At 14:30 20/10/98 -0400, Robyn Kozierok wrote:

>Anecdotally, for our sample size of 2 kids, this turned out to be
>true.  Kid #1 got a few ounces of milk formula before we were able to
>get breastfeeding established, and has no milk allergy.  Kid #2 got
>nothting but breast for 6 months, but developed a milk allergy.

When I found out about Nikolas' allergy at 4 months, the pediatrician
and allergist explained the following theory: I nursed him right after
birth, and for the first day. Then the second day, he got one bottle of
formula (without my knowledge) and I continued breastfeeding. His system
then recognised the formula as a foreign protein and reacted against it
in subsequent "encounters". In their opinion, this is most likely to
happen during the first three days after the baby is born as his intestine
is not completely formed and has "leaks". If he had been given formula
first thing, chances of him developing an allergy to it would have been
actually lower. Just a theory, I know, but in our case it could explain
the situation quite well. Of course, best of all would have been not to
have formula at all.

Angela