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Newbie; DS w/milk protein allergy and overwhelmed

Imanurse03Imanurse03 member
in Food Allergy

DS was diagnosed with a milk protein allergy about 3 weeks ago at his 4 month well visit.  I EP and he has always been a gassy baby.  At 2.5 months old, he was diagnosed with reflux and has been on Zantac since that time. 

So around his 4 month visit, he had been screaming/fussing during and after feedings, refusing to eat, and then began having green, mucousy stools.  They checked his stool for blood and it was positive.  So they told me to eliminate dairy from my diet, which I did.  And they said if we needed to supplement w/formula, then to use Nutramigen or Alimentum. 

He seemed to do well after about a week or so of me being dairy free and having the occasional Nutramigen.  However, this past week or so has horrible.  He has been fussy during feedings, gassy, eating poorly (he takes 5 oz BM when he's feeling well and has recently only taken 2-4 oz at a time), and started again with green mucousy stools.  One stool had visible blood in it.  I have been diligent about reading labels and avoiding all dairy.  I did go to a baseball game and have a hot dog, but his symptoms started before that.  And I had a soy caramel Frappucino from Starbucks over the weekend.  But again, I think that was after his symptoms started again. 

So I called pedi yesterday and she basically said I could have had some hidden dairy in my food, which I don't disagree with.  But she said that any hidden dairy would be out of my system within 24-48 hours.  I told her that I would just feed him Alimentum for now and pump/dump.  I thought I read that it can take weeks for dairy to be eliminated from your system. 

His symptoms seem no better on the Alimentum.  He is still having frequent stools, although not as mucousy.  And he is still eating poorly.  He only took about 15 oz today, when he normally takes 20-25 oz. 

I really wanted to EP until DS was 6 months old but I feel like it is so difficult to do that while avoiding dairy.  But Alimentum seems no better for DS either.  I feel like I don't know what I can safely feed my baby.  And he's so small.  Granted he was born at 35 weeks and weighed 4 lbs, 10.5 oz at birth.  At nearly 5 months old, he weighs 11 lbs, 8.2 oz.  Should I still give him the BM that I pump, or at least some of it mixed with Alimentum, even though my BM may have some dairy in it? 

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Re: Newbie; DS w/milk protein allergy and overwhelmed

  • browneyedgoilbrowneyedgoil member
    he could also be sensitive to soy which you might have to cut that out of your diet as well. something like 60% of babies w/ milk protein allergy cannot tolerate soy. i had to cut both out. also, my child did not clear her blood w/ the alimentum. we supplement her w/ neocate which has no milk in it at all. alimentum has casein which is a broken down milk protein. 
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  • treble_cleftreble_clef member

    What does your doctor say about his weight gain?  My doctor mentioned Neocate(?) for very sensitive babies.  

    Do you keep a food journal?  I started mine since my daughter also seems to be reacting to something I'm eating.  One thing I know for sure is that when I eat acidic foods like citrus or vinegar, she gets diaper rash, and her tummy doesn't feel good. 

    m/c - Dec 2005, DS - March 27, 2007, m/c - Oct 2009, DD - Feb 20, 2012

    Proud mother of two breech babies:)

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
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  • mylove2005mylove2005
    imageImanurse03:

    DS was diagnosed with a milk protein allergy about 3 weeks ago at his 4 month well visit.  I EP and he has always been a gassy baby.  At 2.5 months old, he was diagnosed with reflux and has been on Zantac since that time. 

    So around his 4 month visit, he had been screaming/fussing during and after feedings, refusing to eat, and then began having green, mucousy stools.  They checked his stool for blood and it was positive.  So they told me to eliminate dairy from my diet, which I did.  And they said if we needed to supplement w/formula, then to use Nutramigen or Alimentum. 

    He seemed to do well after about a week or so of me being dairy free and having the occasional Nutramigen.  However, this past week or so has horrible.  He has been fussy during feedings, gassy, eating poorly (he takes 5 oz BM when he's feeling well and has recently only taken 2-4 oz at a time), and started again with green mucousy stools.  One stool had visible blood in it.  I have been diligent about reading labels and avoiding all dairy.  I did go to a baseball game and have a hot dog, but his symptoms started before that.  And I had a soy caramel Frappucino from Starbucks over the weekend.  But again, I think that was after his symptoms started again. 

    So I called pedi yesterday and she basically said I could have had some hidden dairy in my food, which I don't disagree with.  But she said that any hidden dairy would be out of my system within 24-48 hours.  I told her that I would just feed him Alimentum for now and pump/dump.  I thought I read that it can take weeks for dairy to be eliminated from your system. 

    His symptoms seem no better on the Alimentum.  He is still having frequent stools, although not as mucousy.  And he is still eating poorly.  He only took about 15 oz today, when he normally takes 20-25 oz. 

    I really wanted to EP until DS was 6 months old but I feel like it is so difficult to do that while avoiding dairy.  But Alimentum seems no better for DS either.  I feel like I don't know what I can safely feed my baby.  And he's so small.  Granted he was born at 35 weeks and weighed 4 lbs, 10.5 oz at birth.  At nearly 5 months old, he weighs 11 lbs, 8.2 oz.  Should I still give him the BM that I pump, or at least some of it mixed with Alimentum, even though my BM may have some dairy in it? 

    My DS could not handle the ailmentum at all but he is better on the nutramigen and for some reason he can not handle the powered version of these at all it has to be the ready to feed stuff.
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  • camedowncrushingcamedowncrushing member
    It might be soy as well.  My LO did improve after eliminating dairy, but her symptoms didn't completely clear up until I also eliminated soy.  If I were you I would try avoiding soy for a while as well to see how that goes. 
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  • Rachel*NeocateRachel*Neocate member
    I agree with pp that you should try avoiding soy as well because half of all babies (like my LO) who cannot tolerate dairy also have trouble with soy because their proteins are so similar... and just like dairy, soy seems to be in everything!  It's actually called MSPI, milk soy protein intolerance.

    And you may want to consider supplementing with an elemental formula like Neocate.  Nutramigen and Alimentum are hydrolysate formulas meaning that they are still milk based but made up of partially broken down milk protein chains.  A large majority of MSPI babies do well on this formula but more sensitive babies may require an elemental formula which is made up of 100% free amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, so there are no proteins chains to break down.  YKWIM?  This video may explain it better: What makes Neocate special YouTube Video:https://youtu.be/Hoj4DtjE4zM


    Rachel Mom to 3 boys Augustboy02 - Sensational Sensory Kid Decemberboy04 -former reflux baby Augustboy10 - MFPI baby
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