Wheezing is often associated with intolerances as a fees makes their reflux worse which in turn can make their wheezing worse.

My DD always gets wheezy after her feeds but if bub starts struggling to breath that's when it is a sign of something more sinister. I would still def mention it to the doctor.

The wheezing being worse straight after feeding sounds more like an allergic reaction rather than an intolerance. Can you record it on your phone to show your dr? He might take you a little more seriously. Any airway involvement scares me (I have an anaphylaxis, which neither of my boys have). Definitely try and get seen by someone who knows the ins and outs of allergies/intolerances. As pp said it doesn't take long on prescription formula to see a marked improvement.

@msmum thanks you have been really really helpful. Just another thing after he drinks a bottle he sound extra wheezy is that also something that suggests an intolerance?

@princess-peach that's great to hear that Sash and Lexi outgrew it so young!!! If Miller does have an intolerance hopefully he will too!!!

@teegz Im near frankston so I would love their contact details thank you!!

My daughter has a milk protein intolerance and is off dairy all together as they're not sure what it is. She drinks rice milk and I use nuttelex on her sandwiches etc. she gets really bad diahorrea and can get little red spots on her face. She is also intolerant of high fructose fruits such as apples grapes and bananas. I saw a pediatric dietician and a naturopath and I swear by the naturopath. I'm also in Melbourne and saw a guy in frankston if u're close by I can give u his details.

They are both fine now and both completely outgrew it by 12 months old. Lexi had come good by millers age already, sash took till about 10/11 months but his was severe! And both required elecare perscription formula. Sash just thrived immediately when he started the formula, unfortunately Lexi developed some reflux but it was manageable and better then the other symptoms from the milk protein so we stuck with it then weaned her onto karricare aptimal ha at about 8 months with no problems.

The back aching is likely a reflux thing. Reflux often goes hand in hand with a milk protein intolerance. Green poo can be normal for some babies but if he has other issues it can be a sign that his stomach isn't handling something well. The seeds are ok, it's really mucus (which can also look stringy) and blood that is the big concern. My biggest concern would be the eczema and wheezing. There's a strong link between untreated eczema and an asthma diagnosis by the age of 5. Since he already has a wheeze that would be my main reason for getting him dairy free for at least 6 weeks to see how his skin and wheeze react. As I said either soy or one of the two elemental formulas are the only true way to do this. Goat's milk has a very similar protein to cows milk. Good luck at the GP. You might have to be his advocate as many GP's aren't all that up on allergies. My ds1 has ongoing issues with his bowels at almost 7 as a result of his undiagnosed milk protein intolerance. I wish I knew then what I know now.

Thanks for the advice everyone!! I have made an appointment for Wednesday with our GP to get a referral. With his poo, I haven't noticed blood but it is usually green and it occasionally has white seeds through it. I had mentioned it to the health nurse and she said it was normal. Another thing that I forgot to mention was after he has a bottle he throws himself backwards and squirms a fair bit its quite difficult to hold him straight to get him to burp its like he has a lot of discomfort, I assumed this was because of reflux but I'm not sure now..

@princess_peach how are Sash and Lexi now? Can they have dairy?

Yes, they can prescribe lactose free and partially hydrolised formula but not fully elemental formula i.e., neocate and elecare (the only two fully elemental formulas available in Australia). This only came into effect last year.

Msmum yes they can...

My paed prescribed LF formula and then a really special formula... They have to call up Medicare for "authority" to write on your script but everyone has to do that, in fact I've gotten prescriptions for formula from the gp...

A paediatrician can no longer prescribe prescription formulas. From my experience they take a soft, wait and see approach. It will cost you no more to see someone who specialises in dairy intolerance. Since a paediatrician can't prescribe the formula you'd need another referral to someone who can, which would double your cost and take much longer to get sorted. I learned from my first to go straight to the experts and avoid the messing around.

Hey Sharna? yes both my 2 had milk protein allergy! Sash was the worst and had every symptom you've described as well as mucous and small flecks of blood in his poo. Lexi had a more mild intolerance with a lot less irritability but had really rashy outbreaks on her skin from it and also blood in her poo. Only a pead or allergy specialist can properly diagnose it for you but don't just put up with it because it will drive you to the brink and make everyone so miserable!!!

Going to a paed would be my first suggestion. My LO has a complex protein intolerance and lactose intolerance. You can never truly know what it is until you talk to a professional because there are a lot of variations and every bub is different but from reading your description it sounds like there is something going on but I think you need to see a paed and maybe a gaestro specialist (who we saw) but the paed can refer you if they think its needed.

Does your LO get any blood in their nappy? (Red or black)

You need to try get a referal to a peadiatrician. My pead would have you try soy milk before going on something like neocate. An allergist is an expensive waste of money unless LO is clearly allergic to multiple things. A gastro specialist wont do anything unless he spews alot and is older than 12 months.

You'll need a referral to see either specialist. It's likely that it's an intolerance rather than an allergy so an allergy test probably won't pick it up. Worth doing though. The allergist will be able to prescribe formula based on symptoms. A gastro specialist will do the same. Here in Brisbane it's over a years wait to see even a private allergist. I would recommend looking for an allergy centre that you pay the whole cost up front but get seen immediately. It is $$ but if you can afford it saves a lot of time waiting. Waiting time here for private paed gastro specialist is only a few weeks so that might be your best bet to start with. Initial consult would be around $200-$250 and you'd get around $80-$100 ish back on Medicare. In the meantime I would try the soy based formula. Even though many dairy intolerant babies can't handle it either a lot can so it's worth trying. I'm not a big fan of soy in the long term but I think it's fine until you get some answers, especially if it works.

Thanks so much for your help!! I forgot to mention that his poos change so much, one day they are really hard the next day quite soft. I thought that may be because of the different solids he is having so we started a food diary. We are in Melbourne, do I need a referral to see an allergist?

It does sound like a milk protein intolerance/allergy. Both my ds had this. Ds1 went undiagnosed until he was 2 and had outgrown it. We were seeing a gasto specialist and he would have put money on it. Ds2 we knew what to look for and spotted it almost immediately. How are his poos? The poor sleeping, reflux, eczema and wheezing are all give away symptoms. Most babies will also react to goat and soy. You could try a soy formula though and see how that goes. I would try to get him seen by an allergist or gastro specialist. If you're located in brisbane I can give you recommendations of places where you can get in quickly. He probably would be best off on a prescription formula that only an allergist or gastro specialist can prescribe.