Need help..

[terrieaton]

Hello,
I need some help, it looks like my nearly 5month old son is cow's milk protein intolerant. I am breastfeeding him so have been advised to go cow's milk free. This is a huge change for me & i love milk, cheese & chocolate! But i will do what i have to do for my son.. They have given me a list with foods not allowed etc which looks huge with products like ham, tinned fish, sausages etc??
Any help from anyone in a similar situation??
Thanks in advance,
Terri & James :)

[Copper]

Welcome to the site. A dairy free diet is hard when you first start but it does get easier.

The reason that you have been given such a weird list of food is that they like to sneak dairy into foods that you would not think of as containing dairy. Forget that list! Go to this page on this site

http://www.dairyfreeuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=738

this is a list of alternative names for milk. You need to print this out and take it with you when you go shopping. Allow extra time for shopping as you will need to check the lists of ingredients, do not rely on the allergy boxes on the wrappers as they are not always correct.

Cheese - there is no substitute that tastes like the real thing. There are alternatives out there so you just have to try them and see if they taste ok to you. These cheeses are found in the chiller/fridge in my local health food shops. I personally like Scheese.

Chocolate - we have whole threads dedicated to that topic :lol2: I like Kinnerton chocolate which Asda stock. There are others but I can't get them here in the deep south. Most chocolate peppermint creams are ok but check the ingredients. I also like the dairy free bars of Green and Blacks chocolate especially the mint one.

Milk - again we all have our favourites. I like the fresh soya milk which is in the chiller in my local Tesco store. Others like rice milk but I found that coffee made with it tastes of hot rice - yuk.

I hope that this helps.

[terrieaton]

Hello,
Thanks for your reply.. I will try some of the things you mentioned. If it's not actually me that's CMPI do i have to be extremely stringent still? I obviously know if anything contains cow's milk etc then it's a no no but things like lactose? As it's breastmilk only a small amount of things are absorbed into it i think so exactly how thorough do i have to be?

Will he be CMPI for life now?

Terri & James x

[Copper]

Is he intolerant rather than allergic? How was he diagnosed as cow milk protein intolerant?

I guess if you are sure it is only protein he has a problem with then you need to avoid the obvious things plus anything with a protein element in it. If something just has lactose in it you should be ok. I am sure he will let you know if he is not ok.

[sueeltringham]

Hi Terri and James,

I have replied to your other thread too. Do you need to go completely dairy free?

I would say it depends on your son's reaction to your milk when you've eaten dairy products. Has the dietician advised you to go completely dairy free? I haven't yet seen a dietician, but my daughter doesn't appear to react to my breastmilk. Her nappies are normal and she is a very happy and contented baby (no colic episodes, etc.). However, a friend of mine had a son with a dairy allergy and he DID react pretty badly to her breastmilk. She decided to put him on the hypoallergenic formula (after 9 months breastfeeding) and all his allergy symptoms disappeared. So, I guess all babies are different.

Sue

[terrieaton]

To be honest i'm not sure, we've only just seen a consultant today. James started getting some blood in his stools about 7wks ago, it's not a lot but it's noticeable. They initially thought it might be a kink in his bowel or something but the consultant said today he is nearly positive it's a CMPI so for me to try a milk free diet to see if it helps. He has some mild episodes of tummy cramping sometimes & that's the only other symptom, no skin issues or anything..

Terri & James

[Jo Young]

Hi Terri

I am a firm believer in soya products and your local supermarket (especially Waitrose) is fantastic - Alpro soya yoghurts (they do a smooth baby friendly one as well); Swedish Glace do soya ice cream and choc ices; as for cheese, it probably depends on how bad the reaction is - I am intolerant to cow juice but can take sheep and goats in small amounts. Therefore, Waitrose do a fantastic range of sheep and goats cheese (and, to let you know, the Sheeps Wenslydale is so lovely, my hubby is even a convert)!

It is a completely different way of life which takes so much getting used to but don't worry - you'll get there!! And there are alternatives for pretty much everything!

:)

[Ruth]

Hi Terri, I did this for a while before switching Cate to a hypoallergenic formula at 13 months. It did make a difference when I went dairy free (I tried a few weeks of not being). Just make sure you get a lot of fat and calcium in you though. I didn't and lost too much weight which is why Cate ended up on formula.

PS Don't worry about missing out on sausages...we get really nice ones from M&S that are milk free (look for the ones with the gluten free symbol!)

[Copper]

I am a firm believer in soya products



I agree that we would be lost without soya but I try to keep my soya intake low too. I have many food intolerances and there is a risk that I could develop an intolerance to soya if I replace all of my dairy with soya.

[sueeltringham]

I agree that we would be lost without soya but I try to keep my soya intake low too. I have many food intolerances and there is a risk that I could develop an intolerance to soya if I replace all of my dairy with soya.

Also, its useful to know that soya products are currently being used by menopausal women to help regulate there oestrus cycles (periods). Soya products contain pytoeostrogens (plant hormones) which may affect fertility long term. I have been advised to severely limit the soya intake in my baby. I was told 'the odd soya yoghurt is OK, but be careful'. Worth thinking about.

Sue