How I dealt with my baby’s cow’s milk sensitivity: real life story

How I Dealt with my Baby’s Cow’s Milk Sensitivity: Emma’s Story by Mim Jenkinson is sponsored by Oli6.

From the time you discover you are pregnant, your baby’s health and safety is at the forefront of your mind.

Keeping them safe, happy and healthy is your number one goal throughout their life. But what happens when these things are at risk?

What if your baby cries and nothing you do will comfort them? Or what if they start to develop symptoms that you haven’t seen before?

This is what confronted Emma Bowler when her three month old baby girl, Kelsey, started to develop unusual symptoms.

How Emma dealt with her baby’s Cow’s Milk Sensitivity

Discovering that Kelsey was sensitive to cow’s milk

Kelsey had been exclusively breastfed from birth and when she was three months old, Emma made the decision to introduce formula to her. She picked up a tin of cow’s milk formula and started offering Kelsey one bottle a day.

While Kelsey took to the bottle well, she very quickly started to show signs that all was not right. Kelsey had colic from birth and after introducing formula, this flared up much more with almost constant crying and screaming that could not be consoled. She would arch her back, be irritable and had also started to develop eczema.

Emma Bowler with her daughter, Kelsey

As a first time mum, with little local support, Emma was incredibly distressed. “It was a really tough time and we felt totally unprepared for Kelsey’s symptoms.”

“We tried three different brands of cow’s milk formula but Kelsey’s symptoms did not ease. Then I remembered that when I was a child, I had developed eczema from a cow’s milk intolerance. I asked my GP if Kelsey might be allergic to cow’s milk but they dismissed that and advised me to persist with it.”

Emma trusted her gut instinct and set about researching milk allergies in babies and milk allergy symptoms online. Everything she read pointed to this being a probable cause of Kelsey’s troubles.

After reading about Oli6 Goat Milk Toddler, Emma picked up the phone to find out more.

“Oli6 Customer Service gave me so much information and advice about how to manage Kelsey’s milk sensitivity symptoms. We had wasted so much money buying different tins of formula, only to discard them when they didn’t work out.”

“Oli6 kindly sent us some sachets to try out their Stage 1 Goat Milk Formula before we purchased the full sized tin. Their customer service was wonderful and they were so helpful in letting me know about the nutritional benefits of goat milk formula. I needed to be confident that by switching Kelsey from cow’s milk formula to goat milk formula, she wouldn’t lose any nutrients.”

By then, Kelsey was four months old and after her very first bottle of Oli6 goat milk formula, Emma noticed a big difference.

“The consistency of the formula was so similar to breastmilk and I wondered if that helped too in making it easier to digest. Kelsey’s symptoms eased so much after her very first bottle and we were so happy to have finally found something that helped!”

Whilst her symptoms did not disappear fully, the colic, crying, discomfort and eczema all eased and the flare ups quickly reduced.

When Kelsey was six months old, she was fully weaned onto a combination of goat milk formula and solid food.

What’s next for Kelsey?

Emma has booked an appointment for Kelsey to see an Allergist to test for food allergies in babies. She wants to get their opinion before she reintroduces any products containing cow’s milk. Until they know more, she intends to continue to supplement solid foods with goat milk formula.

Kelsey Bowler

Emma shares: “Motherhood is not always easy and we were unprepared for this unexpected challenge. I looked at how happy my friend’s babies were and I just wanted that for Kelsey.”

“Kelsey is a happy and healthy baby who enjoys a lot of solid foods and her sensitive digestive system is now fine.”

Cow’s Milk Allergy Symptoms

Melanie McGrice, Dietician and Author, recommends “symptoms of cow’s milk allergy may include rashes, swelling of lips and eyes, diarrhoea, wheezing or even vomiting.”

“These symptoms can occur immediately after milk consumption, or up to eight hours after consumption. It’s best to have the diagnosis of a cow’s milk allergy made by a Health Care Professional.”

If you suspect that your little one has a baby cow’s milk allergy, consult your GP immediately.

Right now, you can make significant savings by purchasing all Stages from the Oli6 range here:

Click here to find out more about the Oli6 Goat Milk Toddler range and read reviews from more parents.

You can also visit the Oli6 website here.