Dairy intolerance?

[k8bailey]

My 8 month old daughter has slow gastric motility (SGM) and reflux but she is beginning to grow out of it all (I hope) She's a lot less sick anyway. Except for when she has any kind of dairy. She has been on a hydrolysed milk formula for a few months. When she has dairy now eg cauliflower cheese she's sick and it smells awful like gone off milk, is this an intolerance? can you have a problem with dairy but tolerate it in small amounts?

[Scarlett]

So long as she is getting the calcium she needs dairy really isn't necessary in any diet. Cows milk is designed for CALFS not for humans. They have several stomachs designed to break down the difficult molecular structure of milk! Many people are intolerant of milk because it is not designed for our bodies to tolerate.
I have soya milk and avoid all other dairy, and feel so much better for it. Why not keep a food diary for her, and note exactly what she eats and what effect it has on her? If cauliflower cheese results in sickness, you could try cheese and something else and see if it is the cheese that is causing the sickness. And eliminate like this with other foods.

[k8bailey]

Hi thanks for the quick reply. I know it was the cheese that made her sick because she's had cauliflower before. She's also sick after yoghurts and rice pudding. I'm just finding so difficult and time consuming checking everything is dairy free, she won't tolerate soya either. I was just wondering if it was possible that she could eat things with a little milk in it without having to test them her on (asking for the impossible I know!) because she's already so underweight. Its just sad that she'll never be the same as other kids, eating the ocassional ice cream or pizza will be forbidden.

[redcrx]

k8 you really need to speak to your GP and ask to get her tested for milk / lactose intolerance.

The good news is though that if its an intolerance rather than allergy then should could well grow out of it by the age of 3.

but you need to know if shes intolerant first

[Scarlett]

My best friend's baby had a similar problem with being sick after eating, and it was very upsetting for her, and for the baby. However he does seem to have grown out of it now. I wonder if it was anything to do with just being very little, having an underdeveloped system or eating too much too fast? She did seem to give him a lot of very stodgy food, and rarely waited until he told her he was hungry (by crying). It does seem like your baby has an intolerance though. Does she have certain foods that she copes with well? why not just stick to them for now, after all, no point eating what makes you sick. But do ask the Doc for advice.

[moonshadow]

My Grandson has had similar problems and the advice from the Paediatric Gastroenterologist was to keep him off dairy and soya until he is two and then introduce dairy gradually. The milk formula you have been using is cow's milk but the protein has been broken down so it is easier to digest and there is less likelihood of an allergic reaction. So perhaps if you are making cheese sauce and puds you could use Oatly Plus with added calcium, you can buy it in Tesco and it's really nice. Tesco also make dairy free cheese and if you go to customer services they have a booklet with all the products that are dairy free. Another thing that may help is if you ask your GP for a referral to see a nutritionist at the local hospital. Hope everything goes well for you soon.