Follow-on milk - anyone else's lo had a reaction to this?

[Ceebee74]

I swopped to follow-on milk just after DS turned 6 months (about 8 weeks ago) - at the same time, he developed a cold and cough which has hung around since then (and got worse again at one point resulting in very gunky eyes!).

At one stage during this 8 weeks, he was vomiting (whole bottles of milk etc) once or twice a day, usually preceded by a coughing fit - this went on for over a week and he lost weight so I decided to cut out solids in case he was eating too much and build him up with formula - this worked a little and the vomiting lessened (it didn't stop) but the cold and cough continued.

Anyway, last week it occurred to me that this illness coincided with swopping to follow-on milk so I switched back to the previous milk and the cold has cleared up (still coughing) but not vomiting.

Has anyone else had this reaction? I realise it is probably just a coincidence but seems like there may be a link?

No advice I'm afraid Ceebee - I've never changed from the normal formula. But bumping this for you. Glad your DS is a bit better now.

My ds has exactly these symptoms (coughing and vomiting, bad cold, gunky eyes) and he's 4 months old and bf. I'm seeing the hv to get him weighed and the doctor again tomorrow but I think it's just a really nasty cold that's going round.

I've had it as well (without the vomiting thank god!)

Feeling a rather depressed though that it could go on for a good while...we're into week 2.

One thing I'm going to ask the doctor about tomorrow is whooping cough as apparently babies often don't have the whoop and the other symptoms are the same. Ds had his immunisation dates messed up by the surgery so he's still only had his first jag which would have left him only partially immunised I think. Whooping cough can hang around for 8 weeks. I know it's most likely to just be a bad cold though.

The sensible part of me knows it is just a bad cold (the doctor diagnosed a respiratory infection but the ab's didn't do anything - made it worse in fact!) but for 8 weeks???

Interesting about the whooping cough as the stuff I have read on the internet seemed to match DS's cough but there was no 'whooping' (whatever that is) that I can hear.

Shona - hope your DS gets better - I am fortunate in my DS never seems to suffer when he is ill - still the happy, cheerful soul that he always is!

(Twinkle - thanks for the bump - love the Easter name btw )

CeeBee - how long did it take for your ds to stop being sick?

Hi CeeBee, sorry to hear your little one is poorly. Some babies don't take to follow on milk straight away but it does sound like it could be a cold etc as well. What milk were you using before?

Shona - he was sick probably twice a day for a week then I stopped solids (that was when he had lost weight) and it went to maybe once a day (or occasionally not at all) for about 2 weeks (can't remember exactly - sorry) but it was quite a long time. Last time he was definitely sick was last Tuesday night (but he was at nursery on Thursday and nobody told me if he had been sick or not but he had got through 3 changes of top so I suspect he was )

His cough seems to have got worse again last night - he had at least 2 coughing fits in the middle of the night but fortunately no puke.

Wildwoman - I am using the green Cow and Gate milk now which DS has been on since birth (was using the C&G purple follow-on milk)

it could be a reaction to the milk protien then, it is different in the follow on and hungry baby milks. Are you going to take him back to the GP for his cough?

Not sure - I have been to the doctors with him 4 times in the last few weeks (first time, she prescribed ab's which didn't work, second time because it was getting worse and he just said it was an infection which would clear up in it's own time and the 3rd and 4th time because of his gunky eyes which nursery refused to accept wasn't conjunctivitis until I got a doctors note for him fgs) - so I do feel like I am a nuisance!!

And he is not suffering and is keeping his food down (we are back on 2 small meals a day now)

lol I am a nusiance parent too! It sounds like he's getting back to normal so i would just keep in on the milk he's settled on. He can get the benefits of follow on through his food.

I never went to the doctors before I had DS - me and Dh just got on with things and fortunately were never seriously ill - so I do think I have been more in the 8 months since DS was born than in my entire life!!

It is a bit of a culture shock for me and DH tbh that you have to take your children to the doctors just to be on the safe side

I know what you mean! My mum never took us to the doctors unless we were at death's door (I'm sure she went loads when we were babies though) so I was brought up to believe it was very much a last resort thing. Also I'm ususally pretty healthy.

The hv made me feel like such a bad mother though when I spoke to her and hadn't made another appt for ds at the gp! I know he's just going to tell me virus...wait it out...blah blah but I suppose better safe than sorry. My biggest worry is dehydration but he's (touch wood) keeping down more feeds last night and today.

Dehydration is the main reason why I took DS to the doctors (I knew they would just say to wait it out) - it is reassuring for them to check them over and confirm they are ok.

Glad your DS is keeping some food down Shona - fingers crossed he is now on the mend.

cows milk is mucus forming and some children react more to it than others. It could just be a cold I'd wait and see for a bit.