Milk advice please! 12 month old..(long post)

[AC1987]

OK a bit of a backstory
I breastfed my DD2 until she was 9 1/2 months, then I had emergency surgery and if therefore it stopped me from breastfeeding for almost a week and a half, as first I was in the hospital then with the drugs, so I was pumping and dumping, but in the end my supply just dropped until it was HARD just pumping 2 ounces(only in the morning, as nothing comes out any other time of day). But that was better than nothing. So DD2 went onto formula for a week and a half then was combi fed I'd feed her about 3 times a day and rest bottle fed.
Then I tried to wean her onto cows milk, and it was ok at first but then she started having diarrhea Also I stopped breastfeeding her in the day, it was just too hard as she is SO distracted from everything and going off alone with her to nurse is not an option.
So then when I took her to the pediatrician he said it most likely was not milk as it would happen with the formula too and probably a bug, but I'm not sure! As its been going on for two weeks now, diarrhea once a day. He told me to put her on the brat diet and to cut out whole milk and stick to formula, so I did for about 4 days and thought ok maybe it was a bug after all. But then yesterday diarrhea, and today diarrhea!

So does anyone think its possible to randomly develop a milk problem? I'm thinking of maybe starting her on soy milk.. I tried pumping again and I got half an ounce so I can't rely on that.

 

[noon_child]

Bugs really can last ages with young ones. Also was it loose stools or proper watery stringy fouls smelling diarrhoea?

 

[AC1987]

It isn't watery, yeah I'm still unsure what it is exactly.
So she is on soy right now and the diarrhea has stopped. So in a week I will start her again on whole milk and see how she does on it.

 

[Elephant13]

Hey AC1987,
Just read your post and couldn't leave without sharing little about what I know. My little boy suffered terribly with cows milk formula from birth to 8 weeks. He had awful skin rashes & would throw up after every feed (so I was almost constantly feeding him as he was always hungry from not sustaining anything) he would fidget and grunt all day and all night & he had the worst wind (the smell could clear a room lol) & diarrhoea. I couldn't leave the house for long because after every feed he would poo as well as be sick & it would just leak out of his nappies & the amount of clothes i had to throw away because they were so badly stained. & whoever was holding him usually got covered in it too....not nice!
My mum had him for me overnight when he was 8 weeks old & she basically said to me that something wasn't right, after mentioning it to a neighbour she suggested a soya alternative as her son had the exact same as a baby so I went to the shop and bought a soya formula and I am not lying the change in him was almost instant. His poo's were a lot firmer he no longer threw up and within 3 days his rash had disappeared. When I spoke to my dr he kind of shut me down a bit and didn't really believe it could be the milk. He told me to change back after a few weeks. My health visitor on the hand told me to just continue if he was doing ok & as he was gaining weight well and progressing very well (he was rolling over from 10 weeks, crawling at 4 months & he has just started walking now at 9 months) then just keep at it. I know there is a lot of controversy over soya (especially shop bought formulas) however I had done some research on the topic itself & found that all tests on soya and the effects in can have on babies were based on testing done on rats...there is actually no evidence based on actual humans that provide the same results. Just before I fell pregnant I over hauled my diet & cut out dairy myself. It turns out that dairy is one of the biggest digestive issues that humans can have. The proteins in cows milk are not easy to digest for most people & so perhaps the fact that I drank soya through pregnancy was a factor in his allergy. I choose to get my calcium I need from other foods in my diet & I intend to do the same with my little boy. He will soon be one so I am currently looking at milk alternatives for him, since weaning him at 4 months ive introduced some dairy each month wether it be cheese or yoghurt etc & within half hour he is violently sick & will have terrible nappies for a day after. I realise this is a really long post and I guess what I'm trying to get at is to just trust your own instinct. It may only be a mild allergy or intolerance & if the symptoms have gone with the soya then its a pretty good inclination that it could well be what was upsetting your baby. Hope my post helped and not sent you to sleep lol x