transitioning to milk question

This "whole" milk transition thing has me a bit confused. First of all, the formula they are on is milk-based, they have no problems with yogurt or cheese, but actual milk seems to be an issue. I don't know what to do!

I started mixing whole milk with formula for their morning bottle. So far its only 2oz milk to 4oz formula. We've done this for a few days and they are SPITTING UP curdles half the morning. They are also super gassy all day long. Ana FINALLY stopped spitting up about 3 weeks ago after a year of non-stop puking (I need a new carpet in my living room!), and Meara rarely spits up. So this is unexpected given that they haven't had an issue with other dairy foods.

So do I go slower? 1oz milk to 5oz formula and keep giving it to them at this ratio until they don't have tummy issues? Do I call the pedi and ask how to proceed? BTW, DH and I both have a lot of digestive issues. Aside from the normal lactose intolerance, DH has GERD (treated), and I have Crohn's disease so I worry about the girls all the time.

Any advice? I just thought I'd have to overcome the obstacles of drinking something that tastes different and is cold.. I didn't think it would make them sick. Ug.

 

I didnt have any of the spitting up issues with the whole milk but it did take mine about a week or so to get rid of the softest poops. I think if I was having spitting issues after dealing with reflux, I would stop and try a switch to soy or rice milk for a bit and see if their systems need to mature a bit longer.

 

Nothing concrete to offer but it does sound as if the volume is creating some issues. Who knows if they have inherited some of mom and dad's digestive challenges but I do think it's worth slowing down a bit and seeing if that improves things. We have just about grown out of reflux (of course having said that it means that someone will hurl an entire bottle today!), so I know the feeling of the non-stop puking!

I'd also check w/pedi, although I s/he'll probably say to just slow down on the integration. Cheese and yogurt are both fermented, so I think some of the way those milk proteins are metabolized is a bit different from just milk. A thought - have you tried lactose-free milk??

 

DD2 was fine on whole milk, but DD3 had an awful time. It turns out it was the fat content she had a problem with, although it was so bad I thought she was becoming allergic to milk. Lots of really messy diapers, so we had the other end of your problem. We went with 2% milk for her, after a lot of trial and error, since DD1 drinks that, and tried whole milk for DD3 every week or so until her system could handle it.

We tried lactose free milk and soy milk, but those were bad for her, too. Good luck finding what works for your little ones.

 

Try Lactaid with Calcium. I did switch my boys to regular milk although they were on Alimentum as infants, Pedi said to go ahead and they were fine with regular milk for about 9 months then they started to have constant problems with digestion and diarrhea so I switched and it took about a week to get their systems back to normal. They drink Lactaid milk and eat Lactaid cheese as far as everything else yogurt, butter, etc. they are fine with, things that have a small amount of lactose they are fine digesting ....here is a website link that explains it better http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/p...rance/#symptoms