So my baby is definitely sensitive to cows milk, I'm just not sure what about dairy is the problem and I am hoping for some advice.
There were many episodes where he would have extreme discomfort and come off the breast crying, refusing to eat but acting hungry. Arching his back. Difficulty sleeping. My sister was certain he had an allergy given her experience with her own son who has allergies, but my ds never had eczema or bloody stool or any other signs of allergy.
When I first attempted to introduce him to formula at about 4mo (Enfamil premium), he would immediately throw up every time and be miserable and refuse to eat for the following 12hrs or so, so I figured maybe the culprit was cows milk (I assumed probably lactose, given that's what I had heard of), and I switched him to Similac Pro Sensitive which says it is for lactose sensitive babies and I took him in to get tested. I cut down on my own dairy consumption, though not 100%. He definitely tolerates the Similac Pro Sensitive better than the Enfamil premium, but he's still almost entirely breastfed, just gets formula less than once a day as I am working and am not always able to pump enough. He doesn't act as fussy after the Similac and he has only thrown up once from it, and that time I suspected maybe it was bc he over-ate. It does give him some gas though, but it's night and day better than when he drank the non-sensitive formula Enfamil. Anyway, the allergy test came back negative for the milk allergy (skin prick), so the doctor told me he wasn't allergic, but he was probably just sensitive to dairy and I should cut it out of my diet.
He is 8mo now, and he's been doing pretty well and while I've cut out obvious dairy (like milk, ice cream etc) I haven't avoided it entirely (I still have been eating greek yogurt and if a meal has cheese in it, I don't abstain) and he's seemed much better. I'd read that lactose is minimal in greek yogurt and hard cheeses so kept eating those. Anyway, yesterday I experimented with some ice cream. He threw up a lot and has been sick now for about 24hrs after I nursed him, waking up all night long screaming in discomfort, and now I am afraid to nurse him and just have pumped and dumped which is so sad. I gave him his formula instead and he kept that down, but still seems pretty miserable. Now, after having researched this more, it seems like everyone says that cow milk PROTEIN is the problem, not usually lactose, so now I'm scared to give him the formula even.
Does this sound like he is sensitive to the PROTEIN? Or to LACTOSE? He is able to drink breastmilk usually and doesn't that have lactose? Should I not be eating even greek yogurt or cheese? He's not obviously sick after I eat those... but he's also not an easy-going baby either. So I may just not recognize the symptoms when he's not throwing up. Do I need to switch his formula? It just seems odd he could have such a strong reaction whenever I have milk and ice cream, but seem ok when drinking the cow-based formula (usually will just have 2-4oz every few days or so). And if he is sensitive to the protein, is it doing internal harm that he's been getting the Similac this whole time?
I feel like when I try to talk to the doctors about this they just say, yeah some babies are sensitive and you just shouldn't eat dairy. But if lactose is the problem then I will cut out different foods than if it is the protein... and it may impact my formula choice. Thanks for any advice!
