Help needed - sick after baby porridge - allergy/intolerance?

[rose.]

Alfie is almost 5 months old and is getting on well with weaning. I am happy with how he is getting on with all the fruit and veg purees we have tried. He is also fine with baby rice. He was showing all the signs of being ready for weaning and I am sure that he is ready.

Anyway, the issue is that the first time I gave him cow and gate creamy porridge, about 3 weeks ago, he was irritable all morning then sick quite badly about 3 hours later. He was sick until only yellow bile was coming up. I nursed him as he then seemed hungry, and he threw up again (this time milk). After that I would assume his stomach was clear of porridge as he was completely fine for the rest of the day.

I phoned the dr and couldn't get an appointment. I was worried as he had been sick quite often when having formula before (in the early days I did occasionally give him some aptamil. He wasn't sick every time but fairly often. The last time he had aptamil he ended up in hospital with an apparent sickness bug. He was four weeks old and at the time I believed the drs. They never tested him and within 24 hours of having the aptamil he was fine. He was discharged and they said it wouldn't be the aptamil. I was never fully convinced and have not given him formula since.)

So the duty dr rang back and I explained the symptoms. She said - and I am not joking - 'oh sounds like a lactose intolerance. Give him some baby food containing soya, and some goats milk, and let me know how you get on.'

I am not about to give my baby goats milk or exclude milk from his diet without proper investigation so I decided to wait a while and then try the porridge again. We did this afternoon. I gave him literally 1/2 a baby spoon ful. 3 1/2 hours later and he has just thrown up after being irritable all night.

What I want to know is, has anyone had similar with c&g creamy porridge? Does it sound like an allergy/intolerance? I plan to leave him a few more weeks and then give a different porridge a go, which doesn't contain milk. Then once he is ok with that (if - hopefully) then try a different brand with milk, or he may be old enough for something else containing milk by then.

I am panicking that Alfie has an allergy/intolerance and that he will never be able to eat normal food nobody in my family is allergic/intolerant to milk so I don't know much about it.

Also I have researched a bit and read that lactose intolerance is really rare in babies?

Just for extra info, Alfie is breastfed and has never seemed to react to my breast milk. and didn't have strange stools last time he had porridge - this time it's obviously too early to tell

 

[loves_cookies]

It sounds more like a cows milk protein intolerance than lactose. Cow & Gate add milk to their cereals as do Aptamil. I can recommend Organic cereals, my LO got on a lot better with them.

In terms of testing, an intolerance is diagnosed on symptoms alone. I would advise keeping a food diary of what milk products your LO has and what the reactions were to show your HV or similar. You can ask for a dietician referral if you are worried about getting enough milk into his diet.

My LO was originally diagnosed as cows milk intolerant at 5 weeks old. (It's a long story, but it's turned out that she's severely allergic, but she's been a bit of a mystery for the Dr's). The original advice we were given was to try and reintroduce at 1 year. I know it's hard, but try not to worry, virtually all babies grow out of it.

 

[xLaura]

This might sound weird but cow and gate porridge actually main ingredient is something like corn (I'm not 100% sure without looking) but it isn't oats like you think it should be. I'd suggest getting a different brand, Heinz do one and the main ingredient is oats which to me is what porridge should be. I've got no advice regarding allergy but I'd be inclined to try an actual porridge to see if there is a difference.

 

[rose.]

Thanks loves cookies that's reassuring! The only thing I am confused about is why he doesn't react to my breastmilk? I don't drink milk but I do eat a lot of dairy like cheese ice cream yoghurt etc. I will give the organic range a go

 

[loves_cookies]

It could be because you eat mainly dairy that's been treated, so it's denatured to some extent. Or it could be that it's a mild intolerance.

I still avoid all Cow & Gate food, I love Organix and Ellas Kitchen if I need to buy anything as they both have all their allergy info on their websites.

 

[rose.]

Thanks. I have been googling Ella's kitchen and it looks really good. I can see that they have a special section on their website which shows all their milk free products! I plan to make most of Alfie's food myself but its nice to know that there is lots of choice if I do need to buy anything

 

[keese22]

We had a very similar experience to the same porridge. First few times I gave it he threw up but I didn't think anything of it as he had reflux snd throws up all the time. Around day 4 of giving it he came up in a massive rash and hives all over his back about half hour after eating it. I took him to the dr who prescribed piriton and I explained how I was worried that it was maybe the dairy. He wasn't sure and suggested I give him a small amount to test this theory. I've not done it yet as he's not 6 months. In the meantime I've switched to Ella's kitchen porridge as there isn't any milk in it and you add your own milk (plum do a similar one)

 

[MindUtopia]

I would try something more natural than a prepared baby porridge. They all seem to have a lot of weird ingredients in them to me. We've done just plain oat porridge (like the kind you by for yourself in the big bags at the store, just pure rolled oats, no added ingredients). But I've also heard that rolled spelt is even more gentle on young babies bellies as it's an older strain of grain. We haven't tried it yet, but will be as I prefer spelt in most things to oats or wheat. You can find rolled spelt (for porridge and other things) at most natural food stores and probably Holland & Barrett as well. Once you find a more natural dry porridge, I'd make it with just water and a little added breastmilk instead of cow's milk and see what happens. It might just be a matter of trying different things and I agree, a food diary is a great idea.

It sounds like a fairly severe reaction, but it's possible it could also be that he just isn't ready for grains yet. I think generally they recommend only sticking to fruit and veg if you start before 6 months. I know those baby porridges are marketed from 4 months, but it might just be a matter of waiting a bit til his digestive system matures a bit more too. That said, if it is an intolerance, like the PP's said, he will most likely grow out of it. I have two close friends with baby's who had intolerances, one to dairy alone and the other to dairy and wheat. Both grew out of them and could eat completely normally again by about 2 years old.

 

[rose.]

Thanks both of you.

Mind utopia, I was concerned that it might be the processed nature of the porridge that could be causing it, not milk. I am going to try something more natural. The reason I used the c&g is because it is gluten free. I am really reassured to hear that your friends children grew out of their intolerances!

 

[Zondon]

Hey there,

My LO has cow's milk protein allergy and has been on prescribable milk since she was 7 weeks old. I have no experience with the baby porridge you mentioned, but have you seen Ella's Kitchen stage one 'wakey wakey baby porridge'? It's got very few ingredients, no sugar and no dairy in it so you could try offering that (or another brand like it) to your LO to check that he's fine with porridge in general? The only thing is it's not gluten free, so I'm not sure it would be ok....?

Btw as others have said most kids do grow out of intolerances and allergies. My LO did a dairy challenge a few weeks ago and failed it but with milder symptoms than she originally had which is encouraging and we'll try again in six months time. Most kids outgrow their lactose and/or cow's protein milk allergies and/or intolerances by age 2!

Zondon