How to introduce milk to my 10 mt old??

[carolina_bug]

My DS is almost 10 mts old and has been on a hypoallergenic formula since he was 5 mts old.  He was uber colicky and had reflux, so I had an extreme elimination diet while breastfeeding.  He was on medication for the reflux, but has now been off of that for a week and is doing great. (Knock on wood.)

He is now on a soy formula as I was afraid to try regular.  He's tolerating that as well and I have been giving him yogurt twice a day and he has had cheese a few times as well.  Both of these from whole milk.  He hasn't had any reactions so far, so I'm wondering if I could try and introduce actual milk to his diet?? 

The Canada Health site says you can introduce regular milk from 9-12 months now if your baby is doing well on solids, and he is.  I'm just not sure if there's a good way of doing this.  I'm terrified that it's going to affect him as he has been doing so well.  Should I just wait until the year mark??  Should I try going to a regular formula?  Goat's milk?

Help!

[pinkladyangel]

Hiya
The first paragraph of your post could have been written about my lo. He's only 6 months old though. My lo paed has said not to try any form of cows milk until nearly a year old as  aggravating his allergy can hinder him growing out of it.
Can i ask what made you try him with cheese and yoghurt. and how old was he when you did it. I'm already worried about trialling my lo when he reaches 11 months.

[carolina_bug]

After about 3 months of really having his reflux under control, I tried decreasing the meds until he wasn't on it anymore.  Also, he has been on the hypoallergenic formula and it is so outrageously expensive that I tired to put him on soy even earlier, with no luck.  This last time, I tried, and it has been good, so with that in mind, I tried him on the yogurt and cheese.

I'm in no hurry to do the cow's milk, so I will probably just wait and keep things the way they are for now.  Thanks and Good luck!

[pinkladyangel]

Have just realised where you live. You have to pay for hypoallergenic milk. Here in uk we get it on free prescription. It costs £47 a small tin. Do you know how long it would take for lo to react if it was to disagree with him. Are the yoghurts and cheese you give your lo made from soya or cows milk? Sorr for all the questions.

[carolina_bug]

Don't be sorry.  When I was breastfeeding, he would get super cranky an hour or so after I had milk.  Then I figured out that i needed to cut it out, and he got better.  Dairy stays in the system for about 10 days so it was gradual, but I did notice a difference.  I also noticed on the two times that I accidentally had dairy that he reacted as if his tummy were killing him.

The yogurt and cheese I gave him are from whole cow's milk, so I'm hoping we're gonna be okay.

[pinkladyangel]

We didnt realise what it was until our lo was 5 months old. By then i'd given up breastfeeding as we all thought he was a fussy baby and didn't take to it. It all got blamed on the fact that he was 3 wks early . I was gutted that i couldnt do it. At least we know what it is now and he's suvch a happy baby now. Am dreading trialling him on any form of dairy. I darent even give him egg yet.

[carolina_bug]

I know how you feel.  My guy was 2 weeks early, 8lbs, 6oz, and breech, so I had a c-section.  My first was a natural birth, so having the c-section wasn't something I really wanted to do and I blamed myself for his issues because I had made the decision to do so.  Even though I breastfed for 5 months, each time was torture.  I would bite on a burping cloth every time he would latch on, and after a minute, I was able to tolerate it without the cloth.

I feel that women are done an injustice when it comes to breastfeeding.  I know that it's better than formula, but it's also not as easy as it is made out to be.  I would say that 90% of of the new mom's I know struggled with breastfeeding but when you're pregnant, all of the information is how natural it is, and how it's instinct for your baby; which leads a new mom to think that something is wrong with her if it doesn't go smoothly.  I too was determined with my first child and ended up pumping for 7 months.  I went to countless breastfeeding clinics and no one could help us, she just would not nurse.

When I realized that I was not the only one, it made me feel better and I was able to allow myself not to feel guilty for something I had no control over.  I really tried, but for reasons beyond me, it didn't work.  My kids are healthy and happy, so that's what my focus should be. 

As mom's we need to cut ourselves a break every once in a while and realize that we have done a lot up to this point.  We carried these sweet blessing for 9-10 months, went through the pain of labour, and even nourished them from our bodies.  Now we just continue to help them as they grow.  They don't come with a manual, so it's a learning game for us all.  Each day I spend with my children is a new and beautiful experience.  As they get older, I see new personalities developing and it gets easier when they start "giving back" attention-wise.

As for the food issues, hang in there.  I too was terrified to try certain things, but it has been okay.  I think it was just his body needing to develop more and now that it has, his digestive system can tolerate more.

**hugs**

[pinkladyangel]

I totally agree with you about the pressure. With my dd i managed for six weeks. It qas then that i tjought i didnt have enough milk so put her on the bottle. I had no support whatsoever. This time same pressure but lots of support. I still only managed 6 weeks but for some reason felt worse for stopping this time around. I dont feel bad now. Like you said our children are happy and thriving so i dont feel as if they've been wrong done by. My lo had the milk allergy regardless of the fact that he wssnt breastfed for long.
Thank you for sharing your story with me. It just shows how common these issues are wherever you live. 

[ENMS]

(((hugs))) to both of you. BTDT as well with issues breastfeeding and all the mommy guilt:(

I personnally would rather wait until 12 months to introduce 3.25% milk. Even though in Canada it is accepted as of 9 months old, the GP and the paed have both recommended that we keep DD on formula until 12 months old. That was 3 years ago so maybe things have changed

Now for the intro of milk (as formula, or as regular milk), I was scared to death. We did it when DS was 13 months old, and I just started with 1ml, then 5ml, then 1 oz, etc. It was how his GI recommended we do it just in case there was an allergy. If he tolerates well yogurt and cheese, I would think he doesn't have an allergy though. That doesn't mean he doesn't have an intolerance though.

Good luck

[carolina_bug]

Thanks so much for the post ENM.  I was thinking sensitivity from before but hoping that him tolerating yogurt and cheese was a good sign as well.  We will definitely wait until after the year mark to introduce the whole milk, and gradually sounds like the best way.

Thanks again.