to try. Trial and error is generally the fastest and most reliable way to solve problems like this. Just add things and remove things from his diet until you notice a difference.

Also, kids change so fast at that age, the "phase" may end on its own before you get through too many dietary experiments.

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    A note on the soy milk (or any non-dairy milk), especially for toddlers and younger, it needs to be fortified with calcium at least since it can have a lot of calories and you need to back this up with proper nutrition. This is going to be advertised on the packaging.
    – Jonno_FTW
    Jun 1, 2017 at 2:29
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I've found that almond milk is a great alternative to cow's milk. It's natural fat from nuts is a plus, and I buy the unsweetened vanilla flavor, which my picky eaters seem to really like.

I talked about it with my pediatrician, and since we eat a lot of broccoli and use spinach in smoothies, she wasn't concerned with eliminating cow's milk.

Also- if he likes the almond milk- I then started making smoothies, with spinach, bananas, and strawberries- they love them! I even started throwing in some safe protein powder. Might be a good way to sneak in some new, healthy foods.

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