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Although rare, it is possible for a baby to be allergic to breastmilk. This may necessitate switching a baby to an infant formula. However, it is possible for the baby to also be allergic to ordinary formula. Luckily, hypoallergenic infant formulas are available for those who cannot tolerate other forms of infant food.

If your baby is allergic to your breastmilk, find out why. Is the baby allergic to the milk itself or something in it? It is important to remember that everything you ingest, including any medications, alcohol, or nicotine, as well as regular food, can find its way into your breastmilk. It may be that the baby is allergic to one of these substances, and if you can determine what the offender is, you can eliminate it from your diet. For example, if a baby has an allergy to peanuts and you eat some, he can have an allergic reaction via the breastmilk!

• It may take a lot of trial and error, and a lot of allergy testing, but it is in your baby's best interest to try to make your breastmilk drinkable for him. During this process, it may be necessary to switch him to formula. If this becomes necessary, you can switch him back to breastmilk when the allergen has been removed.
• Is there a family history of food allergies? When you are trying to determine what food or foods are causing your baby's allergy, this is a good place to start, as most allergies are inherited. If there is a family history of food allergies, try not to eat any item that you know has caused an allergic reaction in a family member, as your baby may also be allergic to these items.

When a baby is allergic to breastmilk, or when the mother is not able to breastfeed, a baby can be successfully fed commercial infant formula. However, there are cases where a baby is also allergic to commercial infant formulas. There are many formulas available, and you may find that your baby will tolerate one brand but not another. You may need to work with your child's pediatrician to determine which formula is best and to ensure that your child is getting enough nutrition, as you seek a viable food source for him.

• The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns against making homemade infant formulas. It is almost impossible to make a homemade formula that will be able to meet all the nutritional needs of an infant. As well, it is difficult to make homemade formulas in a manner that is easily digestible by an infant.

Just because a formula is hypoallergenic does not mean that a child cannot be allergic to it. What hypoallergenic means is, is that it is less likely to evoke an allergic response than standard formulas.

• One of the means by which hypoallergenic formulas are made 'less allergenic' is by breaking up the proteins in the formula. This process of hydrolyzation makes the proteins smaller. It is as if the proteins have been predigested. In this smaller form, they are more easily tolerated by the baby and are less likely to produce an allergic reaction.

Identifying an infant with an allergy to breastmilk or formula can be difficult. Symptoms can include runny nose, runny eyes, stomach upset including constipation, diarrhea, or vomiting, distended stomach, blood in the stools, difficulty breathing, hives (rash), crying, sleeplessness, and in severe cases the baby may go into shock. Another sign can be a baby's unwillingness to eat, because the baby associates eating with feeling unwell.

• If you think that your baby may have a food allergy, consult with his pediatrician. Simply switching from one type of formula to another (i.e., cows milk to a soy-based formula) can cause as many problems as the allergies themselves. This is especially true if your child is allergic to food proteins. Random switching can actually cause your child to develop an intolerance to all formulas.
• Your child's doctor will determine what allergies the baby has and recommend a formula, or strategy for using breastmilk, that is most likely to be tolerated by the baby.