Milk Protein Allergy - Fort Lauderdale,FL

My first had the milk protein allergy as well. We had her on Alimentum until about 10 months. I wanted to try regular formula before switching her to whole milk. She's 7 now and fine. They didn't have Similac Sensitive back then so I switched her to the regular formula. I did it gradually over about a week and she didn't have any problems adjusting. We saved a bit of money for the last 2 months until we switched her to whole milk at age 1. She has done fine on that ever since.

If it works STAY WITH IT! My oldest had the bad reflux and zantac didnt help. It actually made her not want anything peppermint flavored til she was 3yrs old. I had her on enfamil lactaid cause it smelled the least i read when puked up and she spit up alot. I had to bring a complete change of clothes for both of us everytime we went somewhere. Note: about one cup (or a pour around the wash tub) of 20 mule borox helps get the smell out of clothes.

She is 5yrs old now and sometimes still has tummy problems- hurts, get upset, or get constipated. She can tolerate milk products since about 18 months but not alot. Never cared for cow's milk no matter what we did ( flavored, fun straw, etc).

You can try...but buy a small container and keep some of your usual as backup. My daughter's milk protein allergy is still going strong at 3.5 yo. Every now and then we try some regular cheese or milk product and sure enough, her eczema goes hog-wild within a few days after :( Of course she also has peanut, egg and fish too so we have our own issues.

Good luck!

My daughter still has this. We thought she outgrew it at 1 year, only to have constant colds and finally realizing 2 weeks ago it was still her milk protein allergy. Through research, I have found they can be allergic to the casein in milk, the whey protein in milk or both. If they can eat yogurt and cheese, but can't drink milk, then it is the whey protein part. If they can't have anything, they are probably allergic to both. I just found this out, and it threw us off, because 1 of the reasons we switched to whole milk at 1 year is because we thought she had outgrown her allergy because she ate yogurt just fine almost daily. You can have her blood drawn to test for the allergy, or you can test it by trying regular, but I really wouldn't try it until 12 months. At 9 months, you can introduce yogurt and see how she tolerates that. But just realize some of the signs, like constant cough and runny nose. Before being diagnosed, my DD just had colic and reflux, no cold like symptoms, so I didn't relate the two when the cough started. If money is a big problem, a friend of mine used WIC and they gave her checks for the specialized formula, but she had to have her doctor sign a paper on the allergy.

Goat's milk- the molecule is closer to the size of human milk, therefore easier to digest.
(fyi cow's milk about 20 times the size- tough for alot of folks to digest)
best, k

I breastfed - so I cannot totally comment on the different formulas - that said, you'll have to try to see if he can tolerate a little. For my little guy, me eating a slice of pizza (with cheese on it) was enough to totally mess up his guts. He did outgrow the allergy, but not until about 16 months. Until then, if I tried giving him milk, or if I ate milk products - it would cause problems.
Once he was able to tolerate things, then we gradually introduced them. Now (at almost 3) he can eat anything and as much as he would like. :) There is hope - it just takes some time. :)

Why would you switch her? She has an allergy that will not go away without an allergy elimination treatment like NAET. She may not have reflux as she gets older from casein, but she would probably be behavioral, stuffy, autoimmune problems, eczema, gastro problems, fogginess or other problems. Don't mess with a good thing, and NEVER put her on milk or soy based formula or regular. There are so many alternatives like almond milk, rice, coconut, oatmeal, even goat if you want animal milk.

Our daughter had a rough time from 10 months to 24 months due to an undiagnosed milk protein allergy. Nom-stop sinus infections and congestion that turned into respiratory infections, ear tubes in the hopes it would help... Allergic reactions to antibiotics because of over-exposure... ER trips. They thought she had Cystic Fibrosis... Nope, just a cows milk protein allergy.

My advice is to try wait on introducing cows milk or formula based on cows milk until around 15 months; if you notice symptoms, stop the cows milk. My daughter drinks whole goat milk and has no problems with it. However, because she was exposed to cows milk for so long as a baby/toddler, she is really sensitive to cows milk--had to cut EVRYTHING made with cows milk/dairy out of her diet. You probably don't want to have to read food labels, so my advice is to postpone cows milk for a while longer.

As for goat milk, the brand we buy is Meyenburg (purple &white carton) and is quite common in our regular grocery stores out here. Note, she drinks goat milk and eats goat cheese because she started it while a toddler (15 months). But I hear it's harder to introduce alternatives to cows milk/dairy if you introduce it after the child is 2 yrs. By then, they can't get used to the goat taste, especially if they're used to the taste of cows milk.

Why are you thinking of switching? Is she not doing well on the alimentum? Is there an indication that she has outgrown her allergy already? I would not go straight to a 100% cow's milk based formula if you know that she has an allergy to it. Definitely start slowly, and give only a VERY small amount to start with. Also, make sure you consult with her doctor before doing anything.

Allergies can worsen with repeated exposure. While you might see a minor reaction the first time, the problems can become more severe the next time.

My son is almost four and still hasn't outgrown his milk allergy. We have to be very careful with what he eats and make sure he isn't exposed to any dairy at all.

Good luck. I hope she does outgrow it!

We had the same situation with our son. My husband wanted to switch (because Alimentum is so expensive), but Mom instinct told me to keep him on it. He thrived on Alimentum so we decided to keep him on it until his 1 year check up. I was of the theory...if it's not broken...don't fix it. He is now 2 1/2 and has out grown the milk protein allergy. Before you do anything check with you pediatrician. Your the Mom you know what is best for your baby.

My son didn't outgrow his dairy sensitivity until about age three. We tried cow milk products about once every nine months, but it was rough when he still couldn't tolerate it (he got sick and I felt bad for causing it). We went to soy milk at 12 months per his pediatrician's recommendation. Good luck with whatever you decide--I know it's tough.

My daughter has had this allergy since she was a baby and she is now 5, she drinks almond milk and loves it. When she was a baby (she is a twin) she was on Enfamil Nutramegin (very expensive) and her identical twin sister is lactose intolerant (she can take meds for it unlike an actual allergy).

Our first had a milk/soy protein intolerance. He was on a prescription amino acid based formula. At 9 months the pediatric GI dr recommended that we try to switch to a milk based formula. She recommended Good Start. I can't remember exactly why she recommended that brand. She also recommended that we do it very slowly. 2 oz in 1 bottle per day, do that for 3 days, then do 2 oz in all bottles for the day, do that for 3 days, then increase by 2 more oz per bottle until you are on all formula.

For us, we didn't even get past the first 2 days - with only 2 oz in 2 bottles he was a mess. He did eventually grow out of it. By 15 months he was able to have milk products and cows milk.

Good luck!

My son has the same intolerance. He was breastfeed for the first 6/7 months, then on the alimentum until about 10 months, and then soy formula till he was about 15months (I kept him on the go and grow kind) Then per doc, I switched to silk soy milk. Then I introduced the rice milk, and almond milk. I put half and half in his cup. He's three now and it hasn't gotten any better. He can't have cheese, anything that doesn't brake down that protein.. Goldfish make him have bumps and runny poop. Right now he gets Silk soy milk with the add omga 3, and almond milk vanilla flavored. Half and half in his cup.
Oh and My son had the reflux too. He out grew the reflux when he started eatting solid foods. I would suggest that if you really have to/ really want to change her formula. I would change it to the soy based one, cause ANYTHING with powered milk will be cow's milk and she'll react. I hope that helps..