Milk Protein Intolerance

Bekka1987

My baby is 3 weeks old today and his doctor told me he has a milk protein itolerance. She gave me this special formula that he has to have and if I want to continue breatfeeding I have to eliminate ALL milk and soy from my diet completely. I tried giving him the formula and he absolutely hates it and refuses to eat it cause it tastes so bad. I went to the store today and spend 2 hours looking for food I can eat. I had no idea that they put soy in practically EVERYTHING. Anyone else have a baby with milk protein intolerance? Are you going to stop breastfeeding or did you find some foods you can eat? Any suggestions on getting him to take the yucky formula? The doctor said it is the only formula he can have. I feel so terrible that he's going through this

Aaward1658

I dealt with this with my first daughter. It totally sucked. She would not take a bottle period and that formula tastes so bad, I couldn't blame her for screaming and crying. I cut the stuff out of my diet and continued to nurse her. It helped me to lose the weight faster and I think and nursing was better for her since the bottle was so traumatic. Good luck, that is a difficult and stressful situation to be in.

chloephoebecali

Third time for me. The food allergy board can help you.  

 I nursed dd on the diet for over a year. Ds went on elecare at 2 months (dairy/soy free wasn't good enough for him). He didn't like it at first but he eventually got used to it.  Dd 2 has it and I'm back on the diet.

I eat meats, veggies, coconut milk/products, and fruit.  I found a bread I can eat and that makes it much easier.  Look in your stores organic/gluten free section for stuff you can have.  GL!

DangerousLikeDarkwingDuck

Eliminating milk and soy from your diet shouldn't be very hard, it's usually a healthier option because you would eat less processed stuff. Vegetables, fruits, and non freezer section meats don't have either in them usually. It can be a bland diet, but only you know which decision you will make. My older son has a milk intolerance, but we were able to use soy formula. That wasn't a problem for him. He did prefer the formula warm though. Now that DS is older we still avoid milk products. DD grew out of her intolerance, DS never has. I have a list of common soy free foods and milk free foods if you're interested. Was he pooping blood? I'm curious of his symptoms

Evo9380

I normally lurk, but wanted to post since I can maybe offer some support. I've got twins (due in June but born in April!) so it's slightly different in that I also couldn't handle the supply issue so I did end up sticking to formula but I was on the no-milk-protein-diet for roughly 3 weeks.

As for food, I was able to talk to a nutritionist who gave me a list of a variety of names for milk protein which helped a lot. Perhaps see if you can talk to a specialist, if you haven't already? She had also given me a huge list of things that are okay to eat. Also, most restaurants have an allergy list available so eating out is still do-able too!

My saving grace was whole wheat bread/buns! It allowed me to eat burgers, toast with peanut butter, french toast (minus the milk). Always read the labels, but I've found those to be what I turned to the most. 

If I had been able to continue BFing, I'm sure it would have gotten even easier as you get used to what you can and can't eat.

Good luck!

PS - As for the bottles, I had to switch bottles at the beginning because DD & DS hated the ones I had originally bought. This doesn't apply if you're doing pumped BM since LO is already used to the bottle, but just thought I'd throw it out there!

Bekka1987

Yes, he was pooping blood and I thought maybe he was just constipated but when I told the pediatrician about it she was very concerned and told me it was the milk protein intolerance. Also, at his 2 week checkup he wasn't back to his birth weight yet. She scheduled me to come back in to recheck his weight a few days later. Right after that appointment is when I started noticing the blood in his diapers. I've been doing the diet for a week now but it's driving me nuts because I'm hungry all the time and I'm worried about what foods will be easy to take with me when I go back to work in 3 weeks. Also, my baby is still getting the hang of breastfeeding and for whatever reason, my milk doesn't seem to be keeping up with him. He'll breastfeed and still be hungry right after so I've been giving him bottles too. He's getting used to the formula now. I feel bad because he'll breastfeed for 30 minutes and fall asleep then wake up 5 minutes later still hungry and if I give him a bottle of formula he'll drink the whole thing like he didn't get hardly anything from my breasts.

Bekka1987

I'm giving him the Alimentum. At first he wouldn't take it at all, now he'll take it but you can tell he really doesn't like it. 

tclayton53

I've been milk and soy free for 2 weeks since LO was showing signs of an allergy. I found a sourdough bread from Trader Joes that is soy free and found that most artisan/local bakery breads are as well. Almost all processed foods and restaurant/fast foods are off limits (unless they provide an allergy menu). In-and-out burger will accommodate allergy orders so that's my go-to meal on the go. I've also stocked up on Lara bars, fruit, peanut butter, crackers and hummus for quick snacks. For protein, I try to do a pulled pork or something in the crockpot every week so I have lots of leftovers and hard boiled eggs.

Hope this helps!

temursgirl

I don't tolerate milk protein myself, so I always avoid dairy and I don't really eat soy. At first your post surprised me because I don't think it's that hard to avoid and I thought maybe I'm just used to it. But then I realized that I really don't buy any processed foods. Think in terms of sections at the grocery store: you need produce, meat, and grains. Stick to basic ingredients when preparing food. For things you really don't want to make at home, like bread, look for fresh items with the least number of ingredients. I normally exercise a lot and I don't have any problem getting enough calories. LO is also 3 weeks and going through a growth spurt. She seems hungry more often (she's EBF) but the pediatrician says it's normal and she's getting enough. Maybe this is the same thing for your LO?