My 13-month old is allergic to milk, and is currently drinking soy milk. She frequently wakes up hungry during the night, and I think it's because she's not getting enough fat in her diet to keep her satisfied.
I'm having a hard time finding foods she can eat that will provide fat for her. I don't want to be feeding her junk just so she gets the fat into her diet, and I don't want to be feeding her peanut butter sandwiches and chicken nuggets every day. The only limitations we have with her, aside from the milk allergy, is that she won't eat fruit or most vegetables yet, and she won't eat anything that we have to feed her. She'll eat steak, chicken, whatever she can get her hands on, as long as she feeds herself.
Any ideas on what I could add to her diet would be greatly appreciated! My son hates cows milk and only drinks soy.
If you have the go ahead for nuts from the allergist, then pretty much any kind of nut butter is going to fill her up. If she hasn't been tested for nuts, I don't at all recommend trying it out until you get her tested (where there's one allergy, there's usually more). If nuts are out, soy nut butter is super filling.
Avocados are pretty filling and my son loves it.
Try adding flax oils and olive oils to her food.
Mangoes, I find can be very filling if she'll eat it.
Soy hot dogs (just check the ingredients because not all brands are dairy free).
For dessert in our house, we like to have blended mango, berry smoothies with soy milk and they fill all of us up for a while.
Coconut is also great, any way you can get it into her.
Again, if you have the go ahead from the allergist, eggs are fantastic.
Egg pasta is pretty good too, lots of nutrition and fun for toddlers to eat. My favorite when I was a kid was pastina boiled in broth (Barilla makes a nice pastina).
I know it's hard when food allergies are involved, but hopefully she'll grow out of it, and if not, you will get used to it. http://www.westonaprice.org/children/nou...
Don't Fear Fats!
Pediatric clinicians have known for some time that children fed low-fat and low-cholesterol diets fail to grow properly. After all, a majority of mother's milk is fat, much of it saturated fat. Children need high levels of fat throughout growth and development. Milk and animal fats give energy and also help children build muscle and bone.1 In addition, the animal fats provide vitamins A and D necessary for protein and mineral assimilation, normal growth and hormone production.27
Choose a variety of foods so your child gets a range of fats, but emphasize stable saturated fats, found in butter, meat and coconut oil, and monounsaturated fats, found in avocados and olive oil.
Egg yolks contain choline which is important for brain development.
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids...
Good non-dairy sources of fats include soy and safflower oils, flax seed and flax seed oil, walnuts, fish and fish oils, avocado. Adding fats to cooking and baking can work well, for example, stir fry in safflower oil or make mini-muffins with soy or rice milk, oil or butter, and eggs. Almost all infants are fussy at times. But sometimes infants are excessively fussy because they have an allergy to the protein in cow's milk, which is the basis for most commercial baby formulas.
A person of any age can have a milk allergy, but it is more common among infants. Approximately 2% to 3% of infants have a milk allergy, and they typically outgrow it.
If you think that your child has a milk allergy, talk with your child's doctor. There are tests that can diagnose the condition and alternatives to milk-based formulas and dairy products that your doctor can recommend.
What Is a Milk Allergy?
A milk allergy occurs when the child's immune system mistakenly sees the milk protein as dangerous and tries to fight it off. This starts an allergic reaction, which can cause an infant to be fussy and irritable, and cause an upset stomach and other symptoms. Most children who are allergic to cow's milk also react to goat's milk and sheep's milk, and some of them are also allergic to the protein in soy milk.
Infants who are breastfed have a lower risk of developing a milk allergy than infants who are formula fed, but researchers don't fully understand why some children develop a milk allergy and others don't. It's believed that in many cases, the allergy is genetic.
Typically, a milk allergy goes away on its own by the time a child is 3 to 5 years old, but some children never outgrow it.
A milk allergy is not the same thing as lactose intolerance, the inability to digest the sugar lactose, which is rare in infants and more common among older kids and adults.
Symptoms of a Milk Allergy
Symptoms of cow's milk protein allergy will generally appear within the first few months of life. An infant can experience symptoms either very quickly after feeding (rapid onset) or not until 7 to 10 days after consuming the cow's milk protein (slower onset).
The slower-onset reaction is more common. Symptoms may include loose stools (possibly containing blood), vomiting, gagging, refusing food, irritability or colic, and skin rashes. This type of reaction is more difficult to diagnose because the same symptoms may occur with other health conditions. Most children will outgrow this form of allergy by 2 years of age.
Rapid-onset reactions come on suddenly with symptoms that can include irritability, vomiting, wheezing, swelling, hives, other itchy bumps on the skin, and bloody diarrhea. In rare cases, a potentially severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis can occur and affect the baby's skin, stomach, breathing, and blood pressure. Anaphylaxis is more common in other food allergies than in a milk allergy.
Diagnosing a Milk Allergy
If you suspect that your infant is allergic to milk, call your baby's doctor. The doctor will likely ask about any family history of allergies or food intolerance and then do a physical exam. There's no single lab test to accurately diagnose a milk allergy, so your doctor might order several tests to make the diagnosis and rule out any other health problems.
In addition to a stool test and a blood test, the doctor may order an allergy skin test, in which a small amount of the milk protein in inserted just under the surface of the child's skin with a needle. If a red, raised spot called a wheal emerges, the child may have a milk allergy.
The doctor may also request an oral challenge test. After you stop feeding your baby milk for about a week, the doctor will have the infant consume milk, then wait for a few hours to watch for any allergic reaction. Sometimes doctors repeat this test to reconfirm the diagnosis.
Treating a Milk Allergy
If your infant has a milk allergy and you are breastfeeding, it's important to restrict the amount of dairy products that you ingest because the milk protein that's causing the allergic reaction can cross into your breast milk. You may want to talk to a dietician about finding alternative sources of calcium and other vital nutrients to replace what you were getting from dairy products.
Since January 2006, all food makers must clearly state on package labels whether the foods contain milk or milk-based products, indicating this in or next to the ingredient list on the packaging. Keep in mind, though, that this law applies only to foods packaged after the start of 2006, so some foods packaged before then may not have any information about food allergens.
If you are formula-feeding your infant, your doctor may advise you to switch to a soy protein-based formula. If your infant can't tolerate soy, the doctor may have you switch to a hypoallergenic formula, one in which the proteins are broken down into particles so that the formula is less likely to trigger an allergic reaction.
Two major types of hypoallergenic formulas are available:
Extensively hydrolyzed formulas have cow's milk proteins that are broken down into small particles so that they are less allergenic than the whole proteins in regular formulas. Most infants who have a milk allergy can tolerate these formulas, but in some cases, they still provoke allergic reactions.
Amino acid-based infant formulas, which contain protein in its simplest form (amino acids are the building blocks of proteins). This may be recommended if your baby's condition doesn't improve even after a switch to a hydrolyzed formula.
There are also "partially hydrolyzed" formulas on the market, but they are not considered truly hypoallergenic and they can still provoke a significant allergic reaction.
The formulas available in the market today are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and created through a very specialized process that cannot be duplicated at home. Goat's milk, rice milk, or almond milks are not safe and are not recommended for infants.
Once you switch your baby to another formula, the symptoms of the allergy should go away in 2 to 4 weeks. Your child's doctor will probably recommend that you continue with a hypoallergenic formula up until the baby's first birthday, then gradually introducing cow's milk into his or her diet.
If you have any questions or concerns, talk with your child's doctor.
Reviewed by: Raman Sreedharan, MD, and Devendra Mehta, MD
Date reviewed: August 2005
Originally reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
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Email this article to a friend
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Almost all infants are fussy at times. But sometimes infants are excessively fussy because they have an allergy to the protein in cow's milk, which is the basis for most commercial baby formulas.
A person of any age can have a milk allergy, but it is more common among infants. Approximately 2% to 3% of infants have a milk allergy, and they typically outgrow it.
If you think that your child has a milk allergy, talk with your child's doctor. There are tests that can diagnose the condition and alternatives to milk-based formulas and dairy products that your doctor can recommend.
What Is a Milk Allergy?
A milk allergy occurs when the child's immune system mistakenly sees the milk protein as dangerous and tries to fight it off. This starts an allergic reaction, which can cause an infant to be fussy and irritable, and cause an upset stomach and other symptoms. Most children who are allergic to cow's milk also react to goat's milk and sheep's milk, and some of them are also allergic to the protein in soy milk.
Infants who are breastfed have a lower risk of developing a milk allergy than infants who are formula fed, but researchers don't fully understand why some children develop a milk allergy and others don't. It's believed that in many cases, the allergy is genetic.
Typically, a milk allergy goes away on its own by the time a child is 3 to 5 years old, but some children never outgrow it.
A milk allergy is not the same thing as lactose intolerance, the inability to digest the sugar lactose, which is rare in infants and more common among older kids and adults.
Symptoms of a Milk Allergy
Symptoms of cow's milk protein allergy will generally appear within the first few months of life. An infant can experience symptoms either very quickly after feeding (rapid onset) or not until 7 to 10 days after consuming the cow's milk protein (slower onset).
The slower-onset reaction is more common. Symptoms may include loose stools (possibly containing blood), vomiting, gagging, refusing food, irritability or colic, and skin rashes. This type of reaction is more difficult to diagnose because the same symptoms may occur with other health conditions. Most children will outgrow this form of allergy by 2 years of age.
Rapid-onset reactions come on suddenly with symptoms that can include irritability, vomiting, wheezing, swelling, hives, other itchy bumps on the skin, and bloody diarrhea. In rare cases, a potentially severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis can occur and affect the baby's skin, stomach, breathing, and blood pressure. Anaphylaxis is more common in other food allergies than in a milk allergy.
Diagnosing a Milk Allergy
If you suspect that your infant is allergic to milk, call your baby's doctor. The doctor will likely ask about any family history of allergies or food intolerance and then do a physical exam. There's no single lab test to accurately diagnose a milk allergy, so your doctor might order several tests to make the diagnosis and rule out any other health problems.
In addition to a stool test and a blood test, the doctor may order an allergy skin test, in which a small amount of the milk protein in inserted just under the surface of the child's skin with a needle. If a red, raised spot called a wheal emerges, the child may have a milk allergy.
The doctor may also request an oral challenge test. After you stop feeding your baby milk for about a week, the doctor will have the infant consume milk, then wait for a few hours to watch for any allergic reaction. Sometimes doctors repeat this test to reconfirm the diagnosis.
Treating a Milk Allergy
If your infant has a milk allergy and you are breastfeeding, it's important to restrict the amount of dairy products that you ingest because the milk protein that's causing the allergic reaction can cross into your breast milk. You may want to talk to a dietician about finding alternative sources of calcium and other vital nutrients to replace what you were getting from dairy products.
Since January 2006, all food makers must clearly state on package labels whether the foods contain milk or milk-based products, indicating this in or next to the ingredient list on the packaging. Keep in mind, though, that this law applies only to foods packaged after the start of 2006, so some foods packaged before then may not have any information about food allergens.
If you are formula-feeding your infant, your doctor may advise you to switch to a soy protein-based formula. If your infant can't tolerate soy, the doctor may have you switch to a hypoallergenic formula, one in which the proteins are broken down into particles so that the formula is less likely to trigger an allergic reaction.
Two major types of hypoallergenic formulas are available:
Extensively hydrolyzed formulas have cow's milk proteins that are broken down into small particles so that they are less allergenic than the whole proteins in regular formulas. Most infants who have a milk allergy can tolerate these formulas, but in some cases, they still provoke allergic reactions.
Amino acid-based infant formulas, which contain protein in its simplest form (amino acids are the building blocks of proteins). This may be recommended if your baby's condition doesn't improve even after a switch to a hydrolyzed formula.
There are also "partially hydrolyzed" formulas on the market, but they are not considered truly hypoallergenic and they can still provoke a significant allergic reaction.
The formulas available in the market today are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and created through a very specialized process that cannot be duplicated at home. Goat's milk, rice milk, or almond milks are not safe and are not recommended for infants.
Once you switch your baby to another formula, the symptoms of the allergy should go away in 2 to 4 weeks. Your child's doctor will probably recommend that you continue with a hypoallergenic formula up until the baby's first birthday, then gradually introducing cow's milk into his or her diet.
If you have any questions or concerns, talk with your child's doctor.
Reviewed by: Raman Sreedharan, MD, and Devendra Mehta, MD
Date reviewed: August 2005
Originally reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
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Email this article to a friend
Send email to us
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Milk Allergy & Intolerance My nephew has the same issue, and has some other eating/feeding issues due to being a preemie. One thing my sister did was add some oil to his bottle. I know she used canola for awhile, then flax oil(I'm not sure which has higher fat content). You just don't want to do too much, make sure she's digesting it all. Hope this is helpful? Your pediatrician may have other suggestions. (duh, i'm sure you thought of that) use soy products moderately- some things you can do to increase the fats in her diet:
use coconut oil in place of butter on toast and things you would put butter on
coconut milk
avacadoes
egg yolks if she is not allergic
get some omega 3 fatty acids in her - cod liver oil (they make it flavored now so it does not taste bad) flax seed oil
make soup stocks with the chicken and beef bones and give her pleny of that My children are allergic to milk and TONS of other stuff. I've had the best results with mashing up Haas Avacados and adding them to stuff I'll already be feeding them. If you buy them when they're ripe, they hardly taste at all, so she probably won't know its in her food and its an awesome source of good fat. I mash it up into oatmeal, scrambled eggs, put it on sandwiches.. its pretty easy to add to most stuff. Nuts are recommended for children below two, and with your child already showing an allergy, I would avoid them for a while. You can also add flax seed oil to her food or milk. There is a substance called "Tofu" that is high in calories that you may look into that comes from beans and originated in China. It resembles cottage cheese, although it is a solid when not broken up. My son also had acid reflux and he could not digest milk very well, either. He outgrew it, mostly.
This will help your baby sleep a lot better... you can also check out my site- www.seeandsaybaby.com for extra help in your baby sleeping well. avocado and egg yolks, both have high fat content. My son is allergic to milk and eggs and drinks soy milk. I too had the problem of him waking at night for milk (he didn't sleep through until 18 months). My son is much more picky than your daughter sounds to be, however my tip would be to cook whatever you can in olive or canola oil to get a "good" fat into them. I also gave my son high-fat hot dogs (allergy safe). One other suggestion is to give your child something like oatmeal with dinner to fill her up more...once she will allow you to feed her or she can manage a spoon on her own (thick oatmeal can be eaten with their hands...my son was a big fan of that).
My last suggestion would be to give her a safe fruit smoothie in the evening. That might keep her full longer than the soy milk does.
I hope that helps at least a little. |
