4 1/2 Month Old Milk Sensitivity???

I am a little confused. What about the first three months of her life? Did you ever nurse her or has she always been on formula?

Most kids with milk protein sensitivity have cramping because they cannot digest the milk protein that is in our breast milk (from eating dairy) or in the formula that is made with milk. Also, many of them also have the same thing with soy because the protein is very similiar. So, when a mom elminates dairy and loads up on soy, the same thing happens, or when they switch to soy formula. Alimentum or nutramigen (same thing just from different companies) are milk based but already have the milk proteins broken down for them. But you are right, it is NASTY tasting. My 6 month old won't take it unless about 1/2 oz is hidden in 1 1/2 oz of breast milk. A milk protein sensitivity is actually WAY more common than people think, and typically it goes away sometime between a few months old and 18 monhts or so. Dairy is actually really hard for anyone to digest, we just sort of get used to it. I love dairy but after a year off all dairy for my first child (obvious forms and everything that was made with dairy), I had some adjustment issues when I was done nursing and reinstroduced it to my own diet. It took a few weeks to my gut to go back to "normal". But I put up with it because I love dairy!!

So, the congestion sounds more like an allergy of some kind. Not to say that it can't be to milk, but I doubt it is milk protein sensitivity (especially if there were no issues for the first 3 months). I would suggest allergy testing. It isn't a lot of fun but it will get you the answers. YOu mentioned you were mixing a scoop of the new formula with milk. Do you mean you are using regular cow's milk? If that is the case you might have a child who has developed an allergy to milk. That is why they have us wait on many foods for babies because if things are introduced to early (and their systems aren't yet equiped to process it) they can develop allergies (which might explain no problems for the first 3 months) That means that her body can't tolerate milk products (not that she can't digest them). Then alimentum and nutramigen wouldn't work, because they are still milk based. And you are going to have an issue until you eliminate every milk product from her diet (obvious ones and the products that contain milk or milk products) and replace them with other things. In this case, soy should be OK because the digestive issue isn't a problem. However, kids can develop soy allergies as well, so you don't want to load up on soy and have that happen. If you think dairy is in a lot of things, you should read labels for soy. It is in EVERYTHING! You will be doing a lot of shopping at the health food store or making lots of things from scratch if a soy allergy is developed.

Whatever you do, I would stop using regular cow's milk immediately, if you are. Feel free to email me back if you have more questions or need clarification. After 2 kids with milk protein sensitivity, I know more aobut it than I ever wanted to! And I have friends who have kids with egg, fish, and soy allergies, so I am pretty familiar with those too.

You can also try googling "milk protein sensitivity" or "milk allergy" to help you learn the differences.

As an aside, I am a little myfed about lactose free formula. Lactose is the sugar in milk. Human breast milk actually has more lactose in it than cow's milk (if you have tasted your own milk you know this because it is quite sweet). If kids are OK nursing (after you remove the diary , and maybe soy, from your diet with is sending milk proteins, and then soy proteins, through your milk) than your child is NOT lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance is typically something that develops later in life. Although I don't like to use the words impossible, I have had several lactation consultants tell me that a baby that is lactose intolerant is pretty much impossible. It makes sense. God designed out bodies to live on breast milk for at least a few months. As the perfect food, it doesn't make sense that it wouldn't work for kids. However, what we put in OUR diet can affect our milk and make it less than perfect for our kids. I have often wondered if lactose free formula is just an attempt by the formula companies to get a little more money. It might be good for an older child who is starting to develop a lactose intolerance though. So, do what you want with that. Good luck!

Hi A.... My daughter was sensitive to milk/dairy when I was breastfeeding. I tried cutting dairy out of my diet but I am a huge dairy person so after a month of that I put my daughter on lactose free formula.

Lactose is usually what is usually causing the sensitivity in milk/dairy products so just by cutting that out it helps a lot. Some babies stomaches are still developing and milk/lactose is very hard on stomaches so that is why it causes issues. By avoiding lactose/dairy products for the first year it gives the stomach time to develop and a better chance at handling lactose/dairy products in the future.

After having my daughter on the lactose free formula (we bottle fed till 13 months) she could drink milk and we have had no problems unless she eats/drinks a lot of dairy products in one day.

Also as a warning a child can also develop an intolerant to soy & rice milk too.

Nutramigen is the same as Alimentum. It's just made by a different company. Nutramigen is made by Enfamil (Mead-Johnson) and Alimentum is made by Similac (Ross).

It seems weird that a milk sensativity would cause someone to be conjested and nasally. Food allergies/sensativity result in digestion problems or things like rashes, hives, and airway problems not usually nasal problems. Your older daughter eventually had adnoids removed which could imply she never had a milk problem and it was the adnoids all along. Did your ENT say the adnoids problem was related to a dairy problem? Are there other symptoms you didn't mention?

A lot of babies who have problems with milk also have problems with soy (my son was one of them) so that's why your doctor probably wants to go straight to Nutramigen. My son was on it for awhile and accepted it just fine, although it is different in consistency and smell than "regular" formula. It doesn't mix as well so you need to shake it really well and it helps to have the water warmed up first. It is also expensive, but I believe it is one of the few options that doesn't have dairy or soy. My son also ended up on goat milk after formula and that worked well for us for several years. Good luck.

I know your town is a bit away, but there is a naturopathic physician in Hastings. She has treated a friend's son of mine for quite a bit of things, and reading your post, you might be able to benefit from her. Especially if you are breastfeeding. There may be other things going on in your/ her life that may be causing it, it may not be the milk. PM me if you are interested in at least speaking with her over the phone, and I can get you her number. Good luck!
M

I have a 5 month old that is Milk Soy Protein Intolerant and she has been on Alimentum Ready to Feed Liquid for about 1 month. We have been mixing the ready to feed with breast milk and she drinks it with no problem. The past week we have bought Alimentum powder and have been mixing that with 1 scoop powder to 4 ounces breast milk and she refuses to drink it. It has been a battle and we have wasted alot of breast milk as well as alimentum. I guess I am going to have to go back to the ready to feed because I don't have enough to feed her breast milk all of the time. Sorry I really am not any help I just wanted you to know that you are not alone and I am in the same situation! I hope you find something that works for you.

My daughter had issues with formulas also. We did alot of switching before we tried Nutramigen. That was the magic key for use. Someone said Aliment and Nutramigen were the same. I found them to be different. Nutramigin was the only formula that worked for us. You could also try different bottles we used Dr. Browns bottles and that helped too. Good luck

After going to hell and back with my newborn we switched her to Enfamil Nutramigen at 2mos.old and I LOVE IT! She's now 6mos. old and I can tell major major differences. She is now the happiest baby in the world, she's not in pain or suffering and she finally enjoys life. I've heard Enfamil is better than Simlac in general. I've heard Simlac is greasier and gassier. We got a prescription from our pediatrician and WIC covers the Nutramigen it does run about $250 a mo. so it's exspensive but worth it. If you do end up needing it TARGET always has it in stock around here, the grocery stores are horrible about having it in stock. BTW my daughter couldn't handle breastmilk or regular formula milk intolerance or protein allergy something like that.