Breastfeeding Mom Told to Avoid Dairy, Eggs, Chocolate, Nuts, Etc.

My sister went through this with her kids. She didn't have to avoid eggs, but dairy. I think she used Margarine instead of butter, non-dairy creamer instead of half n half. It was hard, but she noticed an immediate difference - with 2 days of how the little ones felt. Good luck. Hers did grow out of it. Now dairy is fine for them.

We went through this with my DD who is now 6 months. It was hard at first..but shopping at Whole Foods made it easy to find foods that were dairy/soy free. I would eliminate both and also any acidic foods like citrus and tomatoes in case it is GI issues and not food allergies. With my daughter, she also tested negative to the skin tests for all allegies, but continues to be congested and rashy when she ingests anything with dairy or soy. Also, it ends up she had severe reflux all along as well causing her much of the distress. I ended up resorting to hypoallergenic formula after about 3 months of the diet, not because it was that hard...but mostly because of other issues with supply/thrush etc. You can do it! It is really a healthy way to eat and you will drop off those pregnancy pounds in a flash :)

I had to do this for a while too (about 3 months). I cooked very basic meals - chicken/beef/fish with veggie and potato/pasta/rice. It is hard, but worth it! In the end, my daughter ended up not being allergic to dairy, but she was sensitive to me eating it as a newborn. Her main problem was reflux.

She did still however, have severe eczema looking patches on her face that we discovered might be a food allergy so we did a blood test at 3 months and discovered she was allergic to eggs.

Hi Emily,

I can relate to your feelings as I had to eliminate dairy from my diet while breastfeeding. It was hard but well worth it. You would be suprised how much you can eat without dairy. We shop at Trader Joes and Henry's a lot. Check out www.foodfit.com for a lot of whole food recipes that often times do not have dairy. My daughter's allergy is gone now but we have trouble even remembering how we ate before. Who is your allergist? I had one that was local and I just hope it is not the same one, he was horrible. We were referred to an amazing allergist in Orange. He is far but worth the drive. His name is Dr. Gillman and the office number is ###-###-####. He is very thorough and helped me walk through the allergy my daughter had. Wish you the best!

Emily,

My now 21 month old is allergic to both dairy and soy. When I started the elimination diet, I avoided dairy & soy (both obvious and hidden in other foods), eggs, nuts, peanuts, chocolate, fish, shellfish, citrus and tomatoes. My son improved dramatically with that so I started adding foods back one at a time and was able to add back everything but dairy, soy and eggs. I was able to add eggs back around the time he turned one. Obviously there is a learning curve to doing this type of elimination diet. Getting it started is hard but maintain it is not. You have to 1. figure out what not to eat 2. figure out what you can eat and then 3. find enough variety to keep from going insane.

What I found was the easist way to eat was to go to a mainly "whole" food diet. The closer stuff is to nature, the less chance there is something added to it that you can't eat. I ate lots of meat (mainly grilled but lots of crock pot too), beans, rice, potatoes, veggies and fruit. As an added bonus I lost 20 pounds and my cholestrol went from 294 to 204.

You can get dairy free margarine. Nucoa is dairy free (sticks, comes in a gold box) and one of the smart balance margarines (I think it is the one in the green tub but I don't remember for sure - I use nucoa) is dairy free. Olive oil is also a good substitute for butter depending on what you are using it on. I don't use cream so I can't help you there but you can bake with rice milk in any recipe that calls for regular milk. It turns out fine. And that includes pancakes. Eggs are a little harder. You can google egg substitues and there are equivalents you can use. I've tried several and they don't work so hot for baking so I tried to only bake with recipes that don't call for eggs. You can also get an egg substitute at natural markets (it is called something like "Ener-G" and I think it works okay but not fabulous).

You basically have to read the labels on everything you eat. If you don't know what is in it, you don't eat it. Personally I didn't want to eat anything bad enough to watch my baby scream in pain so to me it was worth the "sacrifice" to have a healthy baby.

Oh, and start looking for recipes that naturally don't have the foods you are avoiding in them and learn to cook with more herbs and spices. I found that once I eliminated dairy and soy and therefore most of the "fat" in my diet that my diet was really bland and that got old. So by using more herbs and spices and getting more flavor, I was able to enjoy my food more.

Basically, if your baby is sensitive to dairy the only solutions are to either avoid it or to stop breastfeeding and go to a hypoallergenic formula.

I was dairy and soy free for 18 months and I lived through it. My son is 21 months now and he's still dairy and soy free. So the practice I had cooking for myself has really helped me in making sure he has a good and varied diet.

I've obviously got a lot of experience with this so if you want to talk more about the specifics of how I did it, what I ate and all that my email address is teralee999 at hotmail dot com.

It really is very intimidating to get started but it gets much easier.

:-)T.

my youngest was allergic to dairy and soy. In order for us to know exactly what he was allergic to, I eliminated one item at a time for about 2 to 4 weeks. (I breastfed all 3 kids until they turned 1 yr old). If he didn't show any improvement, then I went to the next item on my list to cut off. His skin condition improved after I eliminated dairy and soy. I end up drinking rice milk and giving that to him when he was older. He's outgrown his allergies. He drinks at least a cup of milk a day now. Hang in there. For all you know, he may not be allergic to dairy.

My friend and I just saw a video re being a vegan and it was pretty enlightening. There is supposed to be a book called Skinny Bitch (I haven't bought it yet) that gives recipes that exclude dairy products, etc. This might help.

Hi! I too am a breastfeeding mom that has had to avoid dairy since my son was 5 months old... he's now 10 months. I pretty much sub out soy milk, yogurt and cheese for a lot of dairy products. And, I have recently discovered that goat's milk is hypoallergenic, so you can have goat's cheese, milk, yogurt, etc. It's a bit harder to find and more expensive (of course)! Also, I cook with dairy for my husband a lot still. I just have to keep a separate portion for myself that's dairy-free. If you need recipe ideas, you can always google 'dairy-free recipes' and you should have luck. Don't worry- it's not as bad once you get going! Best of luck and keep up the good work.

It very rarely will show up as an allergy at this stage in the game, more of a sensitivity.

I coudn't have so much as a torilla chip with a small amount of salsa on it and 8 hours later, it showed, once he got it in my breastmilk. I struggled through the first few months of not eating anything with corn (including corn syrup), tomato, dairy, wheat and soy. Fun, huh? But, because of my diligence, I was able to slowly intorduce those food back in a few months later.

With my second baby, I took PB8 every day and it helped when I cheated. You can find it locally - an amazing probiotic.

this sucks, but I had to do it too. I ate steamed rice and broiled chicken for a month...and it still didn't fix the situation.

Is your baby having skin issues, or tummy issues? My experience was that my baby had some rashes but mainly tummy issues. It resolved at 3 months, and I could eat anything at that point.

Just look at it one day at a time, I'd cut out stuff for just one month, if it isn't resolved by then, it isn't your diet.

Hang in there.

How long are you avoiding these foods? 2-3 weeks should be enough time to see if your baby is still having reactions.
If the baby is still having allergic reactions to something, then its not dairy and go have a piece of pizza for lunch!!
Trial and error usually works, but by the time you figure out what they are allergic to, they will be eating solids and then it could start all over again!
Good luck

Hi there:

I know I was overwhelmed too, but there are some great alternatives. Try not to do Soy, as 70% of children who are allergic to cow's milk, end up being allergic to soy. Also, try to go as organic as possible. We though my son had an allergy to peanuts and then discovered he was fine with organic - turns out he was sensitive to one of the pesticides they use.

We do goat's milk cheese and they have a great variety of flavors. We use it on top of pizza and they have a cheddar variety for quesadillas.

For recipe ideas checkout www.bluedominoes.com. There is an article on nutrition and there are recipes donated by Canyon Ranch and a number of other prominent people who offer alternative menus. Also, if you're near Encinitas, checkout Healthy Creations. They have meals that you go in and prepare that are all organic and they have different cheeses and alternatives to eggs, etc. The meals are great and the woman that owns the place is incredibly helpful and knowledgeable.

Best regards,
D.

thereare many soyproducts available now thaneverbefore...i have had the same problem for most of my life and am now 46. also try goat cheese. we make our own pizza with goat cheese mozzarella and itsa delicious. there is tofutti brand sour supreme (sour cream) its thebest one out there. soy delicious brandice cream is wonderful!.. whole foods has quite a selection as well as trader joes. some ralphs even stock quite a few of these items. nothings cheap, but the products are outthere. the glutenfreemall.com sells chocolate in bulk that is free of everything and better than anything you've ever tasted..can also get at whole foods, but its always hard to keep on the shelves! i think its called fit for life or for your life! good luck! you'll feel better! J.

I had to do this with my son too. After about 10 days we weren't seeing any difference so they took me off of that. You can use soy milk to cook with and margerine instead of butter. My son still shows signs of being allergic to diary so I have learned some alternatives.

In my daughter's case, I couldn't eat dairy, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, or shellfish. It didn't leave much that I could eat! LOL! Can you eat soy? If you can, then that makes it much easier.

As other people posted, you have to avoid these foods because your daughter is probably having a hard time digesting the protein. Many times, this problem clears up on it's on, so you don't have to stay on the restricted diet for long (it often clears up by the time the baby is 6 months old).

I have to be honest. The diet was really hard on me. I lot a lot of weight--too much weight. I was often light-headed. It just wasn't healthy for me. I threw the towel in and had to give my daughter nutrimigen (which has cow's milk, but it's already digested). It's VERY expensive. And very nasty smelling. I can't imagine what it tastes like. My daughter hated it at first, but eventually took a liking to it. Needless to say, I felt horrible. If I had to do it again, I would have tried to hang in a couple of months longer.

The worst part of the diet is eating out. You really shouldn't if you can help it. Many things that seem totally innocent aren't (like pasta, many restaurants boil it with butter). If you do eat out, make sure they fully understand the items you can't eat.

Good luck!

C.

Testing a 4-week old was not a very nice thing for the doctor to do:o( There are so many alternatives. I know because my daughter cannot have milk, wheat, soy, yeast, pineapple, beans (black are ok), eggs (this was her first allergan) and about 10 other things are mild reactions.

You want to select rice or almond milk. They can be used in anything. We use the Vanilla for cereals, pancakes and such, the original for baking, drinking, mashed potatoes.

Know that soy is very close to milk/diary so best to not use that. Go to a Whole Foods and look around. Also go to www.tacanow.org and check out the complete section of GF/CF. They have what to eat/substitute, where to shop online and in personal, recipes.... You'll be able to continue having what you love, just a little different way.

Your baby may also be reacting to their vaccination shots and the immune system is building responses/attacks on the ingredients that were in the shots. I'd recommend reading a couple of books immediately and wait on your next shots until you become better informed. Our doctors are doing only what they have been told to do when the schedule of shots was so much less. There is turning out to be more reactions and injuries to our babies with the onslaught of so many more in the schedule. One size does not fit all.

www.tacanow.org has more information on the vaccine schedule and check out The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert Sears and What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Vaccines by Dr. Stephaine Cave. There is another side to the story from what you have been told.

hi emily,
i went through exactly the same situation with my colicky 3 week old! the pediatrician put me on such a restricted diet (no dairy, no greens, no wheat, ect.) that it made no sense to even be in the kitchen. for the following weeks my husband, mom, and sister-in-law all helped out with the cooking. so maybe you could get some extra help around the kitchen and you have your separate meal. i know it's not fun when everyone comes over for sunday breakfast and your the only one not enjoying the pancakes!

This is pretty typical for a new baby being breastfed. Yes, its a sacrifice, but isn't it worth it? Try soy milk for cereal, cooking, etc, subsitute margarine for butter and if you're totally craving something sweet you could try Skittles (only occasionally - that was my answer to wanting chocolate when I was BFing).

It is an adjustment, but its worth it to see if it makes a difference for your baby. After a few months, you will probably be able to have very small amounts as your baby's digestive system will be more mature, but discuss this with your doctor. Good luck!

I am going through the same thing, if you look up my profile (click on my name) you can find my post. I got some great ideas from other moms. What are the symptoms, is it severe (my son gets bad gas when I consume dairy)? I have heard that if it is an intestine issue (many babies have problems digesting milk properly) it will clear around 6 mos. If you have a Henry's or Trader Joe's you will find many safe alternatives. I have found almond milk isn't that bad, I can get through lunch with a turkey and hummus wrap, some of the skillet dinners are pretty safe and check out asian food...Trust me I feel your pain!!!

My son was very sensitive to dairy when I was breastfeeding him. It caused him to have horrible gas pains. I just cut back on milk as much as I could. I only had some at breakfast, and tried as hard as I could to avoid it. If it doesn't get better for the baby you can always go to formula. My friends children would get hives from dairy in her diet so she had to go to formula. Remember there is always soy milk to subsitute for cows milk. Good luck.

You could always see a naturopath that uses NAET. I was told that I had no food allergies, but was tested by my doctor using NAET and found that I had allergies to wheat, sugar, and dairy. Thankfully, the doctor treated me for these items and I can consume them without all the negative reactions of before (in small quantities).

My son is now almost 4 and a half and is intolerant to dairy and soy. Like yours, he's not allergic so he's unlikely to go into anaphylatic shock and die, but these things certainly cause him distress. There is no cure but your son might outgrow it. At this point it looks like mine won't. It has been hard to learn to live without diary but there are decent substitutes. We use vanilla rice milk but soy milk is good if your baby tolerates soy. Most recipes using milk work well with soy milk and are ok with rice milk. The biggest thing to watch out for with dairy is that many packaged foods include milk protein. You can also switch to dairy free margarine - Fleschman's unsalted has no dairy. Surprisingly, most other margarines will have some milk product in them. There are some good websites for people with food allergies that have recipes and cooking tips without dairy, soy, nuts, etc. www.kidswithfoodallergies.com

I know it's hard but it's worth it when you think how hard it is on your baby to have to deal with these substances. Hang in there.

If you don't want to change your diet, you can always change your daughter's diet. Formula is always an option. Talk to your Doctor about it. Breastfeeding isn't for everyone. Maybe it isn't for you.

Good luck.

I had the same problem with my 1st. I remember totato based products were 1 of the things I had to cut out, and I love tomatoes. But, after a few months I was able to slowly introduce foods back in to my diet.

So you have a couple of choices-1) cook different meals 2) switch to formula. I know that this is a very decision feeling and it falls on you what you feel comfortable with. I myself continued to breastfeed but to be honest I didn't have another child to cook for so my husband went along for the ride or just added dairy at the end of the meal we cooked. I love cheese and complained for most of my time breastfeeding because of the things I was missing out on but in the end I do not regret my decision on bit. But please don't let others influence your decision, yes it is said that breastfeeding is the Cutting out dairy is not easy but it is possible. You would be surprised what does have dairy or dairy products on it (i.e Whey is in Chex Mix). My son was able to handle butter and some products (i.e. chocolate, chex mix) that I ate but forget anything with cream, cheese, milk, etc.). Eggs are not on the dairy list so they should be OK. The allergist is probably having you cut things out because an allergy test on a child under the age of 1 is not as reliable as it is on an older child. There also can be false positives/negatives and that is why they do a skin and blood test on an older child. Good Luck!

You can also try rice milk they have it at Trader Joe's its also less money then the market's.

Skin tests are not an accurate way to test for food allergies, as they too frequently yield false negative results. They are more accurate for environmental and seasonal allergies. A RAST test (blood test) is much more accurate, as it looks for actual antibodies (immune response) from the offending proteins. I would say give up the milk first, since that is the most common childhood allergy. If the symptoms don't disappear, also eliminate eggs, then soy. You should know within 30 days if you've removed the right food from your diet. I've been through this with all 3 of my kids, and it's a pain, but it's worth it to have healthy kids. Good luck!

Hi Emily!

I feel for you- I had to cut out dairy for the first 6 months of my son's life. It was so hard as all of my favorite foods were dairy! Good news though: he did outgrow it! I tried eating dairy again at 7 months and he was fine with it. Bring on the ice cream & pizza!

I used every dairy substitute I could: almond or rice milk (I liked almond better), margarine (definitely not as good as butter, but it worked), Tofutti "better than" sour cream & cream cheese (pretty good) and tofutti cuties- little dairy free ice cream sandwiches that are actually good.

Good luck! Remember that it won't be forever!

Oh, and on the good side, you'll loose a ton of weight!

I had to do it also . I felt I will try anything for my child because I wanted to continue breastfeeding . It's the best for them . So as hard as it was I did it and then it did turn out that no she was not allergic to it . I try to always eat things in moderation . So not to upset their system . Amazing how something we eat can upset their little tummys . Good luck .

Dear Emily,

I have 2 children with colic and acid reflux. When my second, my son turned out to have colic I went on the internet and cut out EVERYTHING they said could be a cause. Dairy, Chocolate and nuts. Meat, veggies and fruit was about it and limited veggies.

This may seem harsh but please for your baby listen the Dr. Yes, it sucks and yes, your daughter will build up her ability to process foods over time.

I saw a differnce in my son within days after my drastic changes. Hang in there, it will not be forever. OH AND BTW....cutting out dairy with the first did not work and we had her on Alimintum which ran us $75 a week in formula. Stay breast feeding as long as you can because she most likely will not be able to take "regular/or lactos free" formula. That is why I went a little crazy with my son because cutting out just dairy didn't work for my daughter.

She will outgrow all this. My daughter now 25 months can eat anything! My son now 12 months is eating yogurt!

All the best,
H.

Many moms have to eliminate dairy while breastfeeding. I was one of them. It's a small, short-term sacrifice we do for the best interest of our child. I drank soy milk (many prefer vanilla flavor, but I was fine with regular flavor), ate soy yogurt and cheese, and enjoyed goat cheese. I shopped mostly at Trader Joe's and Bristol Farms (Whole Food's wasn't around then, but I'm sure they have many choices that I wasn't privie to when I was breastfeeding). I was lucky because my daughter has mostly grown out of her allergy and I don't have to watch the milk intake any longer. But, I know mom's who have had to take much more drastic steps and have done it with success. Check out SweetAlexis.com. My good friend started a business making baked goods that are dairy, egg, and nut free. She came up with many alternatives for her child who has severe life-threatening food allergies. Her story is amazing and you may find some additional support as you go through this process. Best wishes!

I can't imagine an allergist skin testing a 4 week old baby -- that is just WRONG and unreliable. Was this a pediatric allergist? Skin testing in kids under the age of 3 is not very accurate, and the babies have such a small surface area to do skin testing that it usually isn't even attempted at younger ages. Also, infants would *rarely* have positive skin tests at this age. So even if they are allergic to something, they won't show it on a test at this young of an age.

It is quite possible that your baby is just gassy or colicky (you didn't describe the symptoms) and may not be allergic to anything at all.

I would do as someone else here recommended -- try eliminating one thing at a time. This way, you can more accurately pinpoint if it is a particular item, and you don't have to cut out everything at once.

Emily,
I went through the same thing with my daughter. She couldn't have dairy or soy (I'm allergic to nuts so that wasn't a problem). It's hard. You have to be very conscience of what you are buying. Almost every product at the grocery store includes dairy or soy. Gluten (with the exception of wheat gluten) is dairy so when you're reading labels it's important to keep this in mind.
Unfortunately there's no way to correct this in your daughter. It's just that her digestive system isn't mature enough to process the complex proteins found in dairy & nuts. It will run it's course. I started putting dairy back into my diet at about 10 mths. I tried earlier than that but she just wasn't ready. She would have adverse reactions. Not all babies are the same. Your daughter may mature faster than mine did. My daughter is now 20mths old & doing great. She eats cheese, yogurt, butter etc. She has always had a problem with constipation so she drinks lactose free whole milk, but that's the only exception.
As far as grocery shopping I shopped mostly at Whole Foods & Trader Joe's & read a whole lot of labels. If you'd like some further help with lactose free products feel free to email me directly (____@____.com). It may mean that you have to cook separate meals for yourself. Yuck..I know. It was really hard for me too. Or you cook alot of stir frys! :)
Hope I helped.
L. Solan