Just found out that dd has dairy sensitivity ..... help

[Vanderhum]

Ok dd is just coming up to 8mths - was excl bf til 6mths when I started her on solids, still no formula. She is great with food tries everything. At the begining of may she got a cold (her 2nd one) which she caught from me and it dragged on with a bad cough, snotty nose and weepy eyes. I took her to homeopath last wk and she had a bit of broncitus(sp) so got medication for her. Cough etc is pretty much gone now. While we were there homeopath suggested doing an allergy test. Got the results yesterday. Shes showing sensitivity to dairy, bananas, oranges so need to avoid them for now..

So my question is can anyone help with recipe suggestions for breakfast?

DDs diet was previously as follows:
Breakie - porridge made on milk with fruit
Lunch - whatever i was having generally eg scrambled egg, sandwiches, leftovers from dinner night b4, salad & a yoghurt
Dinner - whatever we are having eg spag bol, fish, korma, steak, chicken, veg potatos etc
Snacks - rice cakes/rusks/cheese sticks

So its really only breakie that im stuck on. Have tried making porridge on water and she hates it - dont blame her really! Have done quinoa but it just goes thro her doesnt get digested at all.

Also I think i would be best to at least minimise the dairy in my diet too being as im breastfeeding her still?

dont panic! there's 4 of us here intol (2 not)

if you're bf and you agreewith the test results then I would cut out dairy ( i am bf ds4 and have had to)

loads of options now- soya milk formula (in bots etc) can replace cows milk in anything.

there's also alpro soya yoghurts- they are gorgeous and easy to find too in any supermarket, plain yog / dairy ree uht cream (for curies etc) available also.

The nicest dairy free butter imo is the pure range organic one.

Bigger supermarkets also sell something called "Lacto free". It's not actually, but it's something like 0.5%. Anyway, it's the closest thing to milk that I've found, so you could convert the whole family.

My nephew has a dairy alergy and has thrived on goats milk products since he was tiny. I think you can get it powdered as well as fresh.

DS cannot do dairy, its quite easy really.

Milk - lactofree (has pic of cow on it) tastes v. creamy and is good if its the lactose that is causing the allergy or soya (sweetened is v. sweet - almost Carnation like - unsweetened is like teabags) or rice milk ( I quite like it)

Yoghurt - alpro soya yoghurt is the best or the soya deserts

butter - use dairy margarine instead - there are lots to choose from

Icecream - Swedish Glace from tesco or other leading supermarkets is gorgeously yummy

Why did the homeopath suggest an allergy test? What kind of testing did the homeopath do? If you think she could have an allergy then I would ask your GP for a referral to a consultant for blood or skin prick testing if she hasn't had these, they are the only really reliable tests.

Anyway to answer your OP, I believe soya formula is not recommended by doctors, if you have a genuine dairy intolerance then it is better to use something like Nutramigen or Neocate (available on prescription).

Anyway could you try toast, pancakes, crumpets etc for breakfast?

Another very reliable way to test, indeed the most reliable, is to completely eliminate the suspected trigger food and see if symptoms improve. Careful with bood tests as they are not 100% reliable. My DD1 is very sensitive to dairy but she tests negative in the allergist's tests. Allergist agrees that when we do a dairy challenge DD reacts badly.

Around half of children who are dairy sensitive also react to soya so keep an eye out if you introduce soya products.

Both rice milk and oat milk can be good for replacing cow's milk. They are not as nutritious but you could certainly make porridge with them. I use them to make things like pancakes too.

Lactose free stuff can be a solution for some kids but lactose allergy is actually very rare, most children who react to dairy are reacting to the protein casein. Casein passes into breastmilk so it would be a good idea for you to avoid dairy at least whilst you are in the elimination period.

When my DD was first diagnosed she reacted to goat's milk too. Now, a few years on, she can eat goat's cheese and milk (very handy).

Good luck!

Oatly is one of the nicest milk-substitutes I've found. It has the creaminess that others lack, even though it's not actually creamy. Oatly isn't sweet, but OTOH the sweetness of Rice Milk is very nice, too. They both come in calcium-fortified versions.

If you cook from scratch it's not too tricky to avoid dairy. You may find you have to rethink certain dishes or styles, eg quiches, sauces, eggy dishes, savioury toppings etc. The tricky stuff, I find, is the 'hidden' dairy. Some makes of an item, eg biscuits or bread products, may be made with no dairy ingredients, others may have something non-obvious, so you need to check ingredients.

I'm in a similar situation to you, though with rather older LOs, having just started to feed them dairy-free and having to do it myself because I'm still bfing. I've cut out all the obvious sources of dairy from my diet, but I'm trying to find out whether I, too, need to cut out the tiny hidden sources.

Our gp does recommend soya formula, but only because the hypoallergenic ones need (hrere) to be prescribed by a Paed and as Bas is caein intol, lactose free formulae dont help

For the lactose free diet, can hugely recommend enfamil lactofree, ds3 thrived on it, gp can prescribe. DS1 got teeth damage from soya, otoh he was below 405 lbs at 4 weeksw and soy formula probably saved his life (was some years back now), so on balance....

testing: yes it can be worth having tests by a GP but the easiest test for any intol is an exclusion diet. Thas how we realised Bas was df (I had to exlude), although genetics tipped us off. Must be reliable as GP /Paeds accepted as dx

Goats milk is great but IIRC there was mn thread recently that nanny goat formula no longer allowed for babies?

Its worth remembering that for many intols are passing and a temporary thing. If its still present when aged 3, appropriate childrens prebiotic type drinks can supposedly help greatly, prebiotics can be had in tablet format from holland and barrett and ds1's nutritionist recommends these.

oh oats mil / rice milk etc-

as dd is 8 months you should be caregul as these are very low in fat, likewise ordinary soya milk (soya has improved massively in the 8 tears since we started this).. You really need a dairy free formula, at least until age 3.

Thanks for all your replies and reassurance!

Dont really want to go down the route of formula of any kind - would rather just keep going with the breastfeeding and cut out dairy myself. I suppose I could use a formula instead of milk in her porridge but its bloody expensive here and would rather another option being as there isnt a huge amount of dairy to replace really.

Have since looked at ricemilk for doing porridge with but 'ricedream' has salt in it?! Should have mentioned that Im in Ireland so shops here are slightly different. We do have Tesco but only a small one locally, nearest large one is 25miles away but will go there tomorrow to see what I can get - not all products that they sell in uk are here.

The test was a saliva test and homeopath suggested it cos dd was so mucousy - not sure how test works exactly. I have cut out all dairy and her symptoms have definately improved so I think its worth sticking with it - hopefully she will grow out of it! There are allergies in my family which is one of the reasons i bf - my mum and her mum are allergic to cheese, my sister is yeast sensitive. I was going to wean dd with no dairy til 1yr cos of this but phn (our version of hv) said no need - should have trusted my gut maybe?

Anyway I will let you know how I get on in the next while.

You can get soya formula on prescription at my GPs.

ours refusus but we're not in England so the guidelines differ anyway (although in england some would some wouldnt- it depends)

rice milk really isn't suitable for 8 moth olds but deffo continue with bf- by far the best!

ds3 likes cereal mixed with alpro yoghurt, would that be OK I wonder? chopped / pureed banana in df yog is another great option. or even lake the prridge with water as you said but add fruit (If i say banana agin i will spund obsessive lol but its a good brekky choice) to make it tastier

Please be careful of allergy tests that happen anywhere but in a hospital conducted by a properly qualified doctor - a lot of people end up on very restricted diet because someone looks at hair or saliva or something and decides on sensitivities, intolerances or even allergies based on no scientific evidence whatsoever. I don't meant to offend anyone, but PLEASE get a referral from your GP before you restrict a baby's diet too much.

I would be very dubious about saliva testing performed by a homeopath. At the very least I would look to get this investigated further by a medical specialist.

If you are going to try an elimination diet then it should be carried out under the supervision of a proper dietician and should involve eliminating ALL dairy (including stuff like whey which is in lots of foodstuffs) for both you and the LO for at least two weeks.

I agree about spervision

we see a nutritionist for other boys asd anyway so she helped us (she is qualified i should add!), but a gp would be an essential first stop

My intolerant dc had other things on cereal like orange juice (vile to me but he loved it!!), he also had toast, eggs and fruit with alpro yoghurt as well as soya milk.

Thanks for the advice but I think im just going to do the dairy elimination to be honest as if i was to wait til I got a referal and it was 'supervised' than god knows when it would happen! The homeopath is registered with the homeopathic society of ireland and was recommended to me - fair enough if you dont believe homeopathy works but i do personally.

I have cut out all dairy including hidden from both our diets and to be honest i dont see why it would need supervision so long as i make sure that we are both getting alternative sources of calcium and getting plenty of balance in our diets - nobody has 'supervised' my breastfeeding or solids so far. Have only seen phn at 6wk and 3mth checks although i have been going to bf group for odd weighing.

Went to health food shop today and managed to get almond 'milk' which does not contain salt so am happier to use that for dairy substitute in making porridge etc. I did not even buy the ricemilk never mind give it to dd - dont give her anything with added salt and dont use much myself either.

The only dairy dd was getting on a daily basis was milk to make porridge at breakie, a yoghurt and most days a small bit of cheese, the odd bit of butter with cooking, apart from any she was getting thro my milk and I realise it takes a while for it to clear the system. Her main nutrition is still from breastmilk as she gets 5 or 6 feeds a day - 4 full ones and a couple of snackie/comfort ones.

She is due a development check in the next few wks so will check with phn then.

It wasn't the homeopath I was questioning - I have had very positive experiences with homoepathic treatment. And if excluding dairy products suis your dc, then go for it. But there REALLY isn't any proactive way of testing for allergies that doesn't involve skin tests or blood tests, so remember your pinch of salt (not for your dc, obviously!)