5 1/2 Month Old with Milk Allergy, No More Nursing and They Say Still No Food!

Maybe more formula is the way to go for now?? Depending on his size, some babies have up to 40oz of formula a day! My son is 5.5mos (he was born April 17th!), and he takes about 38oz./day counting his nighttime bottle (which you are SO lucky yours doesn't need!). Also, he would probably wake up at night if he was really hungry, so try not to add anything else to your list of worries! I would ask his doc and then try a little more formula, and unless he starts spitting up or anything like that just give him a little more! That way his belly will be a little fuller until you can figure this out. Best of luck to you!

PS- my son is about 21lbs, and STILL won't sleep thru the night! I wish I knew your secret! :)

Hi there! My daughter had a much milder milk/soy protein allergy, and she also sees a GI specialist at Dupont (we see Dr. Molle-Rios). I TOTALLY understand your frustration with Drs, my daughter has many specialists on top of her pedi due to issues when she was little, and I remember getting so frustrated because it seemed like despite all the tests, appointments, phone calls, etc, I still felt clueless as to what was the best thing for my daughter. So much of their advice conflicted with each other and my own instincts, and there were so many tests and medicines that were all "inconclusive".

My only advice would be to trust your instincts! The Drs there are good, but its YOUR child, and you are around them 24/7. They make money off of repeated visits and testing, and other than being professionally responsible, have no real tie to your child. Also, if you trust your pediatrician, always get their input! We LOVE our pediatrician (Dr. O'Mahoney at Broomall Pediatrics if you're close) and everything (specialist visits, tests, prescriptions) goes through her. She has known my daughter since she was born and I trust and agree with her philosophies on treatments.

After months of frustration with back and forth with Drs like you described, we finally (with our pedi's blessing) backed off on all the searches for treatments and diagnosises, and just gave her a few months to grow. She has since thrived and every day is healthier than the day before! I'm not at all recommending ignoring any medical professionals, just to be patient, it seems that so many of these issues improve over time. I'd be in no rush to start solids, maybe more formula would help?

Anyway, not sure I've really been much help, just wanted to share that I COMPLETELY understand your frustration. You want so badly to do the right thing for your baby (this is our first child as well), and its so frustrating when it feels like no one is really sure what the right thing is...

I really hope things improve for your son, my daughter was on Nutramigen (the enfamil equivalent of Aluimentum)until about a month ago, and is now able to take Similac Sensitive with no issues. Granted, her allergy didnt seem as severe as your son's but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and these little guys, when given a chance to just grow and get healthy DO grow out of these issues!

Good luck!!

Hi C.,
I can understand your frustration, but I would continue to listen to the doctors. If your son's intestinal lining is still irritated then I wouldn't reccomend introducing food. Especially since he has a milk allergy. There are not to many foods he can eat now anyway. My God son has a milk allergy and is currently on the prescription formula Elecare. He had a severe alergic reaction. Along with the reactions that your son had. He was also covered in hives from head to toe. All his hair fell out and he lost some coloring in his skin from the hives and scratching. He is just getting some of his color and hair back. He will be one in december and his mom has not been able to introduce foods to him either. It's a long process but it's a good thing that it was caught early. Since he's been on the new formula he has not had any problems.

Hi

Have you though about changing GI doctors? My son goes to CHOP for all his GI & Allergy issues. They have an office in Exton and in Philly. ###-###-#### www.chop.edu

We used to go to Dupont and we switched to CHOP.

It sounds like you've been through a lot with your little one already. Thank God that he's still a happy, healthy-looking little boy. It stinks that he still is having evidence of blood in his stool at this point, but this often takes a while to subside...even after the healing of the intestinal lining has started.

I know that starting foods is a fun milestone and that he's showing signs that he's excited to make it to that milestone. However, the age that most pediatricians recommend starting solid foods (even for completely healthy kids)is 6 months old. So, although you feel like you are depriving your son, he's really not even at the age that solids are supposed to be started in kids with no medical problems. Now, these guidelines are often relaxed or overlooked for kids with no family history or personal history of food allergies - so you've probably seen plenty of kids taking in solid foods at 4 or 5 months old. But, the reason that the guidelines are there is that there is some scientific evidence showing that children who are exposed to foods earlier than 6 months are more likely to develop food allergies later on. So, you can see why in those kids that are at really low risk of developing food allergies at all, the rules may be a little looser.

Your little guy is a different story, though, because he's shown you that he has a propensity to developing food allergies. Luckily, milk protein allergies often disappear as kids gets older, so there's still a chance that he could lead a food-allergy-free life as a school-aged kid (when kids really start to care that they're eating different foods than their peers). And, although the evidence isn't perfect yet, there's a chance that by feeding him solids earlier you could increase the chance that he has lifelong allergies.

Another writer had suggested checking with a different GI specialist...and I think that if you have questions about what you are being told it's always prudent to get a second opinion. CHOP would be a great place to go for that. But, know that the doctors that you have now are giving you sound advice that comes from the evidence that we have to work with at this time.

Formula is made to provide all of the nutrients that your son needs at this time. So, don't feel bad at all about giving him more formula if he's hungry.

It sounds like you have a beautiful little boy. Enjoy him as much as you can. 3 weeks until the next test seems like a long time...but it will go by fast and is a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of time that you will spend with him in the future.