Suspected milk allergy/intolerance...when can I try solids

[Babymonsterpoo]

I have a 3 month old baby being bottle fed on aptamil, unfortunately breastfeeding didn't work out for us. She has always been very uncomfortable after feeds, especially in the evening and has had very loose poo. The doctor has recommended gaviscon which is helping but I would rather keep it as natural as possible and would rather her start on solids a little early than messing around with different formulas etc. The gaviscon is also making her poo very hard and I don't want her to get constipated. she is a big baby- 9lbs 1oz birth weight and is now almost 13lbs. She is very aware when me or my partner eat and watches us!! I was thinking if I could replace even just one of her afternoon feeds with something else it may help her? I would love it if others with similar experiences to post their wisdom, opinions and outcomes! Thank you in advance x

introducing food before 6 months is not recommended by health professionals. This is because babies guts are not ready for the food and this could cause more issues or similar to what you are already experiencing, while not solving the original issue. Babies just need the formula/breast milk up to this point and will continue requiring this up to their first year.

Whatever you do, I would suggest speaking with your health visitor or visiting an infant feeding group. Most practices have links with these to discuss your concerns and give you help.

In regards to a possible intolerance, are their any other signs showing a reaction other than the poos?

sorry just wanted to add that the formula provides all the vitamins and minerals your baby needs. If you start introducing food too soon, you could be depriving your dc of vital nutrients.

You can get formula for dairy intolerance - speak to your health visitor, you need a referral to your GP to get it.

Thanks guys, yes, she is sick a lot even 3 hours after feeds and screams as if she is uncomfortable. She doesn't pull her knees up, but straightens out and arches her back. X

I'm not sure why you're sure it's a milk intolerance? Some babies are just more gassy/colicy than others. Have you tried lying her on her back after feeds and moving her legs in a cycling motion then gently pulling them up to her head to release trapped wind? Our ds is six months and had just started solids, he is much more windy after eating than he was after milk. I wouldn't bank on during to solids to ease indigestion. Also, she won't be getting much nutritional value out of food compared to a good feed of milk at this stage.
Sorry but I don't think it's a good idea at all.

Ah xpost. We had this with ds to and or went away after a few weeks. Hope she's feeling better soon!

We have a massive family history if milk allergy with same symptoms, and I am not 'so sure' as it says in the title!!

DD was diagnosed with cows milk protein allergy at a few months old due yo bring sick, loose poop, eczema and being in pain after bottle.
We had to keep going to GP to push to see a dietician who gave us a formula for CMPA babies straight away and it made a huge difference straight away.

I don't feel solids is the answer and would definitely not wean them at such an early age without being told to do so by a doctor.

Push to see a dietician and get the allergy confirmed or not and get them on the right formula.

Thanks Loki, I thought it may be a battle :-(

Sounds very much like a dairy intolerance, unfortunately the condition's been misdiagnosed for generations in this country termed colic and basically ignored. The screaming in agony phase does stop after just three short months or so, but many continue to have poor sleep, snottiness, asthma, eczema, reflux and heartburn for months after until they outgrow it. Then there's the host of adults with 'ibs', the massive levels of colitis and bowel cancer in this country - suggesting many never really do outgrow it, or the damage has been done. Approximately 20-40% of folk have issues with dairy. If your Lo has an intolerance early weaning is a bad idea, their immune system is already treating one food stuff as an allergen, it is more likely now to react to others too like eggs, wheat, soya, nuts, fish. I would look at decent Df and sf formula.

The position she adopts is called Sandifers Syndrome, she's trying to make her torso as long as possible to ease her heartburn. Dd did that loads and her symptoms also worsened temporarily on solids - v common with refluxy and cmpi children - not normal for healthy kids at all. Evidence yet again that colic doesn't magically lift after three months or so, they just display pain in different ways

Ah I see. In that case I second speaking to HV/GP, changing to df and SD formula. Of you have a strong family history they
should take it very seriously. Hope it gets resolved soon for you all.

If you suspect a dairy or other intolerance pls go to your gp and ask for a referral to gastric paediatrician asap. You can get formula specifically for this. Plus other meds to help with any potential reflux etc.

This was our experience with dd who was a poor feeder, poor weight gain, didn't settle, screamed a lot as if in pain, explosive lose nappies and really poor sleep. She suffered for 3 months but all of this was fixed with nutramigen (formula for dairy intolerant babies) and omeprazol (reflux meds).

We got nowhere with gp or health visitors who just don't have the level of expertise to really understand food intolerances/allergies, so went private to get the much-needs help that sorted all our problems out immediately.

Also on the advice of the gastric paediatrician, we started weaning at 4 months - just a little baby rice mixed with formula once day for a week or two. Then we increased this to twice a day for a couple of weeks. Eventually establishing 3 'meals' per day of baby rice with formula. Plus bottles of milk throughout the day too. We went slowly and this took maybe 6 weeks. Then we introduced real food - puréed sweet potato was a favourite and we also tried apple and carrot - once per day for a week or two, then twice a day, then 3 times a day.

I never hesitated to wean early despite the so called expert advice to wait till 6 months - but then we had medical recommendation to do so. DD is almost 2 now and a great eater, healthy weight and bundled of energy.

I wish you loads of luck. And just know that things get easier

DS has CMPA and weaning to solids was a nightmare as he is also allergic to soy and egg. I would try a different formula via the GP and see if it helps relieve the symptoms first. It's very hard to get all the fats and calories they need without a good volume of milk.

Mine is allergic to dairy. The paediatrician recommended weaning at 20-22 weeks, but we didn't as he wasn't ready. You need to try the dairy free formula, just keep pushing at the GP for referral, and if it's really bad go to a&e to get immediate help. I waited 3 months for a referral which was fine as I was bfing so just cut dairy myself. But I certainly wouldn't have waited 3 months if baby was having to have formula that was making him ill.

Even if you did wean now you'd still need the formula for a good while so can't really avoid it even though it's disgusting

My ds was born lactose intolerant which is actually quite rare. We were told it's usually starts after a bug. You can send a stool sample to check if they are. The doctors prescribe lactose free milk but he told us most doctors don't due to the cost. When It came to weaning we give him lactose free food until he was 8 months then give him very small amounts which he tolerated fine. If there born with it then they usually grow out of it but from experience with friend babies the ones who developed it after a bug seemed to not grow out of it. Hope this helps

yep definitely get back to the gp and ask to trial some nutramigen or similar; if it doesnt work at least you know. my ds has cmpa, and is allergic to egg and soya. We've started weaning and its been really hard, the allergies list is growing! Until 6 months the gut wall is immature and more porous so it seemed important to me in particular because of my ds' allergies to wait as long as possible. His reactions were all in his tummy (bloody, mucousy stools, cramps, diarrhea) and he had a very upset tummy when he started solids, im still trying to figure out if he was just adjusting to food or reacting. Obviously being advised by your doctor to wean would be a different scenario from ours, i guess weighing up one thing against another

Thanks for your input guys.
I went to the GP but they wanted to put her on medication before changing her milk??
This is the third time I have been to the GP with no luck, so I changed her to lactose free formula...still Aptamil. after 24 hours she was a different baby and a week later her poo is normal and she has had no uncontrollable screaming fits. We are also playing with baby rice which she loves and scoops into her mouth!!
I now have a very happy playful baby and I am a much better mummy for it...
Thank goodness for Mummy intuition x