Dairy sensitivity in my 22 mos old & WWYD

[Pretty in Pink]

So, my 22 mos old doesn't tolerate dairy well. We tried lactose-free milk with no success, and her pediatrician said that it's likely a casein and/or whey sensitivity.

 

She drank dairy-based formula for the first 9 months of her life and she's been drinking dairy-based toddler formula since then.

 

Assuming the sensitivity persists, at what point would you eliminate the toddler formula from her diet altogether? She drinks about 20-24 oz per day of toddler formula, so at this point it is still a significant source of fatty acids and calories in her diet.

 

She's none too keen on almond or rice milk and neither is an ideal replacement for whole milk anyway.  I'm not interested in soy milk due to its estrogenic properties and, in any case, her doctor said that children sensitive to dairy proteins are often sensitive to soy, too.

 

So, what have you done or WWYD? Continue with the toddler formula? Try something else (if so, what? goats milk? coconut milk? other??) Cut "milk" from her diet altogether and try to get her to make up the fat/calories with food? She already eats a healthy and varied diet, plenty of healthy fats like coconut oil, avocado, nut butters, eggs, fish, etc. and she grazes constantly.

 

[Elfknitter.#]

Is she reacting to the formula? Granted we do not have this issue, but friends with children who do tend to have more success with non-milk drinks. So I'd suggest trying coconut milk and see if she like it. You could try goats milk, but that could be hit or miss. If the sensitivity warrants cutting caseins, my understanding is that you will have to be viligiant as casein can show up in unexpected places that aren't always thought of as dairy related.

[amo_mea_filiis.]

My son drank dairy based formulas, milk, and older dairy based supplements, then was sensitive, then anaphylactic (and tried a few elemental supplements), then outgrew. It was a strange 5 years.

 

Can you keep a food diary for a week to see how many calories from food she's getting?

 

My son loved vanilla almond milk and still prefers it. Rice milk is not a good substitute at all, but he preferred that in oatmeal and cereal. He hates coconut milk, but likes coconut milk ice cream and yogurt.

 

ETA: I had always heard that kids who react to cow's milk are likely to react to goat's milk. We did use some soy milk and he liked it plain.

[Rosie_0801]

If she's eating a varied diet, I can't see any need for the milk, myself. If you want her eating dairy products, go for yogurt, cheese, kefir etc.

[Elfknitter.#]

If she's eating a varied diet, I can't see any need for the milk, myself. If you want her eating dairy products, go for yogurt, cheese, kefir etc.

If going casein free, I'd skip any dairy items http://www.livingwithout.com/resources/casein_free.html. But I do agree, she sounds like she has a diet that is varied enough to not worry about dairy. Many green veggies can make up for calcium, if that's a concern. Nuts and seeds can cover omega oils. Have you introduced fish items?

[Harriet Vane]

My son is lactose intolerant.

 

If she is showing sensitivity to milk, then all milk products and milk derivatives need to be dropped. Keeping those items in her diet just ensures that her digestive system is raw and sore all the time. It makes no sense to keep her on a little milk when you know it makes her sick--the nutritional value of the milk is negated by the stress the milk product puts on the body. She may just be used to not feeling well and think that having an upset tummy is normal. Drop every tiny bit of milk for a minimum of six weeks. At that point if you want to experiment with dairy you can try it, but understand that your poor dd may have an ugly reaction and be in pain.

 

That includes even trace amounts of milk, whey, caseine, cheese, yoghurt, butter, margarine, or any other form of milk.

 

(Most margarines as well as most fake cheeses do contain milk. Ds never eats either cheese or fake cheese. For butter we use EarthBalance vegan--I have only found one other that is dairy-free.)

[cuckoomamma]

Our girls have dairy allergies among other food allergies and don't drink any type of milk, just water.  Provided your little one is given a varied diet from foods that are as close to their natural state as possible, she should be fine. 

 

 

[HappyLady]

Since nobody actually *needs* cow's milk (or any other milk for that matter) she'll be just fine without milk/dairy.  As long as she's eating plenty of other whole foods she'll be just fine.  :)

[Carrie12345]

Visit some MSPI pages. They have really good ideas and recipes.

You wouldn't want to do soy anyway, since many casein issues present the same with soy.

 

Our pediatric gastro recommended yogurt as the first/only dairy product for ds b/c the proteins are broken down pretty well. He had outgrown the intollerance around a year old, so I'm not much help on the toddler front, but we had cut out his elemental formula at a year b/c the insurance company wouldn't pay a gabillion dollars a month after that. We just switched to water and a varied diet.

[Ravin]

I would try goat's milk. If that didn't agree with her, I'd just get used to finding ways to give her a balanced dairy-free diet. There's nothing in milk that can't be replaced nutritionally with other foods. I wouldn't be big on rice milk or almond milk because the palatable ones for the most part are the ones with sweeteners that are basically sugar water with a few vitamins--much like juice, and like juice should be used if at all with great moderation.

[Pretty in Pink]

Formula does not bother her, no. It's the only "dairy" product that she can tolerate. Cheese, yogurt, butter -- they all wreak havoc on her little tummy so we avoid them as best we can. I even avoid crackers and breads that contain milk ingredients, etc. though an occasional cracker doesn't seem to bother her.

 

Someone asked if she eats fish and the answer is yes, she gobbles it up. I usually serve fish at dinner once per week and the kids make tuna for lunch once per week, so she gets two servings per week now.
 

[VeganCupcake]

My kids are both sensitive to casein, so we use coconut milk and coconut milk yogurt. Hemp milk is also quite nutritious, but I don't really like it, so I don't buy it. But I know lots of people like it!

 

Other than that, we just feed a variety of foods and the kids seem to be doing really well. DD can tolerate small amounts of dairy, but too much and she gets awful eczema.