Does this sound like milk allergy?

[*Inna*]

Our youngest is 14 months old. I breastfed him exclusively until about 12.5 months, then started supplementing with whole milk. After a few days he threw up and had very loose stools. I didn't think much of it, because the whole family came down with the stomach flu.

 

He seemed better, but was having runny nose, cough and red cheeks on and off for a few weeks.

 

We're down to nursing 2 times a day and he drinks more milk. Suddenly he developed a horrible diaper rash that just wouldn't go away. He's cranky too.

 

So, what do you think?

Can I give him soy, rice or almond milk? Or I need to start him on special formula? And what about Lactose-free milk? Is it safe for babies?

[Jean in Newcastle]

A milk allergy is different from a milk intolerance. Usually the lactose free milk is for an intolerance where you lack the enzyme to break milk down and is more related to an intolerance.

 

Yes, you can do soy, rice or almond milk with babies that age. But be aware that soy is a common allergen.

[*Inna*]

Thanks, Jean!

I'll be taking him to the Dr. soon too.

[Mom in High Heels]

Indy has a milk allergy (meaning he can't digest milk proteins) and until he was about 2 before he could tolerate soy. As a baby he was on a special, pre-digested, no milk, no soy formula (I was VERY thankful for the military insurance because it was almost $60 for one standard size can!). He was on it until he was almost 2, but mostly because he was so underweight he needed all the extra calories. Now he drinks rice milk. I think it tastes weird, but it's what he's used to and he doesn't drink much milk now anyway. If you do go with rice milk though, make sure you buy the kind that is enriched, otherwise it will have almost no calcium.

 

Lactose free milk is safe for toddlers, but if it is a milk allergy, it won't make a difference because it still has milk whey in it. I drink lactose free milk because I have lactose intolerance, but Indy has a whey allergy, which is very different.

 

BTW, he got a VERY bad diaper rash and was crabby, crabby, crabby (and he was the most laid back, happy baby ever), which was what tipped me off that something was definitely wrong. If he gets milk now he still gets a bum rash. :(

[Cinder]

Might be lactose intolerance. Dd has this. I've never given her much milk, but when she was about 3 or 4 she wanted milk more often. I started to notice that she'd have diarrhea whenever she drank a whole cup of milk, but not if she ate cheese or had milk in her cereal. The doc said it's pretty common for kids to be able to tolerate only a little bit of lactose and then react if they ingest more than that amount. Now I can let dd have about a half cup of milk every couple of days with no bad reactions.

 

Cinder

[Dana]

With ds's milk allergy, since I nursed him, I had to cut dairy out of my diet. When I had milk, he had blood in his stool immediately after nursing. :(

 

At least now you can get Enjoy Life chocolate bars. I missed chocolate!

[*Inna*]

As a baby he was on a special, pre-digested, no milk, no soy formula (I was VERY thankful for the military insurance because it was almost $60 for one standard size can!).

Oh, wow!

 

BTW, he got a VERY bad diaper rash and was crabby, crabby, crabby (and he was the most laid back, happy baby ever), which was what tipped me off that something was definitely wrong. If he gets milk now he still gets a bum rash. :(

 

Same here, he's very laid back, content little guy and suddenly he's turned into this whining, crabby child.

 

With ds's milk allergy, since I nursed him, I had to cut dairy out of my diet. When I had milk, he had blood in his stool immediately after nursing. :(

 

Hmmm... There wasn't any problem while he was nursing full time. I don't drink a lot of milk - just in my morning coffee.

 

Thanks so much for your replies!

[Denisemomof4]

my youngest was adopted from China at 14 months so I don't know what she really had in the orphanage, but we were told the babies had warm milk. Milk gave her the red cheeks, diarrhea, gas, and upset stomach, and had a constant runny nose. She will get nauseous from it, too. We just keep her away from dairy. Too much soy isn't healthy. When your baby gets a little older, try experimenting. I became lactose intolerant very late in life and there are a few things I tolerate fine, mainly yogurt and swiss cheese. Dd can't do yogurt but can do some cheeses.

 

And I do think your baby has an intolerance and not an allergy.

[Dana]

Hmmm... There wasn't any problem while he was nursing full time. I don't drink a lot of milk - just in my morning coffee.

 

 

 

We noticed with my son when he was about 3 months old. Milk can be in all sorts of things. The clear issue was with mashed potatoes and gravy from a restaurant. Didn't think that milk could have been used with that. Oops!

 

It's a learning experience if it is an allergy - and your son may have a much milder allergy. You learn to read labels!

 

Until you see the dr, you may want to cut dairy out of his diet and see if you notice any difference. There have also been a number of threads on food allergies that may give you additional information.

 

The best book I've found for general info on food allergies is Food Allergies for Dummies. You could see if your library has it if this is an allergy. And there are a lot more products and cookbooks now to avoid dairy :)

[Tullia]

My son had similar symptoms from infancy and even reacted to the milk in my diet while he was nursing. Our doctor has always believed that it was a milk protein allergy and not just lactose intolerance because he also reacts to cheese substitutes which have casein but no lactose. Soy products didn't work for him either although he outgrew his problems with that. Even small amounts of milk still give him severe indigestion. We tried several different things and ended up using a very expensive formula which wasn't perfect but kept him going until he could eat solid foods. Also ds eventually developed a peanut allergy, and we were told (after the fact) that milk and peanut allergies are thought by some folks to be correlated and that people with milk sensitivities should avoid peanuts too.

 

We've been dealing with this for 20+ years now, and I've heard all sorts of contradictory advice. The best advice I did get was to pay attention to your intuition, keep a food diary, and learn to read labels. Labeling has improved a lot since ds was an infant. We use rice milk for cooking and drinking, but have never found a good cheese substitute. My son didn't outgrow his milk sensitivity, but my cousin's child who was hospitalized as an infant due to a severe dairy intolerance did outgrow her reactions by about age 4--many children do outgrow milk intolerances. These things can be really hard to predict since there are so many possible combinations of causes, symptoms, and outcomes.

 

Enriched rice milk is good and generally better tolerated than soy products, but it's probably too low in fat for a young child. Your doctor will probably have some good suggestions for ways around that.

[Ellie]

Sounds like it to me (whether it's allergy or intolerance).

 

He doesn't need any kind of "milk" other than mommy's milk. He's fine with water and whatever solid foods you give him. Really.

 

My vote: get rid of cow's milk, nurse more until his symptoms are gone, give him water to drink (out of a cup).