i'm starting to think she may be allergic to dairy afterall- TMI

MayBride2B2007

when hadley was about 6 weeks she was tested (her poop) for a milk allergy.  it came back negative.  we've been medicating her since about 4 weeks for her reflux and she seems a lot better but still spits up TONS.  about 3-4 weeks ago she began pooping less frequently and often times would go once a day and even skip a couple of days.  when she did go, it was a mess (runny but still with the little seed-like things that BF poop has).  i asked the nurse practitioner at my pedi's office about it but she said it sounded fairly normal and if she didn't have any other symptoms not to worry about it.

well, lately i've realized that her poop STINKS.  i mean horribly bad.  i mentioned it tonight to a friend who was over for dinner and she said that BF poop isn't supposed to smell bad and her pedi mentioned it as a symptom of a milk allergy, which her son has. 

should i call the pedi?  i know this sounds bad, but if she does in fact have the allergy, i think i need to switch to formula.  it's not just that dairy itself would be hard to cut out (it would be REALLY hard for me since i don't eat a lot of meat), but it's all the things that you don't even realize are made with dairy that i just don't feel like i am equipped to research and change.  it kills me to think about stopping BF when i love it and have worked so hard to help my supply. 

if she hasn't had any other "symptoms" though and the poop bothers me and not her, maybe i just deal with it and don't change anything?  i wish i knew what the right thing to do was.

versed

((hugs)) I know this is the last thing you want right now! Call the pedi - couldn't hurt ...

mrs_ross07

cutting out dairy is really NOT that hard. I gave it up when C was 3 weeks old. I will eat dairy every not and then to see if he's outgrowing the allergy and it IS getting better. I eat a lot of soy and drink Rice milk.

GeminiKMP-C

One of the big signs that Lilly had a milk allergy was that her poop smelled sour and looked curdled.  Definitely smelled WRONG though. 

MayBride2B2007

GeminiKMP-C:

One of the big signs that Lilly had a milk allergy was that her poop smelled sour and looked curdled.  Definitely smelled WRONG though. 

f^ck.  just sayin'.

MayBride2B2007

mrs_ross07:

cutting out dairy is really NOT that hard. I gave it up when C was 3 weeks old. I will eat dairy every not and then to see if he's outgrowing the allergy and it IS getting better. I eat a lot of soy and drink Rice milk.

i don't even drink milk, but i eat cheese and ice cream.  it's the only way i get calcium that doesn't come from a pill.  i could give up carbs way easier than dairy.

mrs_ross07

MayBride2B2007:

mrs_ross07:

cutting out dairy is really NOT that hard. I gave it up when C was 3 weeks old. I will eat dairy every not and then to see if he's outgrowing the allergy and it IS getting better. I eat a lot of soy and drink Rice milk.

i don't even drink milk, but i eat cheese and ice cream.  it's the only way i get calcium that doesn't come from a pill.  i could give up carbs way easier than dairy.

 

I buy calcium enriched rice milk. My soy yogurt has a lot of calcium also.

MayBride2B2007

mrs_ross07:

MayBride2B2007:

mrs_ross07:

cutting out dairy is really NOT that hard. I gave it up when C was 3 weeks old. I will eat dairy every not and then to see if he's outgrowing the allergy and it IS getting better. I eat a lot of soy and drink Rice milk.

i don't even drink milk, but i eat cheese and ice cream.  it's the only way i get calcium that doesn't come from a pill.  i could give up carbs way easier than dairy.

I buy calcium enriched rice milk. My soy yogurt has a lot of calcium also.

i'm really surprised that you can eat soy.  in almost every baby i know with a milk allergy, they also have a soy allergy.

GeminiKMP-C

MayBride2B2007:

mrs_ross07:

MayBride2B2007:

mrs_ross07:

cutting out dairy is really NOT that hard. I gave it up when C was 3 weeks old. I will eat dairy every not and then to see if he's outgrowing the allergy and it IS getting better. I eat a lot of soy and drink Rice milk.

i don't even drink milk, but i eat cheese and ice cream.  it's the only way i get calcium that doesn't come from a pill.  i could give up carbs way easier than dairy.

I buy calcium enriched rice milk. My soy yogurt has a lot of calcium also.

i'm really surprised that you can eat soy.  in almost every baby i know with a milk allergy, they also have a soy allergy.

I dunno bc FF babies who are allergic to regular cow's milk formula usually switch to soy (or I guess the hypo-allergenic Allimentum/Nutramigen).  Lilly takes soy formula and does well on it.  I don't know if it's the same with a BF'ing diet though.  Hmmm...

chris21

that was about the same time Sean started having his problems, the first thing we were told was milk allergy and he was too young to test for it, so I stopped dariy. Then it continued and reflux was dx.  I never really thought he had an allergy or at least a bad allergy but cut out dairy as much as I could , I read labels and all..  Anyway I got the ok at his 6 month to slowly add it back and see how he did.  He seems alright however I didn't go crazy with adding it back.  I still haven't had pizza or ice cream.  Anyway, I don't think he had an allergy to milk or at least it was a mild one if I had too much.  Time will tell I guess when I stop eping.  I don't think I helped you much though..  sorry.  Cutting out dairy is a lot of work and a whole special shopping trip.

mrs_ross07

MayBride2B2007:

mrs_ross07:

MayBride2B2007:

mrs_ross07:

cutting out dairy is really NOT that hard. I gave it up when C was 3 weeks old. I will eat dairy every not and then to see if he's outgrowing the allergy and it IS getting better. I eat a lot of soy and drink Rice milk.

i don't even drink milk, but i eat cheese and ice cream.  it's the only way i get calcium that doesn't come from a pill.  i could give up carbs way easier than dairy.

I buy calcium enriched rice milk. My soy yogurt has a lot of calcium also.

i'm really surprised that you can eat soy.  in almost every baby i know with a milk allergy, they also have a soy allergy.

 

some soy products also contain milk products. You have to look at the ingredients. I just buy milk free/lactose free ones 

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MayBride2B2007:

GeminiKMP-C:

One of the big signs that Lilly had a milk allergy was that her poop smelled sour and looked curdled.  Definitely smelled WRONG though. 

f^ck.  just sayin'.

WOW....I'm thinking the same thing as May right now!  My DD is going through the same things that you have mentioned, May.  It's is so hard to not know what is the right thing to do for your LO.

valkaz

I'd call the pedi, just to see what they have to say.

When DD was diagnosed with the milk protein allergy, the specialist told me that he wouldn't tell me to quit breastfeeding. He told me to cut out the big dairy items - like milk, ice cream, cheese - but he told me that I didn't have to go crazy with it (i.e. watch for anything with casein in it.)

MelissaSue81

Maybe  try cutting back dairy on your own and see if it helps?

Babyhealthblog

Hi There ? My name is Sarah and I am a nutrition specialist for Nutricia North America. It sounds like Hadley could definitely have a milk allergy (even though the initial test came back negative). I would suggest giving your pediatrician a call to discuss the possibility of a milk allergy. If it turns out Hadley does have a milk allergy and you want to continue to BF, there are resources available to help you go dairy free. I would recommend checking out Kids with Food Allergies site, there are some support forums available and you can talk with other moms about what has helped them go dairy free.

If you decide to go to formula options, you might want to talk to the ped. about starting Hadley on an amino acid-based formula like Neocate. Neocate is completely broken down into individual amino acids (the building blocks of protein) instead of protein chains ? therefore, it is the easiest to digest. Some doctors recommend starting on this type of formula first, because if a child does have a milk allergy, they know it will provide immediate relief. If the amino acid-based formula doesn?t help the baby, that tells the doctor right away that it is not a milk protein allergy causing the baby?s symptoms and the medical team needs to do some more investigative work to find out what?s really wrong.

I?m a mom of an 11 month old baby girl who was diagnosed with allergic reflux, so I know how difficult it can be to not know what is wrong with your child. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to email me at babyhealthblog@ecius.net. Good luck! Sarah