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[Zoe]

Hi,

This is my first post here so I thought I'd introduce myself.

I'm mum to Jessica who is coming up to 7 months old next week.
Right from birth I bottle fed her and we have had nothing but problems, with constipation, vomiting, lots of crying and screaming during and after feeds. We changed her milk and things settled down for a while and then it started up again & she was diagnosed with reflux.

While all of this was going on she got very wheezy and had a rattely chest. It was so bad you could feel the rattle on her chest when you held her. After many trips to the dr she was diagnosed with possible asthma and given an inhaler, which has helped a lot. But the more I thought about it the more I realised that the rattle came on worse when she was feeding. Then calmed down a while after her feed finished.

6 weeks ago she got a tummy bug and we couldn't even get her to drink anything, let alone eat milk or solids. Everything that went in her came straight out again. Then she started taking her solids again, and keeping them down. As soon as she'd had milk she threw it straight back up.
After several trips to the out of hours gp (all this happened over easter) we saw one who said she might have developed a lactose intolerance because of the tummy bug and to cope the best we could until our own gp was open again 2 days later!

Jessica was given soya milk on prescription for 4 weeks and then I had to give her normal baby milk. Which I did & it went straight through her. So my G has said she has some degree of lactose intolerance, to keep her on the baby milk and avoid everything dairy for a while, then gradually introduce it as she gets older.

From what I read on one website last night the rattling & wheezing can be a symptom of lactose intolerance. I have to say she hasn't had any problems with this since changing to the soya milk.
Is this right?

Should I be asking for tests for her or just do what my GP has said?

I found a localish health food shop which sells all the alternatives to dairy food, so that's a start.

Is it worth getting a childs lactose free recipe book or can anyone recommend any good websites?

Thanks in advance and thanks for reading!

[jill]

Hi Zoe

Welcome to the site, which I must say is a very good one. I don't have children myself but there are an increasing number of mums logging onto this site that do have children with problems like yours.

I do have a lactose intolerance myself and have found this site and the people who visit very helpful in giving advice, ask your questions and some one is sure to reply.

Visiting your health food shop is a good start but I don't know myself what products are available for young ones.

My niece who is now 12 had to have an inhaler when she was a baby, she suffers with excema, but has got it improved by having soya milk.

Hope you get some answers to your queries soon as I know how distressing it can be

Jill

[tigerlily]

Hm, sounds
like Lactose Intolerance OR Dairy Intolerance.
It's very common to develop an intolerance post-infection (here: tummy bug) at that age. My daughter went through the very same thing: Stomach bug plus Tonsillitis and the week following that she couldn't tolerate any dairy. She was 8 months at the time.

However, many babies/toddlers go on to develop a soya intolerance as well so I would ask your GP for a HYPOALLERGENIC FORMULA on prescription. Eden developed a soya intolerance from Wysoy. (Speaking from experience, I would skip the Health Visitor altogether. They usually either don't know much about allergies/intolerances or refer you back to the GP).

I would recommend asking your GP for a referal to see a DIETICIAN as a baby your daughter's age is very restricted in what she can or cannot eat. Have you tried ALPRO JUNIOR Yogurts? They are made from Soya and available in most supermarkets ( don't give more than 2 a day, dietician's advice!)
You can asked your GP for the RAST test but at such a tender age, chances are you may get a False-Negative result. 2 is the usual age to start with allergy testing.

Good Luck!
Vanessa.

[matt]

another from yorkshire. you'll have your own club there soon!!

what sort of recepes do you want? it looks daunting but no need to panic. rasiest solution is to prepare food from fresh. there's a list on the site of all the various names that milk and it's derivatives can take.

to be honest i'm not sure about the test on such a youngster. easiest is to exclude all dairy then hopefully see all the symptoms disappear. then after a couple of weeks you re intorduce and see if they come back. keep a food diary while doing this and a list of any symptoms. that way you can go back to the gp with evidence.

let me know some ideas of what food you would like and i'll have a trawl of some sites!!

stay calm and i'm sure they'll be loads more advice from some of the mothers on site.

[goose]

welcome to the site.:band: hope the site is of some help to you.

[Caroloujo]

Hiya and welcome to the board.:)

[Zoe]

Thanks for all the replys :)

I have got some soya yogourts and pudding type things which I give about half a pot a day to boost Jessicas calcium intake (something the gp told me to be careful about, that I get enough in her) and also I have noticed they have a lot of sugar in :(

The milk Jessica is currently on is wysoy. I will keep a close eye on her incase she shows signs of intolerance/allegy to that too.

For recipes I'm basicaly looking for things that are simple but tastey for her. It must be boring eating pureed veg & fruit every day. I did make a cheese sauce with her soya milk, soya cheese and plain flour which she loves mixed in with her veggies.

She's 7 months next week and I'd like to introduce some finger foods but don't know what'd be good. I know other mums gve wotsits and quavers, which have milk powder in. Im not so bothered about that though because I really don't want Jessica on junk foods.

I've got some milk free rusks and rice cakes which I got from boots.

This may seem a daft question but can she have bread? When I've made bread at home it's always had butter in it & some milk. Is there a specialist bread I need to buy when she gets older and starts eating it?

Thanks again for all the replies and help so far :)

[Pam]

Hi Zoe, I'm in West Yorkshire too so we can probably swap recommendations for good shops. The Green Health Shop in Cleckheaton is my favourite, they are very helpful there.

The doctors probably won't offer you any tests but should refer you to a dietician, who probably won't offer much useful advice with regards to a milk free diet but should be able to check on calcium/calorie intake.

You need to ask about being prescribed a hypo allergenic formula rather than soya in order to reduce the risk of further intolerances.

Special recipe books aren't really necessary, just exchange butter and milk for dairy free alternatives.

If you are looking for any specific dairy free items just ask, someone will probably be able to help you.

[Caroloujo]

Can i ask has Jessica had a galctosaemia test (i was born with it and have to keep to a strict daiy free diet, there are a couple on here also that has it or there baby have it) because the symptoms she has are what i had as a baby,..I was very poorly as a child....Just curious..

[cnc]

Hi, welcome to the site, I'm another West Yorkshire member (well part time).
I will respond properly later, but can't at the moment. Just wanted to welcome you :)

[matt]

bread, well some has milk in but should be listed now so just check the ingredients.
make you own as there's no need for milk to be added it just makes the texture change slightly. you can make bread with flour water and yeast. everything else just adds flavour or shelf life.

stews are good from scratch can add any veg you want then.
i weaned my poor little daughter with mild curries and the like as she just ate whatever i cooked!

what about bread sticks. easy to buy or make and great finger food healthier than crisps. or just carrot etc batons. good habit for the early years.:)

[Pam]

You need to get yourself a list of milk derivatives so you can find all the sneaky hidden milk in ingredient lists. I think there is a list on this site somewhere in the information pages.

I never put butter or milk in my breadmaker, I use vegetable or olive oil instead of butter (mine is all measured in cups and spoons so I find this easier) and I just miss out the milk powder completely.

[Zoe]

No, Jessica hasn't had any kind of tests at all nor have we been refered to a dietician. My GP just said to make sure she has products with added calcium in.

I got a book from the libary that says how much calcium she should have a day so I worked it out from the milk tin and so I know what extra I need to give her each day.
I'm also giving her leafy green veggies, she's trying cabbage today I'm sure she'll love that! :unsure:


Im near to Bradford, the shop I went to was in Keighley, a 10 minute train ride away for me. I don't know where Clekheaton is. :mellow:

Breadsticks I didnt think of those! and stews aswell that's a good idea. I'm going to try her on a bunch of different veggies, I've just been giving her the ones we normaly eat, but will try some different ones for more variety.

I've got a list of the milk derivaties from this book I got from the libary, I will check on this site also to make sure there isn't any I have missed.

[Lou C]

Hi Zoe, Welcome to the site. I have to say this site has been a mine of information for me so stick around and we'll all help you out!
I'm in Leeds and my son (15 months) has dairy allergy which was discovered at about 5 months. For finger foods I used tesco mini breadsticks (not all brands are milk free) Raisins, good old bananas, and lots of things from the Organix Goodies range which are available in most supermarkets in the babyfood aisle. The "moon biscuits" do contain milk so don't buy these, but they have lots of other things:
orange rice cakes, apple rice cakes
Corn snacks, the sweetcorn rings and carrot stix are dairy free.
Animal biscuits, Gingerbread men, Alphabet biscuits are dairy free.
Obviously, always check the labels yourself as ingredients can change.
Your little one will be a bit young for some of these yet, but there are quite a few options there. Any more questions fire away and I'll try my best feel free to PM me. Lou xx

[bella]

Hi Zoe.
My son has galactosaemia same as Shakylou. He has to avoid lactose, which is in loads & loads of stuff, for life.
Mac has normal bread, Warburtons, but there are lots of different ones which are dairy free so the bread shouldn't be a problem. Pure is an alternative to butter & so is Vitalite.
Mac has French Fries, ready salted flavour. There are a few asda smart price biscuits that are ok too.
Once you get the hang of avoiding dairy its easy,, honest!!! There are loads of people here that can help you.

[matt]

raw carrots and raw broccolli etc as finger foods.

at that age get them eating as many foods as possible as they will then happily eat much more later and be less fussy!

after being weaned my daughter would eat mild curries, chinese, italian and loads of veggies. sine the wif took over after i had to leave... she won't eat half as much..shame.

but still oves broccolli. excellent.

[goose]

I didnt realise animal biscuits were ok. ooh have not had them for years, lou can i come and live with you.:D

[Lou C]

I didnt realise animal biscuits were ok. ooh have not had them for years, lou can i come and live with you.:D
Sorry Lydia, I didn't mean the nice cadbury's chocolate ones that you're probably thinking of!! They're some specifically for babies/toddlers and are just plain biscuits. Lou xx
P.S. You are more than welcome to come and live with me as long as you're good at babysitting, cooking, cleaning and generally looking after people (including me!)

[zoefruitcake]

Hello Zoe,

I thought I'd just say welcome from another Zoe :)