10-Month-Old Allergic to Milk

The baby is probably lactose intolerant or allergic to the milk protein.
You can try goat's milk
I would not recomend soy milk for another year because it may cause problems, and I don't believe the child would like it anyway.
You may find the allergy disappear later.
I'm assuming you're not breast feeding because if you are the child doesn't need any other milk. Mothers who have stopped breastfeeding can usually resume again by pumping regularly or, if the child is willing, placing him on the breast daily until lactation begins. This could take 1-4 weeks.

We had a doctor that was a personal family friend, who was also allergic to milk.

This doctor recommended soy milk and thought everyone should drink it.

D.

I'm 60 years old, been married to the same man for over 38 years, have two grown sons and one daughter-in-law.

CJ,
Is he lactose intolerant or truly allergic to milk? From my experience children who are truly allergic to milk also can't eat any dairy products and usually have hives and/or difficulty breathing (in severe cases). If he is lactose intolerant then ask your doctor if you could give him Lactaid tablets or Lactaid milk. With our son we gave him the Lactaid tablets before he drank any milk or ate any dairy products and that worked. To this day he still takes the Lactaid before he eats any dairy products, especially ice cream. By the way we were told he was allergic to milk and it wasn't until we went to an allergist who listened and did testing and found that we were right. Hope this helps.
Hugs,
T.

You can try rice milk or goat milk.

My youngest is allergic to milk and he used soy formula until he was one then he went to soy milk, which he still drinks - he is now 4 and we found out when he was about 8 months old. Depending on the severity of the allergy you will also need to be very careful about everthing your child eats because milk pops up in other ways (casein is milk protein and you find it in things you would not expect like soy cheese). I did a lot of shopping at a natural food store to get stuff at that point. Good Luck.

My 18 mo old is also allergic to milk. I give him a variety of soymilk, rice milk & almond milk. All are bought at Trader Joe's. I usually look at the labels for the one with the highest fat content since soy has much less than regular milk. The best price I found on soy is at Costco....$7 for 3 half gallons. Ive heard that coconut miok is very good but I havent tried it yet.

I gave my son rice milk. I personally avoided soy milk due to the fact that soy contains phytoestrogens, which could possibly affect the hormonal balance and therefore the development of the child. Look into it before you choose soy. My son still drinks rice milk; I was told that whole milk is important for the fat content, so I just made sure he got his fat from other sources, and he was fine. He loves olives, olive oil, and I sneak flax into his diet here and there. I have other sources as well that I can't think of right now. Fat intake is important in the first 2 years of life for continued nervous system development, of the brain and for the myelination of the nerves. But in my opinion, cow's milk is not the answer.

Good luck, as you can see there are a lot of alternatives to cow's milk out there!

Hi Cj. At 10 months, your baby should still be on formula if he is not breastfed. If your doctor has diagnosed a milk allergy, then he/she should advise you on nutrition for your baby. Most 10 month olds who have a dairy allergy would have a soy formula. There are also soy based cheeses and yogurts, but you may want to use caution in the amount of soy that you give due to the estrogen. A consultation with a pediatric nutritionist could also be helpful so that as your baby gets past the breastmilk/formula stage, you'll know what alternatives (soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, goats milk, etc) are best for your child at his age. Good luck.

Goat milk... much less allergenic than cow's milk. I also know several friends whose parents raised them on sheep's milk where goat's milk wasn't available.

Cow's milk is a very hard to digest protein, whereas the molecules in goat and sheep milk are much smaller and more similar to that of humans.

Please consider that soy is also one of the top allergens because it is a very concentrated bean, harder to digest than other beans- and people who have traditionally counted on it as a part of their ethnic diets compensated for this by fermenting it (soy, miso tempeh) in its often used forms, making it much easier to digest as small miccroorganisms responsible for fermentation basically predigest it for us. It is goitrogenous (depresses thyroid function)- so os broccoli, but no one ever eats that much of it to have much of an effect, whereas with formula or soy milk you get a bigger dose. It is also ESTROGENIC- containing natural plant estrogens that mimic the estrogens in our own body- so that giving a small baby soy formula all day is equivalent to a few birth control pills since they have such a small body.

I encourage you to pursue hormone free milk from animals raised on pasture, because any other kind of milk won't be as rich in Vitamin D...

There are a lot of alternatives on the market soy milk, rice milk, etc. My 11 yr old reacted to any dairy until he was about 3. We did calcium fortified orange juice. I watered it down so it wasn't so acidic, especially when he was still in a diaper. He still ate pretty much whatever we did just minus the dairy. We would omit the cheese for sandwiches or pizza. If he wanted to dip his veggies he used french dressing vs. ranch or blue cheese dip. If we had ice cream he had a icee (like italian ice). We adjusted and it really wasn't all that difficult.

Hi-
My 3 1/2 has been allergic to dairy since he was born. It was hard at first to get used to food that was dairy free. I use soy products instead of milk. Like soy milk, yogurt and butter. I find that a lot of soy cheeses still had casein in it which is a product of milk. I also buy a lot of gluten free products which are soy and egg free as well a wheat. I find a lot of stuff at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. If you want to talk some more you can email me at ____@____.com
Good Luck
-J.

Sheeps milk is usually tolerable for those with cow's milk allergies. Old Chatham Shepherding Company makes sheeps milk yogurt that is available at whole foods and most health food stores. Romano and manchego cheeses (among others) are made with sheeps milk. Coconut milk, especially mixed with vanilla rice milk, is a really nice drink warm with some cinnamin on top.
Check out NAET by googling it - it is an allergy elimination technique that worked for our food allergies, including dairy. Good luck.

Hi
My daughter was also allergic to dairy and eggs. Rice Milk is a great alternative. People who are allergic to dairy are often allergic to Soy so that might not be helpful.
I found a great yahoo group called "foodlab" which you can reach at ____@____.com

You can join and post questions for recipes. Best Wishes.
-H.

I'm not sure if you can get it in New York State but if you can you might try raw cow's milk. There is a therory that the allergic properties of cow's milk are caused by processing http://realmilk.com/why.html

Good Luck,
G.

Hi! My 3 1/2 year old is allergic to milk (and soy, corn & wheat). You can try soy milk. My daughter drinks rice milk since she is allergic to soy also. The rice milk comes in original, vanilla and chocolate. My daughter is highly allergic to milk (18.3) and extremely allergic to casin, the milk protein (28.8). Research all of the ingredients in foods that are milk products such as whey. She has ice and sorbet instead of ice cream. Good luck!

HI :) My son is also allergic to milk. We give him either Rice Milk or Soy. I think the rice milk tastes better (almost like the bottom of the cereal bowl after a sugary cereal), but he prefers the soy. Silk makes a soy chocolate milk, that he absolutely adores and it hides the taste!

Good Luck!

Hi CjM
Hope your little one doesn't get too sick from milk, and I also hope this is a diagnosis from the MD. If so MD should be advising you. If you found a formula to give, that is the first suggestion.
Next, I know people who were successful with goat's milk, & others who were successful with soy. At 10 months mine stayed on formula.
Drinking less and less as they ate more food. Mostly on cereals, and they were all able to handle milk when they were out because they had none at home.
I am lactose intolerant myself, I use soy.
My suggestion is to talk to MD. They can be very helpful, mine sent me to nutrition counsilling. That was great.
God bless you
K. SAHM married 38 years with 4 kids including twins, who were homeschooled,graduated this year & heading to college this fall.

Have you tried rice milk or almond milk? My sons enjoy both.

Jen G

Dear CJ,

My son also has an intolerance to milk proteins (which is different from a lactose intolerance). We use Rice Dream, which he loves.

However, we're also going to a chiropractor and getting NAET treatment, which is gradually reducing the severity of his intolerance. I recommend looking into it!

If your son only has an intolerance (as opposed to the kind of allergy that gives you hives, makes his throat close up, etc.), you might also tentatively try him on dairy products about every six months to see if he's outgrown it. Cheese is lower in the offending protein than straight milk, so that makes a good trial run.

Good luck!

Mira

Cj,

Oy!
My 22 month old has been allergic to milk from infancy. My first clue was the choking/hives that resulted from giving her the first bite ever of yogurt at 9 months. Benedryl saved the day.

At 13 months, she went to the allergist. She tested positive for casein and whey (proteins in milk). The allergist prescribed an epi pen for emergency purposes. I also carry Benedryl where ever I go - and have it in my kitchen, my mom's house, etc...

Please note that this is NOT just an intolerance - she is dangerously allergic to the proteins in milk!

I buy silk soymilk for her to drink (regular - there is less sugar. I don't use the grocery store's brand because it doesn't have as many vitamins in it.) BE CAREFUL of soy cheese: some of it contains casein - a milk protein! A lot of products contain whey, too. You just have to read all food labels closely. Once you get the hang of it, it seems commonplace.

A lot of surprising foods contain milk: many breads, many cake mixes, many hot dogs,... to name a few. Again, just read labels. Eventually, you will find old standbys that your baby will like. Oh, another thing to consider is that if there is one food allergy, I was told to not give peanuts/tree nuts until age 3. For this reason, I get either soynut butter or sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter. It is expensive, though. However, stores like wholefoods/organic sections are quite helpful.

I am afraid to test her allergy periodically by giving her the foods. I just won't do it... I'll wait until her 2nd yr appointment with the allergist where she can be skin tested again, thank you. In our case, it would be dangerous.

Good luck. If you have any questions, please write me!

Hi, Cj.

My daughter is allergic to milk. She was seven months old when we first found it. The doctor first suggested that we try Lactose free products. If it's a lactose problem, giving your little one the Lactate free milk with meals should solve your problem. If your little one is allergic to milk protein (like mine), it's a little harder. I have given her "Silk" milk and yogurt. One of the mother's that I met at the park told me that Waldbaum's had a better selection of Silk products. I was so greatful for that piece of information.

The pediatrician told me not to use the soy formula that is specially formulated for 9 to 24 month olds because he felt it was a waste of money. However, it gave her what she was not getting during her transition from Brestfeeding to table food and milk(not to mention she liked it). I have also learned that giving them the transitional formula helps in their tooth development because they don't get the calcuim that other children get from milk.

I've also found that my daughter's bones break easily. She was in a cast for four weeks at twenty-three months. The orthopedist said that there calcuim intake at this age does not matter. As far as I am concerned, it does matter. You will want to find an additional calcuim suppliment to give your litttle one.

It is my understanding that milk allergies are common in children today. Most grow out of them. My cousins both had allergies when they were little. My aunt used powdered, skim milk after they finished the formula.

If your little one gets into a situation where she is being served ice cream at a party, bring him/her Sorbert or sherbert instead.

Every once in a while, you may want to try giving your little one a form of dairy to see if the allergy still exists. You'll know right away by the way he/she reacts or several hours later when they're screaming and you cannot figure out why.

Good luck with it. Be patient. It will pass.

Susan

Hi, my nine month old is allergic to milk as well. He was breast fed until about two weeks ago, but now we've been using Similac Isomil formula. The doctor has said to try a piece of cheese occasionally starting around ten months, although I'm nervous about it. The do have soy milks that people seem to like. They also have soy yogurts and cheese too. Good luck and I'll be watching your posts as well for any good advice. My son is also allergic to eggs and will be tested at a year for the six main allergens.

Hello Cj,

have you considered soy formula? after your baby is turns one, there is regular (and enriched w/ calcium + vit. D, etc) soy milk, rice milk, oat milk. check out NOMILK.COM it will have some interesting links. you may not agree with everything there but nonetheless, you need to go "no milk" for your child. I like making my own almond milk. it works great when replacing cow milk for cooking/baking. Good luck! ~Carmen~