Milk Protein Allergy?

Updated on April 05, 2008
K.V. asks from Royersford, PA
33 answers

Yesterday I fed my 3 1/2 month old a bottle of formula for the first time. After 2 oz., the area around his mouth became blotchy and his cry sounded hoarse. I immediately called the dr and went into the office. Within 45 minutes of giving the bottle, his little body was almost completely red - in the armpits, back, diaper area, face and head - with hives on his neck and upper chest area. The doctor said to continue breastfeeding b/c we had no problems up until now, but she suspected a milk protein allergy from the formula. I understand this milk protein is in most formulas except for ones which are more pricey. Has anyone else encountered this and what might this mean for us in the future when moving to real food and milk?

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T.G.

answers from Scranton on

I breast fed my son, but when he tried milk he was also allergic. We had to read the ingredients on everything until he was about 3 and then he grew out of the allergy. They had him on special formula until he was 2 and then we put him on soy milk and he still loves it. He is now 4.

Thanks,

T.

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J.C.

answers from Philadelphia on

There are many solutions for lactose intolerance. There are many alternative products and I even used goat's milk and cheese years ago before they can up with all these products.

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J.Y.

answers from Pittsburgh on

The baby should be able to tolerate soy formula. At times this milk allergy improves later, but if that not is the case for you, he may move on to soy milk when weaned from breast milk or formula. It is hard to predict now how restrictive his solid food diet will have to be. Some with milk allergy do okay on foods with small amount of milk in there, others have to be milk free. Do you by any chance go to Pediatric Alliance? If so, I'm their dietitian. If not, as the child is ready to start foods, you should request a dietitian.

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B.N.

answers from Lancaster on

My son, now 2 1/2, also has an allergy to milk protein. He too had trouble with formula but he was not diagnosed until 14 months with his food allergies. We were told that he had the allergies in utero and would hopefully outgrow his allergies as he grew. After the allergy was confirmed we started him on Rice Milk - as he had an allery to soy, wheat, peanuts, and eggs as well. Sounds very overwhelming, and at first, it was, but once I figured out safe foods and how to prepare them it just became part of life. The good news is that he outgrew a few of the allergies and his level of allergy to the others has lessened. My second son, now 8 1/2 months, showed the same allergy signs as my older son from birth. I completely cut out all of the allergens milk, soy, peanuts, eggs, and wheat from my diet and it was night and day. The rashes and excema went away, he starting sleeping longer stretches and eventually through the night, and was a much happier baby. When I needed to supplement, we tried Alimentum by Similac. It agreed with him, but we had to really push him to take the bottle - he just didn't like it. We invested in a breast pump and when I need to be away - he gets my breast milk and is much happier. Our doctor told us that he needs to be around 9 months to have him accurately tested for allergies as tests much earlier than that would not be very accurate. I can tell you that it seems very overwhelming at first, and food allergies in your children can be scary, but when your child goes to food in the future, there are now products out there that are dedicated to be allergy free. Our kids don't know food any other way - to them, what they eat and how cautious we need to be is "normal".

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J.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

My son has this allergy, along with allergies to tree nuts (peanuts, cashews, walnuts, etc), eggs, and others. I continued to breastfeed him until just two weeks ago (he is 14 mths old). We tried to switch him to soy milk, but he got "allergy eyes" for that and did not like it. So, now we have him on rice milk. He is doing fine with that. We suspected his allergy when he was about 6 mths old (one little taste of ice cream gave him the same hive reaction your son has). So, when he was about a year old we had a blood test done, ordered by the ped. (before switching to milk). That identified a bunch of allergies. We then took him to CHOP to see an allergist. For now, he has to stay away from the things that cause a reaction and we go back in 6 mths. The good thing is that they say the kids can outgrow this, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Also, when moving to baby food, just check the ingredients to be sure, but most of them are OK, we just stay away from the custards and yogurts. Real food, we just give him things that don't have his allergins in it. It is a little difficult, but we are learning as we go along. I think the hardest thing is that he does not like a lot of foods (I think he kind of knows what will bother him and refuses to eat it) and he wants the things that he sees his older brothers have, even when he can't have them.

Sorry for the book, this is pretty new to me and I am sure that some others will come along with more advice.
Good luck!

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C.H.

answers from Philadelphia on

We too have a son with a milk allergy. He started getting a reaction around his mouth when I added formula to his cereal at about 5 months. He would get red where it touched him. When he started more solid foods, the allergy became more evident and he would react with red splotches, hives or by throwing up. He was extremely sensitive and would react to something that was on the same plate as a dairy product, even though they weren't touching. We did end up buying soy-based formula. He is now 28 months old and appears to be outgrowing the allergy. Our allergist had told us they can outgrow a milk allergy any time, but usually by 12 years of age. At this point, he can eat foods that contain some milk products and very rarely gets a reaction. We still stay away from straight dairy products though and have him on soy milk, soy yogurt and non-dairy cheese. It does get expensive but hopefully your little one will outgrow the allergy as well, as many of them do. One thing I would advise, is get used to reading labels. Get to know the "milk" words and watch for them. Sometimes ingredients change so you have to check, even if it is something you have tried in the past.

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V.A.

answers from Lancaster on

Hi K.,
I just have learned all about enzymes and it is incredible! Anyway, your little one is having a hard time digesting the milk because of the lack of that enzyme. I believe there are formulas that have more enzymes. I also learned that 90% of 'food allergies' are just a lack of enzymes. Ask your Doctor about that. If you want me to forward more info to you, please respond and I will give you my email address. You will be amazed.
Sincerely,
V. A.

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J.M.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Hi K.,

This must have been so scary for you. Thank god nothing more serious happened! Many babies who have milk protein allergies when they are little will outgrow them by the time they are 1 or 2. Some children do not. Once your baby turns one, you start him/her on rice or soy milk instead of cows milk. Until then keep giving him your breastmilk and he will be fine. He gets exposed to lots of different foods through your breastmilk and that will help him to build up his immune system and become more resistant to other types of food allergies.

J.

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J.S.

answers from Erie on

My son had the milk protein allergy as well. He did not break out like your baby but he did have blood in his stool with some other syptoms. Against my better judgment I listened to doctor and tried the other spendy formulas. After him being horrible for 1 1/2 months I was finally able to convince the doctor to let me feed goat's milk. I have done this before with another child of mine and I highly recommend it. For both of them it was the difference between night and day. Goat's milk has more fat than regular milk and is easier to digest. Neither of them have ever had a problem with it and both were fed it from about 2 months old. They will say to add vitamins and folic acid to the feedings and shaklee sells a good one for infants at a reasonable price. One of my kids is now 5 and the other almost one. They are doing really good and have hit every developent target and so on.
Some Walmarts carry goats milk and a lot of the natural food stores do as well. I myself just milk my one goats for it and all my kids (4) drink it. Any questions let me know but highly recommend you give it a try.

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L.S.

answers from Lancaster on

We went through the same thing at about the same age, only we had never breastfed. The reaction was terrible - severe red swollen hives from head to toe. Terrifying. Our son was put on soy exclusively until 18 months of age. The thing is, as your child gets older and switches to table food, you have to watch for all milk proteins in foods: casein, whey, etc. it means that you must read every label, and must be very vigilant and if anyone else watches your child you must make sure that they KNOW what NOT to give them. It sounds daunting, but if you educate yourself and do some research, talk to moms who are living it, it just becomes routine after a while. You can do it, there is support out here.

In addition, NOW at 5 years old, my son was having terrible problems, eyes swelling, rashes, and behavior issues that were diagnosed as everything from ADD to autism. Our allergist said he did NOT have food allergies! When we took all soy out of his diet he was like a new kid. Every issue cleared up. So somewhere along the line he developed a soy allergy. I used a holistic nurse who uses chinese acupressure kinesiology type testing (totally non invasive, painless, and safe) to find out your child's allergies/sensitivities and treat them so that they can function safely. After all, allergies are a learned immune response. There are theories about genetically modified food, pesticides, and chemicals partly being responsible for increasing food allergies, so we have gone unprocessed, organic and non-GMO as much as possible. An apple is not just an apple anymore. It is genetically modified, full of pesticides, and usually treated with any number of processes or chemicals for fresheness retention and ripening.

Welcome to the world of food allergies. It is pervasive in modern American culture. You will have to really monitor your diet for breastfeeding. I understand you can try goat milk but not sure what age you can start that at.

You are going to have to start doing a lot of research and learn the names of all the different proteins and ways things are allowed to be put in foods under different names. Most doctors are less than helpful with this stuff, even allergists. You will do a great job, as you are already seeking answers and solutions. Hang in there, your baby will be fine, because clearly he has a mom who cares!

If you need links to websites, just let me know.

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H.M.

answers from Philadelphia on

My son was completely lactose intolerant...even on breast milk! So he was a soy formula baby. Nestle Good Start: inexpensive and did wonders for him! The first week was the roughest with the constant throwing up, but after a few days he stopped spitting up and was no longer gassy or fussy.

Now my daughter started showing the same problems my son did, so I went ahead and supplemented with soy formula. She got so constipated on soy formula that the poor baby couldn't poop until I used a glycerin suppository. So now I was stuck with a baby who couldn't have soy and couldn't have straight milk and that's when I found out about a reduced lactose formula. It contains 25% of the lactose that regular formula does and it was specifically designed for babies like mine. The Target brand is literally the same as the Enfamil...I pulled the label off of my Target can and underneath was a misprinted Enfamil label; however, Target formula costs $14.99 while the Enfamil is $24.99.

Then there's also the organic formula. A friend of mine supplemented both of her babies with the organic, but the only problem after that was when it was time to put them on actual milk. Regular milk would cause them to break out in hives like your baby did, but the organic didn't. So now her boys can only have organic milk otherwise they get a rash around their mouths and start to "feel itchy".

Hopefully this will give you a couple of ideas to help. Hope your little guy gets better!

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J.H.

answers from Philadelphia on

Your baby is still so young. Truly, you are not supposed to introduce milk proteins until a year b/c their digestive system is not developed enough for this. Often times babies will be sensitive to things very young that they are not sensitive to later on, hence the list of foods that your baby can't eat until after 1.

Is there a reason that you are stopping the breastfeeding? Your baby will benefit most from the breast milk. When you breastfeed, you are building up your baby's defences to future allergies and the longer you do it, the better off they will be.

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T.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

My daughter also had a milk protein allergy. Later we discovered she had a peanut allergy as well. The good news is that they often outgrow the milk protein allergy. My daughter did by age 2 1/2, however we did have to carry epi-pens with us once she reached toddler age and was eating solid foods. She also had a reaction to peanuts which she shouldn't have been introduced to until well after 3. I was a new mom and didn't know anything about food allergies. But the rule of thumb is this. If your child exhibits one food allergy then you need to be careful about introducing other high risk foods such as nuts, fish, eggs etc until they are of certain ages. An allergist can work with you and even do blood tests and skin tests to help you figure things out. My daughter did fine on soy formulas. There are generic brands which are the same price as reg formulas and if your doctor hasn't mentioned this, mine didn't that's why an allergist can really help, you need to cut all dairy from your diet if you want to breastfeed. The proteins from the foods you eat will be in your milk as well and can make your baby fussy, gassy, crampy and colicky. My daughter was so miserable when I was nursing because I had dairy and nuts in my diet all the time and didn't know she was allergic to them until later.

I just had another baby 6 months ago and because I wanted to breastfeed him and his sister had 2 food allergies as well as eczema, which is often related to food allergies, I had to take all dairy, eggs, and nuts out of my diet starting two weeks before my son was due in order to not introduce him to these proteins. These are the top 3 and since my daughter had 2 of them we wanted to not take the chance with him.

When moving to real food all I can say is learn to read ingredients. An allergist will give you papers to help, but milk proteins are in lots of unexpected foods like chicken nuggets, Mcdonald french fries, buillon cubes some deli meats and the lists go on. You will learn fast how to keep your child safe and just be encouraged that milk protein allergies are the ones kids often outgrow. At 2 1/2 our daughter did. I help these helps, but definitely find a good allergist. We go the the Asthma and Allergy specialists in Jenkintown. They are really good. Good luck!

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S.K.

answers from Philadelphia on

My son who is now 3.5 years old, had the same reaction yours did when I gave him Enfamil for the first time at 7.5 months. He broke out in hives from head to toe immediately and vomited a few times. Thankfully I didn't freak out since I'm an RN and knew I could handle the emergency. Anyways, after testing a month later we found out he's allergic to milk, soy, eggs, and peanuts. So, I had to read my labels of ingredients when shopping and I continued to breastfeed him until he was 1 year old. He drank rice milk until a month ago when we did a food challenge test and found out he's no longer allergic to soy - now he's on soymilk. We're testing him for eggs next and maybe milk after that. Our CHOP allergist, Dr. Fiedler (who is awesome!!) says he won't test him for peanuts until he's 5 years old just to give him enough time to outgrow it(hopefully). Go see an allergist and start learning about allergies - the FAAN website is great. If you want to call me with any questions, just email me and I'd be happy to talk to you more. Best wishes!

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A.P.

answers from Allentown on

Oh my goodness! You must've been so worried!
If it were me, I would definitly continue to nurse & would nurse for at least a year. Studies have shown that this greatly reduces the risk of allergies.

In addition, I would delay the introduction of solids. Dr. Sears suggest waiting until some time between 6 & 9 mos (instead of 4-6 mos). Sometimes even longer with children prone to allergies.

When you do introduce them, I'd watch very carefully for allergic reactions & would hold off on the more allergic foods for even longer (ie: corn, wheat, citrus, berries, soy, dairy, etc...). I would not suggest introducing dairy until closer to a year & a half.

You may have the best luck, once he's old enough, with rice or goat milk.

I would also highly suggest checking out the Dr. Sears website (I think it's www.DrSears.com) and also www.KellyMom.com There's a plethera of info on there!

Good luck! I hope this is the only scare you have!!!
A.

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B.S.

answers from Philadelphia on

My son experienced something similar when we gave him "Yo Baby" yogurt. We had a quick trip to the ER that day.

Milk allergy is fairly common. You doctor is correct; keep breast feeding. You may even want to watch your own intake of cow's milk as that protein can travel thru breast milk. There are hypo-allergenic formulas in which the cow's milk protein is broken down already and presents a lower chance of a reaction. Other options include goat milk formula but your son has about a 25% chance of being allergic to that as well as goat milk and cow milk have a casien protien in common.

Do whatever you can to avoid soy based formula. You don't need your growing boy's hormone balance altered. And many kids allergic to cow's milk are also allegic to soybeans.

The good thing is that kids have a better than 50/50 chance of outgrowing the allergy. Best of luck to you.

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J.W.

answers from Philadelphia on

My son had a problem with milk based formula & they tried all kinds. In my experience just try soy based, it work for my son. Then when he was 6mos old I was able to start him 1/2 & 1/2 , slowly introducing the all milk based again. Now he is a happy 2 yr old that drink milk like crazy, however he drinks 2% milk because the whole milk still tends to give him a diaper rash.

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S.S.

answers from Scranton on

The allergy is to the cow milk protein. Other milks (such as breastmilk) should be fine, unless your doctor told you of other protein allergies. You can substitute other animal milk (goat) or soy or rice formula. I had this allergy and outgrew it in childhood. Now my daughter has it also.
Check your own diet if you are still breastfeeding. If the baby is gassy or fussy it may be that you have eaten too much dairy. After 6 months, I was able to eat a little more without a problem, but my baby still has a reaction if I eat say a bowl of ice cream. WATCH BABY CEREAL. I can not believe this, but I gave my daughter cereal (which should be just processed grains) that conteined "WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE" - that is cow milk and will make your baby sick. You're about to become an expert at reading labels. I'm sorry you have to go through all this, but it isn't so bad once you realize what you can and can not feed your child. At this time, if you cannot find an affordable formula, you can always pump and store your milk for bottles.

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D.F.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hi K.,

My son who is 7 1/2 months old has a milk protein allergy and is on similac alimentum which is a hypoallergenic formula. I thought my son had colic because he cried for almost 3 months and had a rash which I thought was ecema & was on medicine for reflux. It took less than 24 hrs to notice a complete difference. He is now the happiest little guy!! I just recently had him tested for food allergies he is not allergic to milk however I still can not put him on regular formula, he also had a bad reaction to soy. A milk protein allergy is a fancier way of saying lactose intolerant....at least that is what the GI specialist told me. They are confident that most children outgrow this by 12 months of age. We are having issues with baby food...he is gagging but that is related to the reflux. If you are still breast feeding it is best to cut dairy completely out of your diet. The hypoallergenic formula is very expensive but ask your insurance they may cover it...mine does not :( or ask your pediatrician for samples! Best of luck to you and your baby

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L.W.

answers from Scranton on

Have you asked your doctor about soymilk? You may have to switch hinm to soy based formula and later on to soy milk. As he grows to eat food you may have to cook it with soymilk instead of cow's milk. It shouldn't betoo difficult soymilk is found in nearly every gorcry store now. I hope this has helped though I am not sure how the ped will recommend ask him first.

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S.H.

answers from Philadelphia on

Your baby has a definite allergy to milk and it sounds like it could potentially be dangerous. My baby was diagnosed at 4 months and tehn 6months with multiple foor allergies and milk being his worst. this was confirmed by RAST testing, which is a blood test. and to respond to an e-mail that you got, DO NOT give your baby gerber rice cereal because Gerber is known to have milk contamination in theire cereals. My son was severely broken out with raw skin from gerber cereall due to milk contamination. I had to stop nursing him at 6 months because I oculd eat hardly anything because he was so severe. Milk intolerance and milk allergy are TOTALLY different and your son sounds like he definitely has allergy to it. Please consult with a pediatrician and a pediatric allergis to have the rast testing done on your little boy. As he gets more exposed the reaction can get worse each time and he could go into anaphylactic shock. I belong to a food allergy support in Marlton and there are many children who are anaphylactic to even things like eggs, it isn't just to nuts. please be careful and seek the proper help and diagnosis for your baby.

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C.M.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Two of my three kids had milk protein problems. The middle one the worst and I nursed all three. I had no trouble starting baby foods with them. I started cereal by 5 months for all three, so you could start cereal right away. Generally by 6 months, babies need food other than breast milk. I nursed until they were a year old and then went to a cup with whole milk. Even the one who had the milk allergy the worst did well. It's like magic when they turn a year, it all went away. Hopefully the allergy doesn't stay, but it's possible it could. Watch for reactions closely every time you introduce a new food and wait a couple days between so you know what didn't work if there's any reaction.

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S.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

My two sons, have a milk allergy. They did not develop a rash, instead they had streaks of blood in their stools. My oldest son, he's now 7, outgrew his allergy after a year and is now fine with milk protein. However, I have a 5 month old, with the same issue. I breastfeed my 7 month old for 14 months, and I'm currently pumping for my 5 month old. I have a milk free diet and I'm very diligent about what I eat. My doctor gave me a list of ingredients to avoid, therefore I'm vigilant about what I eat. You will be amazed at the number of products that have a milk derivative. Since my son is consuming alot I also supplement with Elecare which is very expensive. If you decide to continue with breastfeeding, there is a hosts of information out there to help with maintaing a milk free diet.

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L.C.

answers from Pittsburgh on

My son has a milk allergy, and we found out the same way. He never had a problem when nursing (and I wasn't dairy free), but when we started supplementing with formula, he began having problems. He also had an allergy to soy and peanuts. Apparently the protein in dairy is very similar to the soy protein, so a lot of people allergic to one (although not the majority) are allergic to both. There are a lot of resources for you to tap into, and an increasing awareness about allergies. Babies outgrow allergies. Not all the time, but the allergist we saw said that a fair number of kids allergic to dairy are no longer allergic by the age of 5.

Because my son was allergic to both dairy and soy, we had to give him Alimentum, which was expensive, but we often bought it cheaper through Craig's List. Depending on where you live, your insurance might help you pay for it or it might be reimbursable through a medical spending account.

If the allergy continues, you will need to be vigilant about what he eats. If he is in daycare, you will need to review everything that they give the kids -- not just the menu, but all of the ingredients for everything that is served. We ended up just bringing in our own food -- we couldn't count on someone realizing that a simple decision like cooking the broccoli in butter one day could have serious consequences, and we found that almost everything served at the daycare had soy in it. Also, your doctor can give you a list of ingredients to avoid, casteine (sp?) is dairy, for instance. We had to get an epipen, but fortunately, never had to use it. We carried it everywhere, had one at home, one at day care, and one at the grandparents' house. You should also keep Benedryl handy because your baby might be allergic to another food when it is intorduced.

My son is 18 months old, and he still tests positive for dairy, but he is no longer allergic to soy, which has opened up so many options for us. In addition, his levels have dropped for dairy, and he will get tested again in the summer. He is no longer testing positive for peanuts, but we are still avoiding all nuts and seafood until his is 3 and eggs until he is 2. Doctor's orders.

Before he was cleared for soy, we continued him on Alimentum and also gave him rice milk. Rice milk, however, doesn't have much protein, which is why we had to still give him the formula.

Hope this helps!

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J.W.

answers from Harrisburg on

Two of my three children have had/have this. I was breast feeding only and they started to get blood in their stool. I took them to the docs and they said that it was colitis due to milk and soy protein (milk/soy protein allergy). Wheat can also be a problem in some babies. So I had to cut all dairy and soy out of my diet (since it was transfering through my milk to them). If I want to supplement with a bottle not my milk, I need to give Alimentum from Similac or Nutramigen from Enfamil. These run around $25 for the small can. Surpising there are many babies that have this. luckily my son who is now 5yrs out grew the allergy about 9 months and can eat and drink dairy and soy. He started solid foods on the normal schedule. His favorite drink is milk. My daughter is only 11 weeks old and she has it also and we originally thought it was only dairy but it is dairy and soy for her also. I have not been able to fix her problem yet I am still working on getting the blood out of her stool. There is an unknown item in my food that has dairy or soy in it, I have read all the labels and cant figure out what it is. If I was you I would ask your doctor to check a poopy diaper for microscopic blood so you know if you should change your diet. You do not want your child to become anemic. The blood is caused by the protein irritating the intestinal lining. I hope is helps. Good luck

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I.H.

answers from Boston on

I beastfed my son to 13 months because at 10 months I fed him some baby cereal that had whey in it, and after 3 spoonfulls he had a full blown reaction like you described. Except when I called the doctor and told her his lips were swollen she told me to call 911. At the time the doctors didn't know what he was allergic to because there were to many ingredients. When we finally got to the allergist he we found out he was severly allergic to milk. We have to check ingredients on everything eats to make sure there are no milk products in it. We give him soy milk with calcium and vitamin D added. He's now 2 1/2. We still have to go to the allergist every 4 months or so to get him tested but otherwise he's very healthy! You just need to pay attention more to the foods around him and what other people are eating. This will be especially importatnt when he starts eating table food. We always have to bring our own snacks to friends houses and our own dairy free cupcakes to birthday parties. There are some good cook books out there that can show you how to make food without milk. Also if the doctor didn't tell you you should probably avoid milk in your own diet while your nursing. Milk allergy is tough but doable. They sell vegan cheese (dairy free) at whole foods which we use to make mac and cheese, and they even sell dairy free chocolate chips and Earthbalance soy butter.
Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.
I. H

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H.F.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Our 7 month old did NOT have such a severe reaction to his milk based formula. His reaction had to do with whether or not he could keep it down. He spit up quite a bit with each bottle. I'm not sure if it is the milk protein, lactose, or if they are they same thing. Our doctor suggested the lactose free or soy formula when our son was sick and vomiting from a virus. After the virus went away, I found that the soy was staying down with the lactose free. We switched him back to the regular and the spitting up began again. He has happily been on soy formula for the past 2 months.

I'm not sure if the soy has the protein you are talking about. I would check though. It is just as healthy for them as the regular formula and is usually the same price or pennies different in price from the regular. We use the Walmart Store Brand formula. (I'm on my third child. I have heard before from several sources that they are heavily regulated by the FDA and are all pretty much the same. But being paranoid, I checked the labels anyhow.) I've used Isomil and Prosobee before as well.

Good luck with your little guy. I hope this helps.

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H.J.

answers from Philadelphia on

K.,
My baby is on Nutramigen. It is an Enfamil brand. I recommend that one, yes it is more expensive but if you are only supplementing it’s not so bad. I tried Soy with my son but his poop was so hard he screamed something fierce; we have had no digestion problems with Nutramigen.
Also you might be able to get some samples form your Pediatrician.
When you are ready for real milk at one or so you probably can use goat milk as this is better tolerated then cow milk.
Your Doctor should be able to help you with these things.
You could also try pumping.
Some kids grow out of Milk allergies, the more you can keep cow milk out of your baby’s diet the better off they will be.
H.

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K.N.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hi

My son also has a milk protein allergy, but his allergies are internal since he has eosinophilic esophagitis....so although our situations are different, can recommend a great allergist...Dr. Spergel at CHOP. Not sure what they do for infants-how they test them, but my son received extensive allergy testing and he really is one of the most respected allergists around. He appeared on Extreme Makeover recently. The item in milk that kids are usually allergic to is casein...it is in milk, cheese, yogurt, etc...

Also, sometimes when you have to switch formulas for medical reasons, some insurance plans pick up some of the costs.

Not sure where you live but there is a new allergy support group starting up in Gloucester County. website is http://fasg-gc.tripod.com and their email is ____@____.com
good luck

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S.P.

answers from Philadelphia on

My advice is to stick with breast milk as long as possible -- and to join a nursing mothers support group, if one is available where you live. If you work outside the home nursing becomes more difficult, but many have done it, and your local support group can help you.

At 4-5 months you may need to supplement your milk with cereal, as it provides iron that is absent from your milk. Very likely your baby will outgrow the milk allergy and will be able to transition from your milk to cow's milk from a cup when he is a year or so old.

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M.M.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I hope the nursing routine works for a while longer or introduce the soy protien or soy/rice milks.
Just guessing, since we don't have milk protein allergies.

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D.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Hi K.
As you can tell from all the responses, milk allergy in babies is quite common. My little guy also had a milk allergy at that age - I realized it when he was about 2 months old. I had to avoid milk in my diet (since I was nursing) because it made him very fussy (gas I think)and even a small bit of dairy in my diet would give him eczema on his face. He too broke out if I tried any formula, so I avoided it as much as possible. I work full-time, so it was hard, but if I really needed to top off a bottle of pumped breastmilk with formula, I tried one of the formulas without milk but I kept even that to a minimum. I stuck with nursing for the first year, and when he turned one, I tried a little bit of milk and he had outgrown the allergy so I could move him to normal cow's milk. So it doesn't impact him at all now. My sister's baby was similar, but she didn't outgrow the allergy, unfortunately. She is 18 months now and still allergic. My sister has to watch everything the baby eats.

My advice is to keep nursing and avoid dairy in your diet until your baby is one to minimize exposure. Then try a tiny bit and see what happens. If you are lucky, he could outgrow it between now and then. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

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L.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

K.,
HI! His little body probably is only ready for mamma's milk, and can't handle the cow's milk. I'd try the cow's milk again when he is maybe? 9? or 12 months.
If you have any specific questions, feel free to e me directly.
smiles,
L., 39
Brianna 21m & yes! still bf'ing!
and baby
in Evansburg/Skippack/Collegeville
butterflylindamarie at yahoo dot com

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