Is this a milk allergy, how do I know????

[graham06]

Hello! 
I am hoping you all can help me. I don't know if I am being over cautious or if this is actually something.  My son is 3 1/2 months old, I exclusively breast feed.  I cut out dairy in my diet for two weeks and he seemed to respond well, way less fussy, not screaming when you moved positions, etc.  Then I started to wonder if it was the milk or all dairy products so I had cheese on sandwiches and little things like that and he still seemed like a happy guy.  Part of me thought this may be that it was when he turned 3 months and just age of growing out of gas and digestive problems in general.  So, I started getting more liberal with eating dairy again (as it is my favorite food and very difficult for me to live without!)  I actually supplemented 2oz of formula (milk based) with my breastmilk, about 36 hours later he woke up with a rash on his cheeks, bright red and scaly, thought this may be ezcema, as I had it when I was a child.  He also became touchy again and more cranky.  It was around this time that his sleep pattern changed and now he goes down at 730, wakes at 1030, 130, 430, and 530.  I started thinking this was because of his 3 hour EASY schedule and that he needs food, but he is 16lbs.  So, the rash went away in about one week and I decided to have a glass of milk to see if a rash would appear again and no rash, but VERY cranky, crying a lot more and now up at 1030, 12, 1, 4, 5, 5:30, I only feed him now at 1am, I was feeding him at 1030 and 1 and 430, every three hours, thinking he needed the food.  Two days passed and he has been happy and not cranky and everything is fine again.  Is this a milk allergy??  Is he just waking every three hours because he is hungry and used to feeding?  I have tried to give him formula, the non-allergy, no soy or milk, and he HATES the taste and smell and will only take 2oz per every 2oz of breastmilk.  I did want him to do formula for 2 weeks and see if he was better without my milk and just pump for two weeks, but he won't take it!  So, the really simple question is, Is this an allergy, can it appear sometimes as a rash and sometimes as gas or is it always one or both?? FYI, last night he slept for 8 straight hours, no interruption from 7-3am!!! That is the first time and I have had ice cream a little bowl everynight this week, so again, how can this be a milk allergy???  Thanks so much, sorry it is sooo long!

[Fenella]

if i were you i would see your hv or gp depending who you have best relationship with.  i am no expert but have been reading up on this as it is possible my ds has a milk allergy and we are waiting for appointment with paed.  symptoms i have read about include, gas, rashes, vomitting, loose stools, constipation, wheezing, sneezing, congestion, mucous in stools (nice) and reflux amongst loads of others including red blotches & excema

[Fenella]

oh and not forgetting unexplained night wakings and seemingly constantly hungry.

[Mom to M&M]

Sounds possible to me. It may be possible that he can now tolerate dairy in YOUR diet (in small amounts) as it's broken down in the breastmilk. But straight formula is another story. Is there a reason you need to supplement? If possible, I'd suggest continuing to BF exclusively until at least 6 months - starting solids then but continuing BF as long as possible. If you need/want to switch to formula, you might need to consider a hypoallergenic one like Alimentum or Nutramigen.