Infant Milk Allergies

I don't know about stopping the breastfeeding, but if you do I would not go straight to soy as it can constipate. My twins had formula issues and we changed to Nutramigen which worked wonderfully. However it is expensive, but it did not cause constipation which can be horrible for the little ones.

I would try goat milk before going to soy !!!!!!!!!!!! I raised all my children on it and they have fewer alergies.

Please don't switch to soy formula - that is very allergenic itself! You might consider whether some other things in your diet aren't the culprit. Dairy is certainly the top culprit, but wheat/gluten is one that is very often missed. Also, many of the babies that have these reactions to the breastmilk do so because the mother has similar issues in that proteins that should not be in the bloodstream are making it through an often leaky gut and thus are in the breastmilk. I would recommend you remove the top allergens (dairy, wheat, soy, eggs, nuts, seafood, peanuts) from your diet for a couple weeks. You can then start adding some of them back every 4-5 days in every small amounts. Also, some very odd things bothered my younger son - cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, etc.) and anything that had pulp or small seeds (e.g., orange juice, strawberries, etc.). I already had to avoid legumes, but that could also be a problem. In hindsight that was because those things also bothered me - I just had so many constant food reactions I didn't realize it until I got fairly ill and figured out the gluten and dairy issues and then these other issues were more obvious.

No! Don't stop breastfeeding! Soy is also the worst of the formulas you can give your baby. the estrogenic effects alone can cause issues. Try drinking traditional medicinal's mother's milk tea, several glasses per day. this contains fennel seed, which is very soothing to a baby's tummy. Also, take out for 1 week, dairy, then 1 week wheat, then 1 week onions, and so on. You have to take these things out of your diet for at least a week to notice changes. Even things like coffee, black teas, some veggies like broccoli and cauliflower can be culprits. Just don't give up. Especially since you're successful at breastfeeding. Many women either give up too soon, or due to complications during birth, the baby and mom just can't get the rhythm down and are not successful. But, if you feel that you cannot find the culprit, then goat's milk formula can be another alternative. Go to www.askdrsears.com and search for goat's milk formula. It will give you precise instructions for the way to make it for your child. But, please, try everything else before giving up the greatest gift you can give your child that will last a lifetime!

I Strongly suggest you talk to a pedi before you stop bf'ing. Unless the allergy is very rare your milk is the most digestable thing baby can eat. I would try cutting out some other foods, like oranges, tomatos, chocolate and see if that makes a difference. You can get helpful suggestions about this process of figuring out the offensive food from a lact consult, LLL leader, or books.
My kids were sensitive for a while, but after a few, maybe 6 months, they were able to handle me eating anything.

My daughter had a terrible respiratory allergy as an infant. She almost died before the Dr. figured out what it was.When he did ,he put her on a formula made with corn oil which she was allergic to. Then he put her on soy formula.she did well on that and outgrew the allergy by 2.

Please check into NAET or Bioset therapies before stopping breastfeeding. It will eliminate the allergy in your child. It worked for my husband and for my friend's children's milk allergies.

A good practitioner in Plano is Dr. Sherry Zhang. Her number is ###-###-####. She is the one who treated my friend's children.

I would avoid Soy if possible. Babies who drink soy are getting the estrogenic equivalent of at least five birth control pills per day. It also disrupts thyroid function, among a myriad of other problems too long to go into here.

Best wishes for your and your baby!

Please research soy formula before switching to it. I've been hearing lately that it's not a good idea.

Sorry if this is repititve, I didn't read the other responses...
My son's first pedi said that dairy and soy allergies go hand and hand (if you're allergic to dairy, you are most likely allergic to soy) and she was right. I've been dairy and soy free since he was 2 mos. old (he's now almost 3). I went cold turkey, I cut out ALL dairy and soy and he was tons better. If you haven't already, I would highly suggest limiting your dining out, especially fast foods, until you know for certain what restaurants are relatively safe. Don't take it for granted that waiters, or even rest. managers for that matter, know what's in theiry food because they don't, we've learned the hard way. Also, your little one could have other food allergies as well. Mine acted the same way when I ate bananas as when I ate dairy, turns out he's allergic to bananas (and eggs). I would also cut out beans, fresh onion, garlic, peppers (green, red, etc.). At least for a little while till your baby's tummy gets better. Then you can slowly introduce and see what upsets him/her. It sounds hard, because it can be! But it's worth it for your baby's health. You just have to diligent at reading labels and get creative with food ideas. Godairyfree.org is a website that has some pretty good recipes as is Kids With Food Allergies. I would stay away from soy fromula as there has been a link to a thryoid problems and consuming too much soy.

I would also suggest solely breastfeeding for 6mo, not the 4 that some pedi's suggest. I think it makes a difference (I did 4 mo with my son and 6 mo with my daughter so I have experience with both!) On a plus side, when I cut out all dairy and soy, I dropped an additional 30 pounds to my pre-pregnancy weight (at least it was a plus to me!) Hope your little one feels better!

Hi J..
I don't know how long you've been off dairy, but don't give up yet. It takes a while, like 2-3 weeks, for all the dairy to get out of your baby's system. I had this issue with 4 of my 5 kids. With one, I completely switched to formula. With one, I switched to soy after 5 months. With one, I just stayed off ALL dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, sour cream, etc) for 9 months, then she went on Goat Milk until she was 1, then I switched her over to Lactose-free cow milk. And now, with this last one, I stayed off dairy but have gradually reintroduced it into my diet and now she's tolerating it well while breastfeeding (she's 5 months now).

Anyway, I think the answer is: keep up with not consuming any dairy. If your baby is still having trouble in a couple weeks, you can switch to soy formula. And, if your baby can tolerate even one breastmilk feeding a day, he or she will still be getting all the benefits of breastmilk as if you'd be giving it exclusively. A little goes a long way!

Good luck!!

Breastmilk is the best thing for your baby so I would encourage you to try adding a probiotic and prebiotic to your diet before you stop breastfeeding. I have a CD on the Importance of Breastfeeding that I can send you if you are interested. Our intestinal system is so important to our overall wellness. I would say that your baby probably needs more of the good bacteria in his/her system. I would also encourage looking into the goat's milk before going the soy formula route.

M.

I went thru the same thing with my now 6 month old DD. I elimniated dairy out of my diet because I did want to breast feed but that didn't work so her ped had me switch her to Nutramegin and that worked great. We eventually switched to Soy which she still uses now and she's a happy baby! Best wishes!

Hi J.,
Please don't stop breastfeeding! My son also had digestive issues when he was younger. He was a very gassy baby, had acid reflux (if you hear a him burb and swallow, this is a good sign), etc. etc. I cut broccoli, cauliflower, garlic, onions, caffeine and milk from my diet, but I never (especially the garlic, onions, and milk) gave them as much time to work as some of your other responders recommend, which may be why it never worked!! Anyway, we gave him Mylicon with each feeding, Prevacid twice a day, but I kept breastfeeding even though it took until he was about 6 months old for him to feel better. There is just too much proof out there about the benefits of breastfeeding, so I didn't want to give up, even though it was frustrating (and quite a bit of guilt..."oh my gosh, what am I eating?") I can tell you that there have been quite a few times in my baby's life (he's nine months old now and feeling great!) that EVERYONE in the house has been sick and he has yet to get sick!! I even had him in bed with me, snuggled up to me nursing (the only way he would sleep for several months) and i'm coughing, and he STILL didn't get sick!! I feel very strongly that it was the antibodies in my milk....it's soooo good for them.

One thing that helped us because of the reflux (and because he needed to be soothed a lot, which the breast helped to do) was to feed him only one breast at a time, fairly frequently, to keep him from having big meals which would worsen the reflux.

Stick with it and know that the benefits far outweigh the costs of frustration re: trying to figure out what to cut out of your diet and/or the lack of sleep from needing constantly feed and soothe (in my case, at least)!! Good luck!!

A lady I know had a girl that did this. They had to start getting goats milk. She could not even do the soy.

Had to switch from breastfeeding to Allimentum at 3 mos. b/c of milk protein allergy. Different baby within a week. Went from screaming all day to smiling. Had a hard time at first (I really wanted to breastfeed), but after seeing how much happier my baby was- it made it worth it!

We tried soy at 5 mos. & had allergic reaction. I have read that most of the time when a baby is allergic to milk they are more at risk for being allergic to soy. Good luck!

My son had a milk protein intolerance, and I tried to elim dairy but eventually did switch to Nutramigen and within a week he was a new baby. No colic, no mucus in stool and much happier!!! I didnt' want to give up breastfeeding, but was so happy I did. It was best for him. We did have to give 1/2 formula and 1/2 BM for a while... Good luck.

My baby had colic from dairy, eczema and diaper rash. You don't need to stop breastfeeding - if you eliminate dairy from your diet so your baby won't get any cow milk proteins through breast milk and all the symptoms will subside and disapear over the next couple of weeks.

Yes, I stopped breastfeeding at 5 months because of my son's severe allergies to milk and soy. Since birth he had had terrible colic, terrible digestive issues, bad eczema, and rarely slept more than an hour at a time without waking up screaming in pain.

Our first pediatrician kept telling us that there was absolutely nothing wrong with him; we finally fired her and took him to a gastroenterologist who immediately diagnosed him with milk and soy allergies. Our choices were to stop breastfeeding and put him on Nutramigen hypoallergenic formula (and later the unbelievably expensive Nutramigen AA), or for me to continue breastfeeding and eat nothing but brown rice, chicken, fruit, vegetables, and water until he was at least a year old. Due partly to my issues with exhaustion and postpartum depression, we made the extremely difficult choice to put him on formula. I feel fortunate that I was able to give him five months of breastmilk, even though what I was eating had been making him feel awful.

The gastroenterologist told us that going off of dairy (which I had tried for several weeks when he was two months old) wasn't enough; he was also reacting to proteins from the beef that I ate. All cow proteins, apparently, not just milk and cheese and such.

His symptoms improved about 75% when we put him on Nutramigen at five months old. When he was 13 months old, an allergist diagnosed him with milk, egg, wheat, chicken, and peanut allergies. So even if I had gone on that strict elimination diet, the chicken would have caused him to react and it would have seemed like it wasn't making a difference.

At 17 months now, he is MUCH better but still has days where his tummy hurts a lot, and he still has bad gas sometimes and frequent eczema flareups. Something's still causing allergic reactions but it's really tough to figure it out now that he's older and eating a wider variety of foods.

SO... like some of the other mamas suggest, you might try going on a strict diet of rice, poultry, fruits and veggies, and gradually try adding things back in. I know from experience, though, that doing something like that is very difficult, especially when you're exhausted from caring for a baby with terrible digestive issues. No one judged me for stopping breastfeeding (at least not to my face!) and I surely hope that no one will judge you if you make that choice.

Food allergies are really tough to handle, if indeed that is what your baby has. But there's a lot of us parents out here who deal with it every day and we are here to support you.

Good luck!

I had to switch our daughter to soy when she was around 2 months because of lactose issues. I was not producing enough milk so we were supplementing with formula in the beginning. I am lactose intolerant, to a degree, so my dairy intake was minimal and we believe the formula was causing her issues. After changing her over she has done great!

I had the same issue. My son had blood in his diaper, was hospitalized, etc...it was horrible. I removed all milk from my diet (what a beating that was - everything has milk - except Oreos - ha!) and then he decided he didn't want to nurse so I pumped 9 times a day for the next 3 months. Yeah... fun. At 6 months I put him on Soy formula and it worked like a charm. Thankfully he is now 100% a-ok and at one year he was able to start drinking whole milk and eating all the dairy he'd like. So - hang in there.... you can do it!!

It does take about 6 weeks (I think) for all the dairy proteins to leave your system, so it could depend on how long you've been avoiding dairy in your own diet. I did stop breastfeeding b/c of a dairy issue, but I also must admit, it was very difficult for me anyway and I was pretty much using the pump exclusively (instead of my own breast) to do breasfeeding, so there were other factors in my decision. I'm sure if it's a strict dairy issue, you could probably continue to breasfeed as long as you were extremely careful about what you ate. Be sure to read all labels because dairy pops up in a lot of things youw ouldn't think about. It can also take on the form of whey protein and other things like that on a label that you might not be familiar with.

Also, my son is on soy formula and it made a HUGE and immediate difference. I asked my ped. about long term affects and he said he just read a study on the topic and there were some new tests that indicated that there were no long term affects of soy. I really wouldn't worry about that.

Finally, someone else mentioned a wheat gluten issue and that is also a good point. Sometimes milk allergies and wheat intolerances can look similar. Regular formula does have some wheat in it, so soy might be an option for that as well.

Does your child have any other symptoms? My son had terrible mucus issues and very bad exzema all over his body. Those are both big signs that point towards a milk issue.

Try whatever makes you happy. If you don't want to stop breastfeeding, then continue to persevere and find other alternatives, but if it's stressing you out and you want to be done and focus on other ways to help your child then do it and don't feel bad about it, not one bit!!! You have to feel good, positive and like you're solving the problem. Do whatever you have to do to make that happen.

My son is 4 months old and had similar problems. I took dairy out of my diet and within a few weeks (it takes a while to get out of your system), he was much better. I slowly added dairy back in and now he is fine. My doctor said that many babies start to grow out of it at 4 months. Mine did at 3 months. This may not be true for your baby, but I wanted to let you know that it could happen. I wish you the best of luck! By the way, has your doctor tried reflux medicine?

Look at the iron level my childern couldn't handle the high levels of iron so try some thing with less in it to see if that helps good luck.