Elimination diet help please--UPDATED

[April8830]

I am EBF my 5 week old. About 2 weeks ago sha started having green seedy bm's. The LC told me to work on a possible foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. I did and no change so we went to taking out dairy not worring too much about hidden but only used a butter in the morning in a bagel. Well she seemed to be getting better until today. I started drinking soymilk on Friday. Today she had a green bm with a tiny amount of blood in it. Yes I have contacted her Ped. about this. She is gaining weight and drinking plenty as the weight we did in the LC meeting brfore and after nursing indicated she got 5 ounces.

For those of you who have had to eliminate how long did it take to notice difference in your babe? What did you do for eating since milk and soy are in so much? Did you eliminate hidden traces too?

x-posted in Breastfeeding

[kalamos23]

Hey there, DDCC - DD had a dairy/soy/egg allergy and we had the same issues. She was gaining a ton and nursing fine since nursing would soothe her stomach for a while but eventually would upset it again, so she would nurse again, and so forth. Vicious cycle. I ended up having to cut all hidden dairy/soy and egg out (except for soy lecithin and soybean oil). Something like 60% of dairy intolerant/allergic kids are also intolerant of soy, so it might be something worth taking out as well. With DD, it took about a day or 2 before I noticed significant difference, she was actually smiling and happy more and was not having the horrible crying colic at night for hours on end.

I subbed coconut milk for anything creamy milk (like in mac and cheese - you can't use the cheese packet, but you can use nutritional yeast and garlic powder and it tastes like alfredo!) I subbed Necoa margarine (Earth's Best also has a margarine taht is soy/dairy free) for butter, and rice milk enriched is great on cereal - seriously, I drink it even now that I don't have to have dairy cut out since it tastes so good - I only drink Rice Dream, the other brands taste ricey.

I subbed egg replacer for eggs in baking - you can make tacos without cheese (lots of veggies) and I would make fake cheese with raw cashews ground, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, oil and a bit of salsa. I would throw chicken tenders in the crockpot with a 1/2 can of corn and a 1/2 can of black beans and some salsa and simmer for a 4-6 hours and add some rice and veggies to a tortilla and call it a day - yummy!

You can do pasta (Bertolli's spag sauce in bags is dairy/soy free - check on the others because most have whey in them which is dairy).

http://ourgaggleofgirls.com/recipes/
has a lot of good recipes - her creamy sauce is SO good!

Here's some of the recipes I used (this is my blog and I'm a woeful blogger lol)
http://waywardscribblings.blogspot.com/

I made mashed potatoes with coconut milk and margarine and you really couldn't tell the difference. Really, if you make things from scratch, it's not hard to go dairy/soy free, but I know how tough it is in the beginning to find time to cook with a new baby. Hope that helps, PM if you need mroe info, I know I have more websites around here somewhere.

[kalamos23]

Oh, another good thing I ate a lot of was Yumm Bowls - there is a little franchise here in Oregon called Cafe Yumm - they make rice bowls with salsa, kidney beans, cheddar, olives, purple onions, tomatoes, avocado, sour cream, cilantro and Yumm Sauce.

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Yummy-Sauce-297251

I subbed kidney beans for the soybeans for no soy- also do NOT add the water until you have blended it, and then add to what you want for thickness - it should be like sour cream or slightly thinner.

http://cafeyumm.com/

I would make 2 cups of rice at the beginning of the week, make up a thing of the sauce and then separate the rice and leftover kidney beans into 4 bowls - it was easy to grab a bowl and throw some cilantro and sauce on it when I needed a quick meal plus it is REALLY high in protein and great for you.

[April8830]

Thank you! That is some really good ideas. My issue right now will be finding the time since her tummy hurts she will not let me lay her down. I guess I need to learn how to use the sling now. Where did you find nutritional yeast at? I had no clue whey was dairy too. I have lots to read up on now, but so worth it to have a happy baby.

[Shannie77]

I just found out that my just turned 3 year old DD is intolerant to dairy, gluten and eggs. She spat up A LOT as a baby but gained and never seemed uncomfortable so we didn't worry. She has had a rash of some sort or the other since she was an infant which is what made me decide to have her tested.

It took about 2 weeks for her skin to clear up. After a week it got worse before it got better. This week I ate bread a few times a day (we are moving and I just used up our last loaf)... and sure enough DD broke out in a horrible rash (and now I feel horrible).

We aren't hugely adventurous eaters but so far it is pretty easy to stick to the diet. It is only hard when you are out and want to grab something. We used to do a bagel and cream cheese but that is out. It has forced us to more on top of taking food with us when we go out.

My DD loves unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

[kalamos23]

You can get nutritional yeast at Whole Foods, natural food stores, some regular stores if they have bulk foods. It usually is in the bulk foods dept. and it's yellow/gold colored and flaky - it looks like yellow instant mashed potatoes.

Oh, and I would definitely cut out all hidden dairy for a couple of days for sure, whey and casein are both dairy - a lot of times they won't say dairy or milk but it should say on the box/bag under allergens. I bet you find in the next couple of days her tummy stops hurting, and you will have more time to work with a diet. It took 2 or 3 days of being vigilant about hidden dairy and DD was much much better, but 2 weeks or so before it was 100%.

[mamaspirit]

Just FYI it takes 3 weeks to get dairy out and she may be still reacting to dairy coming out of your system.

We are dairy/soy and gluten free all the time. I make nut milk in my blendtec and cashew cheese, but really I don't try and replace dairy with anything. I just try and make my food full of flavor so I don't miss the cheese, sour cream, etc.

[Dee-Groovy]

I'd say it takes about 3 days to see a noticeable difference and, as PP said, it can take 2-3 weeks to completely get the dairy out of your system.

My DD1 was dairy and soy intolerant and she reacted much like your DD. I didn't find out until much late that she couldn't handle eggs either. Turns out they are a top allergen along with dairy and soy. So I am off all 3 for my DD2 and it is working so far.

I know elim diets are hard but instead of limiting the stuff in your diet, I would cut it out entirely to see if it has an effect. You can slowly reintroduce it later to see how much she will tolerate. I thought DD2 was handling hidden dairy/eggs until last weekend when I had several things and it was too much for her.

You're right, dairy and soy seem to be in everything. I try to focus on what I CAN eat instead of what I can't. I eat a lot of Mexican food, meat and veggies, bagels with margarine, even some Pop Tarts are vegan! I like rice milk on cereal and coconut creamer in coffee. Go to the health food store and ask the people there to help you with substitutes. There are tons! I wish I had known that when I was struggling with feeling malnourished from not knowing what to eat when I tried an elim diet with DD1. You can do this! You have more options than you think.

[jewellz]

Originally Posted by April8830

My issue right now will be finding the time since her tummy hurts she will not let me lay her down.

Try using gripe water right now it worked GREAT while I was waiting for dairy to clear from my system for babies #3 and #4.

[April8830]

Updated still having problems worse today

I guess I need to make a food diary of what I am eating. Today DD2 had a slightly mucousy/bloody stool two times. I took the diaper to the Pedi. office and they ran a test to see if there was blood in the stool. It came back positive, which you could just look at it and see that. Well they are sending it off to be cultured to see if salmonilla or something like that present in her gut. I may find out by Friday the results.

Well I called the LC office today and they recommended to pump thru the first letdown to make sure she is getting plenty of hindmilk, again. We have done this before but not religiously. They have been trying to help me figure out what is going on as well so they know the entire story.

The Pedi office said if the culture comes back fin then we would need to look at swapping her over to a Predigested Formula similar to Allimentium (I think was the name).

I do not want to feed her formula but I do not want to be making her sick either by EBF her. She has a rash all over her. Noe the rash I thought was a heatrash. It looks better in the morning not as red on her face and after the day has gotten stared it gets redder. We cosleep so she lays down during the night for feeding and during the day she is in the cradle position most of the time so that led me to believe it was heat related. But, the rash seems to be spreading now seeing more spots on her belly and legs. Now one thing is DD has gotten to the point where she is happier and will lay down to nap by herself and will lay down and just look and stretch for 30 minutes or so. So I think taking Dairy and Soy out have helped. I have learned some more "hidden dairy" terms today so I do not think I had cut it ALL out due to that.

I just needed to get that out and also ask would gluten be the next thing to omit from my diet? I do not know what to do. I desperately do not want to have to stop BF as that will make me extremely sad but I also do not want to make her sick.

Thank you all for your suggestions and tips as I have used several of them already.

[Dee-Groovy]

Hugs to you. It is so stressful and difficult. I know b/c I was in the same place with DD1 and I had to make the awful decision to switch her to special formula (Nutramigen). She is now a healthy, happy 2.5 yo but I still regret not being able to breastfeed her despite eliminating dairy and soy from my diet. I missed another big allergen that she is still allergic to - EGGS. So that would be my first suggestion to you and it's what my MW recommended to me. I am dairy, soy and egg free for DD2 and it is like a night and day difference.

A couple things you might want to check out are the top 8 allergens and the Dr. Sears' total elimination diet. The TED is hard core and it takes a ton of commitment but I'm sure the payoff is great too. I didn't know about it with DD1 and honestly don't know if I would have had he strength to do it, but I wanted to let you know that it is an option.

Your DD sounds happy despite the bloody stool and rash. Maybe continuing your elimination diet (trying to get all that pesky hidden dairy out) is the way to go. Whatever decision you make, remember not to beat yourself up about it because you obviously care enough to do the best thing for her.

[April8830]

PP thank you for the TED recommendation I have not heard of it before. I started it 48 hours ago. It is difficult but I think will be the easiest way to figure out what is bothering her. Is your DD1 allergic to milk and soy now or is she just considered sensative? Sorry if I missed that in your post.

[Dee-Groovy]

Wow, that's a big step! Do you think it's working? I really hope it does.

To answer your question, I don't really know. I haven't done allergy testing b/c I didn't see the point. I suspect it's just an intolerance b/c most dairy issues disappear by age 3. She has small amounts of soy in prepared foods without issue but I still don't give her soy milk, tofu or edamame. I don't normally eat that stuff myself so it's no biggie. Soy lecithin is usually OK even for soy intolerant babies.

Good luck and please keep me posted!

[April8830]

Well her rash is looking better on her face today. I have read it takes longer for the gut to heal. I sent off a sample to her Pedi. last week and he is testing it for intestinal diseases like salmonilla and such. She is a happy baby for the most part. We did have a few issues last night sleeping she was really fussy for about 2 hours in the middle of the night after one of her feedings.

I will update when I know more.

[Dee-Groovy]

Yay for the rash clearing up!

How are you doing now? I wanted to mention that the diet is hardest when I let myself get really hungry. Then I start craving things I can't have, so I try to keep myself from getting too hungry. That's hard b/c I nursing makes me ravenous, lol!

[April8830]

I will update more later, just had a minute. She got better until she had her vacs then a yuck diaper. Then the Ped wanted her to go on Bio Gaia. We did that for a few days then I had some Rice Dream Ice Cream, which had soy letchin in it. Well then the next day after the ice cream she was back to her screaming tummy aches, curdled spit up, and on and on. The Bio Gaia had "possible milk protien" in it come to find out. AAAGGGHHHH!!!
We have an appointment with a pediatric allergist on Aug 4th.
So I am still on the basic elimation diet foods and using brown rice snacks and pasta. I have added back in oatmeal and she seems to be good with that.
I feel we still have a long road ahead of us but we will make it.
I will update more when I find out the results next week. They said they could do some testing on her so I will find out a few things. Her poo is still green and mucousy at times so something is still not quite right.