Non-dairy "pediasure type" drink challange

Since Patrick stopped nursing, at about 11 mos, his weight has been an issue. For awhile I was having to take him to the doctors every two weeks for weigh ins. As annoying as that was, it was more frustrating to not understand why your child isn't gaining weight even though he is eating well and quite a bit. After a visit to a dietitian that told us to feed him hot dogs, gross, and Instant Breakfast, first ingredient dry milk, I decided to get really serious about his food and write down everything he put in his mouth. At his next weigh in when the doctor saw what he was eating and still not gaining weight he sent us to another allergist. This time we found out he is intollerant to beef (makes sense that it's the whole cow,) pork, and lamb (not really an issue, but good to know.) This explained A LOT. So we cut those meats out of our diet and continued to refrain from dairy. He gradually began to gain some weight. He still is only in about the 25th percentile for weight but that's a massive improvement from the 3rd.

 A big part of keeping him at this weight is a pediasure type drink. The brand Pediasure does not make a non-dairy version that I have found. For awhile the only one I had found was Bright Beginnings. This is a great product! A life saver for us. My only criticism is the price. I pay $9.99 a six pack at a local grocery store. I have not found it any cheaper online. Then one day I was in the baby section at Wal-Mart and I happened to look at their generic pediatric drinks and they had a soy version and it was $7.99 a six pack. I started buying that and Patrick didn't know the difference. My Wal-Mart stopped carrying it so I went online and unfortunately, they are not making it anymore. So I went back to Bright Beginnings and started a new search for a similar product at a less expensive price. That is when I came across PediaSmart. It is powdered which is kind of a pain but a big bonus is that it's organic. It is $10.39 a can plus shipping. I just received my first can yesterday. I was surprised to see that you need a 1/2 cup of the powder to 7oz of water for a serving. Each can makes 56oz of drink compared to 48oz in the 6 pack of Bright Beginnings. Now the really important factor, will Patrick like it. I'll keep you updated.