Dairy intolerance and breast feeding

[Fox28]

My DD is 17 months and has a dairy intolerance. I'm waiting for a hospital appointment to test her intolerance properly (which keeps being cancelled and rescheduled), but it is fairly obvious she has an intolerance.

She can manage a yogurt a day and also has butter on toast with no problems. I breastfeed and eat dairy myself and she seems fine with this, although I don't drink milk. This is where her problem lies - she cannot drink cows milk. The last time I tried her with milk was a couple of months ago. As we were away from home I gave her a Ella's pouch which contained around 20% milk. We were still sat at the table having lunch when - sorry - she pooed so forcefully it went out of her nappy and through her vest, tights and shorts.

She's only been breast fed and never had any type of milk from a cup or bottle (even breast milk). I feed her twice a day (once on each side) and express from both sides once a day (to put in her cereal). However I feel as though my supply is really reducing. When I express I'm getting less and less every day. Also, I am starting to feel like I would like to stop breast feeding anyway. But I don't know where to start..

• What type of milk should I be giving her to give her the nutrients she needs, bearing in mind the only other dairy she has is a tiny little yeos yogurt and butter on her toast?

• What cup should I use? She drinks from a valved cup when she has water, but I'm not sure this would work with milk. She doesn't seem able to drink and breathe through her nose at the same time iyswim, and tends to take a few gulps rather than relax and keep drinking like she would when breast feeding.

• Should I be mixing a tiny bit of cows milk in with her cereal and up it gradually to get her used to it? This seems like a good idea but I don't want to make her poorly

Thanks if you got this far and if you are able to offer any advice!

I sometimes mix koko dairy free milk into her cereal if I haven't managed to express enough

I think over a year they can have almond milk etc can't they? We have the same issues with ds, disturbed sleep and shocking nappies with any yoghurt milk or cheese. Bf is OK as is butter etc. There's a good dB group cmpa support for weaning where they might have good advice.

My ds was exactly the same. He was fine with me eating (a lot) of dairy when bf but couldn't drink cows milk. He was ok with goats milk though and j didn't cut dairy out of his diet. Began with it in things eg bread etc and then tried him on Tiny bits of cheese on pasta etc. At 3 he's now totally grown out of his allergy. I also used soya milk and oat milk too

My eldest tolerated goat milk too - maybe worth a try. My youngest didn't and we gave her Koko to drink. We tried to ensure she got calcium and fat in other ways such as adding coconut cream or tahini to yoghurt, plenty of butter on veg and in mash, 50/50 bread (can't remember the make... Hovis maybe) has lots of calcium - substantially more than other kinds.

Both my girls grew out of their intolerance.

Dd is allergic to cmp and we have used soya since she was 6 months old. Initially just to cook and now as a drink. Most soya milks are now calcium enriched and some (alpro 1+) have other vitamins added. That is very sweet though - we use an unsweetened soya instead (morrisons own brand as it is quite mild compared to alpro)

Thanks so much for your advice. Will definitely give goats milk a try. And will research foods rich in calcium (should've thought to do that before really!)

We use almond, oat or coconut milk. All fortified and easily avaikable on the shelf in all big supermarkets.
My dd has a serious intolerance and can't handle any dairy.
You may not get any hospital allergy tests as it will probably not be seeen as 'serious' enough, depends on your area.
If you don't already have a dietician though ask gp for a referral. They should put your mind at rest.
But with a yoghurt and butter each day already tolerated I am sure she will grow out of it in no time. But there is no real reason she needs to drink any type of milk at all. You can get all of the calcium through foods.

Another thought... Can your DD tolerate cooked milk in food? If so she may be able to have UHT milk. Both my two tolerated this as well eventually.

Thanks! I'm not sure about cooked milk? Tbh I just cut milk out altogether. So will give it another try. Although she reacted badly to the milk in the Ella's pouch. I guess that could be different to milk in home cooking though?

I've started to offer oat milk when breastfeeding today (she's been messing around for a few days and wanting breastmilk for a few seconds, then water for a few seconds and so on. So I replaced the water with oat milk). But she doesn't like it She shakes her head and gives it back to me.

Will ask the GP for a referral to the dietician - thank you for the suggestion