Recommendations for formula for baby with dairy allergy

[Anonymous]

Trying to introduce some formula but DD has a dairy allergy. We've only used regular formulas with previous kids so not sure what to look for. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Half of infants with cow's milk protein allergy are also allergic to soy. Do you know if your child has a soy allergy or not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Half of infants with cow's milk protein allergy are also allergic to soy. Do you know if your child has a soy allergy or not?

I don't unfortunately. On my ped's advice I cut dairy and her symptoms improved...had a piece of cheese yesterday and she is a mess today. I'll try to cut soy too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Half of infants with cow's milk protein allergy are also allergic to soy. Do you know if your child has a soy allergy or not?

I don't unfortunately. On my ped's advice I cut dairy and her symptoms improved...had a piece of cheese yesterday and she is a mess today. I'll try to cut soy too.

If she improved with you cutting dairy, don’t feel like you have to add soy. My LC who is very knowledgeable on these protein intolerance said the new research is finding it’s less than they thought. And the soy is much harder than the dairy so it’s much less sustainable. Don’t add if just to add it, in my opinion.

My son did best on alimentum ready to feed. It tasted the best (many don’t taste good!)

[Anonymous]

Take this with a grain of salt bc everyone’s ped and IBLCs have different advice. My first had a dairy sensitivity - dark green mucous but no specks of blood in his poop. Resolved when cutting dairy from my diet. The pediatrician said many kids get diagnosed with CMPA when in fact they are just more highly sensitive and not necessarily truly allergic. I say this because the protein allergy vs sensitivity matters. He did great on goat’s milk formula (which you can now find way easier with all the imported formulas approved). From what I’ve read it’s similar to an A2 formula and is much gentler on sensitive tummies based on the the type of casein or something like that. People will tell you that kids with CMPA will also be allergic to goats milk protein, but my pediatrician basically said to give it a try before ruling it out. It worked for us, so we never needed to try out alimentium or nutramigen.

[Anonymous]

Alimentum Ready to Feed, for sure. My pediatrician no longer recommends the powder versions, only the ready to feed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take this with a grain of salt bc everyone’s ped and IBLCs have different advice. My first had a dairy sensitivity - dark green mucous but no specks of blood in his poop. Resolved when cutting dairy from my diet. The pediatrician said many kids get diagnosed with CMPA when in fact they are just more highly sensitive and not necessarily truly allergic. I say this because the protein allergy vs sensitivity matters. He did great on goat’s milk formula (which you can now find way easier with all the imported formulas approved). From what I’ve read it’s similar to an A2 formula and is much gentler on sensitive tummies based on the the type of casein or something like that. People will tell you that kids with CMPA will also be allergic to goats milk protein, but my pediatrician basically said to give it a try before ruling it out. It worked for us, so we never needed to try out alimentium or nutramigen.

For what it's worth, cutting dairy out of my diet worked for me with a dairy sensitive baby, but I understand that may not be desirable for everyone. We had Alimentum RTF as a back up. But also, as the poster above indicated, it may not be a true allergy. Many dairy sensitive babies outgrow the intolerance - for my kid as a baby, dairy led to vomiting, blood in poop, etc., but by age 2, my kid could drink cow milk. Dairy allergies are uncommon (but do happen) - we did allergy testing around age 1, and my kid did not have an allergy.

I also agree that it is worth trying out soy or goat milk formula. Those are likely cheaper and easier to find, and taste better than Alimentum or Nutramigen, and some dairy sensitive babies do fine on them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take this with a grain of salt bc everyone’s ped and IBLCs have different advice. My first had a dairy sensitivity - dark green mucous but no specks of blood in his poop. Resolved when cutting dairy from my diet. The pediatrician said many kids get diagnosed with CMPA when in fact they are just more highly sensitive and not necessarily truly allergic. I say this because the protein allergy vs sensitivity matters. He did great on goat’s milk formula (which you can now find way easier with all the imported formulas approved). From what I’ve read it’s similar to an A2 formula and is much gentler on sensitive tummies based on the the type of casein or something like that. People will tell you that kids with CMPA will also be allergic to goats milk protein, but my pediatrician basically said to give it a try before ruling it out. It worked for us, so we never needed to try out alimentium or nutramigen.

For what it's worth, cutting dairy out of my diet worked for me with a dairy sensitive baby, but I understand that may not be desirable for everyone. We had Alimentum RTF as a back up. But also, as the poster above indicated, it may not be a true allergy. Many dairy sensitive babies outgrow the intolerance - for my kid as a baby, dairy led to vomiting, blood in poop, etc., but by age 2, my kid could drink cow milk. Dairy allergies are uncommon (but do happen) - we did allergy testing around age 1, and my kid did not have an allergy.

I also agree that it is worth trying out soy or goat milk formula. Those are likely cheaper and easier to find, and taste better than Alimentum or Nutramigen, and some dairy sensitive babies do fine on them.

I will just add that a protein intolerance to dairy is not uncommon in babies under 1 and is usually what people mean when they say “dairy allergy” at that age. A protein intolerance is actually because some infants cannot process/digest the specific proteins (may not be phrasing this right) in dairy and sometimes soy etc. It can cause blood in stool, mucousy poops, colicky like symptoms but no it isn’t a true ige allergy. Protein intolerances are not uncommon in lindane’s 0-1 and babies usually outgrow it by 1 year old. So what happened with your child is very normal and doesn’t mean they didn’t have the intolerance (I don’t think you were saying that but I’m not sure).

I think this is kind of what you were saying as well, definitely most kids that have this intolerance don’t go on to have an ige dairy allergy though they are usually a little more at risk for other allergies later in life.

[Anonymous]

Sorry one more thing g to add. Totally fine to try soy and goat formula, though from what I understand why there are a small percentage it will work for, since the sensitivity people are referencing is usually related to a protein intolerance, they often don’t work because they protein in goat milk is incredibly similar to that of cows milk so a kid who has trouble digesting one often has trouble digesting the other (though like folks have said, not always the case!) and since some babies sensitive to cows milk also have a similar reaction to soy, that can be tough but since they are finding it’s less than originally thought may be worth a shot.

Also will add that my insurance (Kaiser) covered the alimentum ready to feed basically in full. It was delivered to our house by a medical supply company. Awesome! So don’t hesitate to ask. I did stop breastfeeding f because even removing dairy my baby was very unhappy. Hard for me to know in hindsight if it was just colic on top of things but he slept a lot better on the alimentum rtf (he was waking up what seemed like crying in pain every hour or so, it was crazy!)

[Anonymous]

Sorry for all the typos! Typing early morning on my phone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take this with a grain of salt bc everyone’s ped and IBLCs have different advice. My first had a dairy sensitivity - dark green mucous but no specks of blood in his poop. Resolved when cutting dairy from my diet. The pediatrician said many kids get diagnosed with CMPA when in fact they are just more highly sensitive and not necessarily truly allergic. I say this because the protein allergy vs sensitivity matters. He did great on goat’s milk formula (which you can now find way easier with all the imported formulas approved). From what I’ve read it’s similar to an A2 formula and is much gentler on sensitive tummies based on the the type of casein or something like that. People will tell you that kids with CMPA will also be allergic to goats milk protein, but my pediatrician basically said to give it a try before ruling it out. It worked for us, so we never needed to try out alimentium or nutramigen.

For what it's worth, cutting dairy out of my diet worked for me with a dairy sensitive baby, but I understand that may not be desirable for everyone. We had Alimentum RTF as a back up. But also, as the poster above indicated, it may not be a true allergy. Many dairy sensitive babies outgrow the intolerance - for my kid as a baby, dairy led to vomiting, blood in poop, etc., but by age 2, my kid could drink cow milk. Dairy allergies are uncommon (but do happen) - we did allergy testing around age 1, and my kid did not have an allergy.

I also agree that it is worth trying out soy or goat milk formula. Those are likely cheaper and easier to find, and taste better than Alimentum or Nutramigen, and some dairy sensitive babies do fine on them.

I will just add that a protein intolerance to dairy is not uncommon in babies under 1 and is usually what people mean when they say “dairy allergy” at that age. A protein intolerance is actually because some infants cannot process/digest the specific proteins (may not be phrasing this right) in dairy and sometimes soy etc. It can cause blood in stool, mucousy poops, colicky like symptoms but no it isn’t a true ige allergy. Protein intolerances are not uncommon in lindane’s 0-1 and babies usually outgrow it by 1 year old. So what happened with your child is very normal and doesn’t mean they didn’t have the intolerance (I don’t think you were saying that but I’m not sure).

I think this is kind of what you were saying as well, definitely most kids that have this intolerance don’t go on to have an ige dairy allergy though they are usually a little more at risk for other allergies later in life.

Thanks for the clarification. My kid definitely had an intolerance, just not a true allergy. I think we are saying the same thing. These intolerances are definitely real and cause real problems for the baby, but thankfully most will outgrow the problem. At age 1, mine could handle a little bit of dairy in her diet, but didn't fully outgrow the intolerance until age 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Take this with a grain of salt bc everyone’s ped and IBLCs have different advice. My first had a dairy sensitivity - dark green mucous but no specks of blood in his poop. Resolved when cutting dairy from my diet. The pediatrician said many kids get diagnosed with CMPA when in fact they are just more highly sensitive and not necessarily truly allergic. I say this because the protein allergy vs sensitivity matters. He did great on goat’s milk formula (which you can now find way easier with all the imported formulas approved). From what I’ve read it’s similar to an A2 formula and is much gentler on sensitive tummies based on the the type of casein or something like that. People will tell you that kids with CMPA will also be allergic to goats milk protein, but my pediatrician basically said to give it a try before ruling it out. It worked for us, so we never needed to try out alimentium or nutramigen.

For what it's worth, cutting dairy out of my diet worked for me with a dairy sensitive baby, but I understand that may not be desirable for everyone. We had Alimentum RTF as a back up. But also, as the poster above indicated, it may not be a true allergy. Many dairy sensitive babies outgrow the intolerance - for my kid as a baby, dairy led to vomiting, blood in poop, etc., but by age 2, my kid could drink cow milk. Dairy allergies are uncommon (but do happen) - we did allergy testing around age 1, and my kid did not have an allergy.

I also agree that it is worth trying out soy or goat milk formula. Those are likely cheaper and easier to find, and taste better than Alimentum or Nutramigen, and some dairy sensitive babies do fine on them.

I will just add that a protein intolerance to dairy is not uncommon in babies under 1 and is usually what people mean when they say “dairy allergy” at that age. A protein intolerance is actually because some infants cannot process/digest the specific proteins (may not be phrasing this right) in dairy and sometimes soy etc. It can cause blood in stool, mucousy poops, colicky like symptoms but no it isn’t a true ige allergy. Protein intolerances are not uncommon in lindane’s 0-1 and babies usually outgrow it by 1 year old. So what happened with your child is very normal and doesn’t mean they didn’t have the intolerance (I don’t think you were saying that but I’m not sure).

I think this is kind of what you were saying as well, definitely most kids that have this intolerance don’t go on to have an ige dairy allergy though they are usually a little more at risk for other allergies later in life.

Thanks for the clarification. My kid definitely had an intolerance, just not a true allergy. I think we are saying the same thing. These intolerances are definitely real and cause real problems for the baby, but thankfully most will outgrow the problem. At age 1, mine could handle a little bit of dairy in her diet, but didn't fully outgrow the intolerance until age 2.

Yes! sounds like we were saying the same thing mine also had the protein intolerance. Good luck op, as you can see it really does get easier/better

[Anonymous]

OP unfortunately its a case-by-case. You can start with Alimentum but my kid reacted to it. But his intolerance may have been more severe since he just recently started to tolerate dairy at almost 5. We tried prior- 3x- and failed each time. He is up to cooked cheese and our next step is yogurt. Many of the kids we knew with similar intolerance to dairy protein were able to tolerate by 1-2, as similarly detailed in the above posts.

If Alimentum or Nutramigen doesnt work there is goat formula (Holle), but there is cross reactivity. I want to make it clear that Alimentum/Nutramigen still has cows milk protein but it is considered hydrolyzed since it is broken down into smaller proteins. This is why it doesnt work for some kids because you need complete elimination not just reduction. If that doesnt work you will need to move to elemental formulas which is a bit unfortunate because well, they are pretty gross. Neocate and Elecare are two I have seen discussed.

Honestly, I continued to pump and nurse since he kept having reactions and Ripple wasnt as widespread/well known since my baby was born in 2018 so up until 2019/2020 I dont remember seeing it in many stores. I think the first store was Harris Teeter but my son could not tolerate full supplementation until they created the chocolate one, which seems to be easier to digest? Coconut/almond/soy arent as nutritionally dense and werent a good replacement for nursing IME.

Good luck <3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP unfortunately its a case-by-case. You can start with Alimentum but my kid reacted to it. But his intolerance may have been more severe since he just recently started to tolerate dairy at almost 5. We tried prior- 3x- and failed each time. He is up to cooked cheese and our next step is yogurt. Many of the kids we knew with similar intolerance to dairy protein were able to tolerate by 1-2, as similarly detailed in the above posts.

If Alimentum or Nutramigen doesnt work there is goat formula (Holle), but there is cross reactivity. I want to make it clear that Alimentum/Nutramigen still has cows milk protein but it is considered hydrolyzed since it is broken down into smaller proteins. This is why it doesnt work for some kids because you need complete elimination not just reduction. If that doesnt work you will need to move to elemental formulas which is a bit unfortunate because well, they are pretty gross. Neocate and Elecare are two I have seen discussed.

Honestly, I continued to pump and nurse since he kept having reactions and Ripple wasnt as widespread/well known since my baby was born in 2018 so up until 2019/2020 I dont remember seeing it in many stores. I think the first store was Harris Teeter but my son could not tolerate full supplementation until they created the chocolate one, which seems to be easier to digest? Coconut/almond/soy arent as nutritionally dense and werent a good replacement for nursing IME.

Good luck <3

The reason I mentioned the ripple and other milk substitutes is because at 1 you can start trailing those and integrating them for a milk substitute should your child continue to have an intolerance/sensitivity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Also will add that my insurance (Kaiser) covered the alimentum ready to feed basically in full. It was delivered to our house by a medical supply company. Awesome! So don’t hesitate to ask. I did stop breastfeeding f because even removing dairy my baby was very unhappy. Hard for me to know in hindsight if it was just colic on top of things but he slept a lot better on the alimentum rtf (he was waking up what seemed like crying in pain every hour or so, it was crazy!)

How did you get Kaiser to cover the formula? My 8 week old is struggling with a milk allergy and my dr suggested a soy formula but he is much fussier on it and the blood in his stools has returned. Wish my pediatrician would give more definitive guidance on what to try next.