My son is almost 14 months old. I breastfed him until 12.5 months. At 12 months we gave him YoBaby yogurt and cheese. Once I was done breastfeeding we gave him milk based formula a couple times a day in a bottle - he liked having a bottle at night and in the morning. As for cow's milk, he never really liked it and always made a face. But, I continued to offer it to him daily in a sippy cup hoping he would acquire a taste for it. I could mix it in with his oatmeal cereal and he would take it fine. Just yesterday he finally started drinking the cow's milk, but developed hives within the hour. We tried again today and the hives seem worse. The Dr prescribed a steroid for 3 days. However, I just can't understand why he can tolerate milk based formula, yogurt, cheese and having it mixed with oatmeal cereal but can't drink it as a beverage. Everything I give him is organic, minus the cheese. No one in our family has allergies including my older daughter. Anyone else have a similar issue?
Thank you to everyone who took the time to send me a response. What a great website. I ended up taking him to an allergist. The Dr didn't think it was the cow's milk that gave him hives, especially since he's been tolerating it for so long. He was tested for cow's milk among a variety of other foods and environmental possibilities. All tests came back negative. The Dr told us it’s safe to continue with the milk. We did and no hives since. It could have been a virus, or something else he had a reaction to. We’re not sure we’ll ever know what caused them.
Cow's milk allergy is very common. It could be that this is the highest concentration of milk he's had and the body finally had a reaction that was noticeable. Try soy or rice milk and once he's 2 almond milk
(personally I think almond has the best flavor). These are fortified with vitamin D and Calcium, so there is no reason to drink regular milk. My oldest daughter went straight to soy once she was 1 and did great on it.
Hi, I also bf til all my children were 13-14 months. I did all organic baby food, fruits, veggies and meat. I never gave my kids cow's milk. I started all of them on Rice Dream when they were ready for milk. There is original or vanilla flavor. My kids prefer original. It has all the vits that milk has, but your body is actually able to digest it and absorb it and my kids have only had 1 ear infection between the 3 of them! Hope this helps
Hi J.,
I agree with Sarah and Dori about the protein. Try Goat's milk. The proteins are more like breast milk. Also, Almond milk has been a mainstay in homes since the Middle ages. It's full of protein and has the proper type of fat.
M.
Yogurt and cheese are completely different types of proteins than the whole cow's milk. That's why it's safe to give it to babies under a year and is probably why he can tolerate it. But if he is tolerating the milk based formula and small amounts of milk I would investigate to see if it might be something else environmental. I had a friend that her daughter broke out in hives on the way home from a trip and all she'd really had that day was milk. But she'd had milk before with no problems and the doc said it was most likely something environmental and they might never know. You might back off the whole milk for a bit and try again when he is a little older.
My son was far more accepting of warm organic cow's milk than regular milk. The organic does have a better taste for sure. I like Stoneyfield organic milk.
Hi J.---Cows milk is highly allergenic. And yes, the proteins are the problem. A naturopath I work with advises to avoid all dairy altogether. Milk is actually not the best source of calcium. Leafy green vegetables contain more absorbably calcium that does milk, with fewer fat and calories.
I suggest you read The China Study by T Colin Campbell. Very important and valid research showing the relationship between disease rates and dietary habits, particularly animal protein consumption. You can also learn more about 'why not milk' at www.strongbones.org. This website can be accessed within www.pcrm.org. I highly recommend exploring it to learn how to optimize your health.
I have also heard that goats milk proteins are more like human milk, however, it is still not human milk and as such, is NOT recommended by Dr. Popper. That being said, I do purchase full fat goats milk yogurt at Trader Joes (best price) to have on the occasion we need a sour cream substitue or my husband has yogurt and granola for breakfast every couple of weeks.
Good luck and feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions. I work closely with this naturopath so I have lots of resources I can share with you if you'd like. BTW...I only drink water but use almond milk when I have cereal. Rice milk has more carbs so might be better for a baby. I use rice, almond and soy milks in recipes just like I would use cows milk. Have fun exploring your options. It's a great adventure.
In health, D.
It sounds more like just a reaction to the protein. My daughter did the same thing when she started on egg whites. She can have eggs in anything and everything, just not straight eggs, becasue the protein was too much for her to breakdown. You should be taking your son into the doctor when he is 15 months so you can verify then as well with the doctor. We were told to keep children's benedryl around, and give that to her if she breaks out. She had a reaction to even the touch of eggs, she broke out in hives. And she was 12 months when we found out about it. She is now just over 2 and can have eggs without a problem.
If you do get benedryl, ask the pharmacist what the correct dosage it. Since the dosage doesn't start till age 6, the pharmacist will look up by weight. i know I asked and they did tell me it's safe, but it's a lot smaller dose than listed, and it has to go based on weight not age.
Maybe you should look into raw dairy products. It's non pasteurized, healthier, and makes a difference.
Your son might be showing you that, while he is allergic to the milk, he could tolerate small bits of it here and there. Try eliminating the milk completely -milk, milk based formula, cheese, yogurt etc. There are alternatives that he can drink. I hope he's feeling better.
Keep in mind cow's milk is really for calves! There must be something in the milk in the plain "milk state" that your son's system can't handle. I understand it is very common that a person can eat all kinds of milk based products and can't tolerate the milk itself. He can get his calcium in other ways.like you have been doing. It's OK to skip the actual milk drinking. I have three grown daughters. 30 years ago I fed them by a book called "Feed Your Kids Right" by Dr. Lendon Smith. It's not in print anymore and he has passed away, but I have managed to get some used copies for my daughters for feeding THEIR kids on Amazon.. He was WAY ahead of his time concerning feeding kids. I gave my girls calcium supplements 30 years ago...they even had cranberry juice on their cereal. Clearly your son 's little system does not want to deal with the milk. I would stay away from it...the steroids aren't good either. No worries...find another calcium source.
My son started eating milk products around 6 months, not full time, but here and there (like little chunks of cheese or a bite of yogurt etc). Well at 10 months, I gave him mac and cheese as a treat he had hives instantly! I couldn't believe it, I thought there is no way he is allergic to milk. He loved eating yogurt every lunch time and cheese sticks were his favorite. Because we had problems with ear infections and wheezing, my ped. recommened I get him tested for allergies. Sure enough he scored a 4+ (5 being the highest) on the milk allergy! He also scored that high on eggs...but he had never had a reaction to eggs. I talked to the allergiest and asked why he had never had a reaction in the past to these things. She told me over time your body builds up against them and then finally it snaps and it breaks out. She said he has always been allergic to it, it was just a matter of time before the body showed the signs. No one in my family or extended family has any food allergies. I would just keep an eye on your son. Becareful with goat milk, it still has milk protien in it so if he does have an allergy it is still going to make his stomach sick...he may not show it right way though. My son was 10 months when he was tested, he is now 3 and his milk score has gone down, so we are really hoping he outgrows it, so there is hope:)
It may be a protein intolerance and not an allergy. Yogurt and cheese are both processed and aged, so the proteins aren't as strong. Many babies who have issues with straight milk do fine with processed dairy.
But, I don't know about the hives.
