milk/lactose question

My girl Nefeli didn't do well when we transitioned to cow milk. I tried for a couple of months but she kept getting worse- crying while she drank it, spitting up, burping and overall looking very uncomfortable. Last visit to the pedi she hadn't gained any weight and this freaked me out so I cut out the milk and went back to formula. In my attempt to make things well I cut out all dairy from her diet (cheese, yogurt). Now she's eating more and yesterday when we went to pedi she had put on some weight.
Now I had this disucssion with the pedi who said that the milk might have been difficult to digest but there is no way she has any allergy or intollerance to it because if she did it would also be to the formula. She said to continue with the formula and add other dairy products back to her diet. She sais that the fact that she is eating more now there is no dairy in her food is probably a coincidance or due to a cold she had (which does coincide). Does this sound right to you? Just wanted to check with your collective wisdom. Doctors here are very well trained regarding illnesses etc. but their knowledge of nutrition and allergies is lacking.
Thanks so much for your advise.

 

My daughter was perfectly fine on milk based formula but can not drink regular milk. She is lactose intolerant. She can eat other dairy products fine but no straight milk.

 

It does sound right. But as PP stated, it could be your daughter is just having a difficult time drinking it straight. I'd do as the pedi said and gradually try to introduce dairy in other ways. Maybe try the lactose free milk too. Good luck, you must be beside yourself. I know I'd be worrying too. Hope all goes well and she continues to gain some weight.

 

Thanks for your posts. so just so i'm sure i understand this- someone who is lactose intolerant might not have a problem with formula, cheese and yogurt? the dr. said that is someone who is lactose intolerant would have a problem with all dairy. i'm so confused. i daringly fed the girls some yogurt with their lunch (about half a cup between the two of them) and it's 3 hours later and Nefeli is still spitting up. It looks and smells like vomit but is just a little bit at a time. So the experiment showed clearly that dairy doesn't agree with this girl. What does that mean? Should I avoid all dairy (except formula )for a couple of months and then try again? Should I test her for something?
WWYD?

 

There are certain dairy products that some lactose intolerant people can handle, other's can't handle any. I think one thing that alot people tolerate okay is cheese, like cheddar. Double check first...I'm sure there are some websites for lactose intolerance that could give you better insight. I was lactose intolerant for several years...came on at about 23yrs old, disappeared after my first child was born and I have no idea why! I want to look it up, but I'm headed out the door. If I find any info later, I'll post it!

 

My girls are lactose intolerant, and we had a hard time transitioning to milk. I ended up giving them 2% lactose free milk, whole milk is to much for their systems. I also read somewhere that there isn't enough lactose in cheese to cause problems in a lactose intolerant person. The worst thing about having a child who is lactose intolerant is learning what they can and cannot handle, it's all trail and error. Maybe try a lactose free milk and cheese and see how that sits with your DD. You could also try 2%, it isn't so rich, it might work. Good luck I hope you find something that works.

 

My Sarah was lactose intolerant. For a while she could have nothing dairy. Then we were able to gradually transition in foods with lactose. For us, the key was understanding that for Sarah, the more processed the dairy, the better she could eat it. By the age of 3 she could eat anything dairy and was drinking 2% milk.

Marissa

 

I don't know a lot about dairy allergies. What I do know is that my dd all of a sudden started having horrible problems with constipation soon as we started cow's milk. And I mean it was bad! So hard that she couldn't even push it out herself, I had to pull it out, and then lots of bleeding. I thought it was the milk, since she didn't have any problems before that. The pedi only prescribed her a laxative (with an adult dosage, the pharmacist told me). While I still like our dr, I've just learned the hard way through the years to not trust everything they say. They're only human, after all.

It's funny, b/c my daughter was also on formula before, but her problems didn't start until we quit formula & went to milk. And I know it's the milk b/c she'd been doing pretty good lately until sil was babysitting and gave her a glass of cow's milk (made me mad b/c she knew she couldn't have it) ...... and for 3 days dd tried & tried to poop but all she could do was cry.

Anyway, sorry.....that was probably a story full of TMI. I notice that she does ok when I give her goat's milk to drink & a little bit of either yogurt, cottage cheese, or cheese. As long as it's not too much of the other dairy products. I would just try a diet change & see how she does. Of course, if your problem is more like she's not gaining weight it'll be harder to see results as soon.

For us, the goat's milk is ok. Someone told me there's some kind of enzyme in cow's milk that doesn't agree with a lot of people, but the goat milk doesn't have that enzyme. It might be worth a try. Or maybe soy milk? If you tried the soy, I'd check with either the dr or a nutritionist.....I've never had it, so I don't know if it has the fat content that babies need.

Good luck & I hope you find some answers soon!