Cows milk allergy advice please

[shinybaubles]

My ds2 is 7 weeks old and since birth has been really gassy, colicky, and then started having blood in his diapers and never ending diarrhea. The doctor has diagnosed him with a cows milk allegy and pescribed Nutramigen, which we started two days ago and since then he has gone from taking 150/180 mls to struggling to finish 90mls. He has cried a lot since he started it and has really bad sleep since then. Could this be due to the milk?
Has anyone else had a baby with a milk allergy and this milk? Any advice would be appreciated.

My DS is on this milk too due to a milk intolerance. It does taste disgusting (have you tried it?) so maybe he is taking a while to adjust to the taste of it?

I can't realy help with the formula feeding though as I am bf and just use it to mix up his food (he is 8 mths). I am trying to get him to drink some of it though as I am back to work soon... he is making slow progress because of the taste and after 2 months now drinks a little from his cup.

Yup both my dd's but it is a milder allergy and dd1 never had nutramigen but dd2 did- well actually it wasn't nutramigen it was pepti or something can't remember now.

Anyway- yes it tastes MINGING so you just have to persevere and they eventually get used to it. I actually put sugar in it at first to help and then reduced the amount of sugar until she just took it on its own.

Are you sure the doc diagnosed cow's milk allergy and not lactose intolerance? My friend's baby had same symptoms as yours and was told lactose intolerance and given Nutramigen.

My dd's had constipation (though that is unusual), reflux, wind, constant snotty nose and dry skin. They were prescribed Cow and Gate Pepti.

We had the same problem. DD1 was prescribed Neocate but hated it and I couldn't blame her. In the end I decided to cut dairy from my diet and BF until she was one and we could skip the formula stage. Then she moved to Rice Milk with added calcium - fine at 1 but not for a baby. Not much help- sorry. Are you still BFing at all?

have you tried goat's milk formula? Nanny Care or something I think it's called. I had the exact same problems with DD and it was sorted when I switched to goat's milk.

Actually, I don't think you should try goats milk formula on a baby this young, esp. one with a cows milk allergy cause many children are allergic to both.

Shinybaubles - I haven't used N think you should persevere with the milk for a couple of days if you can bear to. If it is the taste your baby will get used to it. But if the bloody diarrhea comes back, or if he doesn't settle, go back to your GP and ask to try one of the others (we used Pepti fi)

cece haven't tasted it as don't like normal milk but dh has and was gasping apparently it is truly horrible.

We were given a list of 3 or 4 milks, to choose from but the peaditrician recommended this or neocate and this was the one we could get hold of easiest.

I will keep going and am due to call the doctor on Monday so will see how it goes. He was a lot more settled today, after I posted .

Tmi but his poop is changing from yellow to green - I am hoping this is a good sign.

Thankyou all for taking the time to help.

I was told that green poop means that they're not absorbing all the nutrients from the milk, but it was another mum who said that to me so I'm realy not sure about the validity of the info. Best to ask your GP I think.

Glad he's more settled. I'd insist though that you ask your GP about goat's milk, have a read on the studies, its protein content is much closer to that of human milk (iirc, it's been 5 years) and it really was a godsent for my DD who was so poorly from cow milk formula. She was 9 weeks when she started the goat one.

Now, at 5, she drinks fresh goat milk without probs, but can't have any sort of dairy coming from cow milk!

OP, green poo is normal when on Nutramigen (even says so on the tin). My DS was exactly like yours. The first two days he cried everytime he tasted it...and went from draining 7oz down to 4. He got used to it within a couple of days and is now drinking it without a fuss.
I was really suprised when he started drinking it though - I had made the mistake of trying it myself. booaaak.

OP, I don't wish to offend anyone, but I felt compelled to contribute as I would urge you to please be very careful of some of the advice given here .

Goats milk is not recommended for children with cows milk allergy as the proteins are so similar that there is a >95% chance that a cows milk allergic child will react to goats milk protein. HCP's usually won't even test cows milk allergic children for goats milk allergy, the advice given is that goats and sheeps milk formula are not suitable substitutes. Goats milk formula, although available in the UK is actually not licenced for use.

Someone else also commented that rice milk is OK at age 1. This is also not correct. Rice milk is not advised below age 5 due to both low fat content and unacceptably high arsenic levels. There have been several threads about this on the Allergies board.

If your dc was taking nutramigen but has now started refusing, go back to your GP and ask to try another hypoallergenic formula. Some babies can get allergic reactions to nutramigen because the proteins are broken down but still present (and can in some cases cause a reaction). My own ds2 developed reactions to both nutramigen and Pepti and is now on Neocate which he takes fine - though it was a long slog to convince him .

Hypoallergenic milks suitable for under 6 month babies in the UK are:

Nutramigen 1
Nutramigen AA
Cow and Gate Pepti
Cow and Gate Pepti Junior
Neocate LCP

It can be very much trial and error to find one that suits your dc, but sometimes GPs will let you have small tins of each to try out.

If you want to know more about the rice milk arsenic question, the link is here www.food.gov.uk/science/surveillance/fsisbranch2009/survey0209

Thanks UAM I am going to stick with this milk for now he was much more settled last night although still drinking less.
I had found that out about goats milk.
The doctor gave me a list of 4 milks she is happy to prescribe. They were
Nutramigen
Neocate
Nutricia pepti
and one that I can't read the name of . She said they all taste pretty awful.

UAM, do you happen to know if pepti and pepti junior taste as horrible as nutramigen?

yes they do, duende, they are all disgusting

Is soya milk ok for over 1yr olds? I give it to both my girls but am worried about the links to fertility problems.

I know Pepti does taste a bit better than Nutramigen (it was the only one I could convince ds2 to take at first) - it's all relative though and as thatsnotmymonster sayes they all taste disgusting.

Our dietician said soya milk was OK for over 1 year olds, but I know others have been advised not to give soya milk before 2 because it is nutritionally more similar to semi-skimmed milk. I think though the fertility problems (which have never been established definatively, but are based on the results of a study in primates) are more an issue for boys than girls though.

How do you spot a milk allergy from bottle fed babies? I have a 4wk old and he was tested for allergies as he has a bad nappy rash and doesn't seem to be getting rid of it after trying everything! He takes his milk ok but had to buy colic bottles as he was extremely hard to wind and spat a lot up afterwards. He also had really runny poos and even saw a bit of neon green in them from time to time. So we switched to a thicker feed for hungrier baby, not to mention he downs the bottles like water. Straight away he was constipated and then back to having diarheoa again. He's been very gassy,windy and nothing seems to work. He also seems to have a stuffy nose with dark green snot. Does this sound like an allergy to you? Oh, he has developed these bumps on his face. They are all over his forehead, cheeks and mouth. They are red like pimples. I think it could be baby acne but not sure if this is a sign of milk intolerance. ???

Organic soya milk must be ok 'cos Japanese parents give it to their babies I'm not sure at what age though. How funny no one mentions the female hormone in cow's milk though do they? which has actually been discovered in the fat in man boobs!!

Mommymeggie, whilst the diahorrea could be due to many things (though it's a classic sign of milk allergy, it's also calssic sign of a tummy bug ), however, the rash would start ringing bells for me. Don't ignore a rash like that as this is a typical "allergic" rash (called urticaria). I'd get it checked out by your GP if I were you (though be warned - some are better than others where allergies are concerned).

Thanks UAM. I have been to the docs about the rash and just heard back from him about the stool sample and my son is borderline lactose intolerent. The doc is prescribing me Cow and Gate Pep for a fortnight to see how it goes. His rash came back normal so no thrush or other bacterial problems. Its def due to the formula milk. My son seems to have a sore tummy since birth and just not been right. He is gaining weight and seems content inbetween feeds just his bottom is runny and the rash hasnt improved. The doc said b/c he is borderline he could outgrow this. I hope thats true. It must be my fault as I had really bad heartburn while preggers and all I drank constantly was full fat cows milk.

shinybaubles, It sounds like you have found a formula which is not provoking an reaction in your DS, which is great news

Just wanted to mention if you run into further problems and/or if it something you might consider, that it is possible to lactate and move to breastmilk, which of course will not contain cows milk protein.

mommymeggie, don't blame yourself for drinking a ton of milk in pregnancy. Current thinking is that pregnancy diet does not give or pre-dispose children to allergies.