Cows Milk Allergy - Weaning help needed!!

[RaeOfLight]

Hello there. Just had a letter back from the hospital saying my daughter (nearly 7 months) is allergic to cows milk. She had a reaction to some baby porridge at 24 weeks old, had hives, swelling face, lips and eyelids, and therefore was sent for testing. She also has eczema, which could be linked.

The letter says for me to cut out milk in my diet (am breastfeeding), and says that we will be refered to a dietitian for further help. I phoned today to ask when that would be and the department said they had no idea!!!

So, I have no clue now what I am supposed to do. I am supposed to be giving her yogurts, cheese, milk in cooking and on breakfast etc but I obviously can't do that. And I struggle to express so an alternative would be good.

I have no experience with allergies, as no one in my family has one, so have no idea what to do to replace the important things she needs, food wise, before we eventually get an appointment.

Any advice gratefully received!! Thanks...

Hello. At first it seems everything has dairy in. It doesn't and it's a minefield at first but you find your way around it.

I would think they will prescribe a formula like Neocate that can be used in breakfasts etc. As you are breastfeeding cut down on dairy yourself. And don't worry about yoghurts/cereal/ cheese. You can do mushed fruits Or make sloppy porridge or weetabix ( like ReadyBrek) with water for a short term measure.

My child was older than yours so we didn't do early weaning. Are you BLW, purees or dong a mix of finger foods and mushy foods with a spoon?

Spreads like Vitalite and Pure are good replacements for butter/Marg and good for cooking/ baking with. Also olive oil can be used for cooking instead of butter. I hope you like cooking and baking cos it really helps!

Obviously you can do cucumber/carrot/ toast etc for finger foods.
I make a lot of chicken casseroles and freeze them (you could make these and purée them) And little cottage pies etc... At the moment my son loves sweet and sour with rice and noodles ( he is 2). So it's a case of adapting recipes. I haven't found a decent tasting cheese sauce replacement yet. Oh and for future reference - peanut butter has no butter in it ( I stupidly didn't realise that).

Puds are harder but whilst little you can stick with fruits. You can buy ice-cream called Swedish Glacé which is actually gorgeous. I make alot of cakes and buns. For when your child is older muffins are good to bake cos they usually have oil not butter in and I make carrot muffins. Dark chocolate is ok so they don't have to go without when older.

Have a search on the Allergies section as there are lots of ideas. And if you want any recipes give us a shout.

It's so confusing at first but it gets easier...

Thanks SO much for your reply. I just feel completely lost as have been told what the allergy is but not how to manange it, or how to ensure she is getting enough calcium etc.

I will be doing a mixture of finger foods and mush. And I'm not great at cooking but I guess I will have to learn to like it!

Didn't realise there were alternatives for butter etc. so thanks for that. And I also thought I needed to stop butter, cheese etc for myself so am glad I don't. (any idea why they should be ok?)

I went to get ReadyBrek but it says contains milk on the ingredients section :-( so stuck with the Weetabix suggestion. Thanks.

I am just so worried she'll miss out on essential vitamins, fat etc with having no dairy. Plus I was brought up with cheese on everything so this is all very alien!!!

Would see the GP for the Neocate on prescription. Its got all the vitamins and calcium needed for babies, it might help her with her eczema as well.
Rice milk tastes better on cereal though and it can be used for baking. Pure spread is great for toast and cooking. And yes there is quite a bit of home cooking but there are lots of receipes out there. If there is any advantage to having a milk allergy it is babies and toddlers just love their veggies!!

Could I add to take medical advice on rice milks and soya milk from a dietician and consultant.. Rice milk is reported to have traces of arsenic in it so consultants often hold back from okay'ing it for little ones. And soya had links to infertility (mainly boys) so that's another option less attractive.

Sorry - don't mean to sound preachy. I looked at the alternatives in the supermarket thinking " oh loads of possibilities" then after seeing the dietician I realised it wasn't that easy. You have to make an informed choice.

As I said - it's a minefield and frustrating. Get the medical advice. I should think you'll get prescribed something like Neocate ( though they hate prescribing it as it is expensive). Then you'll start to make your way gradually through this.

And don't give yourself a hard time about being upset about it. I know I had a watery eye at my little one not having my gorgeous lasagne,moussaka etc or getting a ice-cream cone from an ice-cream van. But there's worse things in life and you find alternatives.

Its really hard when they are first diagnosed, and like pancakeflipper said, its does seem like everything has milk in it, even stuff you would never had thought. The anphylaxis campaign has a really good wesbite with information on.
On a positive note, my DD was diagnosed at 4 months, and had several anaphylactic reactions to milk, but did outgrow it just before she was five. I know alot of kids don't, but there is hope.

Thank you all. I do feel a bit upset about it, but you're right, there are far worse things to have.

Just need to stop panicking, get a grip and get on with it!!

hiya, my ds is 2 and has been dairy free since weaning. As others have said it's daunting to start with but try to just see it as an inconvenience and you will soon find things that work for you.
btw tescos own brand hot oats can be used instead of ready brek and are fortified with vits / minerals. Not sure what milk you'll be prescibed but once you get it, a bowl of those hot oats every day should provide all the calcium etc. I expressed milk til ds was 1yr then onto soya milk. I struggled to express much but it was enough to use on his cereal - I could only get milk when he fed off one side and I pumped from the other. Have you tried that ?
Also found his ezcema made a dramatic improvement when I gave up dairy whilst breast feeding. I did it completely and his skin was better in a matter of weeks.
hth
x

Hi my DS has a cows milk allergy and we were advised to use Oat Milk. He actually drinks more of it then he ever did formula or milk (he was not diagnosed until after he was 1). Rice milk is not advised for under 5's due to the traces of arsenic. And oatly do a cream as well so great for cooking. And don't panic, it is not as bad as you think, there are lots of alternatives and she may well be able to tolerate soy youghurts (on advice of the dietician) and we were told that a lot of bubs grow out of cows milk allergies. My DS is due to be tested again at 3 years of age. Good luck.

Hi my son is 6 months old and was diagnosed with a milk allergy last month. We got to see a paediatric allergy dietician within a fortnight (I rang up and there was a cancellation - it is worth phoning the dietician directly if you can).

He has been prescribed Aptamil Pepti milk as am going back to work soon and want to stop breastfeeding during the day.

We were told to wean in the same way we would normally but to introduce other foods at higher risk of allergies individually and in a small amount first- eg, wheat, then soya, then fish - first tinned tuna, then white fish then oily fish. Eggs to try in cooked form first eg egg pasta or a cake/biscuit.
At the moment he is mainly on fruit and veg, baby pasta, mashed potato made with Pure and his Aptamil Pepti, I make rice pudding with the Pepti as well - when we saw the dietician we got a recipe book from her as well as lots of leaflets. She actually recommended Ready Brek as it is full of calcium and told us that the 'may contain milk' just means it has been made in a factory that has had milk products in. My son has been fine with the Ready Brek and he is quite sensitive eg gets hives if you kiss him after drinking milk or if he plays with toys that other babies have sucked.

While breastfeeding she will get calcium from breastmilk but if you do not have enough in your diet it will come from your bones and teeth so make sure you take a calcium and vitamin D supplement if you give up milk (can get on prescription or buy from the chemist). There seems to be conflicting advice about whether you can have milk when breastfeeding - I was told by the allergy consultant that I didn't need to give up milk as he didn't react when I was exclusively breastfeeding, only when I made him some baby porridge with formula milk when I started weaning.

I felt tons better about it all after seeing the dietician so hassle them until they see you. Good luck.

Thank you all so much for your information and advice. It really does help to know that people manage this relatively easily.

Jumping, no I hadn't tried that, but I will do. I feel as though my supply is not very good lately but maybe more pumping will help???

Thanks ticklebug, where do I find oat milk? My local supermarket only seems to have soya (although I haven't looked in the UHT section - is it more likely to be there than the fresh section?)

Jen, that was all so very helpful, thank you. I HAVE been worried about what to do with more new foods (am ashamed to say when I thought of fish, tinned tuna did not even occur to me ). At the appointment the consultant did mention that Pepti would be given if the results came back positive, but I had no idea what he was talking about at the time, as the word meant nothing to me!! What is Pepti made from please?

As the other mums have said, it really isn't as bad as it seems. I know it can seem overwhelming to start with but you'll soon be an expert in the world of dairy-free! I was also going to suggest Tesco's own brand hot oat cereal (like Ready Brek) as it has added calcium, iron etc so very good for a milk-free baby. If you're not into cooking or need some 'quick fixes' there are actually quite a few baby foods that don't contain milk, you just need to read the labels. Once you've got your milk replacement (eg Pepti, Nutramigen or Neocate) it will be easier as you can use it to make things like custard or choc mousse (using cocoa powder). Most supermarkets have pretty good free-from ranges these days. Good luck x

There's a company called Respect who make the most lovely dairyfree carrot cake. I know you can buy them in Sainsburys. Not that your child is sat there munching cake - but you might fancy it!

My DP discovered that one when trying to buy me a birthday cake that was dairyfree (not a chance of him baking).

And those bars of Frys chocolate ( fondant cream, peppermint cream and orange cream) are dairyfree. Though I tend to scoff them before my kid gets a glimpse of them. Again - not for your baby but for your enjoyment. And just to show there are substitutes so your child won't miss out too much.

Aptamil Pepti is actually made from cow's milk but the protein in it (the part that triggers the allergic response) has been treated and broken down so that your baby doesn't recognise it as cow's milk protein and hopefully doesn't react. Apparently a few very allergic babies can react but the vast majority are fine. You can use it for cooking too. It is meant to taste better than most hypoallergenic milk - I tried it, tastes a bit malty and more watery than normal milk but DS glugs it down happily.

There is Pepti 1 for under 6 monts and Pepti 2 for over 6 months can get both on prescription from your GP.

If you decide to express you could consider hiring a hospital grade double pump - I did this when both my babies were tiny as I had a rubbish supply. I think it was £40/ month from Medela and saved a lot of time.

Thank you all again so much. You really are a helpful bunch with such a wealth of information.

BB, Oatley etc - thanks.

And Frys chocolate bars Pancake !! What a blast from the past!! Didn't know you could still buy them :) And I shop at Sainsburys so will look out for said cake! When I get my arse into gear I shall contact you for some lovely recipes if that's ok.

Jen thanks, strangely the fact that Pepti is cows milk reassures me somewhat. I had no idea what else it could be made from though . I may continue with the breastfeeding a little longer. Although I spied another new tooth today which, alongside its neighbour, sends fear into me!!

Try Cheezley for a cheese substitute, from some Tesco and Holland and Barrett. Toffutti spreadable cheese, again from H&B. Pure spread. Soya milk, soya yogurt, soya custard, soya cream. There is a new soya milk from Alpro specifically for children aged 1-3. For babies my first had Nutramigen and my second Wysoy. Nutramigen is only on prescription but Wysoy you can buy off the shelf. If you can't see the specialist for a while see your GP or see if you can speak to the dietician over the phone. At least with milk you can be fairly sure what is okay as milk will be shown on the Allergen Advice Panel. One thing that isn't is Natural Colour Plain Caramel, E150 I think, this is burnt milk sugar, lactose and can contain traces of milk protien which can upset severely milk allergic children. Both Pure and Alpro have websites with some recipes. I find that M&S lablelling is reliable. Also try the cheaper places like Farm Foods and Iceland as they seem to have things made with vegetable oil rather than butter, garlic bread for example, which in my experience all babies love. Good luck

tescos own margarine (the basics spread in blue packaging) is dairy/soya free too.

M&S have a couple of loaves of bread with no dairy/soya in although they may contain egg in.

Tescos own crumpets are also dairy/soya free and are a godsend in this house

I have also just discovered that sainsburys own pizza bases (bought online) are dairy/soya free so DD (3) had her first pizza last wk

My DD started getting eczema patches at 6/7 mths when she started eating a lot of yoghurt etc. So she had soya milk (So Good brand) and soya yoghurt (alpro natural) instead. You can add eg strawberry smoothies eg Innocent which just contain fruit to the natural soya yoghurt for flavour and sweetness. For margarine, you can use the Pure dairy free or sunflower marg.

For breakfast my DD has soya yoghurt mixed up with smoothie, with cereal stirred in, and toast and banana.

She has goats cheese instead of normal cheese.

That said my DD doesn't have a serious allergy - just if she eats too much dairy her eczema patches come back.

I worried she might not be getting much calcium (esp as she gave up wanting bottles of milk quite early and wouldnt touch soya milk formula!) but two big bowls of yoghurt and bits of cheese daily seem to have been enough - she's got all her teeth and so on!

Some great suggestions here again, thank you all so much. I have made a shopping list!!

Oatly I get from Sainsbury or Ocado in my online shopping but they definitely have it at my local sainsbury and it is usually where the soy milk / uht or free from products are. It is enriched with calcium. The dietician should also give you some leaflets when you finally get the see them. Take care.

So, just to clarify, can she have the normal Alpro yogurts at 7 months? (it confuses me as babies have their own separate yogurt section in the supermarket - what makes them different from adult yogurts?) And can I use Alpro milk in cooking and on her cereal? Got it in my head she can only have breast milk or special formula

I have given my 6 month old the normal Alpro yogurts he seems fine with them (dietician said they were OK and an important source of calcium). Have also bought the plain Alpro yogurt and added my own fruit puree to it. The cows milk baby yogurts tend to be full fat and some use concentrated fruit juice rather than sugar to sweten them but mainly I think the 'baby' label is just marketing. I use Aptamil Pepti for cereal and cooking, I don't think Alpro milk would be harmful, but not as good nutritionally.

They can have the normal Alpro fruit yogs, but they do have quite a lot of sugar in. That's why DH came up with the idea of putting fruit smoothie in a natural soya yoghurt.

Don't think its a big deal though.

You tend to find that the "baby" yoghurts eg Rachel's have lower sugar etc. so I think that is the difference.

Great. Thank you very much. I didn't even think of the natural soya ones. I shall get those and add stuff. Genius ideas - thanks both!

I've been reading with interest. My DD (7 months) has a dairy and egg allergy, so we are working our way warily through weaning. She is ok with soya, so I use alpro milk (the blue cartons are higher fat and calcium enriched) for mixing with porridge and the alpro plain yogurt. We tried the alpro fruit yogurt, but they taste a bit synthetic (and are full of sugar) so I just add home made fruit puree (made in batches and frozen in ice cube trays) to the plain yogurt.

It's ok to use milk or milk substitues in cooking from 6 months onwards, but stick to breast or formula milk for milk feeds until 12 months.

I have tried soya cheese (Cheezley), but it tastes horrid, so I'm just not going to bother. I'm hoping DD will be ok with goat's milk, so we can try goat's cheese a bit later.

I'm finding I just have to be prepared to make everything from scratch, so we know what goes in. Which is pretty much what I've been doing. You can get jars of baby food that are dairy free, you just need to check the labels, and I've got a few for emergencies, but I'm getting into the habit of cooking for DD and am starting to adapt what we eat, so that we can feed her what we eat as much as possible.

And looking on the bright side, according to the babycentre website: "Up to 90 per cent of children will outgrow cow's milk and egg allergies", so this probably won't be a long term issue. :)