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Dairy/other food sensitivity - personal experiences/advice!

AlexE2013AlexE2013 member
in Breastfeeding
Hey ladies - I am looking for personal experiences with having a BF baby experience food sensitivity. Specifically: what was the onset like? Was it gradual over the weeks following birth or sudden and right from the start? If it was gradual - did the symptoms worsen as time went by, even if you didn't increase the food in your diet? Have you experienced a situation in which your child demonstrated sensitivity to one particular food item but not a whole food group?

Also: if you're dairy free for your baby, what types of resources do you suggest for how to rework a diet? I may have to pursue diet free and it seems like everything I eat has some traces of dairy in it!

Thank you :)
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Re: Dairy/other food sensitivity - personal experiences/advice!

  • Carnation77Carnation77 member
    It was from the beginning. DS wouldnt latch after birth so they gave him one bottle of formula and he broke out in a bad rash.  Then I got him to BF.  I had cut out dairy weeks before his birth because milk allergy runs in my family - I had it too. He was fine with BFing.  Then 2 weeks later I started eating some dairy to see what would happen and sure enough he got another rash, puked a bunch, had painful gas.  Cut it out again and he improved.  skin cleared up quickly and fewer digestive problems.  I basically just buy whole foods and make everything myself so i know whats in it.  I'm not perfect - sometimes I cheat with small amounts of chocolate baked goods (I miss chocolate so much) and he seems OK as long as it's not much or too often.
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  • TexasAggie06TexasAggie06 member
    It started pretty suddenly for us when DS was 2 weeks old.  He went from a very very content and happy baby to crying and pulling his legs up and his belly was swollen looking and hard.  I cut out dairy 100% (but never had to cut soy thankfully) and he was noticeably better within a week.  Significantly better after 3, no blood in his stool after 6 weeks.

    He's now about to be 7 months and I can have tiny amounts of dairy each day with no problems for him.  

    Many people told me they don't miss dairy anymore.  I haven't been that fortunate - I miss it a lot still!
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  • jezabellajezabella member
    edited November 2013
    I have been eating gluten free myself since before I became pregnant, as I have allergic reactions to it if I eat too much anyways.  However after 2 or 3 weeks after birth, I started to notice the occassional bloody streak in her stools. She also had a lot of gassiness and related fussiness, crying from gas and stomach pains, and green frothy and runny poop.  It was rarely the seedy poop that it is supposed to be.  I'm not sure if this was related but she also started to get a rash of small red spots on her back and the back of her neck and arms.  These symptoms all came on gradually after birth, not suddenly.  The doctor told me to try cutting out dairy as it is a very common thing for babies to be lactose intolerant, and both my husband and I were lactose intolerant as babies.  I did eat a LOT of yogurt and cheese as easy and filling snacks (honestly I love dairy foods) and found it was one of the easiest snacks for me to get protein during those first few weeks.  But to be honest, I would have kept eating them as they are easy and tasty.  Anyways I've been off dairy only for a week now but have noticed a significant decrease in her gassiness and her poops have returned to that seedy quality that they should have and no blood in her stools the last few days.  I have not been eliminating things like crackers if they have some dairy in them, but eliminate things which contained large amounts of dairy such as butter, cheese, yogurt, cream soups, etc.  I mostly have been eating fresh foods to stay healthy and for easiness since her birth, not a lot of processed things unless they are specifically gluten free, but I don't have much time to cook anything too fancy, so I have found since I started that I am having trouble getting enough calories in what I'm eating and have lost 4 or 5 pounds just this week alone and have had a couple days with dizzy spells (not good I know!).  Many gluten free processed foods are also dairy free (such as UDI's breads, some of Annie's pastas, etc.).  So far I have found it's easiest to eat fresh things you make yourself, and the regular grocery store didn't offer too many dairy alternatives.  I went to our natural food store for soy and coconut yogurts to try, and some lactose free cheeses.  But honestly, it doesn't taste nearly as good so I find it's almost just easier to cut out altogether and get my dairy equivalent servings from almond or soy milk.  
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  • jezabellajezabella member
    AFwifelife said:
    jezabella said:
    I have been eating gluten free myself since before I became pregnant, as I have allergic reactions to it if I eat too much anyways.  However after 2 or 3 weeks after birth, I started to notice the occassional bloody streak in her stools. She also had a lot of gassiness and related fussiness, crying from gas and stomach pains, and green frothy and runny poop.  It was rarely the seedy poop that it is supposed to be.  I'm not sure if this was related but she also started to get a rash of small red spots on her back and the back of her neck and arms.  These symptoms all came on gradually after birth, not suddenly.  The doctor told me to try cutting out dairy as it is a very common thing for babies to be lactose intolerant, and both my husband and I were lactose intolerant as babies.  I did eat a LOT of yogurt and cheese as easy and filling snacks (honestly I love dairy foods) and found it was one of the easiest snacks for me to get protein during those first few weeks.  But to be honest, I would have kept eating them as they are easy and tasty.  Anyways I've been off dairy only for a week now but have noticed a significant decrease in her gassiness and her poops have returned to that seedy quality that they should have and no blood in her stools the last few days.  I have not been eliminating things like crackers if they have some dairy in them, but eliminate things which contained large amounts of dairy such as butter, cheese, yogurt, cream soups, etc.  I mostly have been eating fresh foods to stay healthy and for easiness since her birth, not a lot of processed things unless they are specifically gluten free, but I don't have much time to cook anything too fancy, so I have found since I started that I am having trouble getting enough calories in what I'm eating and have lost 4 or 5 pounds just this week alone and have had a couple days with dizzy spells (not good I know!).  Many gluten free processed foods are also dairy free (such as UDI's breads, some of Annie's pastas, etc.).  So far I have found it's easiest to eat fresh things you make yourself, and the regular grocery store didn't offer too many dairy alternatives.  I went to our natural food store for soy and coconut yogurts to try, and some lactose free cheeses.  But honestly, it doesn't taste nearly as good so I find it's almost just easier to cut out altogether and get my dairy equivalent servings from almond or soy milk.  
    I've actually read that it's rare for babies to be lactose intolerant.  The sensitivity is to the actual milk protein which is why they recommend cutting out all dairy.  Having lactose-free foods still contain the protein that many of them react to.

    https://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/allergies/milk_allergy.html
    https://kellymom.com/health/baby-health/lactose-intolerance/
    https://kellymom.com/health/baby-health/food-sensitivity/#dairy
    Interesting articles, thanks for sharing.  The doctor did actually say lactose intolerant and trouble digesting the sugars, but after reading the articles I wonder if we are having more of a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance issue which is the problem.  So far eliminating the obvious sources of dairy has helped lots but she still has green poops most of the time.  I have my 6 week checkup tomorrow so I will discuss with her more :)
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] member

    My DS has had many food intolerances, including dairy. We have a check in for dairy-free mamas here on Mondays and have all the posts archived on our blog, mspimoms.blogspot.com. There's a lot of helpful info there on what to eat and what to avoid.

    My DS suddenly had green, runny stools at 2 mo old. When I cut out obvious dairy his congestion, gassiness, and spitting up improved very quickly. He also has been intolerant of soy, eggs, wheat, coconut, and cabbage. Cabbage gives him runny, smelly poops, but other veggies in the mustard family (e.g., broccoli, kale) just give him a little gas. :) Other grains, like buckwheat and millet, seem to bother him, but barley, corn, and rice are fine. Any trace of dairy or soy have bothered him in the past, though. So, the sensitivities have varied and changed over time. He does seem to be out-growing the dairy intolerance now, but not until recently (was still reacting to trace amounts at 13 mo). Soy still seems to be a no-go still.

    HTH!

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  • AlexE2013AlexE2013 member
    Just wondering - has anyone had to supplement with formula at all while getting the dairy out of their system? If so, how do you feel that impacted the BF relationship/process?
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  • kanga1622Wed220857kanga1622Wed220857 member
    I noticed the symptoms at 3 weeks so it seemed sudden. The biggest tip off for me was the much larger amounts of spit up compared to DS1. My doc noticed right away that he had the classic milk allergy rash on his face, chest, back of arms, and shoulders. It came on about the same time as baby acne so I hadn't noticed it.

    Dairy is in everything. You will need to learn to cook from scratch and cook ahead a bit. I am dairy, soy, gluten, peanut, and tree nut free. My diet is boring since I don't have a lot of options but it is healthy. I always have fresh fruit and veggies cleaned, cut, and ready to eat. I tend to cook chicken or pork loin in my crock pot so I always have ready protein on hand. Enjoy Life chocolate chips have been a huge help as well. They taste just like regular semi-sweet but are dairy free. That was a nice bridge to use as a sweet and crunchy snack, I freeze them so they were crunchy.
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  • kanga1622Wed220857kanga1622Wed220857 member
    We never used formula. Even the elemental formulas can be hard on MSPI babies so BM really is the best. It took us quite awhile to get better since he was reacting to so many things but his rash and puking were almost completely gone after two weeks being dairy and soy free. Now at 4 months he is still a spitter but he is happy, has normal poops, and doesn't deal with gas pains.
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  • AlexE2013AlexE2013 member
    Did any if you find that the stools varied whole eliminating dairy from your system? I've noticed LO will have a lighter stool in the MOTN or first thing in the am but then it turns green as the day carries on... We've only been dairy free for a week though.

    Also, did you automatically get rid of soy too? Or wait to see how the dairy went?

    Sorry for all the questions!
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  • AlexE2013AlexE2013 member
    Oh, I would like to add the rash he had cleared up super fast from his face within a day or two after we stopped dairy! Still pretty gassy though.

    Also, did you guys use gas drops at all while you waited for the dairy to leave?
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