Milk intolerance when switching to cow's milk?

[kohnheads]

Hi,

I'm slowly making the transition to whole cow's milk and one of my LOs has had a few loose stools, a bit more spitting up, and last night I think he was having stomach cramps when I put him to bed.  When he would lay his head on my shoulder I could feel him tensing in his belly but he never heaved nor vomited.  It took nearly an hour to settle him though, and this is quite unusual.

Today is day 4 of our transition to cow's milk.  I started the first 4 days by replacing one ounce of formula with 1 oz of whole milk.  So they were getting 4 bottles/day, with 5 oz formula and 1 oz cow's milk.  Tomorrow I was planning to go 4 oz formula, 2 oz cow's milk for another 4 days, and so on. 

They are just under 2 weeks shy of their 1st birthday so it shouldn't be too soon, right?  I was trying to get them switched over to cow's milk because we are leaving them with my in-laws for 3 days in a couple of weeks and I thought it would be easier for them to be completely switched over by that time.

My other LO seems to be doing fine.  And today I didn't see any loose stools or stomach cramping, but he spit up once just a small bit.  His attitude and temperament, other than last night, has been fine and he hasn't seemed crabby or uncomfortable.

Is this normal during the transition to whole milk?  Just wondering if maybe I'm going too fast?  Or if I should back off and try again in a couple of weeks?  Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Lindsay

[rob1lu2]

Hi Lindsay,

I didn't have any trouble with my niblets, but certainly if Jonas or Nolan are have an issue, I would stop them and try again in a few weeks.

If the other is fine, continue the transition with him. At least you'll be saving some money and hassle with one of them!

You can mark their bottles with China Pencils to distinguish which has the milk and which hasn't.

JMO,
Lu

[lilmonkey]

I agree with Lu, continue witht he one that doesn't have a problem and wait a few more wks for the other one. 

[kohnheads]

We stuck to the same amount today and things have seemed to be okay - no loose stool or spitting up today.  I'm going to hold steady at 4 oz formula + 2 oz whole milk per bottle for a few more days to make sure we're okay and then move ahead with the transition if all is well.  I'm hoping it was something else that upset his stomach because if it were truly the milk, he should have continued with the stomach issues, right?

[lilmonkey]

To be safe, just stay at the current mix for a few more days.  From what I'm been told, if he is fine with formula (which is milk based) then he should also be fine with whole milk. 

[kohnheads]

We are now at 3oz formula, 3oz whole milk per bottle and it's going very well.  It must've been something else that was making him spit up???