Funny how having an experience with something makes you feel like an expert in it!  Well, I'm not quite an expert but this is how I reason things after having a daughter who was allergic to dairy in my diet as an infant.  I contend that she was not only allergic, but lactose intolerant as well!  She
certainly had the same symptoms as an infant (explosive mucousy bowel movements, crying and/or squirming ALL the time from belly ache, very foul smelling gas and minimal weight gain.  Actually, she looks FTT in her 2 mo. pic but I think my ped was so comfortable with my breastfeeding knowledge and
experience, her being child #4, that he didn't worry about her) that she now has as a teenager since her lactose intolerance reappeared at 10 years of age.  She is now EXTREMELY lactose intolerant.  As an infant, once I completely eliminated dairy from my diet, her symptoms disappeared completely
until I reintroduced dairy in my diet when she was a year old and it no longer bothered her.  When I think back of her symptoms and how difficult that period of time was for us, I recognize the symptoms of both allergy and lactose intolerance.  I know I've read here repeatedly that lactose is
lactose, whether human or bovine, but I'm not entirely convinced.  Call me stupid (though not to my face, please! ;-) ) but it makes sense to me that if the iron in bovine milk is different and the protein is different in some way from what is in human milk, that the lactose might be also.  Do we
have proof that they are identical?  Where can I read that definitively? What basic thing do I not know about lactose that explains why they are the same?   Meanwhile, I would still suggest cutting out all dairy in mom's diet completely (every trace) before I'd tell her to wean to formula.

Marsha, who recognized my daughter's lactose intolerance 6 years ago because many symptoms were the same as when she was an infant.  Thank goodness for Lactaid, because she loves cheese!

Marsha Glass RN, BSN, IBCLC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mothers have as powerful an influence over the welfare of future generations as all other earthly causes combined.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~John S. C. Abbot~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




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