Switching to Formula- Wondering About Lactose Intolerance

My son is lactose intolerant... We didnt find out til he was 10 weeks old.. My son would eat and screm aznd cry uncontrollably, you could tell he wzas in discomfort but none of the doctors in silver knew what was goin on so I took him to a dr in cruces and in one visit they gave me a formula to give him and in 24 hrs he was a completely different baby. My son in 7 months now n is still on nutramigin.

Well first off, even if only for a short period of time, any breast milk you have provided for your daughter has given her a great gift. Don't feel guilty or otherwise.
My daughter has a milk allergy, which our pediatrician said is possible for her to outgrow. And she too is breastfed exclusively. Clearing her system of milk took about a week and half after we eliminated the entire dairy in her diet (mine as well). After that we switched her regular formula supplement with Hypo-allergenic formula. It is more expensive, but will solve any of the discomforts she's having. Our pediatrician said that soy might work, if only for a while. (Some babies with milk protein allergies can become allergic to soy protein after awhile as well.)After a week or two she decided that she didn't want a bottle or formula any more, which ultimately saved us money :p
In the end, I couldn't bear to give up my breastfeeding bond with my little sweetheart. Although it was dreadfully difficult to give up dairy for so long, it has been worth it. She's developing so much it amazes me, and makes me happy to know I've contributed a great deal to that. I haven't had any dairy for 4 months now, and after the 2nd month is was easier. If it provides any comfort, we tested some dairy in my diet the other day and so far she hasn't had a reaction. It is possible for them to outgrow it in as little as 4 months; though every case is different.
In the end it is your call. Good luck and hope your little one feels relief soon!

My son is allergic to dairy. He isn't lactose intolerant, he is actually allergic to the milk protein. I would suggest buying a SMALL can of formula to start with - to make sure she can tolerate it, and so you don't spend a fortune for something that doesn't work. My son would vomit and have HORRIBLE diahrea with "milk" formula. He would be gassy and cranky with soy formula, so he drank water and juice for 2 years. (We tried the lactose free milk and it didn't change his reactions). He now can eat small amounts of cheese, but we still have to be careful. You are the mom, and deep down you know what is best for you and your baby. If you have questions, ask! You'll get through it and adjust!!!

my baby was 'colicky' bloated when little. my ped suggested the lacotse allergy thru me and advised i stop "lactose milk" until 3 mos. i drank landolakes lactose free (like it WAY better than lactaid) and the day of 3 mos tried regular milk and my ben and jerry's and found out I had become intollerant. not happy about that as my ice cream addiction doesnt seem to subside. his bloating went away, but it may have been from me not burping him effectively/efficiently. i had heard bf babies dont need to be durped as much because they dont swallow as much air - ya - should have burped him better. needless to say, i was not convinced intollerance was his problem but i still drank that milk and cut out the ice cream and cheese (although the ped only said milk. i was confused too so cut all lactose.) i still drink the lol milk but eat my ice cream and cheese and he is fine. sooo, i guess i dont really have advice cause i still bf and he has only had sweet potatos and peas so far. he will be 7 mos on sunday. still not covinced it was/is an allergy for him. have you tried the mylicon drops? that seemed to help a bit. i understand that it gathers the air bubbles together so they can burp effectily. that may help her to not spit up as much. i dunno. good luck to you. enjoy.

First of all, you don't have to apologize for not breast feeding longer. There are SO many reasons why people can't/don't want to/shouldn't.
We found out our daughter was allergic to milk when she was 18 months. So when we started our son on formula, we didn't even chance it-we gave him soy formula.
Since you do not know whether it is a milk issue (allergy to the milk protein) or if it is a lactose thing. So if it were me, I'd skip the lactofree and just go straight for soy.
Kids are up...good luck!

It can be totally related! My youngest could not digest milk protein, still can't at almost 2. At every feeding shortly after nursing, he would spit up and scream in pain and wouldn't sleep for longer than a half hour. He had painful gas and diarrhea and the worst raw diaper rash I've ever seen, it was so hard to see. He was living on Mylicon drops just to try to sleep. Finally I did some online research and came across milk protein intolerance. I cut out every possible dairy source and within about 2 weeks he was a completely different child, until I started eating eggs and similar symptoms came back. So I cut that out too. It was difficult but I think it was very worth it. He's had allergy testing and both came back very slight allergies or intolerances. It's up to you on whether you feel you need to quit nursing or not. There is a special lactose free formula, but be careful. Many that can't handle dairy can't tolerate soy either, it gives my little man the explosive diarrhea. Talk to your ped for what is your best option. Good luck!

Hello
I breast-fed all five of mu children. Some of them had severe dairy reactions some did not. A good rule, though not everything passes into breast milk is to intake only what you would want your baby intaking when nursing. After my second child (Clare) had such a problem I just tried to get my calcium from other sources...they all seemed to do well, even the ones that didn't present with inital intolerance. Clare had severe rashes and was itchy, feverish, just very ill. Two days after I stopped all dairy, she was like a different person and I remember thinking my doctor was wacky. Dairy products have lots of added components, especially milk and it is very common that young children have an early intolerance digesting it-even allergic, allergy to dairy is very common; however sometimes in my experience weakens in severity as the child gets older. Clare now has lots of dairy but does not prefer milk with meals like my others. There are formulas that will meet your needs. Try not to worry, she has gotten a wonderful start and you have given her a solid foundation. I would start with a non-lactose formula...since you know from experience that it upsets her tummy. I don't have any recommendations, but I am sure you can find some online-good luck and don't beat yourself up. You are doing what you need to for yourself. If Mama isn't happy and healthy then baby won't be either...ciao R.

S. beth norris

I can't say if your daughter will be sensitive to the dairy formulas. But if she is, there is one called Nutramigen by Enfamil that is soy and dairy free. it is more expensive, but it worked really well for my daughter. And you don't want to mess with soy formulas in my opinion. Soy is really high in estrogen. Here is a website that has some good info on the dangers of excess soy:

http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/03summary.htm

This is probably something you should discuss with your daughter's pediatrician.

My 7 mo old was fed breast milk (I pumped and gave it to her in a bottle) for a couple of months and when I went back to work, I couldn't pump as much and my milk dried up. So I put her on regular Similac (blue can) and she just kept throwing up. I was on WIC so the next thing I tried was Similac Sensitive (the orange can) and it worked so good for her. It is lactose free and my dad is lactose intolerant (I'm not), so if that has anything to with it, I don't know. But if you switched to formula or need to supplement, you may want to try that.