Allergen guide

🥛 Introducing Dairy to Your Baby: A Calm UK Guide

You can introduce dairy from around 6 months, starting with a small amount of full-fat pasteurised yoghurt or cheese, or cows' milk used in cooking. Cows' milk can become your baby's main drink from 12 months.

When to introduce milk

Dairy can join your baby's meals from around 6 months, once they have started on other first foods. Full-fat pasteurised yoghurt and cheese are lovely early options, and cows' milk is fine mixed into porridge, mash or sauces. It is best kept as a cooking ingredient until 12 months, when it can become a main drink. If your baby is on a special formula for a suspected cows' milk allergy, check with your GP or dietitian before offering any dairy at home.

How to start

  1. Pick a day when your baby is well and you are at home together
  2. Offer dairy earlier in the day so you have time to watch how they get on
  3. Start with a teaspoon or two of plain full-fat yoghurt or a little grated cheese
  4. Keep other new foods off the menu that day so you know what is what
  5. If all is well, build up the amount over the next few days

First ways to offer it

Keep it going

Once dairy suits your baby, keep it as a regular part of their week. Yoghurt at breakfast, cheese in a pasta sauce or milk in porridge are easy ways to do it. Regular contact helps their body stay used to it, so try not to let it drop out for long stretches.

Signs of a mild reaction

  • A red, blotchy or raised itchy rash, often around the mouth or on the face
  • Mild swelling of the lips, face or around the eyes
  • Itchy or red skin
  • A runny or blocked nose, sneezing or watery eyes
  • Being sick, tummy ache or diarrhoea

If you notice mild signs, stop offering the food and speak to your doctor or health visitor before trying again.

Signs of a severe reaction

  • Swelling of the tongue or throat
  • Trouble breathing, or noisy, fast or hard breathing
  • Wheezing, or a cough that will not stop
  • A hoarse voice, or trouble swallowing
  • Becoming pale and floppy, or suddenly very sleepy
  • Collapse, or not responding to you

Call 999 straight away and say you think your baby is having a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis). If your baby has been given an adrenaline auto-injector, use it now. Do not wait to see if it settles. If you only see mild signs, stop offering the food and speak to your GP or health visitor before trying it again.

Where milk can hide

Foods in our database that contain it

🥣YoghurtFrom 6 months · Milk🥣Greek yoghurtFrom 6 months · Milk🧀CheddarFrom 6 months · Milk🧀MozzarellaFrom 6 months · Milk🧀Cottage cheeseFrom 6 months · Milk🧀Cream cheeseFrom 6 months · Milk🧀RicottaFrom 6 months · Milk🧀PaneerFrom 6 months · Milk🧀HalloumiFrom 9 months · Milk🧀FetaFrom 6 months · Milk🧀ParmesanFrom 6 months · Milk🧀BrieFrom 6 months · Milk🧀Goat's cheeseFrom 6 months · Milk🧈ButterFrom 6 months · Milk🥛Cow's milkFrom 6 months · Milk🥛Goat's milkFrom 12 months · Milk🥛KefirFrom 6 months · Milk🥛Double creamFrom 6 months · Milk🥣Crème fraîcheFrom 6 months · Milk🥄Fromage fraisFrom 6 months · Milk🧀MascarponeFrom 6 months · Milk🧈GheeFrom 6 months · Milk🧀Blue cheeseFrom 6 months · Milk🧀Soft cheese spreadFrom 6 months · Milk🥣LabnehFrom 6 months · Milk🥛SkyrFrom 6 months · Milk🥣QuarkFrom 6 months · Milk🧀EdamFrom 6 months · Milk🧀GoudaFrom 6 months · Milk🧀EmmentalFrom 6 months · Milk🧀BurrataFrom 6 months · Milk🥛Evaporated milkFrom 6 months · Milk🥣Goat's yoghurtFrom 6 months · Milk🍮CustardFrom 6 months · Milk · Egg🍨Ice creamFrom 12 months · Milk · Egg🍞BriocheFrom 6 months · Gluten · Egg · Milk

Allergens with OBubba

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Log a food and OBubba recognises the allergens in it, reminds you to keep tolerated allergens in the diet, and keeps a clear record to share with your doctor. Free to download.

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Questions parents ask

Can my baby have cows' milk before 12 months?

Yes, as an ingredient in cooking or with cereal from around 6 months. It just should not replace breast milk or formula as their main drink until they turn one.

Is goats' milk a good swap if my baby reacts to cows' milk?

Usually not. The proteins are very similar, so babies who react to cows' milk often react to goats' milk too. Your GP or dietitian can guide you.

Is lactose intolerance the same as a milk allergy?

No. A milk allergy involves the immune system, while lactose intolerance is about digesting milk sugar. It is uncommon in babies, so speak to your GP if you are unsure what you are seeing.

Other allergens

🥚Egg🥜Peanut🌰Tree nuts🥯Sesame🐟Fish🦐Crustaceans🦑Molluscs🌾Gluten🫛Soya🌭Mustard🥬Celery🫘Lupin🍇Sulphites

Sources

OBubba gives general information based on UK guidance. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose anything. Every baby is different. If your baby has a known allergy, severe eczema or a medical condition, speak to your doctor or health visitor before starting solids. Learn baby first aid, and in an emergency call your local emergency number (999 in the UK).