Milk/soy intolerance and breastfeeding

[mk8]

Hello all

My 13 weeks old baby is suspected of having a milk/soy protein allergy and I thought it would be good to set up a thread for similar mums (and dads!) out there to discuss diet and weaning.

So the reason for suspecting a milk/soy allergy is that my baby started having mucusy stools at around 6 weeks, which then turned green and then had specks if blood in them on occasion. My baby is exclusively breastfed. I cut out dairy/soy at the suggestion of my GP and within two days I noticed a difference. The poop went back to yellow and was less mucusy. I saw the paediatric consultant at my local hospital and on the basis symptoms improved following the elimination if dairy and soy from my diet. I was told to reintroduce dairy within 4-6 weeks to see if symptoms return. I started soy again (soya sauce) and after 5 days of eating soya sauce everyday I saw some blood again. I therefore went back to cutting out both dairy and soy. It's now been two weeks since then and whilst the stools are yellow, they are sometimes mucusy and I've seen blood on and off. I went to see my GP and he thought it could be my sons gut healing still. So we agreed I will cont to cut out dairy and soy for another month, when hopefully the mucus and blood will have gone, then I'm to reintroduce dairy in small amounts.

Has anybody out there been through a similar situation? How long did you end up breastfeeding for? How did u ensure you got enough calcium? Did you discover that there were other allergies too (eg wheat) ? Did you try prescriptio formula and how did your baby get on with that?

 

[summer rain]

Yes all of mine have had either an intolerance to dairy and/or soy or a true allergy. My youngest now is intolerant to dairy, corn and citrus fruits; we found out about the dairy as my in laws were putting dairy-containing stock into meals they were cooking for me, grr and the citrus fruits and corn we found out about later, I don't often eat either but when I did he would always have bloody stools that were otherwise just a big pile of mucus and had blood flecks in. He is nearly 17 weeks now and I don't deliberately eat dairy as I am vegan so that is dealt with and I find with the citrus and corn that I have to eat large quantities of them to cause a problem. If I have something like 1 corn tortilla or 1 small glass of orange juice, it's not a problem. The only other thing I have done is delay the 2, 3 and 4 month jabs as they caused two of my boys serious digestive and/or weight gain problems and seemed to make their allergies worse. I've never given a specialist formula even used one in cooking as there are plenty of dairy alternatives out there suitable for use in cooking from 6 months. Calcium as well, it's in almost all dairy alternatives and can be found in many other foods fortified or naturally occurring. If you google 'vegan sources of calcium' there is a lot of info out there. There are some potential health risks to taking calcium supplements and it isn't advised to go much above the RDA of calcium in foods for the same reasons, so unless you have underlying health problems which would mean you need to take calcium then it's best to avoid extra supplements. Xx

 

[JenX]

My little one has milk protein and soy intolerance. She's almost five months now and I tried reintroducing dairy in the form of some butter to my diet the other day at one meal. She reacted badly, so I probably won't try any dairy or soy again until about 9 months or so. From what I've read, many kids grow out of it from 6-9 months. I don't want to put her through the pain again so I'll be waiting quite a while.

I don't worry about calcium- there are plenty of other sources than dairy. I haven't discovered any other intolerances yet, but I have to be gluten-free for my own health, so she will be as well. No prescription formula- she's exclusively breastfed and will continue to be.

 

[ZooMa]

Following.... My 5 week old LO has had occasional mucusy stools, though they are often green and forceful. No blood noted. I have stopped drinking milk for the past couple weeks and oh how I miss it. I have not stopped other dairy, though. I am going to try to be more rigorous with diet to see if I notice a change in stools. LO is getting into a fussy period at night sometimes, and has at times woken suddenly from sleep screaming. I also started simethicone so any improvement in symptoms may be complicated by that. Interested to hear other experiences.

 

[Amour]

My DD was suspected of having this due to 2 episodes of blood in stools within about a month of each other. I have had conflicting advice on whether to cut dairy out of my diet so have just cut down which basically for me was limiting cereal I eat, but still drinking tea, coffee with milk, butter etc and hidden dairy in foods. Fortunately we have not had any further episodes. DD never had an vomiting or anything like that so I'm wondering whether she actually does have a milk protein intolerance?

I remember the first time she had an episode of blood in her stool was after I ate some peanuts, the second time it was a little more but I didn't have any nuts but can't remember if I had any dairy.

Picture attached is of the second episode which was a little bit more

 

[summer rain]

It's possible for the intolerance to be relatively mild and so only show up as bloody/mucousy stools and no other symptoms, and for it to be easily eliminated by cutting down on the offending food. Xx

 

[9jawife]

My 9 week old son is intolerant to dairy, so unfortunately I can't eat it either. My lactation specialist said I could get enough calcium from dark leafy greens, nuts, and beans. Fortunately I eat a lot of all three

 

[mk8]

Hope your little one grows out of it summer rain!

Yes all of mine have had either an intolerance to dairy and/or soy or a true allergy. My youngest now is intolerant to dairy, corn and citrus fruits; we found out about the dairy as my in laws were putting dairy-containing stock into meals they were cooking for me, grr and the citrus fruits and corn we found out about later, I don't often eat either but when I did he would always have bloody stools that were otherwise just a big pile of mucus and had blood flecks in. He is nearly 17 weeks now and I don't deliberately eat dairy as I am vegan so that is dealt with and I find with the citrus and corn that I have to eat large quantities of them to cause a problem. If I have something like 1 corn tortilla or 1 small glass of orange juice, it's not a problem. The only other thing I have done is delay the 2, 3 and 4 month jabs as they caused two of my boys serious digestive and/or weight gain problems and seemed to make their allergies worse. I've never given a specialist formula even used one in cooking as there are plenty of dairy alternatives out there suitable for use in cooking from 6 months. Calcium as well, it's in almost all dairy alternatives and can be found in many other foods fortified or naturally occurring. If you google 'vegan sources of calcium' there is a lot of info out there. There are some potential health risks to taking calcium supplements and it isn't advised to go much above the RDA of calcium in foods for the same reasons, so unless you have underlying health problems which would mean you need to take calcium then it's best to avoid extra supplements. Xx

 

[mk8]

Hi jenx. Hope your little one will be ok once you reintroduce dairy. When u cut out dairy, how long did it take for him/ her to get back to normal poops? My little one had a teensy bit of blood again today. I think it's getti b better then bam, feel like a step back!

My little one has milk protein and soy intolerance. She's almost five months now and I tried reintroducing dairy in the form of some butter to my diet the other day at one meal. She reacted badly, so I probably won't try any dairy or soy again until about 9 months or so. From what I've read, many kids grow out of it from 6-9 months. I don't want to put her through the pain again so I'll be waiting quite a while.

I don't worry about calcium- there are plenty of other sources than dairy. I haven't discovered any other intolerances yet, but I have to be gluten-free for my own health, so she will be as well. No prescription formula- she's exclusively breastfed and will continue to be.

 

[mk8]

Hi zooma. Hoping its not an intolerance. Keep us posted on your little ones development.

Following.... My 5 week old LO has had occasional mucusy stools, though they are often green and forceful. No blood noted. I have stopped drinking milk for the past couple weeks and oh how I miss it. I have not stopped other dairy, though. I am going to try to be more rigorous with diet to see if I notice a change in stools. LO is getting into a fussy period at night sometimes, and has at times woken suddenly from sleep screaming. I also started simethicone so any improvement in symptoms may be complicated by that. Interested to hear other experiences.

 

[mk8]

Hi 9jawife, hope your baby grows out of it. Is his poop 100% back to normal now?

My 9 week old son is intolerant to dairy, so unfortunately I can't eat it either. My lactation specialist said I could get enough calcium from dark leafy greens, nuts, and beans. Fortunately I eat a lot of all three

 

[9jawife]

Hi 9jawife, hope your baby grows out of it. Is his poop 100% back to normal now?

My 9 week old son is intolerant to dairy, so unfortunately I can't eat it either. My lactation specialist said I could get enough calcium from dark leafy greens, nuts, and beans. Fortunately I eat a lot of all three

She said she didnt think he would, given the severity of his symptoms. But yeah, his poop is normal now.

 

[mk8]

Hey 9ja- sorry to hear they think that. What were his symptoms that made them classify it as severe? I was actually told by the paediatric dietician today that the younger they get it, the Morley they will grow out of it earlier.

I thought I'd come back to share what the dietician advised me as some of you may find it useful.
- green mucousy stools with blood v typical of an allergy.
- there were two formulas mentioned for babies with milk protein allergies: nutramigen and neocate. Nutramigen has recently been found to have lots of additional benefits but neocate seems to be preferred by paediatricians because its suitable for really sensitive babies. I was given neocate as a back up by the docs. It apparently tastes awful though. The dietician thought my baby prob will drink it though as he's young and doesn't know any better.
- I can mix neocate with breastmilk if my baby doesn't take it alone
- def no need to give baby water before 6 months as it can interfere with my milk production
- when we wean we should leave 3 days between trying new foods
- when weaning we need to mash it but don't need to make it v watery as its good for them to try different textures
- although babies look like they're ready to eat solids before 6 months, its best to wait as its better for their digestive systems
- i can try milk in my own diet when he's better to test. Start in small doses. Apparently cakes cheese better than milk as the milks been cooked/processed so easier to tolerate. If he reacts via my breast milk then best to wait till he's 1 yr old before giving him milk products directly.
- big allergens are milk soya and eggs.

My baby had a little blood on tues and twice today. I also saw a green stool for the first time in a month! I've been v careful with milk products but have had small amounts of say accidentally recently. I'm wondering if its that or eggs. I've had more recently and noticed blood within 24hrs of it. Hate not knowing what's causing these issues!

 

[summer rain]

Could it be something else entirely like corn or citrus fruits? These are also common allergens. Wheat can also occasionally be an issue. We did BLW with my most allergic child so you don't need to stick to traditional weaning xx

 

[9jawife]

Hey 9ja- sorry to hear they think that. What were his symptoms that made them classify it as severe? I was actually told by the paediatric dietician today that the younger they get it, the Morley they will grow out of it earlier.

I thought I'd come back to share what the dietician advised me as some of you may find it useful.
- green mucousy stools with blood v typical of an allergy.
- there were two formulas mentioned for babies with milk protein allergies: nutramigen and neocate. Nutramigen has recently been found to have lots of additional benefits but neocate seems to be preferred by paediatricians because its suitable for really sensitive babies. I was given neocate as a back up by the docs. It apparently tastes awful though. The dietician thought my baby prob will drink it though as he's young and doesn't know any better.
- I can mix neocate with breastmilk if my baby doesn't take it alone
- def no need to give baby water before 6 months as it can interfere with my milk production
- when we wean we should leave 3 days between trying new foods
- when weaning we need to mash it but don't need to make it v watery as its good for them to try different textures
- although babies look like they're ready to eat solids before 6 months, its best to wait as its better for their digestive systems
- i can try milk in my own diet when he's better to test. Start in small doses. Apparently cakes cheese better than milk as the milks been cooked/processed so easier to tolerate. If he reacts via my breast milk then best to wait till he's 1 yr old before giving him milk products directly.
- big allergens are milk soya and eggs.

My baby had a little blood on tues and twice today. I also saw a green stool for the first time in a month! I've been v careful with milk products but have had small amounts of say accidentally recently. I'm wondering if its that or eggs. I've had more recently and noticed blood within 24hrs of it. Hate not knowing what's causing these issues!

My boy was having rashes all over his body, and colicky behavior. We did notice the green mucus in his poop too--no blood, though. He's an entirely different baby when he's off dairy proteins either in formula or through my milk. Amazingly, the pediatrician ignored the signs--it took an IBCLC with 30 years experience to pinpoint it.

 

[JenX]

Just wanted to add, if you are cutting out soy, check your vitamins. It took me a while to realize that the ones I was taking contained soybean oil.

 

[summer rain]

Just wanted to add, if you are cutting out soy, check your vitamins. It took me a while to realize that the ones I was taking contained soybean oil.

Yes this is true. I know pregnacare in the UK contains soya xx

 

[mk8]

Ohhh interesting. I'm taking pregnacare now. The doctor said this was the best one for me. Hmmm what to do?

Hi summerrain, I was wondering if its citrus fruits too. Interesting about the corn, I didnt know that was common. I don't think it's wheat as I've had it almost everyday and not like I've had more in the past couple of days. I do wonder if its fruit though as I've had apple on mon and tues. I don't know anything about BLW so need to look that up. Thanks.

 

[mk8]

Just checked my pregnacare pack and the one I'm taking isn't suitable for those allergic to soy. So frustrating! Wondering which one to take now as I've been advised this is the best one, especially for those cutting out dairy. I might start a thread on this. Sigh...

 

[Kellen]

My LO has a sensitivity to dairy products as well. I am personally allergic to soy and wheat and was severely allergic to dairy as a child (but I most grew out of it!). I first noticed her stools becoming green and mucousy after I ate ice cream. At first I thought perhaps it was a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance, but she was nursing for at least 15 minutes on each side and I always started her on the side used previously before switching over. Once I eliminated dairy from diet her poops became normal again.

Now that she is almost 8 months I have tried a couple of times to reintroduce dairy, but it hasn't gone too well. Whenever I eat cheese or yogurt she develops a raspy sound in her chest. It never happens at any other time and our pediatrician couldn't find any other reason for it.

As far as weaning goes we waited until almost 6 months to introduce solids. She could sit unassisted at 5 months and a bit. We are following BLW mostly. For example, tonight she had apple slices, cucumbers, spelt bread and low-acid tomatoes. She is 100% BF and has never had to bother with formula... not even in the NICU.