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[Lisa B]

I thought I would just share my journey about on cows milk protein allergy and reflux.

We initially got the diagnosis of reflux but the second paediatrician we saw raised the possibility of allergy causing DS symptoms so we went off egg, milk and wheat (I was already off that because of being coeliac). We were told it would probably take about 2-3 weeks to see an improvement if there was to be any and we continued with reflux medication. She described an allergy to one of these products as like having eczema int he stomach. After that time we saw an improvement in the DS being less fussy at the bottle and taking greater volumes of milk. We then reintroduced milk gradually into my diet and it go to the point that he was fussy again. I tried to work out how much milk he could tolerate but it got really hard in terms of me putting up with his symptoms which could last for weeks, so I just decided it was best to eliminate it completely rather than work out the dose he could tolerate. When I reintroduced egg I had no change in his behaviour so now I eat eggs freely. After these trials we trialled coming off the reflux medication which we have done now and we saw no change in my DS behaviour. So, after all of this we are diagnosed with a milk protein allergy and not reflux.

Anyhow, I will always wonder if DS having a milk protein allergy was related in someway to his breast refusal in the first 9 weeks. I was always told it was nipple confusion issue as due to vasospasm I introduced the bottle from birth until I could get the attachment right. Eventually the same refusal symptoms which included not finishing a feed and crying at every attempt at attachment were displayed on the bottle. I will never really understand the cause of the breast refusal and it probably was multi factored. I just wonder if I had have known about milk protein allergy and worked on it whilst I was trying to BF if we may be in a different situation now. I wish the LCs that I saw could have picked up on the potential reflux and allergy issues. I just ended up feeling like a failure with no explainable reason as to why my DS wouldn't feed from the breast. The first paediatrician I saw made me feel like a failure as I was combining breast and bottle and told me I had created nipple confusion and I had to choose a feeding method. The thing was I had chosen and it was breast but my DS wouldn't feed so I had to resort to the bottle, particularly as his weight was becoming an issue.

Anyways, that's all supposed to be in the past...right!?!? Gosh the emotions around BF and inability to BF are always close to the surface even 7 months in.