Do I need to give up BF? Secondary lactose intolerance

[Catabogus]

My 18mo has just been diagnosed with secondary lactose intolerance after gastroenteritis. Her siblings have recovered from the gastroenteritis, as have I (yes, we all had it - that was a fun 4 days!), but the 18mo has continued to vomit after both morning and evening BF, and this has been going on for a week now.

The GP suggested secondary lactose intolerance, so we tried cutting out the evening BF last night, and she stopped vomiting. But apparently it can take 6-8 weeks for secondary lactose intolerance to resolve! So do I need to stop BFing altogether?

I BF her siblings until 3 so would be reluctant to do this, and she is constantly asking for “mummy milk”, so this is going to be very hard. Are there any alternatives?

Thank you!

You could avoid dairy for a few weeks that might help. I wouldn’t stop breastfeeding because of secondary lactose intolerance personally.

Avoiding dairy won't help I don't think because lactose is a big component of breastmilk. I had to give up feeding. You could pump the feeds until it goes away.

Yes, avoiding dairy won’t help - breastmilk is full of lactose (separate from cows’ milk protein).

I did think about pumping - I’ve done it before when away for a short trip - but for 6-8 weeks?? I don’t even know if she’d resume feeding again after that.

You don't nessarly have to stop altogether. Small feeds may be the answer, rather then two big feeds a day. Her gut just needs time to heal a bit more giving to much milk at once probably isn't great. How is she tolerating other diary products?

We’ve been advised to cut out all dairy for the moment so haven’t tried her with anything.

It’s good that small feeds might work - but as I work full time I’m not sure when I’d feed her rather than morning and evening. Aargh

What about colief? Contain the enzyme lactase to break down lactase, I used to mix with dd milk but you could also give in small drink before bf. Think this is available over the counter/on the self at boots etc, not cheaper though (£10 for small bottle)

Colief is a good idea! I will get hold of some today. The challenge will be getting her to take it. We tried when she was tiny and she hated it - she used to thrash her head about to avoid any going in. It’s definitely worth a go though.

You might find that breast milk is easy on the tummy so it doesn't take a full six weeks before you can try it again. You could then pump and add colief to the bottle. Six weeks of pumping is annoying but totally doable if you want to carry on breastfeeding. I considered it but I'd already been pumping 4 times a day for 5 months and it was a relief to stop!

Hope you figure it out.