Introducing dairy to baby that pukes when mom eats dairy

[@llli*dominiquesr]

Hi there,

I'm breastfeeding and my son vomits whenever I eat yogurt. Cheese seems to be fine and baked goods with milk as well. I have no idea about actual milk as I never drink it, but I do take a bit of cream in my coffee and that seems to be fine.

He's now 6 and a half months old and I've been introducing solids.

Should I be careful with introducing dairy? How likely is he to be intolerant?

Should I start with something cooked and then try raw dairy? Just wondering if there is a correlation between the two.

Thanks!

[@llli*mommal]

Welcome to the forum!

Dairy is one of the top foods that are troublesome for babies. So IMO you should always be careful when introducing it, just as you would be with other highly troublesome foods, like tropical fruits or shellfish or peanuts. You want to be even more cautious when you suspect that your baby has an issue with dairy.

But that doesn't mean that you should avoid dairy! Just that you should proceed with caution, offering small portions and watching carefully for reactions (e.g., hives, wheezing, eczema, vomiting).

The recommendation in the US is that babies not be given animal milk until 12 months. This is partly because it is associated with an elevated risk of anemia, and partly because pediatricians don't want parents subbing animal milk in for breastmilk or formula (animal milk does not have the right composition to support normal growth). However, babies can be safely given cheese and yogurt made from animal milk, and these are generally less likely to provoke allergy reactions because the process of making milk into cheese or yogurt alters the proteins which are most problematic.

If you suspect a problem with dairy, I personally think it makes sense to avoid offering foods in which dairy is one of several ingredients. If the baby has a reaction to a mixed food, you won't know which food caused the reaction- was it the dairy or the cinnamon or the eggs or the squash...?

[@llli*dormir41]

with mommal. I'd be cautious about introducing dairy, but I'm curious as to why baby vomits when you eat yogurt but not other dairy. I have lactose intolerance now, but apparently was allergic (or whatever the terminology is now) as a young child; whenever my mother had ANY dairy while she was bf me, I projectile vomited. However, as mommal said, most people with dairy problems can do some yogurt or cheese, so the fact you can eat other things, including cream, puzzles me a bit. Cream is hard to digest if dairy is problematic--I still can't have it, or butter, but cheese and yogurt I'm generally okay as long as I don't have too much. Although, everyone is different, so perhaps baby is just unable to do yogurt for whatever reason. Have you tried different types of yogurt (brands, flavors, liquidy like kefir, plain)? Also, could it be the amount you are ingesting? Like I said, I have trouble with too much at one time--say 2-4 servings of cheese per day, but one serving a day generally is okay for me.