Nice Timing...

[chely7425]

So, this is a total whine-fest... DS2 had an allergist appointment yesterday. He is allergic to dairy and soy, among other things. But those 2 are going to be the hardest to cut out. So... with EXACTLY 3 weeks till I have this kid I get to figure out how to totally revamp our diet. Like there wasn't enough going on already...

[taralv]

I was actually going to post something similar in the "it can't be long now because..." thread. All my kids recently came down with some sort of bad cold/flu - which is an indicator (according to Murphy's Law) that labor is imminent. But my ds is also having serious allergy issues, and I was grateful to have postponed this week's OB appt. because I ended up spending most of the week at the doctor's office with him. We have to have a nebulizer at home now (which overwhelms me, plus I HATE the side-effects of the albuterol) and they still don't know WHAT allergen is causing the problem. He actually never even had seasonal allergies until we moved to Texas last year - sigh. So, I have also been feeling a little frustrated about the timing of this - don't my kids know they have to be completely healthy so that I can relax and deal with this new little one?!? Of course, both of my older ones had the flu when #3 was born, and we all survived that, so I know that we will all survive whatever comes along this time. So, I meant to be supportive, but I think I just vented all over the place...

Tara

[Naomismom]

Originally Posted by chely7425

So, this is a total whine-fest... DS2 had an allergist appointment yesterday. He is allergic to dairy and soy, among other things. But those 2 are going to be the hardest to cut out. So... with EXACTLY 3 weeks till I have this kid I get to figure out how to totally revamp our diet. Like there wasn't enough going on already...

Ugh! I seriously hate food allergies. My son is 2 and allergic to milk, soy, some treenuts, and citrus. Really, it's not that bad unless you're trying to eat out or at somebody's house. Please, ask me any questions you might have. I have been doing this for 2 years now and know of plenty of brands that work for milk and soy allergies. Question: can he have soy lecithin or soybean oil? That makes a big difference.

[chely7425]

We believe he can naomismom... Definitely can't do tofu or things like that tho. Allergy testing is obviously not super reliable at 15 months but that's what we think as of now I'm just having a hard time figuring out what to give him to drink besides water and what to replace all the dairy he loves with...

[honeybee]

The timing on this really does suck. I'm sorry.

It can be a tough transition, but it is doable. For awhile, we were dairy/soy/egg/nut free. We really learned to cook all our meals from whole ingredients, and it was a good learning experience for us, and our whole family is better off now. It can be expensive to buy the allergen free processed foods, but if you try to stick to real food naturally soy/dairy free, it is not too bad. Eating out is difficult, though, with the soy aspect. I will say that trying to cut out wheat/gluten and corn is actually much harder, so this allergy combo isn't the worst.

Here is a website that offers meal planning and recipes, which we've found helpful. It can all be modified easily for dairy/soy-free. http://www.tfrecipes.com/forum/index.php

Also, many people have found that dairy-allergic kids can drink raw milk. Or at least raw goat's milk, so that is something to look into, if you live in an area with access (it depends on your location and state laws vary).

Read labels carefully. Many rice milk products still have soy lecitin. I think Rice Dream is usually good. I did find one dark chocolate bar --Lindt-- that doesn't have milk or soy, however it is "manufactured in a plant" so it would depend on your ds's sensitivity level. Enjoy Life chocolate chips are good.

[CherryBomb]

Uggh, that sucks

[chely7425]

We think he is ok with things manufactured "in a plant with"... we also think he is PROBABLY ok with things that have trace amounts in them, but we are cutting everything out first then going to try re-introducing stuff to see...

[honeybee]

As for drinks, I would just give him water and maybe some herbal tees. I used rice milk for cooking/baking, but the stuff is sooo full of sugar and highly processed that I would NOT use it as a milk replacement, nutritionally. Are you still nursing? If so, or if you think he will start up again once new babe is here, that is all he really needs (you would need to eliminate dairy and soy, too obviously).

I would also be really cautious about including the soy lecitin or oil, at least at first. Get him totally cleared out first and see how he improves. Once you see what healthy is like for him, then you can test the soy lecitin or oil. And the same thing goes for trying goat's milk or raw milk with the dairy. I've found that observation is really the only reliable way to figure out allergies/sensitivities for young ones. None of my kids have had allergies show up on blood tests, but ds2 certainly reacted immediately to the most minute traces of dairy or soy in things (although he could tolerate things made on the same equipment as soy).

We also had a lot of success with constitutional homeopathy. Ds2 no longer has food sensitivities. It is a slower road, but does lead to true healing...and taralv, my ds1 was having chest tightening attacks that the correct remedy/dosage completely resolved... as has his eczema (though that has been a much slower fix). I never figured out what ds1 was reacting to, but the homeopathy helped him anyways (although it's obviously better to identify and eliminate the source). We also cleared up ds3's chronic cough as a baby without meds, just homeopathy. A professional, classically trained homeopath is essential, though.

[chely7425]

I am not still nursing, nor do I think he will start again... he was never a big nurser to begin with, always had more important things to do I got some rice milk to give him to just have something else besides water but we have never really relied on milk as a source of nutrition besides maybe the calcium...