Good Bye Soy, Hello Hemp

We bid farewell to soy milk last week after learning about the many dangers that soy formula and soy milk pose for infants and toddlers. Frankly, after reading much of the easily accessible research on the topic, I cannot understand how soy formula is even allowed to be on the market -- especially for baby boys.

Trying to feed a little guy with so many food allergies is harder than taking care of a baby with a trach. After trying many different "milk" products and dietary changes, we finally found a milk that Crewe actually likes AND gives him the hydration and nutrition that he needs. Hemp it is! Hemp Vanilla, to be exact.

Until a few weeks ago, I hadn't even heard of hemp milk. I was amazed to learn how much nutrition is packed into the seeds of the hemp plant (a distant cousin to the marijuana plant). It has some of the fat that a 1 year old needs, a fair amount of protein and more calcium than cow's milk.

For those interested in the soy issue, here are just a few of the disturbing things I found in my research:

Soy formula/milk:

• contains toxic amounts of the metal mangenese. The excess metal does not work its way out of the body, but collects in the brain and can alter the way the brain directs traffic. It has been linked to autism and aggressive behavior later in life.
• blocks the absorption of iron, calcium and zinc
  
• contains estrogen-like compounds that depress thyroid function and can alter growth patterns, inhibit the effects of male hormones, and cause sterility (soy formula is the equivalent of 5 birth control pills each day)

Don't take my word for it, just do some simple google searches and you'll see for yourself.

Got Milk {Suggestions}?

Okay, I really need some advice. Does anyone have a secret on how to boost a mom's milk supply? For nearly eight months I've been able to pump enough milk for little Crewe, but my supply has gone way down over the past month and my stash of frozen milk is quickly disappearing. 

Believe me, I'd like to drop the 5-7 times per day pumping routine from my schedule, but breast milk is Crewe's best defense against infection AND he's allergic to all of the formulas we've tried. The only formula that he hasn't had a reaction to is Similac Alimentum. The Alimentum only has one problem. It's OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive. Seriously, it's twice as expensive as the next most expensive formula. We're talking about $10 per day expensive. 

Any ideas? So far I've tried fenugreek and diet root beer...