Last week I hoped we would soon have some good news to share on the milk ladder, and we do! J passed the first step of the milk ladder on Friday and enjoyed his first ever shop bought biscuits.
It’s only step one out of 12 so we still have a long way to go but it’s very exciting and hopefully will help J outgrow his cows’ milk protein allergy (cmpa).
The milk ladder – the challenge
We arrived at Addenbrookes at 9am to tackle the first step of the milk ladder. They started by rubbing a small bit of Malted Milk biscuit on the inside of his lip to see if he reacted. He didn’t so they then gave him increasing amounts – a crumb, eighth, quarter, and half – every 20 minutes until he was finally allowed a whole one. He loved them and just kept asking for more!
We had to wait a further 2 hours to check for any reactions and he got the all clear! We were there for nearly 5 hours but luckily we had a lovely nurse who kept him occupied and J enjoyed causing havoc up and down the corridors!
The milk ladder: next steps
We had to wait 48 hours to make sure he didn’t have a delayed reaction and now has to eat 3 Malted Milk biscuits a week for the next month. Then we can move on to Digestives which, weirdly, have a higher milk content. If he is OK with them then the next month we can move on to cake – yummy!
Climbing the milk ladder
Our consultant wants to take it very slowly because of his previous anaphylactic reaction but it’s great to be heading in the right direction. It also means I feel more comfortable giving him some ‘may contain’ products so he also enjoyed his first Jammie Dodger today!
[…Read about how J finally climbed the whole milk ladder and outgrew his milk allergy!]
Have you done the milk ladder or a food challenge? How did it go?
Oh my goodness, what a massive day that was for you! So pleased for you that he’s passed the first test, it must be fantastic! x
Thanks, it was a pretty fantastic day!
That’s fabulous news! Congrats. I know how big this is as my son has numerous big allergies and when we pass something it’s a huge celebration. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme
Thanks Jenny. I felt ridiculously proud of him considering all he had to do was eat a biscuit!! Glad your son is making progress too x
That’s great news – and I don’t blame him for liking them, I tried one after many years gap and they were scrummy!
Ha ha, yeah always a classic!
Woo hoo! Fantastic news Emma, what a star he is for staying at the hospital for so long and brilliant that he can now start moving up the milk ladder. Which incidentally I found really interesting – I’ve never really considered the milk content in a sheppards pie! Thanks so much for linking up at #sharethejoy and hope to see you next week x
No I hadn’t thought about any of that before j’s allergy. It’s a whole new way of thinking!
Good news! It also must be a huge relief for you both. I’ve never come across the milk ladder before and when you look at all the foods it’s amazing to see just how many things do contain milk – and how much!
I hope he continues to enjoy his biscuits ! xx
He’s trying to steal my biscuits now! Yeah it is an interesting thing to look at.
Hi Emma, Such great news! Congrats to you all. Hope you continue to have success with future challenges. I have some more questions for you, so will send an email offline. Many thanks for sharing your experiences. So very helpful. -Heddi
Apologies if he has other allergies/there is something I am missing but would it not be beneficial for him to have alternativea to cows milk and for instance have soy/nimut/rice alternatives. Last time I checked these are more nutritious alternatives and having milk from an animal isn’t a compulsary part of a diet that requires to be worked towards to have a healthy child?
Yes he does have soy milk but this isn’t about health or animals, it’s about safety. We need to know that he won’t have an anapylactic reaction if he comes into contact with milk. This is a serious medical condition, not a lifestyle choice.
Are there recipes somewhere for the items listed here. For example – lasagna, shepherd’s pie, pancakes. It seems like the amount of milk and the baking times would vary between recipes. We are just starting our journey with the milk ladder and I need all the help I can get! Thank you!