My girl friend has a 9 month old daughter who is allergic to peanuts and milk. Her daughter has absolutely no interest in baby food; only nursing. Does anyone have any advice on what she should feed her daughter that in no way contains any milk products?

I told her you all never let me down! Thanks for any and all help with this.

Connie

On Feb 20, 1999

Hi Connie! My two sons, not my Peanut allergic daughter had milk allergies. I would recommend that since her daughter is only 9 months old don't feel a lot of pressure to push foods. We all know how important it is to go slow with introducing new foods. But if she really wants to feed her food try the old standard cheerios. If she is able to pick them up with her fingers she can eat them. Also I don't know if my children had other allergies but they were very picky baby food eaters too. I used oatmeal cereal instead of the rice cereal most people start with. Also for some reason my children only ate pears and peaches, no other fruits. Tell her to stay away from the peas and beans. As far as vegetables they would only eat sweet potatoes. I as all mothers are thought my babies weren't getting enough variety. But my pediatrician who I loved (I moved so I don't have him anymore) said it really didn't matter if they never ate vegs. and only fruits they have the same vitamins. And if they only wanted pears give them pears. Inthe big scheme of things there total caloric intake is still nursing or formula so don't sweat the small stuff. As a side note one son can totally eat dairy. The other son has a much higher tolerance level. This son also seemed to only be able to eat a lot of protein foods (meat etc.). He couldn't even eat pastina without hives. I used to make him plain chicken constantly or chicken soup (no vegs) It got better with him too. My biggest advice though is to go slow and go with the baby's instincts. Hope this helps and if she has any more questions please post. Patti

On Feb 20, 1999

Patti,

Thank you so much for your help! I'm sure the information you provided will help her tremendously. I will post any more questions Dana may have.

Thanks again! Connie

On Feb 20, 1999

Make sure your friend knows that casein (or caseinate) and whey are two very common dairy ingredients that most people wouldn't recognize as milk protein ingredients. Make sure she also knows that products advertised as being safe for lactose-intolerant individuals are NOT necessarily safe for people with a true milk allergy. Watch for lactose as a filler in medications. She can also get some help from kosher markings on some foods. If the letters D or DE appear after the kosher mark (e.g. a circled capital U or a stylized K) the product contains dairy ingredients or has been processed on dairy equipment. My 6 year old is dairy, peanut and almond allergic.

On Feb 20, 1999

Thanks Deb! She does know about casein and whey but I don't think she knows about the kosher markings. She went to a dietician when she found out about her daughter's milk allergy because of the fact she is still nursing her. The dietician gave her a list of dairy ingredients that you wouldn't ordinarily think was in fact milk. Unfortunately, that is about all the help she got from the dietician. She is at her wits end; especially since all her daughter wants to do is breastfeed and she will not eat solids. Her daughter will in fact "hold out" to nurse.

Thanks again for the information!

On Feb 20, 1999

Hi Connie,

My son (milk allergic until 4yrs old) was on formula until he was two. At that point I heard about Rice Dream a rice beverage that you can buy at health food stores. It has a much better flavor ( I thought) than soy products and it comes fortified with Vit A and D. We used it to add to the baby cereals which my son loved mixed with vegetables especially sweet potatoes. We also made mashed potatoes and pudding with it. He mostly ate fruit, vegetables, cereal, homemade bread, and pasta as a toddler. He's grown fine and his doctor had no complaint about his diet at that age when I asked if anything was missing.

On Feb 20, 1999

Hi all Don't forget that malt and caramel should also be avoided. Also, she needs calcium, and that calcium is absorbedprperly with magnesim and vitamin D. We use a liquid vanilla flavor for our 4yr old. sometimes for a change i'll give her tums. You should have your friend get a referral to a dietition.If you type milk allergy, there is a host of sites. you can also down load, different info with foods that hhave calcium. There is only one margerine that i know of that is non-dairy. it's fliechman's unalted. I hope this has been helpful.

On Feb 21, 1999

The information you all have given me is greatly appreciated! You all always come through when one of us, or someone we know, is in a crisis.

Last night I printed some information out I found on the internet regarding the milk allergy...12 pages of it for my friend to sift through and pull out what will be beneficial to her.

Thanks again everyone!