[Mars]

Hi Ladies

As you may know, I recently started Amara on whole milk and she took to it which I thought was great but I think she may be having a reaction to it.

A few weeks ago I noticed she was having a slight eczema flare-up under her neck but I used the prescription cream and that would take care of it for a few days and then it would come back but it was very mild...a couple of bumps here and there. For now I'm going to associate this to the introduction to yoghurt which was around the same time.

Well, since I started the milk the flare-up appears to be far worse. I was wondering if my MIL was giving her anything unusual but she said not so I'm going to think that the milk may be the culprit. In addition, she's been stooling a lot more since she started having the milk though her stools were still firm but yesterday evening she had a soft stool. It does not appear to be diarrhea but I don't think she should be having a stool so soft (like when she was not on solids). She didn't have any more stools after that but I had pretty much decided to stop with the milk at this point and put her back on breastmilk.

So, I'm trying to look for alternatives. I will begin pumping at my old schedule again today but I had begun to notice a reduction in my supply so I suspect I will need to find an alternative soon. I've been researching rice milk, soy milk and goat's milk and I don't feel comfortable with any so far.

Rice milk - general consensus seem to be that it's loaded with carbs and little nutritional value even the ones which have been fortified do not seem to rank high up there for being rich in protein and calcium.

Goat's milk - though some persons have notice a better reaction with eczema when on the goat's milk, this is a luck of the draw situation since goat's milk is made up similarly to cow's milk so there are still chances she could have a reaction.

Soy milk - I seem to be reading that soy formula is ok but soy milk is lacking in nutrients and even the fortified ones are still limited. I'm also not very comfortable with the soy milk under the age of 2-3.

So, hence my dilemna. Any ideas, thoughts, suggestions???

BTW: She's never had a reaction to cheese.

(Sorry this was so long but I wanted to include as much info as possible.)

[~*sierra*~]

i'm lactose intolerant but i can eat many types of cheese and its ok. i cant eat yogurt or milk. They do make lactose free 2% cow's milk (in regular and organic) here, do you think they might get that in barbados somewhere? i know i never saw it in europe at all when i went there, so i'm not entirely sure that its a worldwide thing. Other than that i think the soy formula would be the way to go, but i think have read there are ways to increase a decreasing BM supply, i just dont know them off the top of my head.

[Angelaosaurus-rex]

Oh no!! I'm really don't know much about this. I hope you find a good substitute for it soon!!

[**jessie**]

I have no clue, Mari. Could you ask your pedi if you could give her a dose of Lactaid (or whatever the stuff is called for lactose intolerant people) to see if that makes a difference?

[midnight_starr]

I had a cousin who had to drink goats milk because of this reason.. I would talk to your pedi first and see what they suggest!

[Chelnae6]

-I buy Lactaid milk from the store. Its like regular milk minus the lactose part. You can find them in most major grocery stores/markets.

-You can even try fat free or organic milk to see if either of those do her any justice.

It also could be her body just trying to get use to the milk.

[**jessie**]

Originally Posted by ~ChelNae6~

It also could be her body just trying to get use to the milk.

It might be. Milk gives lots of adults, even those not lactose intolerant, loose stools. Not sure about the eczema though.

[Mars]

Thanks so much for your input so far. I really appreciate the suggestions.

Originally Posted by ~*sierra*~

i'm lactose intolerant but i can eat many types of cheese and its ok. i cant eat yogurt or milk. They do make lactose free 2% cow's milk (in regular and organic) here, do you think they might get that in barbados somewhere? i know i never saw it in europe at all when i went there, so i'm not entirely sure that its a worldwide thing. Other than that i think the soy formula would be the way to go, but i think have read there are ways to increase a decreasing BM supply, i just dont know them off the top of my head.

We do get the types in 2% here but I can't give her this because of her age. We recommended to only give whole milk until 2 - 3 years of age.

Originally Posted by **jessie**

I have no clue, Mari. Could you ask your pedi if you could give her a dose of Lactaid (or whatever the stuff is called for lactose intolerant people) to see if that makes a difference?

Originally Posted by midnight_starr

I had a cousin who had to drink goats milk because of this reason.. I would talk to your pedi first and see what they suggest!

We have her 1 year appointment tomorrow so I'm definitely going to see what she suggests. I like to know what all my options are because sometimes docs can give advice that is a little sketchy. Our pedi is great and knowledgeable though.

Originally Posted by ~ChelNae6~

-I buy Lactaid milk from the store. Its like regular milk minus the lactose part. You can find them in most major grocery stores/markets.

-You can even try fat free or organic milk to see if either of those do her any justice.

It also could be her body just trying to get use to the milk.

I'll look for the Lactaid and see if we have it. The only thing is that I'm unsure as to if she is lactose intolerant or if it's that the milk just triggers her eczema.

I though that it could be her body adjusting to the milk at first but I'm not sure with the rash spreading. If it was just the frequent stools, I'd be tempting to ride it out a bit more as she didn't show any signs of discomfort from the milk.

I hope your pedi has some answers. I suppose the lactaid is worth a shot depending on what the doc says?

[~*Bethy*~]

Originally Posted by **jessie**

It might be. Milk gives lots of adults, even those not lactose intolerant, loose stools. Not sure about the eczema though.

My kids are complete opposite. If they have too much milk (more than 2 cups) and no water, their poo turns into pebbles almost.

[~Jess~]

Goats milk is the animal milk that is most similar to human milk, but some still react to it as well.

We use almond milk, but we don't really drink it for nutrition. I use it for cooking and the kids eat it on their cereal, just for the taste. It actually has surprisingly little fat & protein for being a nut milk (1 gm protein, 2.5 gm fat).

Hemp milk has better numbers--6 gm fat and 4 gm protein. We've tried it, but kiddos preferred the almond milk, plus hemp milk is quite pricey.

Or you could just avoid milk altogether. There isn't really a nutritional need for any milk other than human milk, unless your child is underweight or something...

[Mars]

Thanks Jess. I have to check for Hemp Milk here and see if that's available. What I'm planning to do is to go to the supermarket after Amara's appointment tomorrow and stack up as many alternatives as I can and compare the nutritional content. I was considering skipping the milk altogether but Amara can be quite picky when she's ready so it's more to ensure that she gets as much nutrients as possible.

I find that some of our doctor's here are still stuck in the old school. I called her dermatologist (pediatric one) and asked today and the response I got was to use soy milk. I asked them what if I don't want to use soy and basically was told that I should give her soy formula because the other options don't have enough nutrients so then I countered what if she was allergic to soy and the response was that I should look to use formula (soy or otherwise) until she's 2.

From that conversation, I'm curious as to what my pediatrician will say.

[ShannonMVT]

My niece had problems with cow's milk and went on lactaid. She did okay for a couple weeks but then had problems on it as well so now she is on soy. I guess it depends on whether she has a problem with the lactose or the actual milk protein.
As for alternatives, I'd be a little leary of soy just because it seems to be kind of controversial with the phytoestrogens.
Rice milk doesn't have a lot of vitamins. Almond milk looks like it has more Vitamin E but less of some other things. Hemp milk has more fat than rice or almond plus it does have more calcium and more of most of the vitamins (except almond milk has more vitamin E). Hemp milk is what I am using right now on my cereal and to drink for added fat. It is about twice as expensive as soy milk though.
There is also coconut milk. It has a high fat content. I think I have read of mamas with dairy allergic kids taking rice milk and adding coconut milk to it to add fat. If you look at forums of people with babies with allergies you will find a lot of info.

[sara~b]

Here is a link that shows how much calcium babies need and other foods that contain similar nutrients to milk. It may not be so much a 'drink' substitute that you need as a nutritional value equivalent. Hope this helps!
Calcium Requirements

[Mars]

Thanks Sara! This is really helpful!