How do I wean a cmpa baby

[cmpaweaning]

She is on aptamil Pepti 1. Had a call off the dietician today, she said no dairy until she's 1 and will arrange an appointment closer to the time to introduce the milk ladder ?
Had any any tips on any decent dairy free yogurts, cheeses etc ??

There's lots of choice now in vegan aisles in supermarkets, which is a huge improvement to when I was trying to do this 20 years ago with my DS! Plus, I have to eat dairy-free as an adult, too, so I like to try new stuff coming out, as I can't tolerate dairy products either.

Is she allowed soya?

For 'fake' cheese, I find the Applewood smoked is good, and it melts well, too - so cheese on toast can be a thing. Violife cheddar slices taste pretty good, and Cathedral Cheese have brought out a vegan version, though it might be a bit strong. Oatly milk and cream are good substitutes, and there are various Alpro yoghurts. To be honest, I would just try stuff from the vegan aisles, and see what your DD enjoys best :)

Hi OP,

Weaning a CMPA is essentially no different to begin with as you would start with veggies, then fruit then move onto sources of protein. Babies don't eat too much to begin with and you would start with one weaning session/meal then build up to 3 meals a day over 3-4 weeks depending how they take to it.

When they start getting into the swing of eating solids, that's when things need a bit more research. I spent some time looking at dairy free weaning recipes, such as soft baked meatballs, dhals etc. Your little one might not have CMPA that badly. To be honest I thought the guidance was to start the milk ladder after being milk free for 6 months? When introducing dairy free items I would check they are actually fortified with calcium, you may need to spend a bit of time on supermarket websites or aisles checking the ingredients and nutritional info.

Thank you. Yes she said dairy free for 6 months then to introduce the milk ladder. I'm a bit weary about the other allergens aswell to be honest !

Sorry should say too she said not to worry about calcium until 1 year old as the aptamil pepti 1 is fortified with it

My eldest has CMPA.

We weaned early due to other issues as well. Dietician advice was:

Start with breakfast as you're always at home. We started with baby rice made with his formula. No allergens and he was 4 months old. If starting later I'd use weetabix with his formula or oat milk

Then do tea, introduce lunch last.

Sainsburys and Ella's kitchen do loads of dairy free pouches.

We used coconut yoghurt mixed with fruit purée when he was little. Now he like alpro soya yoghurt.

Flora is the best non dairy butter we've had.

He loves peanut butter, humous and marmite.

Don't get organic alternatives as they aren't fortified. Alpro do a growing up oat and soya milk that are good (though £££)

Cheese, we just get whatever, it's pretty rank unless cooked. We only use it for pizza.

hey OP, it can be really daunting starting to wean an allergy baby. We started with single veg and introduced a new food every 2/3 days so we could watch for reactions.

in terms of dairy free alternatives, we like the applewood smoked vegan cheese and the violife is ok. We used either alpro growing up oat milk or oatly barista in recipes but you can use formula. We like the alpro Greek style yoghurt that comes in the big pots and I mix with a little fruit. One of the flora margarines is dairy free which we usually get. It’s a bit of trial and error what’s available locally to you and what you like.

I’d really recommend joining some CMPA weaning groups on Facebook if you’re on there or following CMPA pages on Instagram, loads of really helpful advice and some are moderated by dieticians. I found those pages more helpful than our actual dietician!