Please help. Formula

There is a great Facebook group called 'Breast Feeding - CMPA support' if you want help continuing your BF journey. It's also advisable to cut out Soy is the protein structure is very similar to Cows milk. Once baby is reaction free you can then introduce the suspected allergen back into your diet in a high amount in 1 go to see if baby has a reaction and confirm the allergy. The protein levels peak in your milk 2 hours after ingestion, mostly gone after 6 hours. It can take about 2 weeks to be fully gone from your system though and usually at least to clear out of baby's so it's a long trial and error game x

@Kristiina yeah we moved from the UK to the US a year ago and the advice for a lot of things is different, it’s hard to keep track and to know what to do 🤦🏼‍♀️ I think it’s just about personal judgement and what works for you. My LO was so miserable and in so much pain, I just wanted to provide her with the quickest to relief. The thought of continuing to breast feed whilst the cows milk was still in my system just filled me with guilt (not that it should as long term it would prob have been more nutritional to stick with breast feeding). I was very emotional about moving her to formula and still question my decision at times (I loved breast feeding) but she’s a different baby now since we did - super chilled and very smiley - so for the most part I’m happy and think we made the right decision

My little on is on the pepti 1 and has it helped her symptoms but wasn’t breastfed before moving to this milk, have you tried colief drops? They help to breakdown the lactose enzymes in the milk and suitable for breastfed babies too, it may be worth a try ☺️ I was using these before the pepti and they did help my little one x

Sorry the link didn’t work https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/cows-milk-allergy-in-children/management/suspected-cows-milk-allergy/

@Michelle that’s interesting, we’ve never had it tested and the diagnosis was more of a trial and error. In the UK, the advice is to keep breastfeeding unless there’s a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) in which case it’s an emergency. https://www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/childrens-health/what-should-i-do-if-i-think-my-baby-is-allergic-or-intolerant-to-cows-milk/ And here: https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/cows-milk-allergy-in-children/management/suspected-cows-milk-allergy/ ‘If the child is symptomatic while exclusively breastfed (rare), actively support continued breastfeeding. Advise the mother to exclude all cow's milk protein from her diet, and advise on the need for dietary supplementation with calcium and vitamin D according to local protocols.’

We've been bottle feeding since birth on aptamil and it's been absolutely fine! Expensive though!!

My little one has just tested positive for CMPA so we’ve switched from breast feeding to a prescribed formula (we’re using Gerber). Your Pediatrician should be able to test your LOs dirty nappy for microscopic amounts of blood to confirm. If you want to continue breast feeding I was told I’d need to stop and pump exclusively for two weeks as this is how long it takes for the protein to leave your body and you don’t want to damage little ones digestive system any further. This wasn’t possible for me as I look after my little girl entirely on my own during the day (my husband works and we’ve just moved to a new country so have no family or friends around) and with the pain she was in I couldn’t put her down long enough or frequently enough to pump 8-10 times per day so I lost my supply. She’s now on the formula and doing much better. Her poop has changed colour and consistency but she still has one dirty nappy a day and finds it a lot less painful to go

Also, if it turns out to be NOT CMPA then at least you won’t sabotage your BF journey. You just need to try to stick to dairy free for a few weeks. Sorry for a long message but just to say good luck, you can do it!

He used to poop continuously (and I mean not just after each feed!) so that even getting him clean during a nappy change was exhausting. So we thought it could be diarhea from CMPA. We also did a poo sample. Going dairy free or Pepti 1 formula didn’t change anything in that regard but ultimately with time with bowels settled. My understanding is that you use Pepti 1 if you want to supplement breast feeding. However since you’ve been EBF, you don’t need to bother with formula at all. I used Pepti 1 only a few times and that was just during his cluster feeding as it was getting too much for me. But I was doing mixed feeding to start with and then gradually switching to EBF. Haha yes well I did miss the cakes and desserts but for me it was worth it. Lots of fruit - oranges, kiwi, grapes that was my sugar. I know it’s not quite the strawberry trifle but you’ll get through it. You can also get vegan chocolate and vegan sweets.

Hi kristiina thankyou for your message it's very helpful. So she's been prescribed aptamil pepti 1 formula. How was your little ones bowl movements on it? So formula and breastfeeding is okay to do ?. I was thinking formula when we are out and about then breast feeding during the day. I'm honestly dreading no chocolate or cake. I'm such a sugar freak !!!. Also I have a nut allergy so can't have any :( xx

Hi, we were in a similar situation with suspected CMPA. You don’t have to stop breastfeeding but you will need to cut out all dairy from your diet. In fact my pediatrician strongly encouraged to continue breastfeeding. Aptamil Pepti 1 formula is there if you do mixed feeding. I did a 3 week trial and ultimately it didn’t make any difference to my LO’s symptoms but was worth trying. I found sticking to dairy free hard but doable. I just had lots of nuts, oat milk and eggs (and eggs have quite a bit of protein I think). For me the main issue was getting enough calcium and I wish I started supplements but I hadn’t thought of it at the time. As a side note, my diet got much healthier without all the cakes and chocolate!

Thankyou hun. With your little one how did he get on with the formula when he first started it x

I was going to say about stopping dairy in your diet. There are a lot of protein based powders you could get which don’t have dairy in which could help you to continue your protein intake. My little one is on Aptamil but not the cow’s milk free one. Sorry I can’t help with breastfeeding as my little one preferred formula over me lol