Homemade Coconut Milk Infant Formula

First off I would like to say that I am sharing with you my experience with two daughters that struggle with dairy allergies.  I have no background in nutrition or medicine.  So, please check with a holistic nutritionist or naturopath before starting a new diet with your infant.

I feel like I want to share this with everyone because it has changed our life so much!  When my second daughter was born I was sure that breastfeeding was going to go well.  I had difficulty with my first daughter and was only able to breastfeed 1/2 time for 7.5 months.  This time I was determined to do everything to make it work!  I fed on demand, even though she was screaming for food a mere 20 minutes after breastfeeding, I pumped in between feeds, I took Blessed Thistle, Fenugreek and Domperidone. I was told over and over again by moms and professionals, the more you take the more you make.

However, in my case, that was not true.  I have  condition called Mammary Hypoplasia.  In a nutshell, I do not have sufficient glandular tissue to hold enough milk to give my baby a full feed.  Therefore, my body is producing as much milk as it can hold.  But that storage is not big enough to satisfy my 9.5lb babies.  If you have struggled with breastfeeding and would like information on this condition please refer to the below link for information:

http://www.llli.org/llleaderweb/lv/lviss2-3-2009p4.html

So, I had to supplement my daughter within her first days after birth and was not able to breastfeed full time.  I had come to terms with that when around 4.5 months old I noticed an intestinal bleed.  She had also struggled with eczema from birth and was a terribly fussy baby, often waking 3-4 times a night.  The family doctor told us that it was a dairy allergy.  The proteins in the milk were causing damage to the intestines.  I did not want to put my daughter on soy formula due to the phytoestrogens and she would not take the hypoallergenic formula (due to the sour taste).  So the family doctor told me I would have to keep her on the dairy formula.

It was then that I was determined to find a better answer.  My daughters intestines were bleeding and I should just keep on doing what I am doing???  I made an appointment with a local naturopath and described my plight to him.  I also explained to him that I did not want to go on soy formula.  It was then that his receptionist found a rice milk based infant formula recipe from this blog:

http://jennpike.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/home-made-rice-milk-based-infant-formula/

There is a ton of information posted in the comments section of the blog.  So the naturopath sent us on our way to make our own formula.  I chose to use coconut milk.  I feel it has a pleasanter taste than rice milk.  It also has some healthy fats.  Here is what we do as adapted from Jenn Pike's Blog:

4 cups Coconut Milk (So Delishious)

2 tbsp Brown Rice Protien (Heartland Organics)
1 tbsp Molasses (Wholesome Foods)

2 tsp Pediatrivite (Genestra)
4 Scoops Infant Probiotic (Genestra)
2 tbsp Flax seed oil
400 Iu Vitamin D

Within 2 days my 5 month old was able to sit happily playing on the floor for 45 minutes instead of her usual 5 minutes.  She also began waking once a night and eventually slept through the night.  My daughter did a complete 180.  She went from pooping once every 3 days to pooping 3 times a day.  She is now 1 year old and growing like a bad weed.  I am so thankful for this recipe.  It made the latter half of our first year one to enjoy.  Instead of sleep deprived and completely frazzled I have fond memories of our first year together.  I cannot express what a difference this made in our life.

I love that this formula has whole foods in it.  There are no ingredients in it that I cannot pronounce. If I knew about this the first time around my older daughter would have been on it as well.  If we have any future children they will also be on this formula, allergies or not.

If you are in the Waterloo Region of Ontario you can consult with Dr. Dronyk ND of the Dronyk Clinic: http://www.dronykclinic.com/en/