Questions About Dairy Intolerance in 5 Week Old

Hi K.,

I loved the advice Roma L gave you, especially this: it's NOT your breast milk!!!!!!!! I have never known a baby to be allergic to his mother's milk. I encourage you, as Roma did, to breastfeed exclusively and not introduce any formula or milk until after he's a year old. And be careful to read the labels of the foods you introduce as he starts eating solids. It's best for your baby and best for you. Good luck, K..

~P. G.
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Hi K. =)
I hope I can add something useful for you! My baby did also have the milk allergies (or intolerance like Jodi said. And to clarify what Mrs. Gowing said - It's not the breast milk exactly - but it IS what you eat that comes thru the breast milk - no more creamer for you for awhile..)
So my "baby" is now 15 and has not had trouble with milk, yogurt, cheese etc. for about 14 1/2 years - good news eh? ;)
To start, I was noticing little baby "acne" and crabbiness and gurgley noises when she cried (flem) and acting like she had stomach cramps - she looked up at me one time when she was trying to nurse, and it broke my heart! She looked like she was trying to say "Help me!" it was very sad - and she was only about 2 or 3 months old.
Her pediatrician said for me to stop eating anything with milk or whey ingredients. He said it was the long chains of amino acids that she was having a hard time digesting. He asked about our (her parents') allergies - we have hay fever and mold allergies but no allergies to foods.. He said that the goal was to allow her to eat and digest things that are easier on her system, to grow and mature and then *hopefully* "out grow" the situation..
My milk production slowed a bit as I was trying to find new things to eat and I started supplementing her meals with rice cereal. Thought that was safe.. turns out a lot of rice cereals have soy. I had to leave soy out too! Soy has similar amino acid make up as milk.. and it's found in most fried foods -so no chips or crackers..
I was *good* for about three weeks and then made a mistake in my diet. The doctor said go ahead and give it a shot (experimenting like Roma said) but it was too soon. The symptoms came back but I recognized them quickly and went back to leaving everything (all milk, whey, soy) out for another month. Then she had to be put on an antibiotic (her first infection! Thank-you breast milk antibodies!!) and were told to give her yogurt for her bowels. We were nervous about this but she did fine - yay! This time when I added things back, she seemed all better. To this day she is still a fan of all things milk!
=)
Best wishes!
k

You should talk to your pediatrician. When I went off dairy for my daughter, our pediatrician told me to go off soy as well (and then add it back in), because the proteins are similar. Keep nursing and don't worry, there are tons of things you can eat (and you might even lose weight avoiding some of the "bad" dairy foods). Hang in there--I was off of it for a couple months and though it seems like a big deal in the beginning, you get used to it.

Hi K.,

I'm a medical writer with expertise in the field of allergy (actually, I should be working on a review article right now, instead of this message ! ;-) )

Your son is exhibiting classic symptoms of food intolerance/allergy. Food intolerance can appear at any age, but can appear during the new born period because of sensitization that has occurred in the womb. At this age, the only way to tell if it's an actual allergy (to milk protein) vs. an intolerance to milk protein or lactose, would be to get a blood test for specific IgE (positive if a true allergy, negative if it's an intolerance). Since changing his diet has been effective in relieving his symptoms, however, this is fairly diagnostic for some kind of hypersensitivity or intolerance to milk. It really doesn't matter which at this point, since the treatment, i.e., dairy avoidance, is the same.

In case this is a true cow's milk allergy, it's very important to practice complete avoidance, especially since all dairy products will contain both lactose and casein, which will be carried in your milk. All forms in any amount should be avoided. Fortunately, a large percentage of children with early dairy allergy will "out grow" the allergy by the elementary or teen years. However, if avoidance is not practiced, food allergy can progress to inhalant allergy (dust mites, pollens, etc.), and culminate in asthma in adolescence. You should resume nursing (definitely preferable!), but cut out all dairy. Even if the symptoms resurface, they should abate as all of the dairy proteins "clear out" of your milk over a day or two. As your son gets older, you can try reintroducing dairy products, but be on the lookout for signs of intolerance: gassiness, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and eczema.

Just so you know, about 90% of people with cow's milk allergy are also allergic to goat's and sheep's milk -- the proteins are very similar-- so you should avoid these too.

There is usually a genetic component to allergy, although like any genetic disease, it can arise in a family with no history. If you look closely at your family for other symptoms, you might find that there is an allergic tendency that hasn't been recognized. For example, if Uncle Al always avoided certain foods because they "just didn't agree with him," this could be because he was actually allergic or intolerant to them, without the clinical diagnosis. Skin disorders--especially eczema and atopic dermatitis--frequently have their roots in allergy but have not been well recognized until the past couple of decades.

Something you should keep in mind is that your son may not have been responding to small amounts of dairy protein in your breast milk, but was reacting to something in one of the other formulas you were using. If they were cow's milk formulas, he could well have a cow's milk allergy that is evoked by the large amounts of casein in the formula, but that would not be evoked by small amounts of dairy protein in your milk. Or, since corn is also a major allergen, if the formulas contained corn syrup or other corn products, that could be causing the problem, as could any number of other components. Have you tried exclusively breast feeding your son? There's no real reason to supplement, unless you're trying to wean him to formula for a return to work. Even if Dad want's to give him a bottle, he can use your pumped milk (just leave the house if necessary, so your son can't smell you!). It's a bit harder when/if you return to work, but not impossible if you get a good Medela double breast pump.

You can try reintroducing dairy after the first year, if you decide that this is the true culprit. If symptoms arise again, it would be worthwhile getting him tested to rule allergy in or out. If he is only lactose intolerant, he could still enjoy lactase-treated dairy products, or chew lactaid tablets before eating dairy products. If he has a true allergy, it's good to know from the standpoint of avoidance. It's also worth retesting periodically in elementary school and adolescence to see if the he grows out of this. We are starting to gain a better idea of why some people outgrow certain allergies on the basis of molecular analysis, but this is still highly experimental and the cost of testing is prohibitive. It's much easier to just do an occasional food challenge, as long as there's no risk of anaphylaxis.

I hope this helps!

Hi--
Roma is pretty right on with a few exceptions. It takes 7 days to completely get milk proteins out of your system, not just 2. ALL forms of dairy should be avoided--including your creamer. Small amount actually make the allergy more pronounced because the body will have a bigger reaction to them in preparation to fight them off. Children NEVER outgrow a true dairy allergy. The symptoms will sometimes change--as a child I threw up every time I had dairy. As I got older that symptom went away and they thought I outgrew it. However, I had problems for years with Irritable bowel syndrome--turns out that was just the new way my body was reacting to the dairy. No more dairy=no more IBS. There is a difference between intolerance and allergy. Intolerance is a digestive problem--typically difficulty in properly digesting a food. Allergy is a histamine reaction coming from the liver--it will also cause rashes, eczema, dark and/or puffy circles under the eyes.
Both my children are allergic to all sorts of foods and I am practically an expert at this point. If you need help with making the changes in your diet, or if you are interested in natural ways to help your baby feel better please feel free to contact me. We have treated our boys with alternative remedies with great success.
Good luck!
J.

okay you need to go to your sons pedatrician. my son was doing the same thing and it could be your breast mike or it could be the formula. if he is not keeping the breast milk or formula down then he may be latose intorenent...
i didnt breast feed but my son wasnt agreeing with the formula. so they put him on similac alimentum and they decided to switch him to soy... if you have other kids b4 u are done breast feeding you need to have ur breast milk tested to see if it was that and i suggest you do that b4 ur next child but i would take ur son to the pediatrician and what not cause my son was the exact same way.... hope this could help you

I depends on the source of your LO's dairy sensitivity- if it's protiens (allergy) you may have to quit dairy completely- If the issue is sugar (lactose intolerance) then you -and you LO- can use lactose free milk/formula until he is old enough for lactobasilius tablets.
Most hard cheese is lactose free, it comes out in the cheese making process, and yogurt is generally OK as it has it's own bacteria that helps to break it down. Breyers makes a lactose free vanilla Ice cream, but it can be hard to locate, we usually use sorbet instead for my daugher (also MOST soft serve Ice Creams are non-dairy) They also have lactose free formula- we used similac sensitive (orange can) without an issue.
My youngest is very lactose intolerant, I am fine as long as I have skim (don't know why, it just worked out that way) My other kids don't seem to have a problem with it. It's the luck of the draw I guess. There is a significantly higher chance of lactose sensitivities if there are certain ethinc heritages (i'm just shy of 1/4 native american, so it doesn't take much since that makes my daughter less than 1/8)
I have read somewhere that lots of Soy in a young child's diet can lead to reproductive issues later in life (soy has a lot of estrogen in it) but I think it is worse for girls than boys. Something worth looking into before you switch to all soy if there is a milk issue.

Here are some answers to your questions above.

1- The symptoms we experienced with my son were, fussiness, arching his back and stiffening his body, gassy, overall very uncomfortable.
2- The symptoms and intolerance began within a few weeks of life.
3- I nursed for a year and never reintroduced dairy into my diet but did with him directly around 10 months and by 1 year he was fine with all dairy
4- I kept every single bit of milk or dairy out of my diet with the exception of eggs. I also dropped acidy foods like tomatoes, onions, citrus, etc.
5- Allergies do run in my family and I do believe it is somewhat genetic
6- My child was around 12months when he outgrew the dairy intolerance but to this day has allergies to dogs, cats, flowers, grass, and feathers.

A few other notes, I was never able to get my son totally comfortable with any formula so I just omitted it. He does not have any food issues now and he is 10. His allergies in general are quite mild with the exception of cats, he tends to really have problems breathing and itching around them.

I am sure your baby will be fine, they just have very sensitive systems for quite a while. I did see some relief when my son started solids around 4 months or so, just take it slow.

Also, for the record, my other two children never experienced these issues.

Good luck to you.

My daughter has a gluten and dairy allergy. Her dairy allergy is pretty severe. Any milk proteins cause her troubles.

1) She had loose stools, and pooped ALL of the time. She had horrible projectile spit-up. I could also feel a lot of gas rumbling around in her tummy. She had troubles growing well (was in the 2nd percentile for weight gain, though her head was in the 30th percentile and her length was in the 75th percentile). Her pediatrician initially diagnosed it as reflux, and put her on medications. They seemed to ease some of her symptoms, but caused other problems with her ability to absorb calcium and B vitamins.
2) I noticed very early that something just didn't seem right. She was so fussy, but she seemed like she was fussy because she hurt. My pediatrician kept telling me that she would grow out of it by 6 weeks or by 3 months. She didn't. I wish I had trusted my instincts better.
3) It can take up to 2 weeks for your milk supply to lack cow's milk protein, and another 2 weeks for your baby's body to continue to heal, and have the milk proteins out of his body.You can still nurse your little guy to keep up your milk supply and to enjoy that closeness, though you may want to give him the soy formula before naps and bedtime to ease his sleep (I work full time, so I'm accustomed to pumping, but I can't imagine solely pumping for a full 2 weeks).
4) I think the answer depends on how sensitive your baby is. I actually don't know about sodium caseinate.
5) I never knew any allergies ran in my family or my husband's family, but once my daughter was diagnosed, all sorts of stories started to come out about people in my husband's family who had problems with certain kinds of food, etc. In fact, my husband learned that he feels much better when he avoids gluten and dairy as well.
6) My daughter is turning 4 years old soon and she still has troubles with both dairy and gluten.

Also, here is a list of a few dairy free products our family uses:

--In place of butter/margarine: earth balance spreads, smart balance light (the others have dairy), nucoa margarine.

--In place of milk: We prefer the refrigerated versions of almond milk by Silk and Almond Breeze brands. (We like soy milk too, but my daughter developed some troubles with soy since she was eating so much of it.)

--You can use coconut milk and coconut cream as a good substitute for dairy in baked goods. We get ours at a local asian market because it's half the price of what we would pay at Wal-Mart.

Best of luck to you!