Diet for baby allergic to dairy

nadnad

Some advice please!

My little boy is 9 months old and since i weaned him he's been having weetabix with full fat milk on. The last few months we've noticed a sort of wheezy noise coming from him - he didnt appear to have any trouble breathing and I took him to the GP on many occasions and they said his chest was clear. The GP suggested he may have an allergy or intolerance to dairy and to take him off it completely for 3 weeks to see if it makes a difference. She said to try him on soya milk. I breast feed and he doesnt like formula and I did try him on lactose free formula but he wouldnt take that either.

Anyway there does seem to be an improvement, so I'm assuming the milk was contributing to this.

My question is - what do I feed him as alternatives to the normal yoghurts etc to keep his calcium intake up? does soya milk + my breast milk give him enough calcium? what are peoples experiences of this? i know you can get calcium from green veg etc but i wondered which brands of non dairy things people buy? i did pick up soya yoghurts the other day but put them straight down again as they were full of sweeteners and additives.

i will go back to the GP for help and advice, but I thought some first hand expereince/knowledge would be useful.

just to add: if he does have this intolerance it must only be minor as i havent cut out dairy from my diet plus he has had small amounts of butter on his toast causing him no problems.

VeganClaire

Provemell soya yogarts are dairy free and sold in health food shops - not sure about addatives sorry.

Cashew nut butter - in health foodshops and most supermarkets (if your happy to give him nuts)

Brocali, spinach, spring greens, cabbage, fortified plant milks, tofu, are calcium rich. Orange juice, peppers and bananas contain calcium too. Hope this is useful.

Gingham_Ribbon

My youngest had some problems with his diet when he was about 12 months old. So much so that he became anaemic. It turned out to be a succession of viruses in his case, but he was tested for lactose and gluten intolerance. My friend's little boy was thought to have a dairy intolerance, but it turned out to be yoghurt, including soya yoghurt.

We got the help of a very good nutritionist through the NHS. It might be worth trying to get referred as at 9 months old there are several things that are not recommended.

fernliebee

my DD is 8 months and I feed her a vegan diet. I give her porridge for breakfast made with oat milk- as I prefer it to soya (make sure not organic milks as these are not fortified) I also add tahini as sesame seeds are good for calcium and crushed are easier to absorb than whole, raisins, and banana.

Also good for calcium are green leafy vegetables, almonds (almond nut butter on toast is great for lunch)

Also in place of yoghurts she used to have alpro yog, but recently won't eat them. I give her fruit pots instead.

Dairy is mucas forming so may not be a severe allergy but more of an intolerance. My brother is best not eating dairy, but now he is older he can get away with cheese and dairy in stuff- but not pint's of milk. Also very common for babies to grow out of these allergies.

Wish you all the best and I have many books on feeding vegan babies and children so if you want to know anything specific pm me and I'll have a look for you.

fernliebee

http://www.vegansociety.com/food/nutrition/calcium.php

This shows rec daily amounts of calcium and amounts of calcium in different foods. As above I cram most of DD daily calcium into her breakfast as I know she will eat it.

Another thing to consider is that a lot of a babies calories come from dairy so they may need to eat a little more often at first depending on how much he is eating. My DD has three meals plus 1-2 snacks per day, but I think she got her appetite from me I also add sesame, olive, almond or pumpkin seed oil's to her dinners to get in the good fats. If you are eating fish this won't be as much of a problem though.

I'll have another look in my books for any tip's I missed.

Maybeanotherday

My little girl too like alpro desserts...a little different from the yoghurts they are found on the "free from" shelf in the supermarket (and healthfood shops) and come in strawberry,vanilla and chocolate she still loves them now.

As for soya milk if you are wanting to use this my daughter really took to holland and barretts own brand which is sweetened with apple juice...worked for me

Hopefully you'll have a better GP than mine we never got refered to a dietitician I was left to it so to speak,she's healthy though.
Good luck!

tiamai_d

I've no advice but DS1 was intolerant to lactose from 1yr till he was 3 when suddenly he was fine! Luckily for him he was ok with cheese and a few yogurts, it was just milk.

Dizie

Have you tried goats milk? My daughter always seemed to have a cough/wheeze and someone suggested I try cutting cows milk products out and giving her goats milk instead. I tried, and the cough went within 2 weeks! Goats milk is less "mucous producing" than cows milk and its easier to digest.

Do you still drink cows milk yourself? Just wondering as it will pass through in some extent in your milk to him. If you found he did get on with goats milk, would you consider swapping to and see if that helped him?

DD did grow out of it after about 2 years and is now happily back on cows milk. You can get goats butter, yogurts and all sorts. Good luck!

alm721

VeganClaire wrote: »

Provemell soya yogarts are dairy free and sold in health food shops - not sure about addatives sorry.

Cashew nut butter - in health foodshops and most supermarkets (if your happy to give him nuts)

Brocali, spinach, spring greens, cabbage, fortified plant milks, tofu, are calcium rich. Orange juice, peppers and bananas contain calcium too. Hope this is useful.

Just wanted to say defo do not give him cashew nut butter. If he is allergic to diary then he is more likely than other people to have other allergies and so given that advice is to aviod nuts for all babies anyway I defo would not be giving this to a child under one with a suspected dairy allergy.

Would second trying the goats milk.

inneed

DGS can't have milk, and we were advised by the nutritionalist not to give him soya milk, as too much soya can make little boys infertile. The alpro yoghurts also made him wheeze and cough.
He can't take breast milk or ordinary formula, so has ended up on Neocate (which taste foul, and smells of fish and chips)!
At 15 months he now happily has his cereal with oat milk, but we have to check ingredients in everything, as the slightest hint of milk brings on the allergy. We use Pure dairy-free spread on his toast and to cook with.
The advice about seeing a nutritionalist is excellent, I know ours has been a great help.
Hopefully both DGS and your little one will grow out of it, in the meantime good luck.

nadnad

inneed wrote: »

DGS can't have milk, and we were advised by the nutritionalist not to give him soya milk, as too much soya can make little boys infertile

oh wow thats frightened me a bit he's been having soya milk on his weetabix every morning for 3 weeks. I think i'll get myself down to the GP and see if I can be referred or even better see if she will actually test him for an intolerance (can you test for that?) because I can't help thinking (hoping) its just coincidence, and his wheeze isnt gone completely he was wheezing this morning, but then I guess i am still taking dairy. I dont really take milk but i do eat yogurts and cheese.

where do you get Oat milk? i've never seen it?

i wonder should I try goats milk for a while, my mum tells me she put me on that when I was little, though she can't remember why :rolleyes: may have been because of my eczema.

alm721 wrote:

Just wanted to say defo do not give him cashew nut butter. If he is allergic to diary then he is more likely than other people to have other allergies and so given that advice is to aviod nuts for all babies anyway I defo would not be giving this to a child under one with a suspected dairy allergy.

no i wont give him cashew nut butter, i'm allergic to peanuts (though not cashew nuts) but don't wont to risk it with him at this young age.

thank you everyone for your helpful replies.