Confused & frustrated on what formula/foods to give child#2

[love2mother]

Yep- I am confused and frustrated, among many other things. . . The short of it: DS#1 (age 3.5) has food allergies to peanuts & tree nuts(ana). Also allergic to wheat (possibly all gluten), dairy and egg. DD# (12 months) was breastfeed until 9 months of age and then we started her on a milk based formula. I took her to see our Naturopath MD to get some counsel about what the "right" timeline might be to introduce the "higher-risk" (top 8 for FA) foods to her. When I told her she was on a milk-based formula, she suggested two things that are really throwing my for a loop: 1. She should remain on formula until age 2 2. We should switch her to a soy formula. She feels that soy is a safer bet, given the face that DS#1 has a dairy allergy and that she has a "history" (she is 12 months old) of ear infections (one at 8 months, one at 12 months). Has anyone else been given this same advice or have any knowledge to share? Now- Part 2 of my frustration: I can't seem to find a consistent "answer" for a timeline of when to introduce the top 8 FA foods when there is a sibling with FA. Wondering what others have done?? The truth is- she has had egg, wheat and dairy in small amounts. She seems to do fine on cheese and yogurt. I go over and over it in my head. . ..is there any value (or research) to indicate that prolonging exposure to these foods will lessen the chances of allergies developing??? Thanks for weighing in and offering suggestion!

[dollyanna]

For #1,  I kept my DD on formula probably about that long because she was still getting so much of her nutrition from a bottle, not from eating.  I figured that the WHO recommends breastfeeding til age 2, I wasn't able to breastfeed, so keeping her on formula would be better than whole milk alone.  As for #2, Hmm.  I'm not sure why you would give soy formula if your child isn't showing allergic symptoms.  I know some say there's a correlation between ear infections and milk allergy, but I personally didn't eliminate milk based on that alone.  I have some concerns about soy in high quantities myself.  I guess if I were you I might try soy as a trial run and if DD2 didn't show some kind of marked improvement I'd go back to milk.

I'm in the same boat when it comes to an answer on when to introduce the "top 8" when a close family member has ana allergies.  Everything just says something along the lines of "unless there are ana allergies in the family, don't bother waiting" but it doesn't say what to do if there ARE ana allergies in the family.  From what I have found, there are studies on both sides that show evidence that waiting does/does not reduce the chance of developing an allergy to a food (assuming the child is over 6 months old)

Personally I introduced everything at about a year except tree nuts, peanuts, and shellfish.  I waited until she was over 2.5, when I felt she could explain to me if she was having symptoms, and I'm slowly getting around to introducing them (since we don't typically have them in the house).

[scsigrl]

If you are dealing with true IgE allergies (which you are with ana reactions) I would suggest seeing an allergist.  There are links to sibs who have food allergies having a higher risk and I think they would be able to suggest guidelines of when to introduce things.

As for the formula, unless you are sure your DC2 has an issue with dairy, I wouldn't take them off the dairy formula.  But that's me.