Which Is The Better Choice For A Baby With A Milk Allergy?
Posted by: Alan in Milk Allergies, tags: Allergy, Baby, Better, Choice, Milk, Which, With
Which is a better choice for a baby with a milk allergy? Enfamil Prosobee or Nutramigen? Which is nutritionally better for them? What are the pros and cons of each formula?
My daughter is 2 months and she is on prosobee because she cannot tolerate milk based formulas. We were on regular enfamil lipil, tried lacto free, and gentlease. All those resulted in projectile vomiting and poor weight gain and eczema. The only one she could stomach is prosobee. I have not tried nutramigen yet.
But i was reading about how bad soy formula supposedly is with the hormones and everything, but i don’t know much about the nutramigen i just know that it is highly processed. What would be the healthiest choice for my baby?
Please no rude comments about breastfeeding. I know that is the best choice for her and I am very depressed about this and i feel like a horrible mom because i didn’t try hard enough with breastfeeding. I wish i could try again. I wouldn’t give up so easy.
Thanks for your answers in advance.
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November 21st, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Firstly you can “try again” to breastfeed and have a high chance of success -your baby is only 2 months old many babies take that long to learn how to breastfeed, many adoptive moms who have never been pregnant get older babies that that to breastfeed.http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/relact…http://www.normalfed.com/Help/babyget.ht…http://www.llli.org/NB/NBMayJun00p87.htm…http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob…
Its certainly your choice whether you want to try again or not, but too many women are unaware that its even possible.
However as to your actual question: It is generally recommended that babies with allergies or at high risk of allergies be placed on hypoallergenic formula not soy. This is for many reasons not the least of which that 30-50% of babies with milk protein allergies will develop a soy allergy. However hypoallergenic formulas taste truly disgusting and some babies will not take them. There are also meat based and elemental formulas but they are not available in the US (as far as I know).
About formula:http://askdrsears.com/html/0/T000100.asp
Recommendations for Management of Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy in Infants http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/5634…
When It Has to be Formula: Optimizing the Health of Your Formula-Fed Babyhttp://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/go/in…
November 21st, 2009 at 7:21 pm
I have to disagree with just about everyone else and say soy formula is the best. All three of my babies lived off it for atleast the first year and are all fine. Soy actually has some health benefits as well, and all the negative things people say about it are not proven.
November 22nd, 2009 at 12:56 am
when i was a kid, i was allergic to milk as well. i grew up on something called “Rice Dream” check it out. worked for me.http://www.tastethedream.com/
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:46 am
Rice Dream has no protein! It can’t be used for baby formula!!
Sorry I can’t help with the OP.
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:48 am
Well, our first daughter was put on Similac Alimentum when I stopped breastfeeding her at 5 months old because she was so sensitive to all the other formulas and I suspected a milk allergy. Alimentum is the Similac version of Nutramigen. She did so well on Alimentum, although it is very expensive. The wierd thing is both formulas are still milk based, but they are so broken down that its supposed to be easy on their systems. The one negative thing I’ve heard about hypoallergenic formulas and I don’t want to freak you out because my 3 yr. old is perfectly healthy and happy and I didn’t hear this until recently, but the hypo formulas contain msg. I didn’t even know what msg was but I googled it and it’s a flavor enhancer…you can google it and see. Anyway, my second daughter is just 3 months old and I’ve been breastfeeding, but if I go to formula it’ll prob. be Alimentum because she shows sensitivity to foods in my diet as well. Either way, good luck to you!
November 22nd, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Would you try to breastfeed again if you thought you could?
If you want to, you might contact a LaLeche League and see if they can help. It will take some work, but you can probably breastfeed if you want to. Then you would just eliminate dairy from your diet and your baby should do fine. That would be way easier than trying to juggle formula options and it would be better for your baby…much easier for her to digest.
I can’t help on the brand of formula issue. I have a three week old myself and haven’t given store formula to any of my kids for over 17 years. Sorry!
And, many times digestion issues like colic and other stuff get better after the baby has reached four months old. I know it’ s hard to figure out. (((HUGS)))
November 22nd, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Our daughter has milk and soy protien allergy too. She is 8 mths and almost totally breastfed (she has a bottle maybe once every 3 weeks). She had bleeding from her bowel from 3 days old and I had to give up all dairy, even trace amounts in my diet. That seemed to sort it. We had to have some kind of formula for emergencys so the doc gave us Nutramigen.
Our son had milk intolerance but it wasn’t diagnosed for the first year, they only realised when he was 13 mths and he then went on to soy milk (not formula) but he is nearly 4 and has just been succesfully reintroduced to dairy…yay!
The docs don’t like to give bubs soy based formulas anymore as it can lead to problems later on….not that I’m very imformed about it.
Like I said, she has has Nutramigen only very rarely but it seems to be fine. The only thing I will say is that it smells *very* bad when it comes through the other end!!! Be warned!
Here’s hoping both of our bubs grow out of their allergies! x
November 22nd, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Hi,
Aw I know exactly what you are going through + feel so very sorry for you…but want to reassure you there is light at the end of the tunnel!
My daughter, like yours cannot tolerate any milk products, she is allergic to the proteins in the milk. When she was born we tried various formulas and settled on nutramigen which she also gets thickened. Its was such a terrible time when we were chopping + changing her milk, adding more thickener and trying to get her sorted with medication- she still takes zantac at night.
Emily is 9 months now and is thriving! We’re weaning her now- and I’ll not lie…it is difficult. I make all Emily’s food myself to make sure there is no butter, milk etc. But we’re getting there now! Emily is closesly monitored by her dietician and will be introduced to some dairy foods after her 1st birthday.
As far as nasty breast feeding comments go…I got them all too- before the hospital midwives knew what was wrong with Emily, I knew she wasn’t eating right and was told just to keep making her try. My MiL still doesn’t believe there’s anything wrong with her (I’ve been told I’m too lazy + Emilys too fussy!) But I know in my heart I’m doing ok with Emily…and that you will do the same with your daughter.
Now we wouldn’t have Emily any other way!
Hope this has helped a wee bit. Good luck.