BFing moms with babies who have dairy allergy

I'm pretty sure Eliza has a dairy allergy... I changed her diaper earlier and there were streaks of blood in it and it was mucusy. She's always been a spitter, but the past couple of days, she's been spitting up alot more and it's been mucusy as well. It hasn't been projectile though, and she hasn't been fussier than normal.

I did drink lots more milk over the past few days (as well as eaten lots of chocolate ).

I am so sad. And I feel terribly guilty.

Re: BFing moms with babies who have dairy allergy

I have a few questions because I didn't have to cut it out of my diet with my first DD.

Should I just cut out all *obvious* dairy like milk, yogurt, cheese at first, or do I need to completely cut ALL dairy out right away?

How long until the dairy is out of my breast milk?

Is it possible for the allergy to just *come out* like this. She's very fussy today, lots of spitting, and then the blood in her diaper. All of this is new.

I am so upset about this. The allergist told me that it was not necessary to cut out dairy for #2. I wish I just did for the piece of mind.

Re: BFing moms with babies who have dairy allergy

I started out by cutting out obvious dairy, then the GI doctor recommended reading labels and cutting it all out (which is a LOT harder)...I was really good about that, but she still had issues so we believe there is also a soy allergy (which is common with milk allergies, according to the doctor) but I felt I couldn't cut out soy and dairy with going back to work, etc. so he put her on Neocate...she is a different baby on it...still spits up often because of her reflux, but the projectile vomiting and screaming are gone, as well as the blood in her stool.

Re: BFing moms with babies who have dairy allergy

I honestly have no experience with a milk allergy and BFing.

But, I do EBF my DS who is now 8 months old. And if I were you I would start with the most obvious (milk, cheese, etc) and see if that helps.

My DH has some milk issues and believe it or not there are certain things that upset his stomach. Any soft cheese (ricotta, brie, feta) and ice cream are his worst enemy.

I think if you cut out the hardcore milk first Eliza may feel better and you won't have to worry about reading labels.

Re: BFing moms with babies who have dairy allergy

Unfortunately you have to cut it ALL out. What happens is when babies are sesnsitive/.allergic to milk proteins they get tiny cuts in theri intestines. Which is why allergic babies are often fussy, cry etc. If you can see the blood in her stool I would say she is probably allergic to all milk protein.

You really need to cut out ALL dairy both the obvious sources as well as whey, casein and other forms of dairy. It can take 1-2 months for baby to heal so put her on a hypoallergenic formula(Nutramigen AA, Neocate, Elecare etc.) and wait it out while restricting your diet. Once you are confident all dairy has been out of your system you can challenge her starting with yogurt, then hard cheeses etc. I was told the most highly processed cheeses are easiest for them to handle.

I feel your pain as I have been on the milk free rain for a month now

Re: BFing moms with babies who have dairy allergy

How old is your DD? My daugther didnt show signs of the allergy until about 8/9 weeks. We didnt figure it out until about 12 weeks My pediatrician told me 7 days for the milk to be out of your system....but I saw signs of improvement in her by the 2nd and 3rd days.

I cut out everything, including reading labels too (you'll be surprised to find that milk is in EVERYTHING). It was extremely hard in the beginning but it got much much easier as I learned what to avoid.

As far as formula, my daugther went straight on nutramigen, I can give you a can if you need to try it. The stuff is super expensive but luckily our insurance covered it w/ a note from our pediatrician.

I did it for about 6 months. Good LUCK! Any other questions, feel free to FM me.

Message edited 3/1/2009 7:57:33 PM.

Re: BFing moms with babies who have dairy allergy

My DS has a severe dairy allergy. He never had blood in his stool, but had really, really bad eczema that could only be controlled by a prescription steroid cream. It was to the point where his skin was raw and oozing and would even bleed. He wasn't tested for allergies until after 1 year old so at the time I wasn't positive that the dairy was causing the problems so I wasn't as strict with my diet as I should have been. I tried just cutting out the obvious sources of dairy, but his eczema never got better. As soon as I stopped BFing and switched him to soy formula his eczema COMPLETELY disappeared. If I had known then what I later found out I would have either cut out ALL dairy or I would have just switched him to soy formula. My allergist and ped said that it can take at least 2 weeks for any traces of dairy to be out of your BM and then another 2 weeks or more for it to be out of the baby's system.

My DD is EBF and also had eczema, although not as bad as my DS. I cut out all dairy from my diet and her eczema went away. Whenever I would eat dairy her eczema would flare up. I started reintroducing dairy here and there and she's been okay so I'm back to not limiting anything. She's just about 11 months old now though. About 2 months ago I tried to give her a few spoonfuls of yobaby yogurt and she got some eczema the next day so I think she is allergic to dairy, but not as bad as my DS. I'm going to have her tested when she turns one.

With both of my kids, they never showed any symptoms until they were 3 months old. With a lot of allergies it can take multiple exposures before there is any reaction and also as the allergens build up in their systems the symptoms will show up.

If you can I would try cutting it out to see if it helps. It was easier for me the second time around because I was already accustomed to what was dairy-free based on my DS's diet.

Re: BFing moms with babies who have dairy allergy

DC #1 had blood in her poop, constipated, fussy (never spit up). This started at about 2 months old. I cut out basic dairy and she was pooping no problem in 4 days. 2 weeks later I decided to have pizza (to see how she would do...I had no idea what I was doing...the Dr's were no help). Well anyway she went back to blood in the poop etc. It then took 2 weeks of me cutting out ALL dairy (whey casein etc) and she was back on track. (I also cut out soy...not as hard as it seems cause its just the soy proteins...not soy lecithen or soy oil which is in everything)

I did this diet for 2 years. Occasionally gave Alimentum but she hated it.

Now with DD#2 I am on the same diet...wish I had just started it from day 1...would have saved him (and me) alot of trouble. Been doing it for 6 months.

Let me know if I can be of any help

Re: BFing moms with babies who have dairy allergy

Thanks ladies~ I truly do appreciate it. My first DD has a dairy allergy, but she never had a reaction to my milk which is why we didn't find out until we gave her yogurt for the first time. So thankfully, I'm familiar with cooking dairy free.

That said, I love my milk, cheese, and products with milk. BUT I adore nursing and don't want to give it up- so dairy free it is. I just feel so bad that it's probably going to be a few days until she feels better.

I feel like I am HURTING her by nursing now until the protein is out of my system.

Re: BFing moms with babies who have dairy allergy

I would start with the obvious and see what happens. I had read that the proteins stay in the baby for up to 2 weeks but I noticed a difference in DD within a few days.

Re: BFing moms with babies who have dairy allergy

my cosuin son has a milk/dairy issue too, her dr told her to cut out all kinds are dairy while she is breast feeding, and also gave her a perscription for formula as a supplement.