On behalf of all of us here at Nutricia North America, we want to wish you and your families a very happy, healthy holiday season! We’ll return January 5^th with another year of blogging! Until then, we’ll leave you with some festive recipes and a toast to 2010!

“May this year be without reflux and gas,
Let colic and eczema be things of the past!
Allergy relief and GI health await,
Cheers to 2010 from your friends at Neocate!”

Milk-Free Hot Chocolate

• 4 scoops Neocate Junior Chocolate
• 4 ounces water
• 2 tsp sugar (optional)

Heat water on the stove or in the microwave. Remove from heat, allow to cool and add Neocate powder and sugar. Stir well. Top with marshmallows (check the label to be sure the brand is appropriate for your child’s dietary restrictions).

Calories: 170
Protein: 5.2g
Fat: 7g
Carbohydrate: 22.5g
Calcium: 183mg
Vitamin D: 1.8mcg

Milk-free Peppermint Shake:

• 6 scoops Neocate Junior unflavored
• 6.5 ounces water
• 1 cup Organic Rice Dream® Vanilla Frozen Dessert  if tolerated, or alternatively, add 1 cup crushed ice
• 1/8^th tsp peppermint flavor (be careful, a little goes a long way!)
• 2 tsp sugar (optional)

Add all ingredients except Neocate powder into the blender and mix until smooth. Next, add Neocate powder and mix on low setting until blended. Pour and serve. Makes 1-2 servings. If your child drinks smaller servings, pour half and store the remaining shake in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Tip: Remember using the Old-fashioned peppermint sticks as a straw? Try using it with this shake! Check ingredients because brands will vary. Alternatively, you could use candy-striped straws, which you can find at most party stores!

Calories: 409
Protein: 8g
Fat: 18g
Carbohydrate: 54g
Calcium: 295mg
Vitamin D: 206mcg

See you next year!!!

- Mallory

In light of parent concerns about Bisphenol A (BPA) in infant formula packaging, Nutricia announced that we’re taking the extra step to protect your little ones by packaging our powdered products in cans with BPA-free lining.   

Nutricia has provided a complete list of BPA-Free powdered Neocate products that will come in the new cans.

Our hope is that this change will help provide extra peace of mind to the many families with children with milk allergies and other gastrointestinal, metabolic and neurological conditions that require specialized nutrition. If you have any other questions about the new BPA-free lining, give us a call or ask us in the comments section.

- Nita

Dr. Ruchi S. Gupta

Earlier this week, I ran across this article from UPI, “Physicians lack food allergies knowledge.” The article talks about a study led by Dr. Ruchi Gupta at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

Dr. Gupta and her team interviewed 400 pediatricians and family doctors and found that many of them held misconceptions about food allergies. Many even self-reported that they weren’t comfortable with diagnosis and treatment of food allergies.

Here at Nutricia we, of course, greatly value the care that physicians and other healthcare providers provide to so many food allergy families. But we’ve also heard some parents lament how long it took to get their child the right diagnosis ― and therefore, treatment.

What is your experience? Do you feel like your pediatrician “gets” your child’s food allergies? If not, what do you think the food allergy community (families, researchers/experts, support groups, non-profit organizations and companies like Nutricia) can/should do to help improve understanding of food allergies?

- Christine

The first few years of a baby’s life are filled with so many exciting little milestones. One of them, of course, is transitioning your child to solid foods. Some parents find it a big relief and others feel a little sad because it’s a reminder that baby is growing up, (Don’t worry, she’s probably not ready for college quite yet!) but all in all it’s not too much of a big deal.

When you have a little guy or gal with a food allergy, like a milk allergy, this transition can cause a little angst. “How do I avoid an allergic reaction?” and “How do I make sure the baby’s getting enough to eat/the proper nutrition?” are questions we hear a lot around here.

Some parents also wonder if they should take the risk of introducing solid foods at all!

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Your little one actually needs solid foods so that they can start developing the necessary motor skills for chewing, biting (food, not people J) and speech development. So how can you safely begin introducing solid foods to your baby? Here are some important things to remember.

1. Wait until your baby is six months old to start them on solid foods, this will allow their immune system to mature a bit more.

2. Have a challenge phase where you introduce a few core foods to see what your baby can tolerate.

3. Introduce the foods least likely to cause allergic symptoms first.

4. Allow your baby to get used to the taste and texture of solid foods, as well as feeding from a spoon.

5. Introduce new textures in three stages:

• Stage 1:  thin and smooth
• Stage 2:  lumps and chunks
• Stage 3:  finger foods

6. In the later stages, the solid foods now in their diet should provide most of your child’s nutritional needs.

If you are nervous about allergic reactions in the challenge phase, check out Neocate Nutra. It’s a hypoallergenic, amino acid-based semi-solid medical food that you can give to children over six months old. The texture is similar to yogurt and it can be eaten by itself or you can mix it with other foods (my favorite is mixed with apple sauce!).

Have any tips for transitioning to solids? Let us know what you think below.

- Sarah

I often speak with parents of milk allergic babies and I hear a lot about rashes that appear on the baby’s face and body.  It is heartbreaking to hear how much they itch and scratch uncontrollably. And for many parents it is hard to determine if their child has just a typical baby rash or if it is a symptom of something more serious – like a rash caused by an allergic reaction to cow’s milk.

Atopic Dermatitis or eczema are two types of rashes that are commonly caused by a milk allergy. But without a diagnosis from the doctor of a cow’s milk allergy, how would a parent know that this is the cause?

You should always refer to your pediatrician to help you understand what is causing your little one’s eczema, but it’s also important to look at the big picture. Sometimes a baby with cow’s milk allergies, will also display other symptoms in addition to a rash. For instance, you may also see symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, gassiness, wheezing, runny nose, and colic.

If you do see a rash accompanied by any of these other symptoms, make sure to keep detailed notes and share all symptoms with your doctor so that your little one can get diagnosed and treated faster.

Also, make sure to work with your pediatrician to come up with a plan for healing your baby’s skin –  no matter what is triggering the rash, it is important to heal your baby’s skin as soon as possible. Some recommendations the doctor might suggest include:

• Bathing your baby in soothing lukewarm water

• Using a milk soap or non-soap cleanser

• Avoiding bath oils and perfumed powders

• Applying an over-the-counter lubricant to your baby’s skin

• Keeping your baby’s fingernails filed short so the scratching won’t do as much damage

• Dressing your baby in soft cotton fabrics to prevent possible fabric irritation

• Keeping your baby cool and avoiding hot, humid environments

• Trying to keep your baby distracted from the itchiness with fun activities

Did your little one have a rash due to a milk protein allergy? Tell us about your experience and what you did to treat it.

-Christine