I'm trying to wean my son off the Similac lactose free sensitive formula. When he was two weeks the Similac Advanced bothered his tummy we went with the Sensitive formula and no problems so I'm not quite sure if he was or is lactose intolerant. The past couple of days I have put only 2 ounces of milk in his bottle with his formula. My husband and I have both noticed a difference lately in his sleeping and irritability. Family members have commented how he eats yogurt everyday so the milk can't be it. He eats the non-refridgerated in the aisle Gerber yogurt. He just happened to really love it more than any others. I don't even know now since it doesn't need to be refridgerated if it's real yogurt that would have bothered his belly? Any comments on any of this stuff would be helpful. Thanks! And I have to add before anyone comments on how milk should not be given to a baby before 1, he will be 1 in a couple of weeks and we wanted to make this a very gradual process.
Might not be because of milk... I JUST saw this on my local news website:
Similac-brand powder formula recalled on bug parts
"The company said the products may contain a small beetle or larvae, which could cause stomach ache and digestion problems."
http://www.kxan.com/dpps/money/recalls/abbott-recalls-inf...#
Perhaps try a different sensitive-brand formula, see if that helps before you rule out milk.
The milk may have different proteins in it than the yogurt does, which could affect his ability to eat one but not the other. I would read the labels carefully and see what each one contains. It's also possible that the amounts of lactose in each product vary significantly, so maybe he can tolerate the smaller amount in yogurt but not the milk.
I'd talk to his doctor so you can figure out quickly what your options are.
We have a very similar issue. My son had the same issues and has been on soy formula since about 2 months. I wondered if the milk would bother him too, etc. He has been eating cheese and yogurt but not in high amounts so I still wasn't sure. He will be 1 on Saturday (yay!) and I started introducing milk about a month ago. We started very gradually like you and I will say that each time I increased the milk he had a bit of a reaction...loose stools, etc. I kept with it b/c he didn't exhibit any of the other big issues he had when he was a baby like excema and mucus, also our doctor said that even if he does develop a rash and it's not serious ride it out for at least 2 weeks. Anyway, just this past week I would say I have noticed that he has barely noticed the increased milk at all and he's down to only 1 oz formula and 5 oz whole milk. His bowel issues are gone and he is not fussy at all, plus he is sucking down that cup every time I give it to him! :)
So, I would say, continue to ride it out and see what happens. It may take longer to wean him off the formula, but I think it's worth it. Even if you scale back on the milk/formula ratio for now and then slowly increase it again in another few days/week.
Also, one more thing to think about too is that a close friend of mine's daughter has milk sensitivity (diagnosed by doctors) and she only gives her soy or almond milk to drink but she eats regular cheese and yogurt on a daily basis. Her skin issues have gotten much better as well as grocery costs have come down now that she isn't buying all soy things. So, if it doesn't clear up, you could consider that option as well.
my daughter eats a small (dananino) yogurt once a day but it allergic to one of the enzymes in milk - not Lactose. She was on lactose free formula with no issues but when we switched her to milk (lactaid) at a year she took about a month to get to projectile vomiting. We switched her to goats milk and she is not 18 months - no issues. THe yogurt is the only cows milk product she gets - we do minimal goat cheese in addition to the milk. She also loves cottage cheese but it causes her major congestion and vomiting after a few days or it so it's out of her diet as well. We had no formal testing - just figured this out with trial and error. Hope this helps!
I am slightly lactose intolerant. Milk itself makes me sick, but I can handle yogurt. Yogurt has less lactose than milk, so he could be just barely lactose intolerant. You might want to try soy or rice milk.
How old is your son???
Whole milk... should not be given, until a child is at least 1 years old.
Have you asked your Pediatrician?
Unless he has actually been diagnosed with a lactose intolerance, you are just guessing.
Yes, I want to reiterate what another poster said. I've been reading of other women saying their babies are having trouble throwing up and stuff...they are all on Similac and they didn't know there was a recall on Similac.
Take out the milk! It is a reaction to it. As far as the yogurt is concerned, it is a processed milk with the aid of digesting bacteria ad that is why he is not reacting to it. Many people who are intolerant of milk for one reason or another can handle yogurt.
I had a similar situation with my daughter. Sounds weird, but she only could tolerate the hypoallergenic formula and could eat cheese and yogurt! When we tried to switch to regular formula she got really bad cramps and stomach issues. So I just decided to try whole milk (she was close to a year as well) and at first she didn't like it so much, but within a few days, she was fine and no reactions!! I don't know what it was, but there may just be something about formula that is harder to digest?!?! You may just want to try going to milk (or mix with the other formula that was okay). Especialy is he is eating other sources of dairy, don't worry if they slow down on their milk consumptions.....it will just take some time. See how it goes. It may take a while for him to get the regular formula out of his system too, so be patient. Of course, if you notice anything, just ask the doctor.
Why not wait to wean him until AFTER he turns 1? What are you trying to accomplish by starting early? You complain that your baby is fussy and irritable. That should be a big red flag to you. The AAP has a reason for their recommendation of waiting until babies turn 1 before starting cow's milk. It is because babies little systems can't digest the protein's in cows milk. The intestinal lining of a baby is slow to mature and lacks the necessary enzyms and bacteria to help break down the proteins in cows milk. If you give your child milk too early, many babies will develop diarrhea, bloating, and abdominal pain, because of their inability to digest the proteins in milk. Diarrhea, bloating and abdominal pain = fussy baby! And guess what happens when you have diarrhea? All the good enzymes you had in your intestinal lining get flushed out and your body has to build them back up slowly over time. When you don't have all those good enzymes, you just keep having stomach issues. It's a vicious cycle. By giving your baby cows milk too early, you are perpetuating the problem.
The process of making cheese, yogurt, etc. is different than milk. In the process of making those products, many of the hard-to-digest proteins are broken down which is why many babies can eat cheese or yogurt, but not milk.
If you haven't already done so, I would highly recommend checking with your pediatrician before starting this too early. If your baby has had a history of stomach problems, I cannot imagine why you are doing this before your baby's little body is ready.
It is possible for him to have a Cows Milk Protein allergy and still beable to eat yogurt, cheese & even ice cream.
Consult pedi.
good luck,
dh
Both my daughter and my son had trouble digesting the proteins in cows milk when they were young. The proteins would make it into my breast milk and make them irritable and very gassy. They both grew out of it and can digest milk fine now.
It's a problem that's more common than you might think. It's not lactose intolerance--after all, breast milk had lactose in it too. It's extremely rare for a baby to be born with lactose intolerance. But the proteins in cows milk can be hard to digest.
Cheese and yogurt are different, because the process of making the milk into yogurt and cheese breaks down some of the proteins. My kids never had a problem with hard cheeses or yogurt.
Once I started asking around, it turned out other kids in my family had it too. My cousin's son used to throw horrible tantrums when he was a toddler, until they took him off whole milk. He was just in pain.
If you're worried about your son getting enough calcium, try making yogurt smoothies with White Mountain (or other plain) yogurt and a little oj and some frozen fruit. Our kids about lived on them.
