Olivia vs. Milk

... or maybe it should be titled Milk vs. Olivia.


*** Disclaimer: This post contains talk about bodily functions of toddlers. If you have a squeamish stomach or aren't a Momma- you may want to stop reading. There, you've been warned. ***

Olivia is the thirstiest child I've ever known. She always has a cup within reach.
Her drink of choice? Milk. Chocolate milk, strawberry milk, regular milk- she loves them all. Problem being, milk in excess causes tummy troubles for our girl.

At her 2 year well visit our pediatrician was a little concerned about Olivia's potty habits. She often has a tough time going #2, and our pedi was worried that if it continued we would see problems when we potty trained Olivia. (she'd associate pain with going to the big girl potty, thus making it a kicking screaming fight to get her to go) Luckily, I was blessed with a child who virtually potty trained herself. Praise the Lord. But we did experience some difficult days where she would go to the toilet and sit, try to go, have no success, and get up. Repeat 50 times. She was so constipated.

A couple of weeks ago I started to be concerned about how much pain she was in and how the difficulty she was having. I didn't want these tummy troubles to interfere with her potty progress. So I called the doctor's office and talked with our P.A. she said that what we feared was coming to fruition and that if we didn't act fast, Olivia might sustain some real damage to her bowel.  She recommended that we put Olivia on Miralax, limit her dairy intake and remove milk from her diet all together. She has to take the Miralax once a day for 6 months, to give her bowel time to repair itself. We also have to give her calcium fortified vitamins and push calcium-rich foods. Once she is going regularly again we can try to introduce a soy, coconut, or almond milk.

So, my question to you Momma's with lactose-intolerant kids, or kids who just won't drink milk-

What foods do you have success with that are high in calcium?
Which alternate milk do your kids love? Soy, almond or coconut?
Any tried and true ways to make 'em go?