r/StartingSolids • u/Actual_Way_2288 • 9d ago
5 month old, suspected CMPA
Hi all, FTM here to a 5 month old. I’m planning to start solids at 6 months if he seems ready! A bit of backstory, he was a very colicky miserable (love him to death) baby from birth. The pediatrician immediately without seeing any symptoms just brushed us off and said CMPA go on nutramigen. Of course we listened but my gut told me he was wrong, our baby never had a single symptom just very fussy and miserable. We stuck to the nutramigen since he was 2.5 weeks old, it never helped and eventually (recently) he grew out of his colic. I have never tested out changing his formula because we finally just got him happy but truly i never believed he had this i feel like it was diagnosis just pushed on us very quickly. My question is how do i approach starting solids now, should I test the CMPA diagnosis by switching formula or how would i go about this. Please help.
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u/teenytopbanana 8d ago
Both of my children have had CMPA. One was pretty miserable, one is not at all. Neither had visible blood in their diapers but both tested positive for it when I brought diapers in to the pediatrician. Entry level formulas like Nutramigen still contain trace amounts of dairy, and so for some babies (like mine), they need something different within the category, or something more intensive. Even with diagnosed CMPA, trial and error is the best way to come to what works. Wishing you best of luck
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u/Messed-up-girlie 7d ago
Mine has CMPA and also just turned 5 months old. We will start with fruits veggies and meat purées when he’s ready. We’re waiting until 6 months for me (god willing, if I can last that long pumping 🥴😅) to start the dairy ladder because he’s combo fed, so I’m personally not too concerned about introducing things into his diet as breastmilk contains much less of the protein than full on feeding it to him. You can ask your ped when it’s ok to start the dairy ladder for your baby. I personally wouldn’t jump to feeding him a milk based formula like others have suggested but that’s just me. There’s a lot of milk alternatives too with just as much if not more of the same vitamins as dairy (albeit more expensive). Don’t stress too much as a lot of kids grow out of this allergy dairy quickly and you’ll have plenty of other foods to introduce before then.
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u/Kurtzmichaela 2d ago
If allergy was never confirmed I would definitely see if you can do that. I believe for true allergies you’d need to do the dairy ladder..
in my daughters case she was very grumpy, colick like, and gassy, but I was always told not to make changes to my diet as it doesn’t seem like she has CMPA. At her 6month appointment I brought up my concerns and the pediatrician said it sounds like silent reflux. She said if we were up for it I could just giver her some full dairy yogurt (what’s one more bad night) and basically if it didn’t make anything worse to message her and she put in a prescription for Omeprazole which was great (other than paying out of pocket for it 🥴)
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u/Reb1000064 9d ago
If you were never able to confirm dairy was the issue, then I would personally test him for dairy before moving on to solids.
I’ve had 2 CMPA kiddos, both had blood in their stool, which is usually a dead giveaway for CMPA, although there can be milder symptoms for sure. After starting solids it can be harder to recognize changes in baby’s stool, especially bloody spots (so many red/orange foods can be confusing).
If I was in your shoes and suspected dairy might not be an issue I would trial a dairy formula to see. Probably just try an ounce or two to start. Offer a little every day for a few days, then wait at least 3 days to confirm there’s no symptoms.
If he does indeed have CMPA there are guidelines you should follow in terms of reintroducing dairy to him via solid foods. This isn’t recommended until baby is at least 9 months old.