Milk Allergy and Breast Feeding

I have two sons who both have allergy issues. My first son was allergic to dairy and soy. My second son is allergic to eggs, dairy, soy, peanuts, and tree nuts. I nursed both for 18 months. My pediatrician said that breast feeding is the best choice when you have and allergic child but you must cut all the things they are allergic to from your diet. With my second son this meant even items manufactured on the same equipment or in the same facility as the allergens. This seems like a very hard thing to do but with the right information and help it can be done. The bonus is you will be eating healther and your baby will be happy.

go to www.foodallergy.org there is tons of information including recipes. Also a handy booklet that can be invaluable when reading ingriedient labels. It is at this link. https://www.foodallergy.org/shoppingcart/CGI-BIN/msascart...

If you have insurance it will probably pay for you and your son to go to a nutritionist to help you adjust your diet. It is hard to change your diet but it is easier if you have help. Cutting all processed food out of your diet helps eliminate a ton of allergins.I found this website to be helpful to http://www.allergy.org.nz/about+allergies/food+allergy.html

Good luck
Jules

i have a 4 month old and when he was about 2 months old his pediatrician found a milk allergy ( he is exclusively breast fed.) I cut out all diary- milk, cheese, ice cream etc. I use butter minimally, and do eat things like bread and pastries (none with creams or puddings). I check the ingredients. If it has alot of diary, i wont eat it because he will scream for hours. He is also sensitive to caffeine and chocolate.it stinks to give up diary but I know it is better for him to be breastfed, and it's only temporary.

why are you stopping bf? lots of babies start out with dairy allergies and most outgrow it. my 1st was allergic to yogurt for a while, and outgrew it. you are in a great position because you are breastfeeding, i cant imagine why your ped would tell you to stop, unless there is another reason?? cut out your own dairy if he reacts, and forget the formula. remember that now that you are starting more solids, he will nurse less, so it wont take up as much of your time. plus he will eat lots of fruit, which will also supply fluids. my son is almost 1 and he is still nursing, has never had formula, and has never had dairy. the foods you give him will be "pure", especially if you make your own baby food, which is much easier than you may think. all you need is one of those small 3 cup kitchen aid mixy things out on the counter and some little tupperware containers for freezing. email me if you want some suggestions for how to do it easily. im on my 3rd baby and ive never bought a jar of baby food, i swear its no big deal and you know exactly what he is eating all the time. it will be ok. kristin had great advice, too.

I question whether your son has a milk allergy if he was fine with you eating it for the first 6 months of his life. It sounds like he just recently started eating cereal- could he be reacting to the cereal? I'm not saying he isn't allergic to dairy, it's definately possible but with the fact that he was fine for 6 months with it- it makes me think you might try cutting out the cereal for a few days and see if that may be the cause. If it is the dairy it is just a trial and error to see exactly how strict you need to be with dairy. My daughter didn't tolerate any dairy in my diet at all- that meant label reading for all the hidden dairy you never knew was in certain foods. I'm not going to lie- it was difficult for a while to be on such a restricted/bland diet but you do get used to it and get through it.

I, too had to cut out dairy from my diet while breastfeeding my son. He started projectile vomiting anytime I had dairy from about 5 wks of age. It wasn't easy....but eventually I could add yogurt to my diet and he tolerated it fine. I gave him the hypoallergenic formula when I was weaning him close to a year, and the only way he would drink it was if I put a splash of grapejuice in the bottle to sweeten it up a bit. The hypoallergenic formula is so nasty, it's bitter and babies are used to the sweetness of breast milk. Just a heads up...my son started with the milk allergy and now has seasonal allergies and asthma, they seem to go hand in hand. (He's 3 1/2 now) There are a lot of "casein free" products out there if you want to try and go dairy free to continue breastfeeding, they even have soy yogurt,soy icecream, etc.

Hi C.,

I'm not sure but I would think an allergy for children would be the same as for an adult. A dairy Allergy could show up at anytime. My husband is allergic to dairy, it didn't effect him until he was in his late twenties. He is not lactose intolerant but allergic. And he can not have anything with dairy in it. If he does he is in horrible pain, in the bathroom all day, and feels exhausted for the next few days to a week.

If your still breastfeeding I would stop all of your dairy intake.

When your looking at ingredients I always check of course for the major dairies, milk, butter and cheese, I also check for whey (which is a dirivative of milk) depending on how bad his allergy is this might affect him as well. My husband and son (who is not allergic) drink Rice Dream Rice Milk which is fortified with calcium (and they have different flavors) Rice Dream also makes cheeses and really great ice cream! If you have any questions please feel free to email me!

Please don't stop Breastfeeding. Dairy is from cows, mother's milk is mother's milk. What I had to do personally was not eat any dairy or soy myself. I have an occasional cookie or cake which doesn't seem to cause my daughter any issues (she would get eczema if I ate this stuff). You can still eat lots of healthy food without these. After a few days, you should see that your son will be fine with your milk. Have you read, "East Right for your Blood Type" and "Eat Right for you Baby". Check it out! Best of luck to you.

i thought milk was one of the ingredients they have to list in bold on pacages for allergies?

if you want to BF, cut out the dairy. i know its hard but its a way to continue BFing. i fed my first daughter the alimentum and completely regretted not BFing. the formula is not as nutritional as mil based, its fine and all but milk based is better. its also so expensive. why not try cutting out milk, yogurt, and cheeses and see how he does. for the past 6 months did he have problems? or is the hives the first time with breastmilk? honestly, if he didnt have problems before the formula, i would exclusively breast feed. remember, breatfeeding and delaying solids is recommended to prevent/lessen allergies. i hope you doctor was supportive of the benefits of breastfeeding, esp regarding allergies. you could pump if bottles are needed.

really, dont give up BFing as once you do, there is no going back. so some elimination diets to see what bothers him, but delay solids to avoid any confusion by adding more foods that may cause problems, and you may think its the breastmilk.

but remember, if it wasnt broke, dont fix it. if there were no problems before, and the problem appeared with formula, i would say formula is the problem, good luck

hello C.,

Both of my children are lactose intolerant which is similar to your situation. You can not consume dairy products while breast feeding is the start. It does go through your milk. I give my kids Lactaid. It has all the nutrients and vitamins as regular milk but the lactose has been removed. Soy, acording to my Ped, does not have as many nutrients. Processed cheese usually do not have as much of an effect but I am sure if you go to trader Joes you could find something to replace the cheeses. You could also try contacting a nutritionist that specializes in allergies like this. As far as foods go, look for things that are lacto free. Both of my kids were on Enfamil lacto free and didn't have any problems since. Most jar foods don't have it at least until you get up to the mixed foods. Cereals shouldn't have it either. As long as you try the basics first (rice, barley and oatmeal) you should be fine. You can mix those with the breast milk too. If it concerns you that much then get a pump. Good luck!!

i really dont think you should stop breast feeding. Formula contains diary or soy of some sort. I really dont know why doctors are pushing the formula. Just cut out ur dairy intake and go from there. try not having milk and cheese ate first and keep a diary of what the two of u r eating. If any thing happens right it down. This way u can look back at what might have caused it. Do Not stop BFing. Hope ur little guy is ok.

my son had/has a milk protein allergy as well. I stopped breastfeeding. not strictly for that reason, but it contributed greatly. I had to put him on nutramegin. He had no problems with that at all. However, once it was time to switch to milk I had so much trouble. The only milk that didn't make him sick is organic milk. To this day (he's almost 3)he can only tollerate organic milk. It was hard going to table food too. He has the soy issue as well. When you go to jar food, make sure it doesn't contain milk. most fruits, veggies don't. But, if you give him potatoes, custard..things like that..they may have milk. You'll become use to reading lables. It's weird he has no reaction to eating yogurt, ice cream, cheese (non-organic), etc. But, if I gave him a glass of regular milk...I would end up in the ER. Hope this helps.

Unfortunately, the best thing to do would be to cut out all dairy, right down to very small ammounts of dairy components (i.e. whey, casein, anything that start with lact-). My daughter was diagnosed by a gastroenterologist as having a dairy intolerance (she was having bloody stool) and only after I cut out EVERYTHING did it go away. It takes up to two weeks to get everything out of your system. After a couple of months, I am just started to reintroduce foods with minor dairy ingredients (whey, trace ammounts of milk, etc.). This was really tough for me at first, as I LOVE dairy products. I became a label reader of everything I ate and was surprised to see dairy hiding in things I would not have expected it to. If you crave sweets like me, Oreos actually don't have any dairy in them. Neither do generic cinnamon buns (the ones that come in a roll with the sugary icing). Soy ice cream is pretty good and comes in some yummy flavors (caramel turtle, cookie dough, mocha almond), but be careful with his soy allergy. Also, when going out to eat, I told people that I myself was allergic to dairy in order to skip getting into the whole story and to make sure they were extra careful with checking for ingredients. Everyone has been very accomodating. For foods for my daughter, our gastroenterologist advised that we use Beechnut (I've found it at Stop & Shop and Walmart) as the cereals don't contain soy and the plants where the food is jarred is cleared for cross contamination.

Breastfeeding is actually the best thing you can do for your son right now, as it is technically easier to eliminate things from your diet to see how he does. It's just harder on you! If you have any questions or would like to talk, please don't hesitate to write. Good luck!

My daughter is the same way. Try Lactose Free Similac (orange label). Check the cereal ingredients too. If Soy is listed in the top four ingrediente, don't use it.

Nanc

I agree with what most of the moms have already posted. I too loved anything with dairy...cheese, ice cream, etc. But I eliminated dairy from my diet because my children also developed dairy allergies as infants while I was breastfeeding. It seems a little overwhelming at first, but it really can be done with a little effort. The good news is it gets much easier...you learn what products and what brands are "safe" and you start to experiment with different recipes, etc. Even though your son's soy allergy is minor, you may want to avoid that as well since he is more likely to grow out of it if you stay away from it completely. We also need to stay away from soy, so I use rice "milk" (sometimes labeled rice beverage) in my cereal and when I cook. For a butter substitute in recipes you can use Spectrum Shortening (no hydrogenated oil) or coconut oil. Make sure to read the labels carefully and look for the obvious milk products and the not so obvious: whey, caesin, caesinate, lact... I hope this has been helpful in some way and if there is anything I can do to help you make this transition not so overwhelming, please don't hesitate to ask.

Blessings,
C.

Milk allergy is usually an allergy to lactose, the sugars in milk. You may be able to keep using milk in your diet if you use the type for lactose intolerant people, something like Lactaid.

Humans really do not need milk in their diet, though. We're the only animal (other than cats) that keep drinking milk after weaning!

You can use rice milk and nut milks in place of soy and dairy. There are recipes online to help you make your own if cost is a factor for you.

One more thing...soft cheeses like cream cheese and brie have lactose. Aged hard cheeses like cheedar are perfectly fine because the lactose has been destroyed or 'aged' out.

You can find many yogurts for lactose intolent, too.

Hi-
I feel your pain! My now almost 3 year old twins were allergic to milk, soy, corn, wheat and nuts! I, too, exclusively breastfed. Please, if you enjoy breastfeeding, do not stop! It is the absolute best thing in the world you can do for your baby. I cut out the suspect items from my diet one at a time and continued to BF. If you do this, there is a very good chance that your child will outgrow the allergy. The breastmilk males babies stronger, enhancing their immunal system. Subsitutes for cows milk that I used were: sheep's milk yogurt by old chatham shepherding company (available at whole foods and health food stores) and romano and manchego cheeses, also made from sheep's milk. Sheep's milk is most digestible and my boys tolerated it very well. Goat's milk is also an option, but my boy's id not tolerate it. You can use rice milk or almond milk in your coffee and as a substitute for baking and cooking. Also, coconut milk (not lite - whole fat) mixed with rice milk and warmed with cinnamin was one of my boys favorite treats. Very delicious. I also suggest holding off on the grains as they can make allergies worse. I waited until almost a year for grains, it was hard, but successful. Try instead fruits and veggies and meats. I also roasted pumkin seed which they devoured - they got teeth early. Good luck!!

HI C.-

I had a similar situation with my second son who is now two. He developed a milk allergy and we only found this out when he became extremely irritable and developed a terrible diaper rash along with mucus in his stool. They did a stool test and found microscopic blood which they said was a sign that he either had an allergy or bacterial infection. When the tests for any infections came back negative, the pediatrician told me that he most likely had a milk allergy and that if I wanted to continue nursing, I needed to cut out dairy. She told me to start with the basics - milk, yogurt and cheese, however it could take a few weeks to get everything out of my system. SHe said it wasn't necessary to start cutting out any foods that had small traces of milk, such as crackers, etc. Well, it worked for me, but I also started supplementing with alimentum. Be patient with the formula because it took my son a while to take it, but eventually he was hungry enough for it. Turns out I was having a hard time getting rid of the dairy in my system, and I stopped nursing after 3 months. Even though I didn't want to stop nursing, my son was a totally different person on the alimentum...happy!!! Good luck.

Breast is the best for your son. It helps with neuro development as well as his overall health! Elminate all dairy from your diet. My almost 1 year old had the same thing. She is growing out of it though. I had to elimate ALL dairy. Read labels. I saw that even the chili seasoning I used to make my chili had milk in it! Can you believe it! It's hidden in a lot of things. This can be a great time for you to get healthier too. No cakes, no pies no cookies or pasteries. You'll be one hot mama! :) But, your son will be happy and so will you. The only formula you can feed him is the one he hates, don't do that to him. I couldn't do it to my daughter. I just changed my diet and I feel amazing! It's definitely hard as I come from an Italian family and they would put cheese in the their cereal of you allowed it! HA! I had to teach my mother that she couldn't even saute onions in butter. ONLY Fleishmans (which tastes good BTW). I have a ton of substitutes if you want to chat about them that are delicious. Email me or write me back through mamasource I've been living dairy free for almost a year now and it's been tough, but worth it that little Sylvia doesn't suffer.

I know it seems impossible, but it's really not that bad to live without dairy. (I had to start when my 4th baby was born (both of us developed an allergy) and have been at it for 17 years! Just take one day at a time, and you will find great substitutes out there. Also, expect to eat differently, maybe a little more on the healthy side (less sugar and refined grains.) Most research says that a diet that is mostly vegetable and fruits with some whole grains, fish and eggs is the most healthy. There's a lot of research on it, and living without dairy may actually be better for you, too. You may want to do some reading on the subject. (It sure made me feel better about living without.) I found that made me need less dairy to go with it. There is no reason to stop nursing! It's the best thing for your baby. If you can't have soy, that makes things a bit tougher, so you should figure that out first. For cooking, use oils. Olive oil is one of the most healthy. Look for casein, whey, lactose, or milk powder on the labels. Those are all milk products. If an Item is kosher pareve there is no milk in it. Also, anything that is vegan is safe. There's a magazine called "Living Without" that you can often get in big health food stores that has recipes and tips for allergic diets. They always have a section on recipes without milk. Oh, almost all fast food is dangerous because they use whey as a 'filler' in a lot of strange ways. Also, powdered drink mixes like lemonade can be a problem. Sometimes, for some reason, they don't have to list the milk ingredient in it, but you will notice that it's not kosher pareve, but kosher dairy.

Hi. When my now 6month old daughter was around 2 months she developed a suspected milk protein allergy.She had blood in her stool as well as vomiting.She is breastfed only so her pediatrician and a gastroenterologist said to me that it was probably from dairy in my diet. They said my choice was either to cut dairy and soy from my diet or to give her a hypoallergenic formula. I chose to change my diet. This was harder than I thought. You really have to look at labels. You'd be amazed at how many products contain cassein or whey or soy. Unfortunately I have to be careful what to eat because of her reflux as well. At one point my milk dried up as a result of medicine that I had to take and we had to supplement with Allimentum which she hated as well(it smells awful).
The gastro dr told us that the only way to really determine whether a baby has the allergy is to give them milk based product directly but we would have to wait until 6 months to do so. Last week we did the test where we had to increasingly add some regular milk based formula to a bottle with my breastmilk. I have sent in a sample but have not gotten the results yet. However as far as we could tell she didn't have any adverse reaction to it this time. I know if the have a milk allergy now it doesn't mean that they will have it later. We think her system is now more mature able to handle it now. It just took a while. Hope some of this helps and good luck.

Hi C.,
I would try not give up nursing yet. If you can, cut out dairy that's not included in baked goods, etc, and see how he reacts. If he's still allergic, try to cut out more (if you bake, use hemp milk instead of cow or soy). You can always try goat's milk yogurt and hemp or rice milk (in ice cream too).

Best of luck,
S.

My daughter who is now 2 1/2 currently still has an allergy to milk and peanuts. She was allergic to soy also until she was about 15 months. She had some other medical problems when we was born that caused her to be in the hospital NICU for the first 6 weeks(she wasnt a premie) and the nurses there were the ones that started her on Nutramigen-a hypoallergenic formula for babies with allergies. I did try and breastfeed her for as long as I could but it was stressful for me having her in there and I think the stress caused me to not produce enough milk. So yes please stick with breastfeeding if you can. But you do have to eliminate ALL milk products. Not just the normal ones you think of. Check ingredient list..you will be surprised the things that even have a trace of whey, casein, lactobarium..in it. And if you believe soy is an issue..I remember it seemed like EVERYTHING has soy in it when i was reading labels for a 1 year old that wanted to start eating table food-seemed like I couldnt give her anything. But because of it now she is a huge meat, veg and fruit girl. She did start on Rice milk from her Nutramigen formula but she wouldnt drink it much. It does have a different kind of smell (like rice) Her allergist said to keep giving her Nutramigen. It is VERY expensive but thats what we did until at 16 months or so she was tested and outgrew the soy allergy. Then it took a few months-she was getting older and knew that it was different milk-to get her to change to Soy milk. Be patient and I would definitley see an allergy specilist not just your pediatrician to confirm-we didnt find out about her peanut allergy until she was tested for more when we first started this thing.What a disaster that would have been if we didnt know and something happened.
And being lactose intolerant isnt the same thing as a milk allergy. People confuse it alot. Please see an allergist.

Hi, your son may have a reaction to everything that is connected to dairy. The best thing to do is to err on the side of caution, avoid anything that is obviously dairy, but you may want to concider keeping a log book in the event he shows reactions to anything that is not clearly dairy.
If you are looking for a substitute for milk, Goat milk is usually given with no problems at all to children, even infants that cannot tolerate dairy. Goat milk is chemically different from cow milk, and if cold and fresh it usually doesnt have much of a taste difference.
I have a friend who has a goat farm if you need a resource for trying goats milk, let me know.

I really don't understand why doctors always recommend formula for allergic kids... Breast milk has so much to offer, ESPECIALLY for children whose bodies can't process certain foods.

If you love BFing, continue. Start by eliminating ALL dairy - yes, ALL, including processed foods containing dairy ingredients. Yes, it is hard. Yes, it IS worth it! In 10 to 14 days, try ONE dairy food. I would recommend yogurt to start, since many kids with mild allergies can still handle yogurt. But make sure it's plain, as your son may be sensitive to fruits. If you see no reaction, try a different dairy product in 3 to 4 days - this is essentially the same procedure you use when your child starts solid foods: 1 new food every few days. You may find your child has a mild reaction to only some dairy products. You may find he has a reaction to all dairy, but if it's limited to once a week, the reaction is negligible. You may find it's severe. Once you KNOW how he will react, you can moderate your own intake to accomodate him.

We only get to BF our children for a short time before they're too busy to bother anymore. Enjoy it while you can, and remember that the cheesecake will still be there long after your son has moved on to sippy cups and juice boxes. It's a sacrifice worth making. And like that (very occational) glass of wine, you always have the option to pump and dump if you REALLY REALLY need to have sour cream on your taco.

My daughter was sensitive to wheat and whey. The elimination trial showed me she could handle hard cheeses but no cottage cheese or yogurt. Go figure. Today at 3 1/2, she no longer has any food sensitivities. I hope this is how it goes for you too.

I am surprised that you were able to go so long having dairy with out him showing signs of an allergy sooner. Do you not eat many milk product and that is why it took so long to present it self? My daughter was diagnosed at 2 weeks. She screamed and cried and was in a lot of pain. I really wonder if it is a milk protein allergy or maybe some thing else that caused the hives. From my experience with this allergy i dont think your son has an allergy to milk, But I am not a doctor. Does your child have any other symtoms like blood in his stool, vomiting, bad gas, unconsolable crying? I guess he could just be slightly allergic since that can happen with this allergy.

My daughter has a milk protein allergy and i have been breastfeeding her and she is now 9 months. If you dont want to stop breastfeeding their is no reason why you should. It does take some time to get all the cows milk protein out of your milk supply but one you stop consuming milk products it should get better right away. All you have to do is not have any dairy and things that have whey in them ( so check lables) depending on how allergic your child is is how careful you have to be. My daughter has become a little less sensitive. I can have a little butter on my toast and a small piece of chocolate but that is it. Any more and she will be up all night in agony. It really isnt that hard to give up dairy and it is just a short term thing. My daughter did not like alimentum at first either but she has gotten use to it. Mix it with breast milk. I feed her rice cereal every morning and i put the ailmentum in it because i hate to pump. She has started to wean a little and i cant get her to breastfeed some times so i give her a bottle of it and she likes it now. I am able to eat bread that has been cooked with some milk I think it is because your not getting much milk products.
good luck

I would cut out dairy from your diet. It's not that difficult and it will be the best thing for him. A friend of mine had to cut out Soy, dairy and wheat from her diet for her daughter. Good luck to you.

Hi C.,
I went through a very similar thing with my son who is now almost 7 months, so hopefully I can help! He never broke out with hives, but he was VERY colicky and had reflux. One of my aunts suggested I stop eating dairy because sometimes they are allergic temporarily (maybe permanently but not always) and I was desperate for the crying to stop (or at least slow down and get some sleep!), so I tried it and it works! We also to him to a pediatric GI doc who said milk protein allergy and to give him soy, which he was also sensitive to. The hard part was finding a formula that worked for when I supplement him. I tried EVERYTHING and ended up back with the alimentum. My son wouldn't drink the powder but will drink the pre-mix, and since he only gets a little I buy the pack of 8 ounce cans and use as needed. He got used to it. The amount of money we spent on formula that was poured down the drain is sad, but I don't always feel I have enough BM for him so that is why I supplement sometimes, but now that he is eating solids it takes the pressure off abit. In general I avoid all dairy- I drink Rice Milk and on my cereal and I take a calcium, magnesium and vitamin d supplement-its liquid form by the company Bluebonnet. I also make sure to get enough protein from meat, eggs, fish, nuts, etc. If I go to a restaurant I don't worry if they cook stuff in butter. When he was younger and more fussy and sensitive to it I tried not to eat it at all, but now it seems a little in my BM is OK. You will probably have to experiment. I think you should absolutely keep breastfeeding because it is so good for your son and you mentionned liking it too. That's how I felt and I'm really glad I stuck with it. As far as what to avoid giving him you'll see on labels if it contains milk or soy because often the label will say. Depending on his sensitivity level he/you may have to also avoid casein and whey. The thing i miss most is cheese!! But I know that I'll eat it again someday and at the moment i feel like this is best for him. Good luck and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to email me.
R.

I would cut out of your diet whatever affects him and continue breastfeeding. My daughter also has a milk protein allergy and I gladly breastfed her until I knew what to do. You have to substitute the cow's milk with almond or rice milk. Some people say goat's milk may also work, but I haven't tried it. The key is to supplement the fat in cow's whole milk with another kind of (good) fat. Since the other milk's only have half the fat, it's tricky. If you continue breastfeeding then you don't have to worry about the fat intake too much cause he'll get all the good fat from you. You could add avocado in the baby food or simply add a little olive oil into the milk to supplement when you're ready. In the ingredients you have to watch for "milk", "whey" and "casein". If you decide to make your own food, get the "Super Baby Foods" book. It's fantastic!!! Good luck.

i had a friend whose son was the same way. she could have no dairy. no ice cream, no cheese, not sure about yogurt, that usually has bacteria in it so sometimes it is different. i would avoid everything and then slowly add stuff back and see what happens. Also, try lactose free formula, i had good results with my son who would scream when he was fed.