4 month old, oat milk?

[mumstrong]

Hear me out! My 4 month old has really bad eczema that according to paeds can not be linked to dairy despite the fact there's a strong correlation from my food diary (exclusively breastfed!) I want him to take one bottle a day just so he is used to a bottle. I'm really struggling to pump. I gave him a small bottle of formula and he flared. How bad would a couple of ounces of oat milk be in an evening, after a breastfeed, just to get him taking a bottle? Not for nutrition as he is getting all of that from his many (many, many) breastfeeds a day. He's healthy and has shot up the centiles. Lost faith in the health professionals so not tempted to ask them. Everything I read online suggests it's breast milk or formula because of nutrition but if it's just 3 ounces it's hardly taking much away from him?

I'm not an expert but I am sure I read it's not safe to give oat milk to maybe under 1's! I'll see if I can find it ...

Here it is!

Thanks! Similar to what I've read, not recommended as a complete replacement because they're lower in protein. But if it's just 3 ounces a day it's not completely replacing breast milk, it's not replacing it at all. So it's not actually unsafe for that sort of use? I might be taking it wrong which is why I wanted opinions so feel free to correct me

Why not try a dairy free formula instead?

I would if I was stopping or cutting back on breastfeeding but it literally is just for one small feed just so he gets slowly used to taking a bottle incase I ever need him to more reliably (at which point I'd switch to formula) but for one small feed I'm not sure I can justify, or need to spend the extra money when a few ounces of oat milk can do no harm?

I absolutely wouldn't give oat milk - not nutritionally suitable at all. Have you tried Nannycare? One of mine with dairy issues was fine with this, and like you it was only for a small number of feeds. Otherwise you do need to look at things like Nutramigen or Neocate (or equivalents).

You can buy premaid bottles of dairy free formula, ask around your local pharmacies.

There’s no pre-made df formula available

you can buy sma soya formula it’s suitable from birth it’s powder . You can also buy online neocate or alfamino (totally dairy free) or hydrolysed formula such as aptamil pepti 1

Hi OP, I don’t know the answer to this according to current ideas on feeding young babies. But it just seems from your posts that you are a bit fixed on the idea of giving the baby oat milk at the moment, against everybody’s advice. I would be cautious about doing this.
Seek further advice on weaning ( it will be coming along soon) from a properly qualified person who understands your baby’s severe exzema. There is all sorts of nonsense on the internet about what to eat, you could come unstuck following that.

I would go back to your paed and ask for a trial of a proper formula. You could say you are moving to mixed feeding.

https://www.sunderlandccg.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NUT4-Guideline-for-the-Prescribing-of-Infant-Formula.pdf

Or see if your GP is willing to try, could always ask a couple GPs if no luck with the first!

If you do decide to go ahead with it, consider trying alpro growing up oat milk instead as it will have better nutrients in it. Does say from 1 year though.

My son has had porridge made from oat milk since 7 months but obviously that's since starting weaning.

Could you wait a month, or 6 weeks to be on the safe side?

My daughter had cmpa and was under a dietician. She said no alternative milks under the age of 1. See a GP and ask to try dairy free milk and they'll prescribe.

I'm not set on doing it at all, just I always thought it was unsafe to give babies anything other than formula or breast milk as in, dangerous to them, not just because it has less nutrients so I was explaining that rationale of well actually a few ounces isn't unsafe because the difference in nutrients would be negligible? Not saying I'll do it if it's unsafe! I was just explaining my thought process. Thanks for advice!

My mistake, apologies, I thought my sons previous high energy milk similar was dairy free but it isn't, just lactose and gluten free.

Similac*

No please don't do this.
A 4 month old would be on roughly 30oz of formula. You are planning on replacing 10% of their diet with unsuitable food.

You need a tin of formula suitable for your baby.

Donor breast milk?

Are you dairy free yourself?

What about pea milk? My friend used that with her baby as he was allergic to dairy and is suitable but oat milk is not

Why do you need him to take a bottle? In 8 weeks when he’s 6months you can give solids, so you’ll be able to get out and about/leave him with other carers without needing to leave milk.

stick out the next couple of months, once he’s weaning the breastfeeding will be less tying. Not worth risking his health for just to give a bottle for a few weeks.

In the nicest way, please consult an expert. Giving your baby the wrong thing could be really detrimental to their health, and have long term impacts

It needs to be baby formula not dairy alternative milks. Speak to your hv if your gp is not so helpful,

Personally I wouldn’t as, unless instructed, offering anything other than breast milk or formula can have a negative impact on their digestive system.

Have you tried hand expressing? I couldn’t pump much but I could get a decent amount from hand expressing.

As your baby already has a health issue I’d be ensuring I did everything possible to promote his/her health if I were you. Not feeding hi or her with stuff babies are not meant to have.

Hope you manage to find something OP. I do sympathise, it’s a lot looking after a young baby and taking care of the exzema and trying to figure out the feeding. Every mother has concerns about what’s best to feed and the 4/5 months to 1 year is a particular faff at times so good luck with it.