Signs of Milk Intolerance or Allergy?

Updated on November 03, 2008
S.J. asks from Slinger, WI
5 answers

I'm nursing my five week-old daughter, and I'm having a hard time remembering what it was like with my first child (he's only two years old; you'd think I'd be able to remember...). Specifically, I'm having fears that my daughter is showing signs of milk intolerance or allergy. My husband is lactose intolerant, so it's in the genes, although my son has had no problems. Specifically, I'm wondering how and when an intolerance to certain foods has shown up in other children who have had issues.

I'm noticing an increasing number of little red bumps (like baby pimples) across her cheeks (they seem to kind of come and go) and possibly increased fussiness/not wanting to nurse. I haven't been able to keep track if it's after I've eaten milk products, but like the red bumps, it seems to be different from day to day. Can what I eat make THAT much difference?

Please share with me your experiences. Thank you!

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B.H.

answers from Minneapolis on

WOW does this sound like us. My daughter is the same age born 9-30 and is taking in my pumped breastmilk as she was a preemie and won't breastfeed.

My daughter has the same red bumps all over her face/cheeks and was acting colicky at night. She'd scream right around 8pm for no reason and seemed to be stressed or in pain. We started giving her formula slowly and last night she had more formula than she did breastmilk and she did 10x better. Were using Similac the orange can for baby's with gas upset tummys.

I know breastmilk is best but with both of my girls they handled formula way better, infact my first daughter was a preemie as well and didn't gain weight off breastmilk.

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A.F.

answers from St. Cloud on

Hi S.! I agree with Becky. The red bumps are probably from hormones. If it was an allergy the bumps would not be confined to her cheeks.
That being said, my daughter had a difficult time if I ate any dairy products. Very fussy! At least it got me off ice cream for awhile! ;)
As for when intolerences show up, it can be at any time. From infancy to adulthood. Luckily there are many ways to reverse an *intolerence* to a food. If you are thinking that your daughter is sensitive to dairy, try eliminating it TOTALLY from your diet for at least 2 weeks.
Congrats on your new little one!

K.B.

answers from Milwaukee on

My daughter had intolerance to diary, she would throw up with in an hour of eating and had a slight rash. I tried to eliminate dairy from my diet (which was hard because I LOVE dairy) but my daughter was even sensitive to anything that was made with dairy (even if it was 1/2 cup in a baked dish).

She was first tested for a few other things but she seemed healthy so we tried lactose free formula and the first day of her on the formula she would eat without throwing up! It was a good feeling that she was finally happy. The ped said that sometimes the child still needs the first year to develope their stomach so certian things will upset their stomach. At 13 months we did try whole milk and it agreed with my daughter so she must have out grown the intolerance.

I did breastfeed my daughter for 2 1/2 months, so I did try a few weeks to change my diet but it did not seem to work for us. Other mothers have had success in changing their diet but you have to go as far as eating nothing with dairy in it.

B.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

The red bumps on her cheeks sound like hormones. She is still working your hormones from pregnancy out of her system, and it will appear as baby acne, they may turn white, or they may stay red, but they will go awya on thier own, don't bother them at all, other than keeping them clean by rinsing with clean water at bath time.

As for the fussiness, I'm guessing you have a very fast letdown. When she latches and you letdown, does she gulp, your milk spray out, its dribbling out of her mouth, or she unlatches and gasps for air? If your milk literally sprays out when you let down, then she is getting gassy, too much foremilk, because of the massive letdown.

What do her diapers look like? They should be yellow and seedy looking, that means she is getting enough hindmilk. However if they are mucousy, green and stringy like wet lettuce, the nshe is getting too much foremilk and this will cause an upset stomach, gas, and pain in her tummy.

When she latches, let her nurse until letdown, then unlatch her. Catch the major spray of your letdown in a towel or burp rag. When it slows to a 'trickle', relatch her nad let her nurse on ONE BREAST ONLY per feeding. No need to switch back and forth, that is an old myth that needs to be dispelled, one breast per feeding ensures she gets all the fatty hindmilk she needs, and she will be totally satisfied with one breast, she'll get the foremilk to quench her thirst, and the hindmilk contains all the fat and nutrients she needs to grow and remain full.

Your letdown will slow by 3-4mos, and she'll also get better at keeping up. you don't want to pump through your letdown, this signals your body to continue making that much milk as its being stimulated during the letdown. By allowing the milk to spray out without being stimulated, it signals your body to slow the letdown naturally.

So just remember to nurse her on demand, only one breast per nursing session (and switch to the other one for the next nursing session, use a stretchy bracelet to remind you which breast is next), and during letdown, unlatch her so she doens't 'drown' in your letdown spray, and let it spray into a towel or burp rag. You may not have had this 'problem' with your son, as your milk production increases by about 30% with each child!

Lactose intolerance in babies is extremely rare, and if your daughter was truly lactose intolerant she would be very sick, not gaining, and you probably wouldn't have left the hospital nursing.... she would have been sick from your milk right away. Just because your husband has it doesn't mean anything, children rarely have true lactose intolerance. Trying the things I suggested will greatly help her, and you.

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J.R.

answers from Minneapolis on

what i eat definitely affected my daughter (now 5 months) in the earlier days. she showed dairy sensitivity - i haven't had a glass of milk in 5 months! she does okay with cheese & dairy product, but not milk. she was incredibly fussy, got a horribly red & blistery diaper rash on her bum immediately & hesitated to nurse. she also had a tiny bit of rash on her face, but i'm not entirely sure that was due to the dairy.

my son was really sensitive to caffeine, garlic, spicy foods... you name it! at least i can narrow my daughter's sensitivity down to milk!

i've just cut out milk, but not all dairy & she's been fine. now that she's older, i tried drinking a glass of milk the other night - it tasted terrible (go figure), but she was just fine.

good luck!

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