Does this sound like a dairy allergy to you?

[Nicole not in CA]

I just recently introduced some whole milk and cheese to my 14 mo.-old dd. She has been eating whole milk yogurt for a little while. After some days of the dairy, she had some awful (poopy) diapers. Very loose stools, and tons of redness on her little bottom, to the point of small bleeding spots. The diapers smelled really bad. However, she was also teething at the time, and I've heard that teething can cause diaper rash. She has never had diaper rash problems with teething before.

I've taken her off of dairy for now, and I'm planning to try it again in a couple weeks so see how she responds. We recently moved, and I haven't found a new pediatrician yet, so I'm going to try to find one soon. I am still nursing her for now. I was planning to wean soon, which is why I was introducing the dairy, but for now I'll continue br*stfeeding.

Any info would be helpful. Thanks!

[abbeyej]

It certainly *could* be -- and I think you're taking the right approach to figure it out. I'd wait at least a month before trying again, and some time when she doesn't have any signs of teething or a cold, try again. If it happens the second time, I would probably avoid dairy with her as long as possible (until she's as close to three as you can get her)...

Even if it *is* a legitimate allergy, it doesn't mean she'll have the allergy forever. Many toddlers have reactions to certain foods that, if they're carefully avoided till the child is a little older, won't be long-term problems.

You're doing the right thing, and I doubt a pediatrician would give you any more information than you have now.

[Ellie]

so, yes, it very well could be a dairy allergy (or intolerance).

I never did reintroduce dairy in my dds' diet. To this day, neither of them drinks milk or uses it in cold cereal; only one can tolerate hard cheese, and that's if she makes sure she has none for several days preceeding. Yogurt doubles her over instantly.

So it were me (I?), I'd just avoid dairy, pretty much forever.

Let me also say that even though you're weaning her, you don't need to replace your milk with dairy. Millions of healthy people in other parts of the world never ingest milk after they quit nursing. AND when you find that new pediatrician, he may have no clue about dairy allergies/intolerances. You can mention it to him, but you've already done what should be done :-)

[Nicole not in CA]

Do you think I need to continue nursing during her second year if she can't handle dairy? I've read that the fat content in br*stmilk or cow's milk is really important for brain development. And she's an incredibly picky eater. I cannot get her to eat meat or fish right now, so without dairy I'm a bit concerned about protein. Dh has been so supportive of br*stfeeding, but his preference was for me to wean around a year. I think he would be open to extended nursing, but it would be a bit uncomfortable to him. He grew up in a home where babies were formula-fed and nursing was considered icky. So he's come a long way. :)

Thanks for your responses.

[Kim in Appalachia]

When my first one had issues, and I weaned him (at 15 months), I was worried because of the need for milk fat. I had a great pediatrician, who told me that as long as my son got plenty of fat (from eggs, meat, or any other sources) he would be fine. I gave him soy milk, but if you are really worried you could buy soy formula, which has that added fat.

And yes, it does sound like milk allergies.

HTH

Kim

[Jean in Newcastle]

Jumping in here to say yes to extended nursing. Nursing a toddler isn't the same as a that for a baby (as you already know with a 14 mo. old). She will be getting a big chunk of her calories and nutrition from "real food" - but the breastmilk is still good and important for her. Also - my ds10 who nursed until two has no food allergies now (and he was starting to show signs of them in infancy) while my dd6 who weaned herself in one day at 11 mo. (whole 'nother story!) is still battling food allergies. I know you can't make a generalization from my experience with only two children - but I think breastfeeding longer has been proven to keep kids more food allergy free.

[one l michele]

and didn't have reflux as the ped previously diagnosed him with when I tried to wean him. He looked at ds's typical diet and determined it was fine for him to drink enriched rice milk occasionally since most of his nutrients came from real food. As soon as he went off all dairy products, his "reflux" disappeared.

[Miss Peregrine]

Sorry, posted here by mistake

[Miss Peregrine]

Sorry, posted here by mistake

[Karin]

It could be an allergy, an sensitivity or an intolerance. My 9 yo could NOT handle any milk (other than her mother's milk, lol) or dairy until much later. I don't give it to her all the time due to my eldest's diet (gf/cf plus other stuff she can't have). I can't remember if those are official allergy symptoms or not!

[Ellie]

Do you think I need to continue nursing during her second year if she can't handle dairy? I've read that the fat content in br*stmilk or cow's milk is really important for brain development. And she's an incredibly picky eater. I cannot get her to eat meat or fish right now, so without dairy I'm a bit concerned about protein. Dh has been so supportive of br*stfeeding, but his preference was for me to wean around a year. I think he would be open to extended nursing, but it would be a bit uncomfortable to him. He grew up in a home where babies were formula-fed and nursing was considered icky. So he's come a long way. :)

Thanks for your responses.

I would encourage you to keep nursing as long as possible, regardless of whether there's a dairy intolerance or not, but *especially* if there is.

Cow's milk is *not* important for humans, regardless of what the U.S. dairy industry would have us believe.

Maybe you can get some information from La Leche League that will help your dh (and you) understand the importance of extended breastfeeding.

[abbeyej]

Do you think I need to continue nursing during her second year if she can't handle dairy?

I don't think it's the end of the world if she gets neither breastmilk nor dairy in the second year of her life, but if you can possibly keep nursing (even just a little -- maybe twice a day), she *will* get lots of nutrition and immunities from your milk that will be helpful to her. So yes, I'd strongly encourage you to keep nursing her, if you can. (If it's a major issue with your husband -- not something you can just keep doing once or twice a day without him taking serious offense, and honestly it's not something I would "ask" him about, since he may not even realize you're still nursing when you're talking about a toddler who nurses only occasionally -- then I wouldn't let it drive a wedge in your marriage, certainly... But if he just doesn't notice unless it's mentioned, then I don't think it's a big deal...)

If you must wean, there are fortified rice milks (I would avoid soy milk for a number of reasons -- partly because we're unsure how large exposure to unfermented soy effects children and partly because children with dairy allergies have significantly greater likelihood of soy allergies... I would also not use a nut-based milk for a child under 3, especially one you suspect of having allergies), and you can increase her fat intake with avocado, coconut (milk or oil), olive oil, etc. A toddler *can* be healthy without mother's milk or dairy, but you'll certainly have to be much more careful with her diet if she's not getting mommy-milk to round out her diet.

[Nicole not in CA]

I appreciate all of your responses. Thank you!

[Tap, tap, tap]

We can tell instantly if one of us missed something, and accidentally fed her dairy. We give her Rice Dream Enriched Milk.