Author Topic: milk allergy, reflux, teething or mummy paranoia!!  (Read 8734 times)

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Offline annette.xx

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Re: milk allergy, reflux, teething or mummy paranoia!!
« Reply #15 on: October 08, 2009, 10:08:03 am »
lizJ... I have a feeling you may be right about the milk rejection!! I mixed it today (mainly BM) and she did the same again pulled a yuck face and dribbled it out!!

im going to keep offering her a little bit each day and not force it at all and see if one day she just decides to drink more...

she did exactly the same with the formula and I started to make it a fruit smoothie and one day she just took the milk on its own...dont think this will work with the yucky stuff tho!! ...made me feel sick just smelling it!

MLK - im going to really try my hardest to go dairy free and see if I can help her that way - it is hard tho cos what can I eat for breakfast and how do I get enough calcium and iron myself?!!!

im going to spend soem time this evening looking at ideas and meal plan my days so Im prepared each day otherwise I know I will end up eating things I shouldnt ...

silly question but if I had a tiny bit of something with milk proteins in it would that be game over and start again? would that still cause the sickness? I only ask cos its my DH birthday next week and I would love a tiny nibble of the cake!! ...you can see how hard im going to find this!!!

Annette.xx

Offline MLK

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Re: milk allergy, reflux, teething or mummy paranoia!!
« Reply #16 on: October 08, 2009, 10:24:02 am »
Annette, I mostly had toast and/or eggs for breakfast. You can make a substitute for milk for cereal by blending tinned pears in natural juice with coconut milk, it keeps in the fridge for a few days. Some people use rice milk but  I didn't like the taste of it. A good breakfast smoothie is made with fruit and coconut milk. You do need to eat extra protein when you cut out the dairy, so I had an extra serve of meat or eggs daily. That takes care of the iron; for calcium I took a good calcium supplement.

For baking i found a mixture of coconut milk mixed with water or rice milk worked best. Hardest is the first few days until you get used to it! Anymore tips feel free to ask.

As for the cake- well it depends how sensitive she is, it might cause her to react which would mean starting again! But you can make dairy free cakes if you are so inclined. Orange cake is good because you can substitute the milk with OJ and use a dairy free spread or bland tasting oil for the butter. You can even make dairy free chocolate cake!

Lan

Offline annette.xx

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Re: milk allergy, reflux, teething or mummy paranoia!!
« Reply #17 on: October 09, 2009, 08:41:50 am »
hi all

just wanted to say she had her first normal(ish) poo today!! ...so thats what its supposed to look like!!

it still had a greenish tinge but it wasnt slushy or frothy or runny in anyway just soft and in one peice...so shocked and so happy!!!

TMI i know but it made me really happy!! ...I take it this is the normal baby poo now? ...

she was still sick loads yesterday so still could have reflux but it could just take longer for that to slow down cos as you said it can take 14 days ...heres hoping!!

as for the nutramigen ...she point blank refused it this morning when I offered a bit after breakfast (thought this was a good time to try it with her cos she will try anything in the morning!!) as soon as she smelt it she turned her whole body away and pulled a face!!

am I right in thinking that you can start re introducing milk after they are a year old?...just thinking I can probably stick the BF 4 times a day until then as I dont go back to work until she is one ...then it will start to get tricky....

just really dont want to force her to take this yucky milk if there is another way...

tho I am really missing my cups of tea now!

Annette.xx

Offline MLK

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Re: milk allergy, reflux, teething or mummy paranoia!!
« Reply #18 on: October 09, 2009, 10:13:52 am »
Hi Annette,
I know how you feel about the poo -it took as 3 weeks to get a normal poo, never so gald to see orange in my life! I remember when I did the milk challenge after that, within 1 day the gree poo came book . SOrry maybe TMI but it looked like spinach and feta cheese!

My doc said to to challenge again at 12 months, this time we gave him the dairy directly, rather than just me have it. He still reacted, so we are trying again every 3 months, next time will be when he is 18 months. I BF 4 times a day until 10 months, then 3 times a day till 13 months, after that i started giving him the MSPI eggnog that I make (recipe in the recipe sticky.) I didn't bother with the formula because I knew there was no chance he would drink it.

AS for tea- I drank green tea or Earl Grey, I could drink both without milk!

Offline *Liz*

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Re: milk allergy, reflux, teething or mummy paranoia!!
« Reply #19 on: October 09, 2009, 10:47:33 am »
Annette - one of the things I should have said last time I posted is just how very sad I am that it has taken until 8+ mths for your lo to be diagnosed with a medical issue. I remember from previous posts what a rough time you have been having, and how many tears you both suffered especially in the early days. It makes me so sad that people out there are not finding these babies sooner. IMO the term colic should be banned - babies how cry so very much have problems that need to be found. Pain and tummy ache needs to be treated - just like you would for an adult. So really just huge huge ((hugs)) to you.

I always felt with J that he would never take the hypoallergenic milk whilst I was still BFing. It is so bitter and BM so sweet. I mean, why would he?!!

A lot of babies do recover from MPI at 12 months - but some don't. But even those who have previously been sensitive to soy tend to be free from that aspect of it, and so soy milk becomes an option. Still a bit odd tasting, but far more palatable than hypoallergenic. J could tolerate dairy at about 11.5mths (yoghurts) but at 13 mths I still haven't been brave enough to convert to cows milk in the bottle, even though he is on a normal formula.

And YOU can have tea - just use a different sort of milk. The supermarket stocks loads. You could try soy as long as Jasmine isn't sensitive to it, if you would rather not complicate the picture then use coconut or oat milk. They are all in the aisle with the UHT milks. I'm a coffee drinker - and found coconut milk to be OK as long as the coffee was quite strong. Sure - it tastes different - but not unpleasent different. You can use other milks in cooking as well. You can also use these milks to make things for Jasmine if you would rather not express - deserts and the like.

Offline Mashi

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Re: milk allergy, reflux, teething or mummy paranoia!!
« Reply #20 on: October 09, 2009, 11:40:43 am »
Me again!

Annette I remember the feeling of not wanting DS to have to be on the Nutramigen, like it was something awful we were doing to him. DH used to get really mad some days and say how DS should be a "normal baby" who was drinking "normal milk like all other babies" (ie/ breastmilk....which only made me feel worse for not continuing to BF).  He used to smell the Nutramigen and say that NO he was not going to give it to him, there had to be a better option, etc etc.  But, the reality is that after about a month, DS sucked back his bottles, every drop of milk there was, screamed at bottle time and grabbed for it, and just really learned to enjoy his formula. 

And, when we switched to cow's milk, he HATED it, just as much as he hated the Nutramigen, and we had to mix it in gradually to get him used to it. But my DH never once commented on how nasty or yucky the cow's milk was, because we don't think of it like that. To DS it was just as bad!!!

As for poops,  if you do keep BFing then yes, they will probably be SO much better from now on!  If you do get formula into her, do NOT be alarmed if his poop goes nasty again - the poop when they are on Nutramigen is often a very dark khaki green, quite runny and smells insanely horrid.  A funky smell that doesn't smell like poop, but is just awful anyway.  Just want to prepare you!

And yes, to add to Liz and Lan's stories about re-introduction - it might be worth asking your GP if you can have an appointment for a paed or a paediatric dietician for your DD.  It was my paed who did the dietician referral and the dietician arranged the milk challenge when DS was one.  We cancelled on it at the last minute as we moved overseas, but they basically give LO milk and watch for reations. I know a lot of parents do it on their own as their area doesn't do this, so maybe it is not available where you are (not sure which part of UK?).  We did ours at home at 12 months and DS was quite ill, but then about a month later he got some butter by accident and was fine. So, I tried cheese, yogurt, and milk all that week and he was okay - I think at 14 months he went from HA formula to cow's milk.  Paed had said to try at 12 months and if any reactions to hold off until 18 months, and then until 24 months if needed. Stats are high for babies to outgrow by 12 months, but there are small percentages who take longer to outgrow it.


Offline annette.xx

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Re: milk allergy, reflux, teething or mummy paranoia!!
« Reply #21 on: October 09, 2009, 13:37:28 pm »
Hi

lan - I never realised how much I would be talking about poo until I had Jasmine! Lol!! Just went to buy some mcvities digestive biscuits and read the back and they contain milk...but found some cheap oatie biscuits that had no nasties so im happy with them!! Think next time I go back to docs I will ask him about dairy challenge...

I spoke to soon by the way cos her second poo of the day was green and slushy but not the normal frothy/whippy stuff so think thats probably the nutramigen I put in her oats this morning like you said mash!!

liz - thats so true what you said...brought a tear to my eye...I remember so well all the torment ive been through (especially at the beginning) seriously I thought I was going insane (still do most days!!) Ive been doubting my instincts all along because of all those HVs and Docs and ILs telling me its cos im a first time mum...they should have realised something was amiss from day one when she cried on the hospital ward for nearly 12 hrs straight...the nurses told me to keep her on the breast and it would help cos she was hungry and all would be ok soon...guess what after 5 or so hrs on constantly feeding and screaming the place down they took her from me and gave her a little bit of formula and gave her back to me and said she would settle now cos she had got soem milk...they said probably cos my milk hadnt come in yet and she couldnt get anything......... well that was the biggest mistake cos she went into a complete frenzy screamed the place down I had the other mums calling out to me to see if I was ok ...

now looking back that was just ridiculous surely they should have had a red flag at that point? and when the same happened again the next night still they didnt twig...nothing in notes, no advice given ...surely with me being in a special care ward with my baby being the only one crying like this they must have thought something was wrong... sorry im ranting now but you raised a good point and it got me going!!!!! so awful cos as a first time mum I was naive and just took whatever I was told my the health proffessionals as right....this has caused months of me self doubting and feeling like a complete failure...

im going to look for the different milks tomorrow when I go shopping...fingers crossed I will like one!!

mash - thats an interesting point cos she hated the formula so much at first so I suppose this is just like that to her a new alien thing...its just the BF that I worry will taste so much better!! I will keep offering a little nutramigen every day and just wait and see!!

Im definately going to ask at next appointment to see a paed...think it would be really helpful to speak to someone that can help me along the way!...do they generally have them at the docs surgery or do you have to go somewhere else?

im keeping my fingers crossed that she outgrows it by 12 months ...ive decided to only go back to work 2 days a week and im hoping to put her into a nursery right across the road from my work for one of those days so I could still go in and BF her...so all should work out ok I think!

thankyou so much ladies.xx

Offline MLK

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Re: milk allergy, reflux, teething or mummy paranoia!!
« Reply #22 on: October 09, 2009, 14:09:53 pm »
I'm having a look at my packet of McVities Digestives "The Original" and they definitely do not mention milk in the ingredients... just  "produced on a line handling milk" which you can pretty much ignore. I am in Australia but these are imported from the UK. Maybe they have a different export line? Good thing you read the label though!

Offline annette.xx

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Re: milk allergy, reflux, teething or mummy paranoia!!
« Reply #23 on: October 09, 2009, 14:43:31 pm »
I will have to read them again next time I go shopping knowing me I just saw the word milk and stopped there!! so I bet it says what you said made on a line handling milk!! LOL!!

Im quite excited now that I will have another biscuit choice!!

Annette.xx

Offline MLK

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Re: milk allergy, reflux, teething or mummy paranoia!!
« Reply #24 on: October 10, 2009, 10:00:47 am »
Yeah amazing the things that can get you excited when you are on a restricted diet. I was SOOO happy when I found dairy free dark chocolate (Lindt 70% cocoa or Whittakers 72% Dark Ghana in case you wanted to know! Also a few of the organic/free trade ranges have dairy free dark chocolate.)

Also if you are avoiding soy anything with soy lecitihin is usually OK.

Offline annette.xx

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Re: milk allergy, reflux, teething or mummy paranoia!!
« Reply #25 on: October 16, 2009, 10:11:37 am »
Hi

just wanted to update you all and ask a bit of advice...

DD is doing really well...Ive had no dairy for 2 weeks now and she has been completely different!!

dirty nappies are down to 2 a day and im so shocked how they have changed!! No more green whippy poo...its almost adult like ...just a softer version !! TMI!!!! :o :o

The sickess has lessened so much too...its amazing shes gone from forever being sick to maybe just 8 times a day!! :o :D...still think there may be a touch of a reflux issue as im still seeing her swallowing and hearing gurgling noises after shes eaten so I will keep a close eye and see...

the nutramigen - think ive given up on giving it to her!! its too much hassle to keep making it up only for her to reject it...such a shame cos now shes even rejecting the sippy cup (which she had mastered) cos she thinks it will have the yucky milk in it!!

My question is that im worried about only BF her...will she get enough calcium from me alone? - what will happen when she goes down to 3 feeds and then 2 feeds a day?

I know this sounds really lazy but I just cant be bothered to express milk as it takes so long to do but im worried that if I dont soon get her taking a milk feed out of a sippy cup again she will permanantly reject it and my PND seems to be getting to me more so now cos I feel like after months of coming so far and getting her to take milk from a cup I was soon going to be able to let others have her for a few hours so I could do something just for me in the day (ive never done anything without baby in day yet!)...now this is not an option once again I feel really deflated... I live in a small town you see and dont drive so even to get the bus takes a 30 min walk so by the time I get anywhere its time to come straight back as its feed time again!!

I had my return to work interview yesterday and dropped the bombshell that I cant cope with more than 2 days ... really loved my job but dont think they are going to be able to work around the 2 days so I may have to do 3 or even 4 and I dont know how im going to get milk into her!!...

sorry im rambling on again...

Annette.xx

Offline lilisuze

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Re: milk allergy, reflux, teething or mummy paranoia!!
« Reply #26 on: October 16, 2009, 10:45:32 am »
Annette, Are you taking a breastfeeding supplement vitamin thing? These contain all the things you need to produce healthy breastmilk so you should be ok with the calcium, try eating other calcium rich things, sardine, beans, fish, kale........

With the sippy, can you try filling it with water or juice, while she is watching? We had most success getting my DS on the sippy by taking an empty sippy, and pouring from my glass into his sippy so he could see that I was having it too. He thought "well if its good enough for mum, i want some of that!" and within a few days, we were sippying good! This would do for now, until you can get your energy up with the pump!

Lili xx
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Offline MLK

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Re: milk allergy, reflux, teething or mummy paranoia!!
« Reply #27 on: October 16, 2009, 13:37:50 pm »
Yay for the improvement! It really sounds like it was the dairy bothering her. If you think she is still refluxing a bit you could try removing soy as well - it is in lots of things so I know it makes your life even more difficult but some babies react to both - my son does. Soy lecithin is OK unless she is really sensitive so if you read that on a label you can ignore it.

Annette, my doc told me that 3-4 breastfeeds a day was OK for calcium, down to 2 and you will probably need extra calcium of some sort.

I use a lot of homemade stock made from bones as a source of calcium - I cook rice in it, add it to soups and sauces etc.  You can also get liquid or powdered calcium supplements which you can add to food. Since he turned one I give my son an MSPI eggnog that I make - recipe in the recipe sticky. Others go down the fortified rice milk route but I find that it constipates my son really badly.

As for the cup - what about trying a different sort of cup - eg a straw cup if she used a spout or vice versa. Something she won't associate with the bad taste.

Good luck, you've made great progress but it is hard work I know. Especially with going back to work.