Breastfeeding a dairy intolerant baby

[moanymandy]

Hi,

I'm looking for a bit of advice. My baby ds has suspected dairy intolerance, is id only 3 weeks old so this has not been confirmed but showing symptoms so I have been advised to cut out dairy to see if this makes a difference.

Now I have made a start and got some dairy free basics but everything seems to have some form of milk or cheese in!

do you have any tips on tasty snacks or know where is best to look for dairy free recipes?
This just seems so alien to me to have to check everything I eat! but know that some of you live with it day in day out so your advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi not a huge amount of tips I'm afraid but I had to do the same for my dd who is now 10. She was never diagnosed with an intolerance but she definitely reacted terribly when I had any dairy, she has never liked milk and will always choose other things over milk.

The good thing is there are lots of alternatives now, I went on to soya milk and soya yogurts but now there are lots more choices such as almond milk. Never really missed cheese but again there are alternatives

Good luck with it x

I think it is overwhelming at first but give it a month and you'll have found lots of things you like. Some crisps are fine, donuts from Tesco, ginger biscuits, lots of sweets are ok, ummmm, tell us what you like & we'll find alternatives. There are also specialist food companies you can order from, your dietician may have a list or else google. You can even get dairy free pizza (not sure how good it tastes). Then alpro do yogurts etc.

Sorry you are having to go through this, it is really horrible at first but honestly soon you won't even think about it much, it's not forever and you are giving your baby the best chance of overcoming the intolerance

thank you for your replies.
You're right it really is overwhelming and I just need to adjust my way if eating. I really love cheese so I will really miss that.

I had a quick Google and found a couple of sites so will sit down later when ds1 is in bed and have a good look at what is out there.

I love most things cheese, chocolate, crisps, pastries oh the forbidden list is never ending!

I am just hoping it makes a difference for my baby ds as he has been so grisly with the discomfort and pain and rash all over hid face snd head

Your welcome. Oh and make sure you get some good advice about taking a calcium supplement, it's really important because you'll not get it through your diet and you don't want to put yourself at risk of osteoporosis. I think it's 1000mg a day, obviously check that with a professional, you can get the tablets behind the counter in boots. I think if this trial works get your HV or doc to refer you both to a dietician. It took my son 3-4 weeks to lose all the symptoms of his allergy (sandpaper red cheeks, bad sleeper and v. clingy)

Jusrol Filo pastry is ok by the way, you might be able to make your own pastries. There is soya cheese but can't say it's that great, maybe ok for cooking. Apparently some of the dark green and blacks chocolate but I need to investigate that.

To be honest, you might not get to have your favourite foods for a while, and it is really difficult to get your head around first but if it works seeing your baby happier and healthier will really spur you on. And plan a weekend of feasting on forbidden foods when you stop bfing!

Green and blacks dark chocolate is fine, most Bourbon biscuits are too. Soya yoghurts and milk are good but in my experience the cheese isn't worth the bother. Careful with the lactose free stuff - my DS is allergic to the protein in milk which is still found in these products. I have just found an amazing vegan chocolate brownie recipe.

When it comes to weaning time, it is worth being aware that sometimes milk allergy goes hand in hand with egg (and sometimes soya). Holland and Barrett are good for soya free cheese and yoghurts which taste disgusting to me but DS loves because he has never known any different. Good luck.

I don't know about the allergy stuff - am aware from a friend though that soya allergy can often go hand in hand with dairy for babies. (I find the idea that elements of your food find their way into the breastmilk intact hard to comprehend but haven't really tried).

Was vegan for years though - vegan recipes would be a good place to start. You can substitute different proteins if you like but the cooking methods without dairy will be helpful.

Try the Vegan Society and ww.theppk.com for recipe ideas.

Some dark chocolate is fine. Many crisps are fine. You'll have to get into the habit of checking ingredients but, quickly, you'll become familiar with the things you can have.

The supermarket 'free from' ranges could be helpful to you.

Agree that soya cheese is pretty bad. Alpro and some other yogurts, custard and desserts and Swedish Glace and Toffuti ice cream are pretty good though.

I had to go dairy free for dd, make sure you read all packets-flavoured rice even has milk powder!

It took me about 2 weeks to get into the swing of it but the free from aisle in the supermarket will become your best friend. Cous Cous with spices and veg for a simple, fast meal, Jamie Oliver brownies with vitalite instead of butter and green & blacks choc for a lot of a treat!

I did it for 2 years and used to live on cheese! You will manage good luck.

I think it helps to think outside the box. I lived in rural SE Asia for a while where dairy is never eaten- and the variety of food eaten is huge.
My kids were breastfed and never ate dairy, but because a lot of my food was inspired by abroad I never found it a problem. My kids have tried dairy but it's just not what we eat as a family. I don't buy milk, cheese, butter or yogurt, and I don't buy substututes either. We are not big bread or cake lovers either and noone likes puddings , custard or icecream so that isn't a problem. Calcium is found in loads of other foods, tinned fish, tofu, nuts, meat, figs etc. My son has never eaten dairy and is now 6'2 with size 13 feet.

There is a (I'm told) good Facebook support group for cows milk protein allergy, which is likely what your dairy jntolerant baby has, where there are loads of suggestions for recipes, substitutes etc.

You should also get referred to a paediatrician and a dietician to ensure you both get the right support, so do see your GP about that.

wow lots of great info for me to get going with thank you all!

I am on day 2 now and I haven't gone hungry yet so far so good! but I keep thinking of all the things I won't be able to eat at Christmas!

I will give it 2 weeks to see if this makes a difference to ds then will get on to the gp for some further support.
I have made a little list of things to look into. Thanks again for all your input.

Hi Mandy, My DD has this and I had to be so careful. You got to read the back of everything. Things like gravy granules and stock cubes can contain milk. Look out for any complicated name with 'Lacto' in it. Whey protein, is also from milk.

Reduced salt bisto gravy didnt have milk but the rest did. Curry dishes are full of ghee (milk based). If you want a ready meal chinese was always the ones that didn't contain milk. Some of the breads have milk as a glaze so read the packets. If eating out always check if they have an allergy sheet, I found the Beefeater near me quite good to eat at.

I found the best thing was to cook from scratch and I had a lot of tomato based sauces. Baking is incredibly easy to do yourself, as you can switch butter for vegetable oil. If you are sick of soya try Pure spread. It takes an age to start with when cooking from scratch but soon you get the hang of it and you can be surprised how quickly you can put a meal together.

Soya ice cream is nice but full of sugar...

It can take 2 weeks for the cows milk protein to leave your system and then another 2 weeks to leave the baby. I always noticed when I had accidentally consumed cows milk even in the smallest quantities as DD would have a lot explosive poo bouts and generally be irritable.

Kellymom has some great info on dairy allergies and a good fact sheet on hidden dairy.

Definitely get a peads referral if you find there is a problem. It can be more complicated than you think. 40% of babies with cmpa will also have issues with soy as Dr Thomson explains here.

Kara milk or oatly milk make nicer alternatives to soy and taste far better IMO. Tesco basic digestives are DF, waitrose basic bread is soy free as is a Hovis brown I think.

Hi I breastfed my lg who has a milk allergy for 21 months. ( My 5 year old also has a milk allergy although had stopped breastfeeding him when he was diagnosed) At first I started eating pretty simple foods. I started with meals that consisted of meat, veg and carbs. I also ate a lot of stir fries with whatever meat I wanted. It soon got easier.

We then made our own sauces to go with meats and made our own curries. We obviously all eat the same now and most people wouldn't know we don't consume cows milk.

We used oat milk for cereals etc as soya isn't recommended as a main drink until 2 years. We mainly use tomato based sauses or tinned tomatoes with spices for meals with chicken and also coconut milk is good for making curry. We use Vitalite spread as we find that is better to cook with that other dairy free spreads we have bought. CHeating I know but we have found that farm foods have shortcrust pastry and puff pastry frozen and we make our own pies out of that :) We also ate a lot of homemade stews in the winter. HOmemade rissottos were a favourite to.

Hope this has helped a bit.

I agree with kid I think DD has more problems with soy than dairy tbh. When I cut every last trace out he finally started sleeping!!

What's the best substitute for milk in a cup of tea?

Can't link from my phone but tesco website list all the dairy free products that they sell.