Sp if I can give 6mo DD dairy, what *can* I give her?

[Birdsnotbees]

I suspect DD is having problems tolerating dairy products as since I started weaning her she's come up in an excema-type rash under her chin, on her chest, elbows and knees and around her bum. I've got it under control everywhere except her chin, which is getting worse.

She's been ex bf until now but I used formula in her baby rice, and have tried her on yogurt and cheese. (Not all at once!) I can't express enough milk to use in food. I really have tried and also tried with my DS (bf him for a year) so it's just one of those things - I can produce enough milk, just can't express the damn stuff.

Problem is, we are vegetarian, so if I'm not able to give her cheese, milk and yogurt it does rule out a LOT of the dishes I normally cook.

What substitutes can I use? I want to cut dairy out for a week or so to see if it does make a difference, but potentially this could be for a lot longer if it is the reason behind her rash.

(Am taking her to the docs on Monday, btw, just want to do something now rather than wait, plus my GP is monumentally rubbish so could do with the advice.)

There are plenty of good substitutes for Milk, butter and yoghurts, (Oatly, Pure spread, Alpro). Cheese is a bit more difficult, as the only good ones are the "cream-cheese" type substitutes, called toffutti.

If you are only trying it for a couple of weeks, and at this stage she is only tasting foods, I wouldn't worry too much but if you intend to proceed for any longer on a dairy-free diet, I suggest you ask for a referral to a dietician.

There are hypo-allergenic formula milks available too, neocate and nutramigen. Lots of info on other threads in this section.
Good luck.

Eggs are an excellent source of good quality protein and are NOT dairy!

Thank you both! Much appreciated.

This link might be useful www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcespre.php?id=37&title=Milk_allergy_avoidance_list&gclid=COb557PMmKsCFUUNfAodhUVkvw

dd1 (now 5) was allergic to cow's milk and was EBF, we were referred to dietician at the hospital through an hv at the baby clinic.

I think you might need to avoid anything with soya (eg. alpro) until you've seen a dietician as iirc the recommendations for soya/rice milk have changed. Also, I was told 20% of children with cow's milk allergy are also allergic to soya products. I think we stayed off until she was 1yr, from choice, but might be policy now.

I found red lentils were a great thing to give as they had good texture and full of protein. I agree with eggs being good too. I often gave dd1 porridge made with apple juice rather than milk substitutes.

Good luck with gp.

I think it is also worth mentioning that dc do sometimes outgrow milk allergy and should be exposed periodically under the guidance of the dietician.

I think if you are vegetarian then you definitely need a referral to a specialist allergy dietician. Also there is an up to 50% overlap of dairy and soya allergies so be careful ifnyou are thinking of using soya alternatives.

I would recommend getting a prescription from your GP because the allergy secialists recommend a 6-8 week trial on a hypoallergenic formula completely excluding all dairy in the diet to see ifthis improve nthe eczema. 2 weeks isn't kong enough I'm afraid.

We use oatly cream and oatly milk and hemp milk, pure or vitalite spread. The majority of cheeses are soya based but redwood do one which is non dairy and non soya, you can order from goodness direct. But do see a dietician to help with all this and maybe an allergy specialist too.

It's rare to be allergic to dairy products, far more common is either lactose intolerance or milk-soy protein intolerance and a good dietician will be able to withdraw and reintroduce things to work out which if either it is. The reason I say it's unlikely to be allergic is if your DC does ingest something with milk in eg. an older child's snack, etc, if they are not allergic, they will not have a true allergic reaction, but may get a sore tummy for a few days/ a bit of eczema which is less terrifying.

I agree that it is more likely to be an intolerance/non-immune allergy so unilikely to cause severe instant reaction, but it is just as important to exclude it from the diet because with constant exposure to the allergen you will got more than flare up of eczema. Our specialist told us what you see on the skin is also a reflection of what is happening inside in the gut, so although you just see worsening eczema they can also get silent reflux, swollen gullet, food refusal, weight loss, failure to thrive and regression of milestones when left (which is what happened with our DD.) So that's why I do recommend still seeing a specialist.