Milk Protein Allergy

My daughter was born 11-23-2006 and the only formula she can eat is lactose free. I started her on cereal at 31/2 months and fruits not long after that and she is doing fine. I know this might not be the same type of allergy but it might help.

My baby had the allergy. We started cereal at 4 months and then fruit and veggies at 5 months. Unless you or your husband has food allergies, I wouldn't be too worried about it. Just be sure to only do 1 new food 4-5 days.
At this point, food is more for practice than for calories. The longer you wait, the harder it is to get them to learn to eat. At 6 months, you can cut back a little bit of formula if he's eating a few jars of stage 1. Then as more food is added, more formula cuts out (down to 24 oz at 8 months), and that is a very good thing with the expensive formula!
Just be careful when you move to stage 2 foods - most of the desserts and some others have whey or cream.
Best of luck to you both.

Hello M.,
My nephew has a complete milk allergy. She started him at 5-6 months old with baby food and thank God he has no other allergies than the milk one. Just be very cautious and read every ingredient in the food before giving it to him. Start with one food per week so if he does have a reaction you know what food it was from. Also, have you brought him to an allergist and had a skin test done to see if he is allergic to anything else. I know he is young but my nephew was 2 months old when he got his first one done. Had it done every 6 months to the age of 5 and now has it done once a year. Just a little thought! Hope this helped a bit and Good Luck :-)

M.,

My fifteen month old is on soy as a result of a milk allergy. We started introducing other foods to him around six months. We were just careful to only introduce one food at a time, starting with vegetables then fruits and meats last. I waited about 3-4 days before introducing a new food. I did the same thing when we introduced table food. I will tell you that the only foods my son has responded to negatively is eggs and apples. He has since grown out of those two allergies though.
Best of luck to you.

Hi M.,
my son had the same problem, so we gave him Similac Alimentum Advance formula (purple can color, it worked great.
As far as food goes, you can wait a little longer to feed him other things, just in case. I started when my son was 6 months old (without giving any milk product of course) and it went smoothly. I'll try to give him regular milk when he'll be over 1 year old to see if he grew out of his intolerance to the milk protein. I'll ask my pediatrician if it's ok first.
good luck.

I have 2 with milk protein allergies; the first wasn't diagnosed until after 12 months. The second looked like her brother and had the same issues. There was one in between who didn't have any allergy. The ones with allergy were also sensitive to soy protein. I'd be careful wth ANY protein at all. Our pediatrician's son was even sensitive to rice protein. I might just go with some fruits and forego the grains until later. Oatmeal worked best for us instead of rice cereal as far as tolerance. My oldest still doesn't take whey well (at age 7) but can eat a limited amount of dairy and is fine with legume protein and now with wheat (although we limited that at longer ages, too). The younger allergic one is fine at age 4 and can tolerate anything (but still prefers not to drink cow's milk). As he gets older, snack-type foods can be difficult to come by when limiting casein and whey, but not impossible! Good luck!

my 7 week premie daughter was diagnosed with a milk protein allergy. i started her on 1st foods the end of february (she was 5 months old actual age, 3 1/2 mo. adjusted). she is doing so awesome and started to put on the weight! She is now eating 2nd foods and cheerios! she's almost 8 months old and 6 months adjusted age. i dont know if she really had a milk protein allergy, but thats what the pediatrician told me.

try to start as close to or after 6 months as possible, but you are the mom and you know when you're baby's not getting satisfied. start with low allergenic foods...avoid the major culprits ie...eggs, wheat, soy and i've even heard to avoid cinnamon and citrus fruits (wait til closer to a year or after for these) go very slowly when introducing the foods...wait about a week between introducing each food to detect an allergy. Both my sons have an assortment of allergies and this is what i found was best for them...of course i learned alot from the first for the second!!! good luck!

Hi M.,
I have a daughter allergic to cow products who used soy formula and was breast fed.
I started rice cereal at 6 months, then banana, avocado (organci if possible because they have lots of pesticides in them otherwise) cooked sweet potato and other soft mashed foods. I used a little hand grinder that would turn cooked foods into mush in a few turns of the handle right at the table.
Good luck!
L.

I have 2 with food allergies. Here's what I learned. My son started with a complete milk allergy at birth. He wasnt diagnosed until 6 mos. We already had him on starter foods because it seemed he was never satisfied. Turns out that wasnt it at all and that it does make children more suseptible to food allergies. When my daughter was born we found out right away and kept her away from all milk products. We also followed the same feeding instructions we got for our son. No foods until after 6 mos. And then only foods you can mash with a fork. Bananas, peaches, things like that until they are up to finger foods. Then we fed her anything and she has not had anymore allergies at all. Her milk allergy is now just intolance. She can have it but in small quantiies. Also our pediatrician highly recommended and allergist but not until age 4. Their immune system is to immature until then. But we di and our son has had a much easier life since then. Now we know what to stay away from and he no longer gets sick. I hope this helps. Both of my children suffer from allergies but my daughter has benefited from my mistakes with my son and she is a much healthier child because of it. Oh and milk allergy is typically outgrown by age 3 but not always. You have to keep checking every 6 mos or so. Feel free to contact me if you have more questions. This is a subject I know well.

M.,

My son also has a milk protein allergy and is on Simimac Alimentum formula. I tried solid foods at 5 months as well. Cereal first. He tolerated that so we went to Applesauce, squash, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes, prunes and now he is trying pees. He has done well so far. We just went for our 6 month Dr. appointment yesterday and we can now go to soy based formula per the Dr. since he is tolerating the foods so well. It is my understanding from our Dr. that a milk protein allergy is not so much an allergy to milk proteins but the in ability to digest them since their digestive systems are primitive compared to ours. Our Dr. told me that he was not at any higher risk of developing allergies to other foods because of this milk protein allergy. I hope this helps

D.

My oldest daughter had a milk allergy. We didn't give her anything other than my dairy free breastmilk until she was nearly a year old. We started solids very slowly (at least a week between each new food) and watched carefully for signs of allergy with each one. We avoided highly allergenic foods until after she was two. She didn't develop any new allergies & actuallt outgrew her dairy allergy right around age 3!

My daughter also has milk protein allery and our family doctor started her on baby food at 5mths. She said I could give her jar food 3 times a day just to make sure she still gets her cereal everyday and continues with her bottle. Just make sure that you feed your baby one flavor a week so if she does have a reaction you can trace it. So if you start carrots on Monday you son can start peas the next Monday. Also you should introduce all veggies before the fruits. Hope this helps

You'll have to find out what he's allergic to sooner or later. If you feel he's ready, then go for it! You are his mother and you know what he needs and when.

my 8 month old is on nutramigen due to milk problems. if he has anything with milk in it he breaks out into a small rash on his face. i give him babyfoods and he is fine though. just try about a teaspoon of a new food and only one new food at a time for 2-3 days and then introduce a new one, etc.