If eliminating dairy improved things...

[pastrygirl]

If you saw an improvement in your newborn/young baby by eliminating dairy from your diet, did your baby go on to have a dairy allergy? Or was it just that their digestive tract didn't deal well with dairy when they were very young?

My older son was SO CRANKY until he was about 9 months old. He was on Zantac until 6 months, and that kept him from crying but he was still cranky. I wonder if an elimination diet would've helped, but he is not allergic to anything (he's now 3). My 6-week-old is even crankier, goes from zero to ballistic with no buildup, doesn't nap or sleep deeply, etc. I'm just curious if I cut out dairy and he does better, does that mean I'm doomed to cut out dairy for the rest of our breastfeeding relationship?

I wish it didn't take so long to see a difference. Eliminating something for just a couple of days is so much easier than two weeks. Especially when cheese and yogurt are staples for me, in terms of protein.

[sunshadow]

I saw a drastic improvement in my daughter when I eliminated dairy. There was no question about doing it for me. She had bloody poops, what I can the dairy scream, massive amounts of spit up, eczema. It all stopped about a month after I eliminated dairy. It takes more than a couple of weeks because it takes that long just to be out of your body and then a couple more weeks to be out of your babies. It's totally worth it though.

She doesn't have an allergy now at all. She is two and she started having dairy at 18 months old. Not to scare you, but I was dairy free until then since she still nursed. It wasn't hard once I got use to it. She didn't have as strong of a reaction when she was an older baby, but she did get eczema and that was enough for me to stay dairy free that long.

*eta* just to note of all dairy cheese and yogurt are often the ones that can be tolerated by a dairy sensitive child because the protiens are broken down more.

[Sheryl1678]

I also had a drastic improvement in my daughter when I eliminated dairy but it was more immediate. She is 4 now and still doesn't drink milk but has yogurt and cheese in moderate quantities with no problem whatsoever.

[ewe+lamb]

Our whole family went dairy free about a year ago and I didn't take dairy when nursing either child and still don't, dd and I went vegetarian about a year before that due to health reasons for dd, the kids do have the odd yogurt or piece of cheese from school or a friend's house which then brings on a little dry skin and runny nose but they categorically refuse milk - as I did as a child and my father before me, I don't know I think we just run better without than with.