Non-dairy formula - alternative to soy?

[newbabyinthestow]

My 4 month old DS seems to be allergic to dairy (just like his dad!) and get eczema when fed normal formula. After a shaky start with breast feeding he is now EBF, but previously we have topped him up with NutraPrem for premature babies (he was 5 weeks early) which didn't cause any rash, but when that ran out I got some regular formula and he got eczema patches all over his body.

When I return to work, whilst I intend to express milk for him where possible, I'd like to have some formula in reserve. I am looking for a formula that isn't soy, as we have the SMA soy formula and he just doesn't like it! It does smell very different from other formula, and so I wondered if anyone had tried other lactose or dairy free options that went down better with their babies. Don't want to buy a big tin only to realise it is no good.

Thanks!

Have you spoken to your GP abou the dairy allergy? I think you should ask your GP to refer you to a hospital allergy clinic, who can then prescribe a dairy-free milk. Soy milk isn't really recommended under 6 months. My DS2 is prescribed Neocate LCP, but there are other formulas too.

I agree - non-dairy formulas are extortionately expensive and there are some concerns around the use of soy formulas.

My DS is very, very allergic to dairy (we have to call an ambulance if cow's milk even touches his skin), and we found that the best option for us was to continue breastfeeding. I know this can be hard if you are returning to work, but there are ways round it... (e.g. big feeds night and morning, maybe even co-sleeping so that baby can feed throughout the night)

It's great that you are willing to express, but I do understand that you might want to have some formula 'in reserve'. Speak to your GP about this - you might well be able to get hypo-allergenic formula on prescription (it is hideously expensive). My experience was that I was always being offered samples of Neocate etc. (even though I am a SAHM and didn't want to stop breastfeeding!)

As AngelDog says, there are some concerns about soya formula - also, the proteins are very similar, so some babies who have problems with dairy go on to develop problems with soya as well.

Personally I have found Aptamil Pepti to be the best tasting of the hypo milks, BUT it is a hydrolysate rather than an elemental formula so may not be suitable if your baby has a true allergy. It might be fairly difficult to induce a BF baby to take something like neocate as it tastes like oily potato water - we tried for months with DS to no avail.

I agree that if you've got a choice the best option might be just to continue BF. Could you maybe begin expressing now so you have a bit of a reserve stockpile? I am guessing that your DS will be at least 6 mos when you return to work, in which case, he will actually be able to go for quite long periods without BM when you're away from him. He will just make it up at other times of the day/ evening (hopefully not all night for your sake!). That's what my friend's DS did - he also could not tolerate formula and in any case wouldn't accept a bottle or in fact anything other than a breast so he basically went without milk from 10 am until 5 pm. He just ate more solids during this time and was fine.

If he has a dairy problem it'll be the protein rather than the lactose that's causing the issue. If he is BF and thriving, then he categorically doesn't have a lactose problem because BM is full of lactose.

Yes, IIRC 60% of babies who are allergic to cows' milk protein are also allergic to soya.