Cow milk protein allergy

Jackie - posted on 03/25/2010

GotSomeBigHans> Thanks for the reply, hmmm does give me hope. We have not had blood in is stool and I hope it doesn't come to that. You are correct, the Nutramigen is very pricey, I saw the ready made cans but went the powder route just for that reason. I actually wrote the company asking why they don't produce a concentrate or larger can size. Got the standard form letter back.

How old is your guy now? Does he have constipation still?

Gotsome - posted on 03/25/2010

wow - just skimming through your posts & it sounds like we have a lot in common. My little guy was also VERY gassy since birth- his first 3 months were hellish & at 6 wks he started having a ridiculous amount of stools between 14-20/day & then came the mucos & blood. Coincidently, I had been B/F & supplimenting until week 5 then finally had to stop & week 6 whammo the whole ordeal began. Ped suspected milk protien sensitivity & also put us on Nutramigen & warned that baby might not like it as it's bland b/c of there not being any milk. We also didn't like the way the powder mixed so we bought the ready to use stuff & it cost a bloody fortune, but we wanted to make she he would eat it! For us the change in formula did not resolve the issue - the bloody stools & mucos persisted until approx month 4 & then vanished. We had a vaginal delivery but had merconium at birth, although they told us they got it before it got into his mouth.

Audrey - posted on 03/25/2010

Jackie, I would like to keep in touch! It is such a frustrating process.

Curious about a few things.. you said the doctor said to wean him off the formula? What would you give him? I know there is a Nutramagin (without the A+).. not sure what advantage that would give you. I can tell you that the Similac Alimentum mixes just fine for me if you use warm water. If the water is cold it kind of separates but if you just shake it a little it mixes back in with no problem. I am going to gradually reduce the amount of breast milk she is getting and replace it with formula and see how it goes. I know the formula doesn't make it worse, I am just hoping we see an improvement.

About the c-section.. I delivered Kaitlin vaginally. At least in our case I think this is more genetic. I feel terrible, I had suspected the milk allergy with my son when he was this age - he is now 2.5 yrs old. We tried soy with him, which turns out he is CLEARLY allergic to so we stuck it out with regular formula after I weaned him (which is why I refused to try soy with Kaitlin at all).. anyway - long story short, I just switched his sippy cup milk to rice milk and HIS eczema went away as well. With him we have been battling chronic constipation for most of his life.. The switch to rice milk seems to be helping and I only wish I realized sooner.

I vaguely remember my MIL saying my husband was on soy milk when he was little - so I think it can run in families. And most kids do outgrow this by the time they are a few years old.

I also tried probiotic powder in her bottles for a while. It did not seem to help, clearly didn't hurt either.

Jackie - posted on 03/25/2010

Hi Audrey! Thanks for the response. The gas was when he was newborn. The last month or so it has been exactly what you have describe, the tell tale sign being muscus in his stool. It was explained that his bowels were inflammed hence the stool. He was put on a natural path remedy for the constipation for 7 days and has finished. Before I was giving him 4 tsp of straight prune juice a day and he was still only going once every two or three days! SO, since the remedy, it has been 3 days, things have been ok. He has been on this new formula for two weeks. We are headed back to the natural path next week. I have been keeping his solids hypoallergenic but that really isn't hard. Frankly I am think the best plan is the wean him off the formula asap, the Dr has been talking about 8 months, he is now 6. He is a good size for his age and eats well.

It would be very hard with supplementing to keep track of your diet. I haven't had the problem with eczema and I thinks it's because early on I started using a product called "EXECALM". It's available from some health food stores and I started using it for his dry skin. That has keep it at bay but he is starting to get tiny patches on his chest. I am also doing a castor oil rub on his tummy before naps, it is supposed to help their digestion and bowels. Finally we have him on Natogen probiotics with his solids three times a day.

When he was a newborn he spit up frequently and was very fuss. His stool was very inconsistant, runny, hard, you name it. If you and baby can handle the switch to just fomula it may help but be prepared for it to take a while.... Take care about the hypoallergenic formulas since some babies are also senstive to the soy used or the fact that some formulas still use cow's milk but just break down the protein first.

I'd like to keep in touch, its nice to talk to someone else who is going through this.

Audrey - posted on 03/25/2010

Yes, I think we are looking at the same issue. She was fussy, had spit-up, mucous in her stool, gas and eczema. I finally connected the dots and my ped gave me the green light to switch to a hypo-allergenic formula. We went with Similac Alimentum.



I have been supplementing about 50% but at her 6 month checkup today the ped said that I am still describing allergy symptoms so unless I want to completely scrutinize everything I eat that we should just wean her and go with all formula. She said that babies the most benefit in the first 6 months so it would be just fine to go all formula from now on.



How about you? what else besides gas are you dealing with?