Could baby be allergic to whole milk but ok with formula?

[theaveragebear1983]

hi mumsnetters, I turn to you all in my hour of need and hope one of you has some advice!
I have a one year old boy, who has always been a good feeder and sleeper. He has recently gone onto cows milk, and after doing staggered amounts over a period of weeks he is now fully on whole milk, having 2-3 feeds a day. He has been having cheese/yoghurt etc since 6 months and never had any trouble. However, since being on the CM he now wakes, sometimes 3-4 times in the night, screaming and generally fussing, plus has disturbed 'grunty' sleep (where he rolls about and generally chunters his way through sleep until he eventually wakes), and also wakes at 5 am or earlier every day. His tummy isn't hard like it would be with wind, but he does seem generally uncomfortable and distressed, and I can hear belly growls while comforting him in the night.
Could he be allergic to milk, even though he has had milk products and formula for 6 months with no trouble? That seems strange to me, but all the symptoms point to an intolerance of some sort. He also has terrible nappies, really smelly and soft, and an occasional slimy yellow mucus type poo (sorry, TMI!)
I'm a bit confused about lactose intolerance or protein intolerance in milk. He's going to go back onto stage 3 formula today because we have had no sleep for weeks, but I'm concerned that he will be allergic to milk now for life? Will we need to avoid all dairy products?

Any advice would be gratefully received! Xx

It sounds odd that he would suddenly develop an intolerance after being fine. Is there anything else you have recently introduced to his diet that it could be, like eggs or soya?

There's an allergies section on MN with posters who have lots of experience and might be able to help, but have you taken him to the doctor about his nappies? Might be worth getting him checked over.

When I put my daughter on whole cow's milk she reacted as if she had an intolerance, like yours. I thought it odd because she had eaten cheese and yogurt. When i accidentally gave her semi-skimmed, because that's what the rest of us drank, she was fine.

With her, I think the full fat milk was too rich in large volumes. I decided she didn't need full fat because she ate well and was (very) well grown. No problems after that.

My dd went on to cows milk when she was 1 and straight away started throwing the odd bottle up and having bad nappies. Six weeks later someone recommended lactose free milk and we discovered that she is lactose intolerant.
She is 4 now and eats small amounts of yoghurt (frubes etc) but not much else with milk in. Is a bummer at first but ok now. Could you try the lactose free and see what happens? You can buy full fat too.

This happened to my little sister and she was fine with semi skimmed it was just the full fat she couldn't handle

It could well be the process of making the formula , adding vitamins etc and breaking proteins down and drying it into powder form or whatever makes it more easily tolerated. Maybe the lactose is reduced or the milk protein is broken down enough for it to not be a problem. Vows milk can be very heavy on the stomach and babies can show varying levels of tolerances to it. Some could bathe on the stuff and be fine, others can cope with it cooked or warmed but not in pure form. You could try semi skimmed or lactose reduced and see how you go. Or you can remain on the formula s bit longer and try again some other time.

Lactose free rather.

We had something very similar with our DS. He now has no milk at the CM, or diluted cows milk, or goats milk or formula.
I have not discussed it with a dr yet on the basis that he is still so young and there are no allergies in the family. My assumption, based on my reading and discussions with others, is that his digestive system is still immature and I will try again in a few months.
Would be interested to hear how your situation goes.
Cheers

Btw my 13 mo DS will refuse cows milk most of the time.... Perhaps he does know best!?

Actual cows milk is harder to digest as cheese and yoghurt, even formula, has been slightly processed.

My ds was intolerant to dairy but could tolerate yoghurt and cheese once past 18 months. Now at 3, he cannot have cows milk without getting a dodgy tummy.

I'd cut out the milk. If he's getting yoghurt and cheese that's enough for his calcium - switch him to either follow on milk or try a dairy free milk.

Thanks for all your comments. Thought I'd let you all know that, after switching back to formula yesterday, he slept through without a peep. Now that could be a coincidence, but it definitely points to some sort of issue with the cows milk.....I think we're going to stick with the stage 3 formula for a few weeks and continue giving cheese/ yoghurt as before, then try again in a few weeks.

:) glad he did better.