When to Introduce Dairy to a Baby with Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy

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Do Babies Outgrow Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy? Introducing Dairy to Your Baby with Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy Who Shouldn’t Use the Milk Ladder?

Article Summary:

You should work with your doctor to introduce dairy to your baby who has cow’s milk protein allergy.
You can use the milk ladder to slowly introduce dairy to your little one’s diet.
The milk ladder has four steps, and each step takes one to three months.

Do Babies Outgrow Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy?

Cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA) comes with a variety of symptoms that can arise when your baby is exposed to the protein in cow’s milk.² CMPA can result in immediate (IgE) symptoms such as hives, itching and swelling around the mouth or lips, or delayed (non-IgE) symptoms such as diarrhea, blood in stool and colic.³

If you breastfeed, you’ll need to avoid consuming dairy since traces of cow’s milk protein can appear in breast milk.⁴ You can also feed your infant extensively hydrolyzed formula, a type of formula that’s made for babies with cow’s milk protein allergy.⁴

The good news is that 1 out of 2 babies with cow’s milk protein allergy will outgrow it by the time they turn one.² 8 out of 10 babies will outgrow cow’s milk protein allergy by the time they turn three years old.²

Introducing Dairy to Your Baby with Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy

When you’re ready to introduce dairy to your baby with cow’s milk protein allergy, it’s important that you work with your health care provider.⁵ Typically, you can try introducing this allergen to your baby when they are between 9 and 12 months old and have avoided dairy for at least 6 months.⁶

Many parents use a helpful visual tool called the milk ladder to introduce dairy to their child.⁷ The cow’s milk protein allergy ladder contains four steps, with each step increasing the amount of dairy that your child can consume.⁴ Start at the bottom of the ladder by giving your child baked goods containing milk and eventually work your way up the ladder until they can eat cheese, yogurt or drink milk.⁵

Here’s a more detailed breakdown of what the dairy ladder looks like: at step one of the ladder, you can begin by introducing a pea-sized amount of baked goods like a cookie or muffin to your child.^5,7 Baking or cooking milk breaks down the proteins that your child is allergic to, making it less likely that your child will have an allergic reaction.⁷ You can give baked goods containing dairy to your child daily and gradually increase the amount.⁷ Typically, you’ll stay on each step of the ladder for one to three months before moving to the next level.⁷

Once one to three months have passed and your child hasn’t exhibited allergic symptoms, you can continue to step two.⁵ At this stage you can introduce cooked foods that contain a little bit more milk, such as crepes, pancakes or waffles.⁵ If your baby can eat these foods with no allergic symptoms for one to three months, they can move to the next step of the ladder.⁵ If after moving to the next step there are allergic symptoms, go down one step on the ladder for a month before trying step three.⁵

Step three of the ladder is when you can introduce foods like pizza and boiled milk.⁵If your child has an allergic reaction to these foods, move one step down the ladder.⁵ If your child tolerates these types of foods for at least one to three months with no allergic reaction, you can move to step four, which allows you to introduce cheese, yogurt, ice cream and milk to your baby.⁵

Who Shouldn’t Use the Milk Ladder?

Using the milk ladder to introduce dairy isn’t for everyone. If your child is 6 years or older, the milk ladder might not be a good fit for them.⁵ If your baby has severe or poorly controlled asthma or experiences anaphylaxis from small amounts of food, especially baked goods, don’t try the milk ladder.⁵

Since each step takes one to three months, navigating the milk ladder can be a slow process. If you can’t adhere to this timeframe, the milk ladder might not be a good fit for you.⁵

If your child has cow’s milk protein allergy, Nutramigen^® A+^® with LGG^® from Enfamil provides complete nutrition. Talk to your doctor if you suspect your baby has cow’s milk protein allergy.

If your baby has cow’s milk protein allergy, there are plenty of resources available to help you manage it. Learn more about cow’s milk protein allergy by visiting the Allergy Centre today.

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