Milk Allergy? or Starting the Terrible Twos Early?

Hi T.,

I almost didn't respond to this post because I knew you probably wouldn't like what I have to say. What I don't understand is why a 15 month old baby is even being offered pizza or oranges? This is probably why he is not sleeping well...is there anyway he is getting enough in his tummy to make him feel content? This is why I suggest to parents not to even offer one bite of table food until your child is to an age they are capable of eating nourishing meals. He is a fussy eater because you are allowing him to be...find some healthy foods that most 15 month olds will eat and give him those for his meals. He will not let himself starve...and more than likely he will find that they aren't that bad. Foods such as applesauce, peaches, vegetables, mac and cheese, spaghetti, bananas, different flavored oatmeal, scrambled eggs, toast....one of my children's favorites is chicken noodle soup with saltines in it. The toughest job you will ever have is to be a parent because you are the one that has to set some rules, be consistent and follow through. I know there are lots of parents out there that are soft-hearted and think they can't follow through on things like this, or leaving them in bed to go back to sleep, but after the initial 3 or 4 days it takes to change the bad habits the parents just can't believe how much happier their whole family is. Once your baby starts eating better, and sleeping better his whole attitude will change. You will see smiles you never saw before....on his face, and yours!

C.

Both of my boys were lactose intolerant until they turned 2. My oldest started having problems shortly after birth; my second started when we switched from breast milk to cow's milk. The major symptom for them was terrible, painful gas. It would make them cry and wake up a lot during the night.
A simple solution, if that is the problem, is to give your son a Lactaid pill before he has milk or anything else with lactose in it. Lactaid is very safe and there are no adverse side-effects.
I contacted the company about dosage for little ones and they said that you have to figure it out by trial and error, and that nothing bad will happen if you give them too much.
After dealing with it with both boys, I have seen that that is true. They never had any problems with Lactaid, and it was WAY cheaper and easier than buying special or expensive milks, or working out a lactose-free diet.
Lactaid is not a medication, it is a dietary supplement. When you are lactose intolerant, your body is lacking the natural lactase enzyme that is needed to break down lactose, a sugar found in milk and other dairy products. Lactaid provides the lactase enzyme so your body can break down the lactose.
Good luck!

I dont know much about allergys but it could be just a stage. my son is 18 months old and is very stubborn and hates to hear the word no. he has good days and bad days but he has been a big fit thower as well. he to will arch his back and scream and cry. we try not to pay attention to him till he stops or we try to direct his attention to something else. i would try giving him different foods though. if he is hungry he will eat. my son was on all table foods at 10 months and he likes everything. however we only give him french fries, or cheeseburger or pizza once every couple weeks. i try to make sure he eats things that are better for him and the fun junk food once in a while. but not often. the greasy foods my be giving him a tummy ache to. you could try stopping the milk for a bit and see how he does. there are formulas out there for kids over 12 months. i think its nestle that makes a formula for 12 to 24 months. you could try that other wise i would say its just a stage. he cant communicate the way he wants so he gets frustrated very easy. good luck, i hope things get better.

he could very well be allergic.

check out this link:

http://www.all-creatures.org/health/milk.html

in all reality, milk isnt as good for us as the 'public' leads us to believe..... so its something to think about. try giving him almond milk or even rice milk. in all reality, milk is NOT as important to calcium intake as we think.
either way, if your child gets a healthy diet of fruits vegetables whole grains and legumes (you know, beans, etc) the calcuim in milks are a great addition to those things, but shouldnt really be consumed in the amounts that people expect. really, just being aware that animal fats of any kind are not great for us, and just reducing their use, choosing fruits veggies and water when needed instead, can go a long ways toward better health.

those symptoms sound like definatly something is wrong :(

"terrible twos" is more about independence, wanting to do things on his own, wanting to make more choices, that kind of things - even defiance. in a child who has been consistently cared for and responded to, such as in an attachment parenting situation, the terrible twos arent terrible at all. and usually the toughest part of the year is the 2.5 year mark, not the 2 year mark. lol. i dont know why.
this sounds like something entirely different.

good luck with this. you can refer to your doctor for more information about if he really is allergic or not, but you can also try going a week or two without any milk or dairy at all, and see how he reacts. get some goats milk, rice milk, or almond milk (usually in the health foods section of your grocery store) and have him drink only at meals or only at 2 meals even. really, milk companies have a bazillion dollars to advertise and push milk on people. in all honesty, 2 cups a day is more than enough for anyone. most of the time one should be drinking water. not juice, not milk, but water.

try that and see if his symptoms go away. if so, you know your answer. also try to avoid fatty meats as well because its basically the same thing, the same issues. milk is animal fats in it, and meats with animal fats... just as bad.
about food in general, meats should be the side dish and veggies and etc the main dish. contrary to what our society impresses on us, but look around. if the majority of people are eating a certain way, and the majority of people are unhealthy..... its not hard to put 2 and 2 together.

good luck. i hope your son feels better soon.

I think it is the age. My sone is 15months as well. i know a lot of people remarked about the eating, but my son loves to eat. He eats what ever we eat and eats very healthy but he still throws fits, screams, etc... I knew I was in for it when he was less then a year old and I would not let him have a small toy. He flopped on his tummy and had a small version of a tantrum! Oh my. When we are in the car he screams because some time we give the kids animal crackers for a snack to tide them over until we get home. But on small trips he thinks he needs them to and throws a fit thinking he will get what he wants. My mom did daycare for quite a few years when I was little. She said that if the kids were really naughty when they were little they were better when they got older (the 4 and 5’s) my oldest son was so great when he was little but when he reached age 3 it was a whole different game! I am hoping my mom was right and it will get better! Good luck and just remember you are the parent and you just have to put your foot down and not take that kind of behavior. I even started giving him time outs in his pack and play. It only took 2 times and he started to get the picture.

T.,
My daughter had an undiagnosed milk allergy until she was just over two. It stuted her development. Allergies can show up in many different ways. I would suggest taking all dairy away for one week. See if it makes a difference. It is really hard to do...everything has dairy! Don't buy any special stuff, just do a soy milk or formula and eliminate all other dairy. Most doc's won't do allergy tests unless they are seeing lots of "red flags". Another way to test for allergies and intolerances is to find a kinesiologist. Some don't believe in this but I do completely. You can ask your chiropractor to help you in locating one. Good luck!

S.

Hello,
THis does not sound like a terrible twos problem. It sounds as if he may have a stomach ache when he eats, and the very bland french fries may actually acgree with him. Same with the fruit. True milk allergy will show allergic type symptoms, ie. swelling, hives, runny nose, itchy eyes. Gastric discomfort can arrise in many with problems digesting milk, and is seem with vomiting, diarrhea, and discomfort. Does he toot a lot after drinking the milk? COuld be a sign of gastric trouble. I would try yogurt to see if he can eat that. What about cheese? He will eat cheese on the pizza right? You can tell if it is milk related by giving him things other than just milk. In any case, I would not force it, and seek help from the pediatrician.
Good luck,
H.

Could be the acid in an orange.... or the acid in the pizza sauce, or the fact that he's not eating anything healthy and getting next to no nutrition.

I would go on a food strike. offer him meals that you make, meals that you and your husband eat for bfast, lunch, and dinner. If he refuses to eat, he won't starve to death. He will learn that mom is not a short order cook and he will eat what is given to him.

My oldest has a milk protein allergy, which stems from a nurse in teh hospital giving him formula against my wishes. Now whenever he has too much milk or ice cream his eczema breaks his skin open to bleeding oozing scabs. Its awful.

My boys are 6.5 and 3... and they eat whatever I serve them. They know that I'm not going to make htem another meal, and I've done that since they were little... you eat what is given or you don't eat. Picky eaters are made, not born, so if you are tough now, nip it in the bud, he'll bust out of his shell. If you keep eggging this pickiness on, he'll continue down this path of unhealthy eating. He's 15mos... he of course is going ot have preferences... everyone does. But no 15mo old has business eating only pizza and french fries.

I would try going back to your baby formula that he was on and see if anything changes. If not, then he is testing his limits and you're in for your patience to be tested. I have a nearly 4 year old girl and she has a milk SENSITIVITY. Her reactions to dairy is major issues with not being able to have a bowl movement and gas. That is VERY uncomfortalbe. It is different from a milk allergy. If his behavior has been a sudden change, I think it could be a milk issue. Trust your instincts and do what you think is right. I hate seeing other mom's bash on you for your child's eating habits as I know how stressful that can be on a mom. Sure it is good to always offer new foods, be consistent and push the issue a bit, but a really stuborn kid is a very different ball game. I hope this helped some. Good luck!

Hi T.

Sounds like a normal 15 month old . My only question is would you eat baby food once you have eaten real food . I would not . Just keep offering him every thing you eat at meal times . Both my kids were and at some times pretty picky still . He is just testing what he can do and not do . It is not from the milk unless he is puking or has a rash . Milk usally does not make a child have temper tantrums and not sleep .

My son is lactose intolerant, which we finally figured out at 18 months. He had the same symptoms yours has. Once I switched him to soy milk, he was fine. There is some controversy as to using soy, especially in boys, though. So I recommend trying Lactaid Milk or any other lactose-free milk. That is what my son drinks now.

When you say he is not sleeping, how bad is it? I counted each time my son woke up and cried out for several weeks in a row, and most nights were a dozen times or more. That doesn't count the fussing he did that didn't quite wake him up either. If it's anything like that for you, I urge you to try cutting ALL dairy out of his diet for two weeks (that's how long it takes to get completely out of his system). If it's a lactose intolerance, you should start seeing steady improvement almost immediately. It was a miracle for us.

If he is lactose intolerant, if/when you decide to start re-introducing milk products to his diet, start with those with the lowest lactose levels.

Here is a link to lactose percentages in dairy products:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/stevecarper/perc...

and a link to the "SuperGuide" to dairy by the same author.

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/stevecarper/guid...

This guy was SOOOO helpful. You can even contact him with questions, and he will actually respond in short order.

As for the fussy eater issue: I recommend asking his doctor for a multivitamin. We started out with the liquid one and then switched to a chewable. (and get creative with your pizzas! You can put almost anything on a pizza- just add one new ingredient at a time. Grate stuff to mix into the sauce that goes on the pizza- you can get carrots, broccoli, fresh mushrooms, tons of stuff on it that way. Or try themed pizzas- Tropical with pineapple, Dinosaur Meat-Eaters pizza with several meats, Rainbow Pizza, with veges in all colors, placed like a rainbow, Saint Patrick's day pizza with only green stuff on it (green peppers, green olives, green beans, broccoli) alternate name- Green Gross-out Pizza. Another idea: find out what different animals eat and then try their foods out- Monkeys:Bananas, Bunnies:Lettuce, Carrots, Horses: Apples etc.

I wish you best of luck with your son's issues. If it is lactose intolerance, it is so easy to "fix" just by not having lactose-laden foods. Do check out the website links- they are what helped us determine what to feed our son in terms of dairy.

Contact me through "send a private message" if you have questions.
Jen

I just posted a question about a milk allergy as well and after doing so I did some research. A milk allergy would have symptoms like hives, difficulty breathing etc. We are experiencing diarreah. If anything I would say a lactose intolerance. Maybe you could try soy milk, or going back to a 2nd stage formula to see if it makes a diff. If not, I'd say it's a stage. I know that kids love to test their limits at that age. They are testing you and their newfound freedoms. Just be strong and set those limits and hopefully he'll get past this. Good luck!

It could very well be a milk intolerance or sensitivity. My son could tolerate milk-based formula, cheese and butter, but give him cow's milk and he would cry and arch his back and just be really fussy. He would sporadically puke. We give him goat's milk now and he is just fine. I would really recommend goat's milk.

Cow's milk is VERY hard to digest.

It could just be the lactose, there's no harm in trying lactose-free milk. It didn't work for my son--he got hives all over his torso.