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LittleBrother went to the doctor yesterday. I finally called the doctor yesterday morning. Why? Since adding whole milk to his diet, things have been rather loose with regard to bowel movements. Loose and frequent. That combination then resulted in a pretty nasty diaper rash which we couldn’t get ahead of with any number of different ointments. For awhile we suspected BigBrother has brought home some intestinal bug. But as the days turned into weeks, that didn’t seem to be the case. And so, I called.
We suspected a milk sensitivity/lactose intolerance and not a full-on dairy allergy as he’d had no problem with dairy through my breastmilk nor other smaller bits of dairy. Once the doctor asked a billion questions and did a thorough examination, our suspicions were confirmed. Lactose intolerance. While he sounded optimstic that children often outgrow such a diagnosis, right now the facts were that the child needed an altered diet. I asked questions, got answers and made my way back home feeling very overwhelmed.
Upon returning home, I made a quick tweet about the diagnosis while I pulled up some tabs for research. And suddenly the help started pouring in from all over the world. I got replies and direct messages from my twitter followers with all kinds of tips, advice, ideas and follow up questions. With each message, I was learned something new. What had felt absolutely overwhelming just over an hour before was being transformed into bite-size nuggets of easily digested information. It was amazing.
@Sarakenobi let me know that she was once lactose intolerant and is no longer. And @iKrissi told me that her son actually overcame a pretty big allergy and can, mostly, tolerate milk now. Those short stories? Gave me hope! Some people, like @liberty4all reminded me that almond milk was an option if rice and/or soy didn’t cut it for LittleBrother. People like @DowntoEarthMama and @Military_Mama told me where to look for goat’s milk and cheese. @Cberbs gave me a fabulous resource: GoDairyFree.org. And that doesn’t count the number of kind-hearted, empathetic and/or sympathetic comments from those that have endured similar things with their children or simply know how difficult it is to know something is “wrong” with your child.
Let me tell you: those messages meant the world to me. Having all of that information given to me, without even asking for it, in small bits and in such a supportive tone was absolutely amazing. I now not only am less freaked out but I even have a somewhat positive outlook. I say somewhat because it’s still big and new. But, at the same time, thanks to those who have rallied around us, I know that we can get through this new thing. We can and we will.
LittleBrother, of course, is just as happy as every other day. He doesn’t know anything is different just yet. It would be one thing if he didn’t like whole milk. But he does. And so he’s going to be sorely disappointed when his next cup of ice cold milk doesn’t taste just right. I’ll keep you updated on his progress.
As always, if you have tips, trick, recipes and general advice, please inundate me. Thank you in advance!
11 Responses to “Milk Schmilk, Right?”
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My name is Jenna, aka FireMom. I blog here, 
My sister-in-law is lactose intolerant, and she drinks Lactaid milk (lactose-free cow’s milk). Not sure if that would work for LB or not, but if you haven’t already you could check out that option too!
http://www.lactaid.com/products/index.jhtml?id=lactaid/products/milk.inc
I know of an Amish store that carries goat cheese and possibly milk just south of Columbus. If they do, there has to be a market near you that carries it, too. Good luck!
Christinas last blog post..How A Bendy Straw Nearly Made Me Cry
I outgrew lactose intolerance. The only lingering “side effect” is that I never developed a taste for milk — I hate the stuff, and I guess I blame that on the fact that I drank soy formula from the start and never had milk as a kid.
Been lactose intolerant my entire life. Pretty seriously too. As a child got serious gas, pains, foul smelling burps (that my siblings called “the ugly piggies”) and other nasty effects. No one realized this until I, myself, ceased milk products in my teens. These days I pretty much avoid all dairy and KNOW that if I do that route (like ice cream for example) I am destined to pay for it later. I once tried lactaid but you know, dont miss/want, etc milk that much. Its just easier to avoid for me.
When we put my oldest son on milk at around a year, he also had digestive issues. We went to half soy/half whole milk and gradually got him up to full whole milk. Even still, today, he rarely drinks milk. I suspect he is intolerant and like me just avoids it.
Don’t know what your plan is, but we had to switch my son to soy soon after weaning him to milk from the breast. It was a little rough until someone reminded me that breastmilk is supposed be slightly “vanilla flavored”. Still don’t know if I believe that, but my son did take right to the vanilaa soy with no problem. Good luck!
Kate was lactose intolerant when she was little — used lactaid milk until she was about 3 and then started trying regular milk and she did fine. she never had a problem with yogurt or cottage cheese, and could tolerate ice cream in small amounts and has no problems now
No advice or tips or trick, I’m just hoping that the adjustment will be second nature before long!
Cynthia S.s last blog post..6/365
This same thing happened to my son (16 months old now) & the doctor told us to wait a month or so before introducing milk again after our first attempt. Luke was a formula baby so it wasn’t a big deal to go back to formula except for the expense. We tried milk again around 14 months & he had the same reaction after 2 days (he had only had 2oz of whole milk total each day mixed in with his formula!) We tried again about a month ago (each time we introduced it-we did so gradually, 1st week 2oz/day, 2nd week 4oz/day, etc) & he hasn’t had any problems with it since (keeping our fingers crossed
so hopefully milk will be something that you can introduce again later on to Little Brother without any of the nasty side effects.
Anitas last blog post..Back to the Grindstone
My 8 year old has been allergic to dairy (and eggs) since he was 6 months old. He outgrew peanuts many years ago. You have probably already learned that an allergy to dairy has to do with the milk protien (casien) and the intolerance has to do with lactose so very different label reading. We actually met with a dietician at our local Children’s Hospital who gave us a lot of direction early on with recommendations for particular products/labels. One of the things that I remember taking away from that meeting was that it was very important for the little ones to have a good amount of fat in their diets as that aids with developing brain function. There is one type of butter (actually margarine) that we were able to use.
All of this is a much bigger deal to me that it is to my son. It can be hard to always be fixing different meals (my younger son does not do wheat – which leaves me banging my head on the wall at times!) I send their own food along for playdates, birthday parties, school snack time, etc. You will want to have a couple of sweet treat ideas so that when other kids are having birthday cake, you will have a treat for your son too. And you will find that most other parents will really try to accomodate your child too. It’s so very common now a days.
Although I remember being completely overwhelmed at the onset. Even harder for you now that you have had the experience with an older child with no food limitations. As for eating out, I ask for special preparations, check nutritiuon guides online, ask for them at the restaurant, etc.
Awww! Poor LB.
Listen, Bean was slightly lactose intolerant as an infant. He was a formula baby and despite my ped’s insistence that “it wasn’t anything to do with lactose”, I switched him to the lactose-free formula and it made a definite difference. He HATED the soy, and I was concerned about giving him too much soy for other reasons.
By the time he was ready for milk, it wasn’t really an issue anymore. He indeed outgrew it. I wonder if the lactose-free milk might produce similar results for LB?
Anyway, sending you lots of support and love!
Cocos last blog post..Not Exactly the 2009 Kickoff I Was Hoping For
Try Goats milk! Great for excema and asthma too.
I dont know what it’s like over the water but over here we can get full and half fat goats milk in all our supermarkets. My aunt kept goats for years and sold her excess milk frozen to a health food shop so that maybe a way to try (it freezes very well). My son was on goats milk for years and didnt even notice the change and he was a true milk addict.