Baby on Cereal with Milk Protein Allergy

my older daughter was allergic to rice, so I would give her NO cereal for a week, then switch to oatmeal and see if that is ok for her.

If your pediatrician recommended waiting, why are you trying this now? Babies with known intolerances should wait so that they are more developed before starting solids.

Also babies that were preemies should wait the additional 'preemie' amount so that their bodies can catch up to where they are supposed to be.

I would stop and wait. My daughter didn't do solids until 6-7 months.
M.

It is possible, but not definite, that the cereal and milk protein allergies are related. My son is highly allergic to all dairy products but had no problem with the Gerber rice cereal, or with soy in general.

Since she is having trouble with it though, I would suggest waiting until she is six months and trying again with a different brand. The fact that it is making her really fussy probably indicates that she isn't ready for solids yet.

My son was also 16+ pounds at four months but we waited till six months based on the recommendation of his ped.

K.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao

First of all, no cereal till 6 months. She's drinking the proper amount of formula. Babies can't digest cereal properly and that's why they feel fuller. It just sits in their little tummies. It won't make her sleep longer. So, if your ped says 6 months, then I'd wait till 6 months.
Second of all, yes it could be the cereal. Just wait until you go back her doc and see what he/she recommends. Cereal is not even a necessary thing for babies to eat. You can just start her on baby food when she hits 6 months.

If she has these sensitivities and your ped didn't recommend doing it, why would you even do that now? 4 months is the BARE minimum for starting solids. If she wakes up in the night hungry then get up and feed her in the night. It is very very very NORMAL for babies to wake up in the night to eat. Wait for her digestive system to develop more before you start trying to give her other things. Granted I used a different feeding method but my kids still woke up in the night till they were about a year. Stuffing her with more things that she isn't ready for yet isn't going to make her sleep longer. Neurologically most babies this young are not ready to be sleeping for that length of time. You are lucky to get 5 hours straight.

The solid food could be making things worse. I would stop, and go back to what you know, wait, and then try again in a month or so.
It is not uncommon for a 4 mos old to still be waking at night for food.
It took my DD 6 mos before she stopped waking in the night, and I had to nudge her along at that point to stop at night!
Best of luck!
~G.
www.bebettertoyourself.blogspot.com

Worth repeating as the open gut issues is mostly unknown to new moms. Please do some reading so you understand the reasoning behind the 6 month time frame
feel free to email me if you have any questions

Sarah D...."Have you read the research behind delaying solids?

Your baby has an "open gut". You have to wait until the stomach is fully developed and "closed" before starting solid, otherwise you set them up for life-long allergies and digestive issues. There's no reason for her to start cereal for another 2 months. Some old-school doctors still recommend it, but that is against all nutritional and AAP recommendations. Just stop and try again in 2 months when she's actually old enough to start solids...."

Our first son had a milk protein intolerance, our dr told us that children with milk protein intolerance are highly likely to also have a soy protein intolerance. He was right - our little guy couldn't tolerate milk or soy.

Gerber has soy in most of their products, and for sure has it in their cereal (I know as we started with Gerber and had to stop). We used Beech Nut Soy Free Oatmeal Cereal, he had no issues with that. Maybe check with your dr about changing to a soy free cereal.

Good luck!

It definitely sounds like she isn't ready for solids. If she already has an allergy I would wait as long as possible to give her any solid foods to help avoid any additional allergies she might develop by eating too soon. I have been a foster parent and daycare provider for years to many babies. One thing I have found to work is to try giving less amount of formula more often throughout the day. Maybe try giving her 6-7 ounces every three hours instead. That way her little tummy isn't too full (causing spitting up and upset), but she will get more calories overall. Also, remember that she has reached 16 lbs by drinking formula so obviously the formula is working to help her grow. I know many people think that because their baby is big they must be hungry. I'm opposite. I think that when a baby is big they must be getting plenty of calories. It's the smaller babies that I would want to feed more to as they may need more to grow.

Feeding her cereal will not make her sleep through the night. That said, I started my boys on it at 4 months, many docs say anywhere between 4 and 6 months is fine. You know they are ready if they can move the food from the spoon to the back of the mouth and swallow without gagging. (never give cereal in a bottle) My boys did not have any allergies though. I would check the ingredient, there may be dried milk in the cereal, it is in a lot of things. You will need to find all the names used to add milk or milk protein to product and than make sure you are reading labels. Here is one list I found"

What items on a food label contain milk?
These ingredients contain milk:
Milk
Caseinate
Milk Solids
Calcium Caseinate
Non-Fat Milk Solids
Sodium Caseinate
Buttermilk Solids
Lactalbumin
Chocolate (may contain milk solids)
Lactoglobulin
Cream
Lactose
Half & Half
Ghee
Butter
Junket
Curds
Nougat
Whey Solids
Custard
Whey
Milk Chocolate
Casein
Malted Milk
Simplesse

your doctor is 100% correct on that. waking at night has nothing to do with needing food. food at this age is for practice and getting used to textures NOT nutrition ( what do you think is in this rice cereal ? its processed rice there is no nutrition?) and eating every 4 hours? my child ate every 2. she is a baby babies need to eat often and they begin to teeth around now. babys SHOULD wake at night...research why babys should eat before 6 months! their body is designed to let EVERYTHING to pass through their intestinal walls, all large proteins so that mothers milk antibodies can get into the baby. THAT is why they say immunity only lasts until around 6 months...so when you feed baby earlier than that their digestive filter isnt working yet and that is NOT good for baby! please please stop especially if your kid already has allergy issues!

Updated

your doctor is 100% correct on that. waking at night has nothing to do with needing food. food at this age is for practice and getting used to textures NOT nutrition ( what do you think is in this rice cereal ? its processed rice there is no nutrition?) and eating every 4 hours? my child ate every 2. she is a baby babies need to eat often and they begin to teeth around now. babys SHOULD wake at night...research why babys should eat before 6 months! their body is designed to let EVERYTHING to pass through their intestinal walls, all large proteins so that mothers milk antibodies can get into the baby. THAT is why they say immunity only lasts until around 6 months...so when you feed baby earlier than that their digestive filter isnt working yet and that is NOT good for baby! please please stop especially if your kid already has allergy issues!

You got me thinking, my daughter had a milk protein allergy at that age and she didn't do to well with rice cereal. I just thought it was because she didn't like it, so I switched her to oatmeal and she did great. Maybe it was a milk protein problem and that is why she had trouble, but she had no trouble with oatmeal. I started my daughter at 4 months too, she was about 16 lbs too at 4 months.