Is 24 hours a normal reaction time for milk allergy when breastfeeding?

[PiggyMad]

4mo ebf dd has a suspected cows milk intolerance/allergy so after a trip to hospital I was referred to a dietician - although 3 weeks on I still haven't had any contact and after ringing them was told it could be another 3 weeks until an appointment can be made - which I find terrible for an 'urgent' referral from a paed for a 4 month old baby. Anyway, not relevant to the thread, but needed to rant about that as I feel that I'm stabbing in the dark a bit...

I've given up milk and soya since the hospital trip, but yesterday afternoon I must have been on autopilot or something and, without thinking, had 2 chocolate biscuits at baby cafe Baby was fine yesterday, but this evening has been really unsettled and crying, struggling with wind and seemingly sore tummy. Is this coincidence or could it take that long for the milk to come through the breastmilk?

I'm sort of hoping she doesn't have an allergy/intolerance at all and wasn't sure, as her wind and constipation problems have definitely lessened since I gave up the foods, but her poos are still varying colours and textures. Is it normal anyway for the poos to switch from the yellow seedy korma ones to more browny/gravy type ones as breastfed babies get older? (sorry to those who are eating, after such detailed poo descriptions!)

I would say that the amount of cow's milk protein - which is what LO is most likely to be allergic to is likely to have been very small in two biscuits. On top of this, being baked it is in its most 'denatured' form, with boiled milk being next and raw milk / yogurt etc being least. I am sure you have nothing to feel too guilty about. I'm sure most people on here are used to having detailed chats about poo :-) there are some good websites with pictures of the range of 'normal' poo colours etc for little babies if you can bring yourself to look. I remember mine having a range of different consistencies and colours. My
LO doesn't seem to react to milk or soya in my diet but when she's had them directly now she's weaned it's very clear in her poo which has a horrible caustic almost dog-poo like smell and leaves marks where it's been in contact with her skin like it's 'burned' her :-/

My 4 month old also seems to have issues with cows milk protein but I've been shocked at the speed of the reaction. Before I cut it our of my diet, he would be visibly in pain at the very next feed, as little as half an hour or so later. I'm surprised you've had a referral though, my hv has insisted that as he's putting on weight there's no need to take it further, but the thought of weaning is daunting me. Am also a bit cross that it was a friend and not a health professional who suggested cutting out cows milk in the first place. Ds went from a constant screaming ball of pain to a very contented baby in a matter of days. The times I've slipped though, he's screamed with pain and developed welts almost immediately

Thanks for the replies
Maz - maybe it was just coincidence. Is there a skin prick test that doctors can do to check for intolerances/allergies? I jsut feel that I'm severely altering my diet and as a vegetarian it is another big food group that I'm cutting out - potentially for no reason. Obviously I have no problem at all doing it if DD is intolerant/allergic.
pigeon - we got a referral as we ended in hospital as she had blood in her poo and weren't sure what it was. I really wouldn't listen to health visitors and would go to the doctor, especially with such a severe reaction. I had 3 health visitors tell me that DD's symptoms were 'normal' and I'm so annoyed I didn't go to see a doctor before the blood incident.

Skin prick testing is available for IgE allergies, not for intolerances. A dietician would not do that though, a paediatrician would, ideally one with specialist training in allergies. My children have had both but I am newer to the intolerance issue - there are some very knowledgeable people on here who will be able to chip in I'm sure. I'm trying to get to the bottom of intolerance issues with DD (11months) and it seems to be a question of elimination diets (taking things out of her diet and being very careful about introducing them one at a time and watching for reactions). I've found keeping a food diary essential to try to be a bit scientific otherwise it's hard to keep track and know whether it's a real pattern or a coincidence...

Make sure you get as much advice as you need - ask for a referral to a paediatric allergist if you need it...

Piggymad do you know what made them suggest milk as the cause of the problem?

I have no idea what made them suggest milk - just because it is common?! The hospital took bloods, which were normal apart from high platelets, which apparently would be consistent with the probem of inflamation in the bowel. I decided not to google other possible causes! They also took a stool sample to check for infection and this was negative.

I must start making a diary of my diet - thanks for reminding me! Are there other common problem foods that could be coming through my milk? I am a bit concerned about weaning incase any reactions are stronger when she is taking the food directly.

We were supposed to have a referral to a child clinic about 6 weeks after the hospital admission - but 4 weeks later I still havent heard anything.

Oh and also because I have asthma and hayfever myself and in my side of the family.

Sounds similar to what happened to DD. We saw a generic paediatrician when she was about 4months who told me to stay off milk based on the fact that it's the most common like you say, and our family history of allergies - (DS was allergic to cows milk protein which he outgrew aged 3.5) Her only symptom at the time was ezcema. Like you, I was worried about weaning her without knowing what was what... but that's where it was left until she had an obvious reaction to egg which led to her being referred to the Paed allergy
consultant. Even then, he only tested for things we already had concerns about - milk and egg so we've been weaning cautiously to watch for any reactions and it's been ok... As it happened she was fine for milk allergy (!) though we suspect she's intolerant - cue more obsessional food diary writing. Some allergists recommend doing more widespread testing prior to weaning I know and that would have been my preference too but I guess they can't test for everything so there was an element of finding out for ourselves in the end which was daunting. The main thing I would want the dietician to have told me at the stage you're at is how to wean safely given the concerns about allergies. Personally I avoided known allergens like milk, egg, soya, obviously nuts, fish, wheat and some fruits like strawberries etc which still gave me plenty to play with. I then introduced these suspects (other than nuts which should not be given for ages anyway) very slowly, one at a time and in small amounts. We found out about the egg when she accidentally got some of her brother's cake mixture on her forehead before we even started weaning so I knew to avoid it before the tests came back to confirm.

Long rambling response but i always find it helpful to hear about other people's experiences. I'm no expert and don't have all the answers but that's how we managed a similar dilemma. I would push for referral to Paed allergist as you'll then know whether you do need to stay off milk or not and be in the system.

Thanks for the info Maz - it is interesting to hear how the paediatricians come to these conclusions. It all seems a bit vague to me, really. The hints on weaning are really helpful, thank you. I've just started ordering a few books on weaning as I have no clue where to start!

We are still waiting for our dietician and paediatrician appointments, but I am going to chase them up again at the end of next week if I atill haven't heard anything. I hope your DCs outgrow their allergies/intolerances!

Possibly not what you want to hear but my dd is cmpi and soy too. At 4 months she would react v badly to anything I ate through by breastmilk and for her, 2 biscuits would definitely be enough to set her off. It was normal fr this to Happen the next day too.
It's tough, the elimination diet does get easier though after a while.
Do you need any tips for treats? Are you cutting soya too?

Hi Tiny
She has definitely struggled with wind and constipation and has been a bit sicky for a couple of days (and she was never really sicky before I cut the food out anyway) so I am wondering if it has had an effect.

I'm cutting out milk and soy and my diet is very boring at the minute!

I've found the Hovis bread that is ok, jammy dodgers, ready salted crisps, Bessant and Drury's ice cream, coconut milk, ritz crackers, those Balckfriar's date and walnut flapjacks you can get from Holland and Barrett. I do really miss chocolate though! I was wondering if there are any restaurants or places to eat out that do 'safe' foods?

You can still eat chocolate it just needs to be good quality dark chocolate that's all. Health food shops are the best. Also look Into chocs by booja booja. AMAZING. they also do 'ice cream' it's delish

Yeah my dd is a super sensitive one aswell. Will react to the smallest thing :( alot of the dark chocs are soya free too but important to check the packet.
Waitrose good for soya free loaves of bread and in general I find their allergy information on packets quite good.

Cheap bourbon biscuits are usually ok :)

Thanks Tiny and Joyful. I have found some yummy chocolate brownies from the co-op free from range
I haven't looked at free from bits in Waitrose but will definitely check them out.
I do miss yoghurt though

Co-yo coconut yogurt is amazing! But not cheap.

Oooh Maz, I've not heard of Co-yo - will definitely be trying that!