Help me think this through - managing 9mo v mild CMPI at nursery

[Moxxie]

Apologies if this has been done before - I had a trawl through the archives but couldn't really piece it together.

My DS is 6mo, and will be starting nursery when he's 9mo. He has CMPI - not officially diagnosed, but I have been dairy free since 12 weeks and he's been happier for it (he's EBF and just started BLW). The CMPI is getting better: he used to groan, pull up his knees and fart all night, often waking up screaming. Now he's just restless and wakes a lot but doesn't seem as horribly uncomfortable as he was. He is fine if I have soya, goat's and sheep's milk.

I was at his nursery yesterday to register and mentioned the CMPI, saying that we'd have to review it before he starts as it's getting better. They suggested getting him onto soya "milk" (am assuming they mean formula). A quick google at home and I'm not sure I want to do that, phyto estrogen etc, but what are my other options?

This is where I am on my research, but is there anything I'm missing?
Hypo formula - not sure he'd take this at this stage.
Expressed BM - I am truly crap at expressing, I don't know how people find the time, and I don't seem to get much out of it, 50mls perhaps. But I could make a concerted effort and build up.
Water and solids only in the day - how realistic is this? ok, we've only just started BLW, so I don't know how much he'll be BFing in 3 months, but he's a bit small for his age (now catching up) and I don't want to deprive him if he needs milk.
Aptamil Pepti - I know the least about this: is it any good/worth trying?

Sorry this is so long!

DS2 is CMPI. He was diagnosed at 10m and started nursery at 12m.

Are nursery happy to accept your word that your DS is CMPI? My son's nursery wanted a copy of the consultant's letter.

From my son's experience, the nursery will be wanting some kind of milk substitute to use with breakfast and then for bottle feeds during the day. I've found nursery staff not particularly clued up about BF.

We were prescribed Neocate. My DS refused to drink it but was happy to have it on breakfast cereals etc, so I sent in Neocate each day for the nursery to use with breakfast. He then had water for the rest of the day - I would have preferred him to have a milk substitute but even now aged 3 he refuses to drink anything but water. From approx 18m we moved onto Oatly oat milk on cereal.

What do you use on cereal at the moment?

The consultant I saw suggested that concerns about soya formula were based on studies of babies having soya formula as their sole source of nuitrition under 6m, and that soya milk was less of an issue in older babies who are also having solid food. But my DS turned out to be intolerent of soya as well so I never really investigated. There is also goats milk formula sold in Waitrose?

Some of the dairy-free food options provided by nursery have been a little odd, to say the least, so I've always tried v hard to provide lots of calcium rich foods at home. I used Oatly to make puddings like custard and rice pudding from 10m.

I would get the neocate or other allergy milk prescribed from GP.

waitrose certainly shouldnt be selling goats milk formula. This formula cant be prescribed any more by nhs as it failed health and hygeine guidelines.

I also would avoid over dosing on soya unless medically advised to do so.

good luck. (i hated the expressing myself. esp when i was feeding the younger ones while running around after the older ones...who has the time to sit down for that long and do the normal feeds?)

Thanks both.

thereinmadnesslies - is there a reason why you waited until 18 months to use Oatly on cereal? We've only been doing BLW for 10 days so DS has mostly been having fruit and veg, and a little bread, but he seemed unsatisfied by BM this morning so I'll have to investigate cereal. Any words of wisdom?

Looks like I'd better have a chat with the doctor then and see what they think. I'm inclined to try expressing for the time being and defer the problem until DS is 1 after which (I think) it's less of an issue because he'd be getting more calories and nutrients from food and would be less dependent on milk?
I had hoped to give up BFing soon, or at least be able to use formula now and then to give myself a bit of freedom.

No reason in the 18m change, just that we were seeing the consultant and dietician at the hospital and this was the point they suggested moving away from Neocate and on to Oatly. I'm still BF (DS is 3 eek) so I guess the advice might be different if you are looking to stop.