breastfeeding moms -- what were the symptoms of your baby's dairy intolerance?

[novabrooke]

I think my 2.5 mo old breastfed baby may be sensitive to the dairy in my diet. She spits up multiple times a day, not necessarily right after eating, and it is thick and pasty sometimes with lumps like cottage cheese. She also is gassy in the very early morning and grunts a lot, sometimes for a couple of hours, trying to pass the gas. Finally, her bowels sometimes are kind of acidic smelling, stronger than usual. Do these symptoms sound familiar? Could they be signs of a dairy sensitivity? I did eliminate it from my diet for 10 days then reintroduced it, and it seemed to lessen the symptoms but not so much that I'm 100% sure this is the problem. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Rash. But every baby can be different in how they react to things. I think you are right to get rid of your dairy. I know it's not easy, but hang in there. You and your baby will be better off. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

The spit up sounds normal. Gas can also be normal, don't know about the smell of the stool. For my first, bloody mucus in the stool was the dead giveaway. With my second, he developed nasty eczema on his face.

[Anonymous]

My DD would have WAILING fits after I ate cheese - she was inconsolable and markedly different than how she was when I did not eat dairy. I'm no expert, but what you describe sounds like i very well could just be normal baby stuff. But try eliminating dairy for a few days, and then slowly introduce it to see what happens...

[Anonymous]

AWFUL smelling mucousy/bloody stools. Trouble sleeping, painful abdominal cramping (pulling her legs to her chest)....mostly GI symptoms. I had to cut out all dairy (trace/hidden dairy included).

Just FYI - you have to give it at LEAST 2 weeks if you want to do a true trial. It can take that long for the milk proteins to get out of your system, and then additional time to get completely out of the baby's. Also - many babies show are MPI are also soy intolerant. I cut soy as well, and when we actually had her tested (around 6 months old) she was allergic to soy as well.

If you do an elimination diet be VERY careful and make sure you get calcium supplements (kirmanlabs.com is a great place) and possibly speak to a nutritionist.

Good luck! The first week is the hardest, then it's fine....and you lose all the baby weight very quickly, lol!

[Anonymous]

the only true sign of a milk intolerance in a newborn is blood in the stool (either in the diaper that you can see directly or microscopically that is very easily testing in a dr's office). crying, irritability, vomiting, and weird poops are not signs of a milk protein allergy/intolerance. they can be signs that certain foods don't agree with the baby - for instance, many babies seem to be gassy after cauliflower or cranky after tomatoes...

also, it takes 10 days for the milk protein to wash out of your system, so you are still giving cow milk protein in you breastmilk for ten full days after you stop taking any dairy... and keep in mind that whey and casein are the milk proteins you're talking about - and they're very commonly found in breads, cookies, crackers, chips, and a million other places you would never think of... going on a true milk-proetin free diet was very difficult, especially since 40% of milk-proetin allergic babies are also soy-intolerant, so most dr's will tell you to avoid all soy protein and milk protein...

so, if you're worried, take some poopy diapers to the dr before going down a milk elimination diet by yourself!

[Anonymous]

Blood in the stool was our giveaway too.

[Anonymous]

My daughter had blood in the stool -- but she most certainly was irritable. Extremely irritable. Cried all day, didn't want to nap, eventual feeding refusal. Misery.

What you describe sounds on the spectrum of normal to me.

[Anonymous]

My dd did not have blood in her stool, but she was irritable and fussy. The dr suggested elim dairy, and it really seemed to help. So I did eliminate it for quite some time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dd did not have blood in her stool, but she was irritable and fussy. The dr suggested elim dairy, and it really seemed to help. So I did eliminate it for quite some time.

Same exact thing here, but mine was extremely gassy. like screaming her head off whenver she wasn't feeding or sleeping and her abdomen was rock hard and bloated and she was constantly exerting pressure to pass gas. when i eliminted dairy, after 2 weeks she was much better. i kept it out of my diet for 6 months. like the PP said, make sure you take calcium supplements.

[Anonymous]

It can vary wildly, but my DD barely had any symptoms of her milk (and egg) allergies.

She had eczema and cradle cap. She wouldn't spit up, but every few weeks would vomit up an entire feeding. Her stools had blood only once, and a tiny bit, so my ped. said to not be concerned over it. She woke up every 3 hours and never slept through the night, but wasn't fussy and just wanted to nurse. She is also HUGE (over 97 percent for height, 75 for weight) and very happy typically, so didn't show failure to thrive.

However, she would have bouts of eczema, diarrhea, throwing up, and doesn't sleep that long. These symptoms were spread out and not concurrent, so could be attributed to anything (colds, teething, etc.).

In the end, she had hives and vomiting after trying formula for the 4th time. Then we had her skin tested and she is very allergic to dairy and eggs. I say go with your gut and cutting out something may take a few weeks to clear your and her symptoms, but you should be able to see some improvements in symptoms within several days.

[Anonymous]

My 4 week old has similar symptoms as the OP (gassy, spitting up constantly). I think we've got hyperlactation syndrome. You should check to see if that might be the problem. I produce more milk than she needs, so she gets a disproportionate amount of formilk (and less hindmilk), which makes her really gassy, thus the cheesy spit-ups 1-2 hours after feeding. She also overeats and too quickly - which results in more milky spit-ups more directly after feeding.

For gas and to help with digestion, our pediatrician recommended more tummy time and cycling her legs. They seem to be helping a little.

[Anonymous]

OP, honestly, what you state sounds normal to me. It is typically for them to be gassy and often times it progresses to them kind of straining to poop as they have to learn how to do so. If I had any concerns I would first look at the possibility of hindmilk-foremilk imbalance before deciding it is food... but again, nothing you state concerns me as a BTDT mom.

For us it was not slight. My child screamed, all day long. Did not want to sleep. Eventually did not even want to nurse. Very mucousy poop with blood.

If I consumed even the slightest trace of dairy she would have a full night of screaming and blood in the diaper.

It is completely ridiculous to state that irritability/crying is not a symptom of a milk protein intolerance. Perhaps not unless accompanied by the GI symptoms of the blood -- but hello, this is painful for them. Weird poops absolutely can be a symptom as many times the blood isn't visible -- if one is constantly seeing green mucousy poop, they should get that tested.

I do think more people worry about food issues than really have them. Foremilk - hindmilk imbalance is a huge cause of irritability people miss as well.

[Anonymous]

Blood in the stool is the only true sign of an allergy; intolerance to the protein is common and not always accompanied by blood.

Ours was some of all of what others describe: wailing, stomach pains, trouble sleeping (thrashing around), green stools, mild constipation, congestion, reflux, spitting up. Our doctor said it sounded like dairy, and indeed it was. It does take up to three weeks to clear (can stay in each of your systems for up to 1.5 weeks).

[Anonymous]

green poop and lots of squirming/twisting at feedings