limited diet. what do you think?

[sosurreal09]

i have been very happily BFing DD since birth and shes now 7 m/o. the last 3 months have been difficult b/c she has had discomfort and blood in her stool. i eliminated eggs, dairy, peanuts, beef, and soy and things got much better. i didnt mind eliminating those things b/c i figure i have sacrificed everything for her so what food right?
7 days ago she was screaming and screaming and i noticed mucousy poops...went to the Dr. blood in the stool again. now i have eliminated wheat corn fish and shellfish as well.

everyone has been telling me to just formula feed her already and i keep telling them to go screw essentially..

another mother said to me yesterday that im cruel for putting my DD through all of this pain just so i can BF and that she would switch to formula for her daughters sake (btw she had BF for 2 months then when the Dr said she should eliminate dairy she said it wasnt worth it and started formula feeding)
i had never look at in this persepective before though and now i feel extremely guilty...she kind of has a point if she were on formula she wouldnt have to deal with any of this...but i have always said i would never formula feed and i certainly dont have a will to.

so what do you all think? am i bad mom for doing this to my baby? am i doing whats best for her?

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by anielasmommy09

she kind of has a point if she were on formula she wouldnt have to deal with any of this...

That is absolutely NOT true. Every single one of those formulas, including the "hypoallergenic" ones, contain allergens- many are made out of corn. Sensitive babies often will not tolerate them.

Come on over to the Allergy forum!

[crunchy_mommy]

-- I know lots of FF have to switch their babies from one formula to the next, trying to find one their LO won't react to. Most formulas are dairy or soy, so if your DD has issues with those then she wouldn't tolerate the formula well either!

[karika]

I think you are a very good mom for doing what is best for your baby. Try to remember that most people have a whacked out view on life, generated by commercialism (IMO). Also, if you are only doing it for your child and the mother's milk, chances are you can replace it in your diet when child is older (and still nursing). I cut out foods with dd1 and ate them again when she was a year old with no problems. I am eating this way now on purpose for philosophical and moral reasons. The way dairy is produced is so against attachment parenting philosophies... they take the calf away at birth or shortly after... most of the time it is sold for the veal trade... and I don't eat grains like wheat anymore because I don't care for the politics of the big business of agri the way it is now... anyway, lol, back to you... you are doing what is best. A clean diet of living foods will nourish both of you far better than anything created in a laboratory... are you also avoiding food colorings and preservatives? remember also that 'natural flavors' is a blanket category of things that aren't really good for us... If your child received vaccinations, this is a common trigger for allergies also... one more thing to think about http://barbfeick.com/vaccinations/ (I gave some to dd1 before researching... but no more)

oh and formula is made of chemicals (ie in a lab or facility from components also created or grown in a lab or facility)... dairy and soy and corn are also in them, so it would be the opposite of 'the best thing' to give it to a child showing sensitivities...

[sosurreal09]

wow TY for the clarification! i feel alot better! i do avoid natural flavors and all of that stuff as well. i didnt think of that how formulas contain a bunch of stuff...i know i was "informed" they had prescription formula for allergy babies as well...

[CoBabyMaker]

I have to agree with the PP. You are doing nothing wrong and finding a formula for your DD would be VERY hard.
We went through all sorts of elimination diet "fun" as well and people looked at me like I was crazy. It was all so worth it. In the end I was able to figure out that it was only 3 things she was allergic to. Keep in mind that it may take her gut a while to heal before you see big improvements.
I know this might be hard (because it probably already feels like you can't eat much) but I noticed that you just mentioned peanuts. You may want to also cut out other nuts. Strawberries can also be a problem. Just a thought.

You are doing something great for your LO and hopefully you will figure it out soon.

[sosurreal09]

she hasnt had blood 3 months straight!!! its been on and off with weeks in between.

i did cut out all nuts actually TY

[annettemarie]

Closed pending review.

[annettemarie]

And reopening. Thanks for your patience!

[Megan73]

You're a GREAT mother and the idea that your baby's symptoms would disappear if you switched to formula is just plain wrong.
What does your doctor say about the blood in her stool?