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My son was born 10 weeks early. He is now 13 months old, but is the size of a 6 month old. His pediatrician tells us to give him at least 18 oz of whole cow's milk each day (along with various other fatty foods like meats and carbs) to help him gain the weight he needs. Well, since his last visit my husband and I have decided to change our lifestyle and only eat a plant based diet (we feel great since we've started!) My poor son though, I don't know what to give him for a milk substitute. He eats what we eat, but still drinks the cow's milk. Has anyone else had this sort of problem, and if so what was your solution?

Dr. McDougall has an article on weight gain. I would read that and follow its guidelines. You could also email him for advice. My guess is, he will suggest including more calorie dense foods in your son's diet (ie. nuts/seeds (can grind up into nut butter), dried fruits, whole grain crackers and breads etc.).

No child needs cow's milk. If your child really needs to gain weight and drinking liquids is easier than eating more food, i would certainly consider a plant milk instead (some are quite high in fat and calories).

Good luck!
lfwfv

Maybe check with Jeff, but I think 13 month is too young for any nuts.
My sister had premie twins 45 years ago and all she did was to cook oats with lot of water to be the consistency of a very thin smoothie, blended it and cut a big whole in the bottle nipple and fed them that - she also mixed in carrot juice some of the time.
She never nursed at all. Her kids grew on oats, carrots and mashed bananas- they are 5'8". They probably ate healthier at that time then they ever do now.
Wishing you all the best with your little one.

My brother is allergic to dairy and my mother gave him soy milk. He turned out just fine. My daughter was unable to breastfeed and my youngest grandson is on soy formula. Soy milk in the carton is fortified with calcium. If he doesn't like the taste, there are some on the market now that are flavored with mango, berries or chocolate. It is manufactured by Silk. Here's a link to their website: http://silksoymilk.com/products

While no child needs milk, a child that young actually does (just not cows' milk). Physiologically speaking, a child that age really should be on breastmilk (until age 2 or 3 years) and so if they are not on breastmilk, they need to have something similar nutritionally. As far as I know, soy formula would be the best substitute if you are unable to breastfeed.

One thing I do for my daughter, who doesn't weigh much (at 2 she was 23.6 lb) is make her smoothies with almond milk, peanut butter, quick oats (uncooked), and bananas. The peanut butter adds fat and calories to the almond milk, which is fairly low in calories (you could use sun butter if you were worried about peanuts).