Milk challenge - normal process or fail?
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The advice we’ve been given has been so sloppy! I’ve had to take bits of information from different forums / groups and friends and go with my mummy instincts. His nappies beforehand contained mucus when he was combi-fed but when we switched over to full formula (Kendamil), they were fine. His only symptom of cmpa really was his bad skin which did improve when we were prescribed steroid creams, followed a strict skin regime and swapped to hydrolysed milk (Althera). My gut (no pun intended 😅) is telling me that his digestive system just needs to readjust - maybe it’s just wishful thinking but I’ll persist over the next few days and see if anything improves 🤞🏼
@Lauryn that’s the milk ladder, where you start to introduce milk to see if they can tolerate it in the stages with the view they’d ‘outgrow’ their allergy. The milk challenge is to confirm if they actually have the allergy or not, so reintroduction of their original formula in the first bottle of the day going up by 1 scoop a day until you reach a full bottle x
We were told to solely look for our little ones original symptoms, so like you say it could just be his body getting used to something different again or it could be conforming the allergy. Unfortunately it’s really hard to tell, the whole thing is a minefield! X
@Jade yep 🤦🏼♀️ that’s what I get for replying when not concentrating 😅 thank you ☺️ I never had to challenge my girl because she never improved on hydrolysed milk so had to go on amino acid formula. 1 scoop a day makes more sense to me though because otherwise it is definitely likely to upset their poor bellies 🙈
Jade is correct and I hadn’t processed it properly before I replied 🤦🏼♀️ sorry! I think doing it gradually is probably the best way to go. I would monitor symptoms still. As I said above, I never had to challenge my girl but because she had to have amino acid formula we were referred to a dietician and we’ve still not seen them except a group video session on starting weaning even though she had already been weaning for 2 months at this point, so I understand your frustrations. The only thing I’ve been told is to wait until she has been dairy free for 6 months before trying the milk ladder 🤦🏼♀️
Asked heal baby care app and sharing in case it helps: "It's great to hear that your son is otherwise happy and not showing significant discomfort or other symptoms. When reintroducing cow's milk, some changes in stool consistency can occur, especially if there is a sensitivity. However, the presence of mucus in the stool can be a sign of irritation or an adverse reaction, so it's important to monitor this closely. Since he has had some loose stools with mucus, it may be wise to pause the challenge and consult with your dietitian or pediatrician for further guidance. They can help assess whether this reaction is normal or if it indicates a need to stop the challenge. In the meantime, how has his overall behavior and appetite been during this challenge?"
Going straight to a bottle of milk seems very odd for the milk challenge. You usually start with baked milk (like a biscuit) it could just be his digestive system getting used to it though. I would monitor it for a few more days. Were his nappy’s affected by the milk originally?