Some CMPA questions :)

[pettyprudence]

Hello

My DS (18wks) is EBF and CMP intolerant. So far I have managed to get away with just cutting out milk and cream - this hasn't stopped all the reflux just the screaming (he is now a happy chucker!). However, I am now finding that I am now reacting to dairy! Ice cream was the first indicator but even having a small amount of quiche or chocolate is making me feel really ill/bad. I can't cope with a small baby and no chocolate!

So my questions are:

1. Will I ever be able to eat chocolate/dairy again, even after I finish bf-ing?
2. What the hell will I do about weaning him with solids? Will I be able to give him yogurts, cheeses, etc? Will it just be trial and error to see how he reacts? I'm worried about making him poorly :(

Thank you

pettyprudence, so sorry to hear you and your DS are going through this.

I'm afraid I don't know much about intolerances (my DS has allergies, which is a slightly different thing). It's possible that you are now experiencing reactions to foods that you had previously built tolerance to... hopefully somebody with more knowledge will come along soon!

Your questions:

1. • I don't really know... it is probable that you will be able to eat these foods in the future. However, my own experience is that, although I really missed dairy and eggs etc. to start with, the very thought of these foods now makes me sick. After breastfeeding DS for a couple of years, I made the decision that I would not eat these foods again ever, because I wanted keep them out of his home as far as possible and to show some solidarity with him (but this is a very personal decision, and many mums on these allergy boards do feed their families foods that one or more of their children are allergic to).
2. • Weaning can be scary, and you should keep Piriton syrup at hand in case he does turn out to be allergic, but there is no real need to give him yoghurts/cheese etc. You don't need to worry about weaning for a couple of months yet and, in any case, babies get most of their calories and nutrition from breastmilk/formula until they are at least one year old. Most mums with allergic babies start with low-risk foods (e.g. cooked root vegetables) - there is lots of information in the archives here and if you google.

What kind of support have you had from health professionals? Has your DS referred for allergy testing?

Again, I'm so sorry you're going through this. It can be so scary and overwhelming. There are lots of us on the mumsnet allergy board who have been through this, but few of us know many people in real life who truly understand. Good luck with it all, and please let us know how you get on.

Hi pettyprudence, it sounds like you have both developed cmp intolerances, oh no! It can happen if you've previously had a mild intolerance because stopping the offending food aNd then reintroducing it exaggerates the symptoms. However considering you previously use to eat all these things it is unlikely to be permanent.

In regards to weaning your DS, if he is intolerant to cmp then you will have to avoid them. It seems impossible at first but once you work out what's safe it gets a lot easier. With cmp intolerance and allergies there is a big crossover with soya. To make him healthier and able to wean properly you will need to actually cut out all traces of milk in your diet, otherwise he will still have silent reflux which will make weaning much more of a challenge, and it will mean he is still in pain. When weaning you can ask hour GP to prescribe formula for cwp intolerances/allergies if you want to use formula milk in anything like cereals. Otherwise there are non dairy alternatives to most things. If he is ok with soya than that is a very useful alternative.

If he is intolerant rather than allergic then he should be ok with other foods. However I think having a bottle of piriton is always a good idea like greenbananas said. Also most children with cmp intolerance grow out of it. HTH.

The only thing I have to add to the excellent advice above is you can get diary free chocolate in the free-from section of the supermarkets so you don't have to live without chocolate! Also, some 'normal' dark chocolate doesn't have milk in, try reading some of the ingredients lists to see if you can find one you like.

Very good point freefrom, you don't have to miss out on chocolate!

Pettyprudence, you might find this book useful: 'Optimum Nutrition for Babies and Young Children' by Lucy Burney. It was recommended to me by another MNer and even though it doesn't cater for allergies, it argues that it's probably best not to introduce cow's milk products at all until your baby is at least 12 months old (regardless of whether he/she is allergic or not). HTH

Sorry to check back in so late, been a few days! Thank you everyone for the advice.

My DH has CMP intolerance, and so does my nephew so I kind of knew it might be on the cards. Hopefully it is just a mild intolerance (It seems to be under control at the moment) but my HV was telling me I could put cows milk on weetabix when he got to 7 months, have plain yogurts etc even when I pointed out he has CMP? So much weaning info seems to be about introducing enough dairy so that by 12 month they can switch from bm/ff to cows milk etc.... No other info/help from dr/hv - they diagnosed acid reflux and prescribed gaviscon, I looked in to it a bit more and cut dairy from my diet, the screaming stopped and dr/hv were happy enough with that (and so am I), just concerned about weaning. HV already done the weaning visit but I might call her back out again when the time comes.

Think I will have to investigate this piriton stuff and the book mentioned above on weaning. Luckily I have a nice little stash of bm in the freezer and will keep pumping

Thank you again

I don't mean this in a mean way but IME of HV they have very little knowledge on food allergies and intolerances. You shouldn't be introducingncows milk on cereal at 7 months!!! That's rubbish! Use your BM as long as you can. And if he has reflux that further confirms the cwp intolerance diagnosis. I would personally hold off on introducing any diary until after 1 at least if there is a family history and a very convincing story that your DS has cwp intolerance.

Also gaviscon does very little for acid reflux, all it does is act as a thickener so it doesn't treat the acid or reflux part. Your GP should be prescribing your DS ranitidine and domperidone and if that combo doesn't help then omeprazole.

also like BB said you can buy the special formula over the counter if you did want to be using ff. HTH.

Thanks chocaMum, my HV is nice but I do get the impression that with most of her charges she is fighting a losing battle re: weaning and what you can/can't give

Have just been reading about cheese and yogurt which has made me a little less panicky about weaning. Keeping actual cows milk from his diet should be quite easy, we only leg it to the corner shop now for a pint when someone is popping over for a cuppa

Just remember there are loads of calcium-enriched alternatives to cow's milk out there for when your DS is older: Kara dairy free, Oatly, Alpro soya milk for toddlers... as well as all the special formulas such as Aptamil Pepti, Nutramigen, etc... I totally agree with ChocaMum about holding off on dairy until your DS is at least 1. I have also read in various nutrition books (and also in the new Dr Spock!) that there is evidence that the protein in cow's milk actually acts against calcium absorption (and definitely against iron absorption).

Ready brek has loads of calcium in it btw. It was very useful when I was off the dairy products!

So is it just the calcium from dairy that I should be trying to pack in ds? If I know what I should be looking for, then I can try and find some good alternatives (jut googled and found a great list of vegetables (the boy is going to end up looking like broccoli or figs by the look of it )

TIA for letting me pick your brains :)

I think dairy is considered nutritious not just because of calcium but also vitamin D (also found in formula milk, dairy-free spreads like Pure, eggs, soya yoghurt, mushrooms and sunlight!) and protein (found in many other foods, obviously).

Another amazing source of calcium, by the way, is tinned sardines with bones. And houmous (though be careful if there is suspected sesame allergy)...

I agree with everything garlic said. But considering your DS is only 18 wks he will still get most of this from bf/ff up until he's one so I wouldn't worry too much about the different nutrients. And you have plenty of time to prepare yourself for past one.