Experiences of CMPA?

[mumofone234]

For quite a few weeks (probably months) I've been wondering if DS has an issue with cows milk. I'm breastfeeding and there are definite times when he seems very unsettled and vomits more than usual. I've tried cutting it out for long stretches at a time and did think it made a difference to his mood, but find that on the odd occasion I introduce it again he has a mixed response (sometimes fine, sometimes not). I'm now unsure if it's genuinely an issue with cows milk or if it's just a coincidence and the unsettled periods are due to teething/overtiredness/wonder week etc. I haven't noticed any blood in his nappies or anything like that, but he does have wet eczema/rashes in his skin folds. Then again, the doctor said that's a normal thing for babies. It's so hard to know!

So my question is - does anyone have a breastfed baby with a diagnosed CMPA, and if so, what were the symptoms you noticed? Was it more than just an unsettled temperament?

Mine was diagnosed with cmpa but...... only after we started weaning him when it became glaringly obvious. In hindsight I think he definately did get more of an unsettled tummy before weaning if I drank milk but .I never connected it. I think it probably helped that I really hate the taste of milk so wasn't drinking much except the occasional hot chocolate. How old is he? Because if he is almost weaning age it probably wouldn't hurt to avoid milk where possible and then talk to a doctor about some possible tolerance testing when you wean him. Or alternatively just be very careful about introducing milk into his diet when you wean him, i.e. Start of with a tiny amount of say yoghurt by itself so you know if it is that causing the problem and gradually increase the amounts. The nice thing about weaning is it's much easier to tell what the problem is!

Oh. And by upset tummy I mean quite gassy which made him grumpy. When we were weaning him though, and I gave him a yoghurt he got an almost instant rash all over his face so the results were much more obvious, due to the fact I suppose that he was getting it directly rather than a trace in my milk.

Both my boys have cmpa. With our first we only found out while weaning as we werent thinking to look for it, but with the 2nd I was more aware of the symptoms while i was breastfeeding. Dreadful nappies (not bloody just very runny etc), reflux and generally uncomfortable until I cut out dairy were the symptoms that flagged the issue to us. The first sign was that he didn't put back on his birth weight very quickly and struggled to gain much weight at all. Since cutting out dairy in my diet, and now putting him on prescription formula since bottle feeding him he is now a chunky 75th centile boy (which is where he was originally on his birth weight).

If you are concerned about allergies, speak to your gp and health visitor and request to be referred to the dietician for weaning advice as it's best to introduce foods associated with allergies one at a time (and with a few days between them) so you can spot any potential alarms.

Good luck x

He's almost 20 weeks so will be starting on solids soon - perhaps, as you've both suggested, this will be a good time to spot whether it's an issue one way or the other. I'll just be really careful regarding the first dairy he has.

He's always gained weight well, so the doctor (when I mentioned it to her) said she didn't see any reason to investigate it.