I'm nursing an baby with food sensitivities

[Jes'sBeth]

Proudmamanow and I got DD2's IgG list back and it's long (see Proudmamanow's thread)

So DD2 and i are still nursing and I'm wondering what I should be doing to keep DD2 healthy without going nuts myself!

Her biggest problem is cow's milk. but she's also got this long list (soy, wheat, gluten, beans, most legumes, most grains, rice, strawberries, nectarines, and on and on...) should I be avoiding ALL of those things? It's so restrictive!

DD has had chronic colds but she's still a very happy little girl (not quite 2) who I would not really call 'unhealthy'... I really don't want to stop eating 80% of the things I currently eat...

[mamafish9]

That was us about 10 months ago - suddenly DS was reacting to EVERYTHING (he was just about 2 at the time). It is definitely not fun to lose most of what you're used to eating, but yes - if she has tested intolerant to those foods, you would need to be off them too for her to see the benefits. Not true all the time, but that's where I'd start from. And it's almost guaranteed to be true for the biggies (dairy, gluten, etc).

If you go off everything for a week or two, you'll likely see lots of improvement. If your DD is reactive to that many foods, you'll probably discover some things change that you weren't aware were related to food! Once you see how she is with all those foods out (behavior, sleep, skin, poops), then you can start to experiment - can you eat some of them without her reacting, can she? (The tests are definitely not foolproof).

Also, you can start working on gut healing measures for her (but many nutrients you can get to her via your breastmilk). The fact that she's reactive to most grains, for example, suggests some generalized digestive issues - and there are lots of things you can do to work on those (this forum is full of ideas, I won't try to overwhelm you here!).

[Jes'sBeth]

sigh.

we're working with a naturopath and have already seen significant improvement with the introduction of a really good probiotic. (the every night cough disappeared YAY!) that was before we took anything out of her diet. We've continued with the probiotic and have added in a safe omega 3 fatty acid. We're looking into a digestive enzyme and a multivitamin as well. It's tricky to find things that are 'safe'.

[mamafish9]

Originally Posted by Jes'sBeth

sigh.

we're working with a naturopath and have already seen significant improvement with the introduction of a really good probiotic. (the every night cough disappeared YAY!) that was before we took anything out of her diet. We've continued with the probiotic and have added in a safe omega 3 fatty acid. We're looking into a digestive enzyme and a multivitamin as well. It's tricky to find things that are 'safe'.

If you're already seeing some improvement with probiotics, that's a great sign that working on general digestive issues might get you many of those foods back.

Gut healing happens faster when the irritants are out - but I also believe that restricted diets come with all kinds of problems of their own. Also, if the issue is that she has a really leaky gut (AND you don't, big assumption), then she *may* not react to you eating many things on that list. My DS couldn't handle most sugars or starches, for example, but seemed fine with me eating them in moderation. I'd try pulling them all for a short time, just so you know what "non-reacting" looks like, but then you can see what you can get back while you work on healing your DD.

I like the Trienza digestive enzymes for kids, or Enzymedica products (you can open the capsules of just about any digestive enyzme and sprinkle on food).

As far as vitamins, if you are taking good vitamins, most of those pass through breastmilk well. However, lots of minerals don't - a basic level passes, but if your child has a higher need (like mine did), you taking more won't put more into your breastmilk, like it does with the vitamins. So I'd put a priority on getting good trace minerals and magnesium for her. Zinc in particular, it's key to digestion (low zinc = low stomach acid = big digestive mess!).