2nd attempt at weaning from formula to cow's milk a bust :(

[Sam-n-Max's Mommy]

I tried weaning DS to cow's milk at 12 months and had to stop a few days into it because he was having bad gas and diarrhea.  Ped said to try again in a few weeks.  I waited a few months because he has been teething badly and I didn't want to make things worse for him if he didn't tolerate it again.  The past few days, while still teething, he seemed better, so I tried again.  I thought things were going okay until today when he woke up from his nap screaming with the most horrible gas pains.  It took 40 minutes for him to stop.  At first I didn't know why he was in so much pain, but his little belly was hard and he was writhing around in agony.   I gave him some Mylicon and he was fine then within 20 minutes and then passed some gas.  He has been fine ever since.  I am sure it's the milk.  I have my next ped appointment at 15 months (Sam is a little over 14 months now). 

If you have had this experience, what is the next step?  Do you think my ped will have me keep trying a few more times or should we ask to try soy milk now.  MIL told me that DH never really went on cow's milk (until he was much older) because he could never tolerate it, so I'm wondering if DS will be in the same situation.  Is there a big downside to using soy milk instead? I wouldn't be overly worried about him not getting enough dairy because he LOVES whole milk yogurt and cheese (and can tolerate both just fine).  I just hope he doesn't want me to move to the toddler formula because I think that DS fills up too much on formula sometimes and am looking forward to him having milk as more of a beverage iykwim.

TIA!! xx

[Lemonthyme]

It does sound like the milk isn't agreeing with him.  Can you get in to see your doctor earlier?

[Sam-n-Max's Mommy]

Well, I have a call with him scheduled for today so I'll see what he says.  Hopefully he'll say we can start on a cow's milk alternative instead of waiting!

[Mom to M&M]

I'd definitely give goat's milk a try! See what your doctor says but we've had good success with it (since our DS has a cow's milk intolerance, not a true allergy).

[Sam-n-Max's Mommy]

I spoke with our ped yesterday.  Before trying goat's milk or soy milk, he'd like me to try Lactaid because he suspects that DS is lactose intolerant.  He has been on Enfamil Gentlease since 3 months old (when we started to have lots of problems with gas and reflux), so I guess that makes sense.  He tolerates yogurt and hard cheeses with no problem, but doc said in fermenting process the lactose enzyme is broken down while in milk it is not.  My grandma was lactose intolerant and DH was apparently lactose intolerant in his early childhood (but no longer), so maybe it was passed down to the little guy.  We'll see how this goes.

Do you think mixing it with formula as I try to wean could upset his stomach? That is what I was doing with the regular cow's milk.  I read in one of Tracy's books that she didn't like that approach (because then you don't know if it's the milk causing the issue or the mix of the two), but when we first tried the milk, he wouldn't drink it straight.  Should I push the Lactaid on it's own or continue to mix them until he's off of the formula? TIA! 

[Texomamama]

Personally, I would continue to mix them to make the transition easier.  It is unlikely the fact you are mixing the two is causing the GI upset.  If he has taken Gentlease since he was 3 mo, and has always been fine with it, why would is be causing problems now?  It's not like mixing the milk with it causes any sort of chemical reaction or change in the properties of the formula.

The culprit is likely the lactose in the cow's milk and if lactaid is an easy fix, see how it goes for a few days (which you have probably already done since I am writing this a few days after your post).  Having said that, soy milk is so readily available now, I am not sure why it would be a bid deal for you to just jump to that instead.

BTW, my 9 mo has also been on Gentlease nearly all her life and I am also wondering if that will cause problems when I transition her to cow's milk.  I asked my Pedi did she think there might be problems since my LO has been taking a formula with much less lactose that standard ones, and she said "probably not".  I am curious to see what happens when the time comes....

[Colin Macs Mom]

Texomamama, Colin was on Gentlease as well and there was no problem at all when we went to cow's milk

[Sam-n-Max's Mommy]

Texomamama - he is now on just milk - the transition to Lactaid was pretty easy.  He is tolerating it well and seems to really like the taste, so that is good! I did mix with the formula to transition though. 

Don't worry about your LO switching to cow's milk.  I think many babies have sensitive tummies in the beginning and then outgrow it, so you should be fine.  We have lactose intolerance in our family (my grandmother was and my DH was, but outgrew it eventually), so I am guessing that this is a result of genetics. 

[Texomamama]

Jessica and Nicole,

Thanks for that info.  Good to know the Gentlease posed no issues. Just another 3 months till I can switch and start saving all that $$$ on formula.  Of course, I will have to go back to buying that Whole Milk for the next 2 years that nobody else in the house uses

[Lemonthyme]

Yeah us too, we have 4 pint bottles of skimmed and 4 pint bottles of full fat in our fridge.