BW - my DD was lactose intolerant when she was younger (thankfully she has outgrown it not). We gave her a lactose free milk found in the UHT section. The name escapes me right now (but I'm sure it will come to me around 2am )... she was fine on that milk. She was also fine on yoghurt and hard cheeses. My MCHN explained that it is the way that those products are made in comparsion to milk and how the lactose is processed. We are still cautious with DD and milk and only give her skim milk which she doesn't react to. At creche she gets 1 cup of full cream milk a day. In total she would probably have about 3 cups of milk in a 24hr period.
I have to say that Sam's diet isn't the greatest. We really struggle to get him to eat some foods - mainly fruit. He was incredibly resistant to meat for a very long time, but has come around to chicken in recent times, but that's as far as we get.
I'm glad BG asked - the whole thing about BF being great for as long as possible but FF is not has had me baffled, and I'm still not sure I can fully get my head around it.
As it is now, Sam eats no dairy. He never really has because the slightest amount of yoghurt or cheese has resulted in vomiting which is pretty unpleasant. Sam refuses to even try cheese now.
The fact that Sam's not ok with cheese and yoghurt is leading me to think that it's not the lactose that's the problem. Sambo, from the little I know about CMPI, it should have a pretty drastic and dramatic effect on bowel motions... We've never seen anything like that with Sam (he's actually very easily constipated). He would chuck a lot when he was really young but it wasn't reflux. Very different to the really stinky spews that dairy triggers now so I'm really not sure.
I honestly don't think Sam's ready to give up bottles. I don't think I am for that matter, either. It's our cuddle and snuggle quiet time before he goes down to sleep for both day naps and at night... Not something I'm keen to lose in a hurry.
I need to take him to the GP soon - I'll be sure to discuss this then. I kind of wish his next paed appointment was a little closer, but that's not until late January (curse these doctors and their holidays! ).
DS avoided dairy too - all on his own when he was very little, so I sort of followed his lead.
It is hard when you want to make sure he is getting what he needs. Have you got a good MCHN? Can she help you on the nutritional side?
DS has a splash of watered down milk on his weetbix but much more than that and the poor fella is on the toilet. I give him penta vite, cos he is quite fussy. Have you tried that?
My local council recently implemented a program for parents of fussy eaters - just tips, help and recipes to try. Good stuff.
I don't think much of my MCHN. She's never really been able to answer my questions and has generally left me feeling more confused.
When Sam was 9 months old I was asking her about what to do to care for the new teeth he'd just popped through - she talked about toothpaste and not needing to boil his water any more because she thought he was 18 months old. I know he's big, but he's not THAT big. I find it hard to trust anything she tells me now.
Ok, I'll try and clarify a bit. Bfing is recommended for a minimum of 2 years mostly because of the things in breastmilk that can't be sourced elsewhere - immunity factors, stem cells, etc etc, not because of the calcium content. The nutrients in bm are all a baby needs for the first 6 months - at some time around the 6 month mark, babies start to require more nutrients than they get from bm, which is why the recommendation from 6 months is to continue bfing as well as supplement with solids.
When a baby is weaned from the breast, or a ff baby reaches around 12 months, they don't need the bm/formula to be replaced by cows' milk, and as has been mentioned already, in many cultures it isn't - Asia is a primary example of this. In Australia we generally do it because it's what we know, and as a result most of our diets are based on the fact that we get the bulk of our calcium requirements from dairy. But we don't need to get any of our calcium requirements from dairy, as long as we are getting it from the rest of the diet, which is most certainly possible. There are many peopIe who do not eat dairy, including vegans. I suggested a dietician to assist, because this is the best way to ensure that he is getting enough. You can also check out this site which is a handy guide to the calcium content of non-dairy foods: Vegetarian Network Victoria - Complete Nutrient Summary
BW, you might not be comfortable to take the non-dairy path, and that's fine. I'm just letting you know that the option is there. At 12 months many kids are not eating a big variety of foods, so while I know it is stressful (my DS1 was the worst eater at that age), it is not uncommon, and kids do seem to survive it. I did find a paediatric dietician was a huge help when his eating was still really bad at about 15 or 16 months. Vitamin drops can help fussy eaters - not just by providing nutrients but they can also stimulate appetite. This was one thing that worked for us. Toddler milks unfortunately tend to have the opposite effect, and reduce the appetite so they are not such a good option for trying to ensure that the baby is getting enough nutrients until they are eating better.
I hope this has made my previous post a little clearer.
Have just been googling non-dairy sources of calcium (the things you do when heat and redback spider colonies stop you from sleeping!) and I have to say that there really isn't a lot of stuff on the list that Sam eats yet. I can work on it - but we won't be stopping the bottles in a hurry. I've only very recently got him to drop from 4 to 3 bottles each day. While he does enjoy his food and gets very grumpy if he doesn't get enough - he's also much the same with his bottles.
BW hun, I have only skimmed this thread. This is a tricky stage you're at, I sympathise .
True Lactose intolerance is quite rare, it is more likely that Sam has some sort of Cows Milk Protein Intolerance. In fact, given that he reacts to cheese and yoghurt, but not his formula, I'd say it's more than likely.
Your best best to sort this out is to seek the opinion of an experienced Dietician or Naturopath, who specialises in this area. I could try to help you find someone in Sydney if you are interested.
In the meantime, I would persist with the Nan, but you can always drop the amount he has. MR has written some excellent stuff for you about the necessity (or lack of) dairy in our diets, and what you can replace it with. Given that you are concerned about Sam's diet, a dietician might be a really helpful way for you to go. And there are always Calcium/Magnesium supplements available! But best to start down that road under an experienced advisor.
Having BTDT, I know how hard it is, and how hard it gets if you persist with the dairy......not worth it. Because I was so lost for somewhere to go, I waited too long to get DS diagnosed, and as a result, 2008 was an unhappy year for us. Life is definitely on the up now we know what the deal is . And hey, it might not turn out to be that at all for Sam! But best to know for sure what you're dealing with .
ETA Something else you may be interested in......exposing a person who has intolerances to the very things they are intolerant to, over a period of time, will weaken their immune system. The body is so busy fighting these proteins it doesn't cope with, it doesn't have the strength it should to fight regular bugs etc. As an example, over 6 months in 2008 DS had moderate/severe croup SIX times . It was ridiculous, and awful. I was most concerned about this winter. But having changed his diet, he only had one moderate bout, which was a vast improvement (I was assured this would happen after removing the offending proteins from his diet). Knowing your history, I thought that was something you might want to note
Last edited by Janie; December 17th, 2009 at 09:48 PM.
Thanks, Janie. Interesting to note that about the immune system. It's got me wondering whether it's something like that which triggered mine to go haywire and start attacking me. Sam's been quite healthy so far (just one bout of bronchiolitis, everything else I can trace back to teething), so I'm not overly concerned that we're exposing him to stuff that bothers him. But the more I hear, the more I'm thinking that I won't mess with what's working just yet.
)... she was fine on that milk. She was also fine on yoghurt and hard cheeses. My MCHN explained that it is the way that those products are made in comparsion to milk and how the lactose is processed. We are still cautious with DD and milk and only give her skim milk which she doesn't react to. At creche she gets 1 cup of full cream milk a day. In total she would probably have about 3 cups of milk in a 24hr period.
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. And hey, it might not turn out to be that at all for Sam! But best to know for sure what you're dealing with 
. It was ridiculous, and awful. I was most concerned about this winter. But having changed his diet, he only had one moderate bout, which was a vast improvement (I was assured this would happen after removing the offending proteins from his diet). Knowing your history, I thought that was something you might want to note 
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