Breast milk colitis / CMPA?

[AMR88]

Hey everyone. This is my first post on here so apologies if I ramble! Hoping to get some advice — I had my first baby 6.5 weeks early while away on holiday. I also had a placental abruption, but not sure that’s relevant here. Anyway, my little one started having bloody nappies at the end of October when she was 2 months old. We were first told in A&E that it was due to an anal fissure, but we went back two days later because that clearly wasn’t what it was, and she was then diagnosed with a cows milk protein allergy. I cut dairy out of my diet, and then after seeing a private pediatrician two days later, also cut out soy. About two weeks later, she had a particularly bloody nappy. After showing it to the pediatrician, he told me to stop breast-feeding immediately. He wanted to put her on a hypoallergenic formula like Neocate as he thought what was in the nappy was too much blood for her to be losing. I pushed back a bit, and he spoke to a Gastro colleague who said it was OK for me to keep breast-feeding so long as I also cut out gluten and egg, too — all on top of already being vegetarian. So my current diet is vegan, no soy, no gluten. I haven’t eaten dairy for almost 1.5 months, and no soy or gluten for 1 month. We’ve seen a slight improvement, but it really varies. Some nappies are quite bad, others are quite good and I start to get hopeful again. But after all this time, I’m not sure why it hasn’t cleared up more. We are now being referred to a Gastro to see if maybe she has some kind of tear in her lower bowel, as the doctors we’ve spoken to thought that it should’ve cleared up by now as well. But I’ve also heard that these allergies/the blood can take months to clear up — both on here and from friends. Wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience? Or if anyone has been diagnosed similarly to find out it was something else? I read recently that over supply can create digestive issues that cause blood in stools. Ugh, I don’t know. I’m just at my wits end — I can’t really eat anything nor can I stand these bloody nappies. I dread changing her diaper for fear of what they might look like : / any thoughts are so appreciated xx

Hi there I went through a similar experience at the time my child was 2 months it was shortly after their vaccinations so at first thought it was a reaction to them. It took nearly 2 months of going milk, egg and soya free for my little ones bloody stools to stop. I also suspected a issue with my letdown which also eventually calmed down. Are you taking postnatal vitamins? Have you checked those for allergens. That was the last thing I needed to sort before all started to clear. Definitely keep up with all the other testing though just in case it is something else as well fingers crossed it isn't.

Hi @Autumnamor! Thank you so much for your reply. Did you ever find out what the allergy was? How is your little one doing now? Have you introduced those foods back into your diet? I was on Pregnacare breast-feeding vitamins but I realized they had soy in them so I stopped taking them. I'm now on just a normal multivitamin, but you make a good point, I should probably just find post natal vitamins that don't have any allergens. Do you mind if I ask what you took? Again thank you so much for your reply, it's comforting to know that other people have gone through a similar situation and come out on the other side!

Hi there in the end it has been diagnosed as CMPA, doctor said there is cross reactivity between the other allergens. She lost a bit of weight in the beginning but has been absolutely fine since going free of the allergens. Little one is a year old now and we've successfully introduced eggs and soya back into her diet (and mine). Still no milk though we've tried 3 attempts of reintroduction. I have been told most children grow out of it by the age of 5 and around 75% by the age of 3. So we just will keep trying the milk ladder reintroduction every few months and hopefully it will go just like egg and soya have. I'm taking Naturelo Postnatals for breastfeeding at the moment they are really pricey but the only one's that I could find that where allergen free. I only take two a day though 3 are suggested because I believe I can feel the effectiveness of the milk boosting supplements and 3 is too much as she's feeding a lot less now. Hope this helps I remember how scary things were while I was figuring it all out months ago. If you have any questions just message. Sending well wishes to you and your little one. X

Hi @Autumnamor -- got it, thank you so much. This is all really great to know. I'm so glad that you've been able to re-introduce a few of the allergens back into both of your diets. I've heard the same about the milk ladder and that the majority of kids being fine by the ages of 1 or 3-5. It gives me great hope that maybe we just need a little longer on thjs silly diet to see better results. And I will definitely be buying your post natal vitamins! Thanks for the rec.Have a lovely holiday and wishing you the best of luck getting milk back into your diets! Xx