Pregnant and wanting to avoid allergies...

[boysmom2]

My last baby seemed to be sensitive to dairy in my diet up until about 7-8 months old.  He tested negative to everything the allergist tested for with the skin test, but had eczema that cleared up when I gave up dairy.  He's 2yo old now and eats dairy with no problems.  My now 6yo also had some eczema as a baby, but I didn't know then about a possible link to diet, so we never tried avoiding anything with him.  My now 9yo had terrible colic as a baby, but again, I had no idea at the time that there could be any dietary link, so I never tried anything.  My 6 & 9 yo both eat a wide range of foods (including plenty of dairy) and don't seem to be bothered by anything now.  

Now, I'm pregnant again and wondering if there's anything I can do to try to avoid issues with this baby.  I don't know much about leaky gut/healing the gut, but the little I've read seems to make sense to me.  Like maybe it's not really them, but it's me and my gut that's letting things in that are causing trouble.  If that's the case, is there anything I can safely do while pregnant to fix it?  I'm only 8 weeks right now.  

Thanks very much!

Oh also, I don't think I have any issues with dairy as I did not feel any different when I gave up dairy.

[APToddlerMama]

subbing.  I have had the same issues

[scsigrl]

I have read in the past that gut health is passed from Mom to baby.  With #1, I was in bad shape.  Didn't eat well, had GI issues and didn't know about the pregnancy till about 3 months in.  He has many food/GI issues.  After educating myself a bit, eating better because we had to for DS #1 I found out about the importance of probiotics.  I did a month-6 week long stretch at about 20 weeks with #2.  She has no food allergies BUT was still sensitive till about a year old.  So did it help, I think so.  Her issues are much less than DS but we weren't in the total clear.

[boysmom2]

Thanks!  I have been taking probiotics, though not super regularly.  I'm pretty sure I've had them since before my last pregnancy, so I don't know if maybe I'm not taking good ones, or maybe I just need to do more.  

[boysmom2]

Just thought of something else: I've been strep B+ every time and so have had IV antibiotics in all 3 labors.  I'm sure that hasn't helped either. :(

Oh, and I've developed eczema myself in the last few years.  I've never had it before.  Something is definitely going on.

[BubbleMa]

Sub'ing

[jewellz]

Let me tell you my story and you can take what you want from it. I have five kiddos. The last three were my allergy babies. 1 and 2 were perfectly fine, except for eventually #2 having gluten problems. Got antibiotics in labor because of strep b+ swab and they were standard hospital births. Got pregnant with 3rd, had morning sickness for first time, gave birth-traumatic but no antibiotics because of neg strep b. She was fussy-figured out she had a intolerance to cows dairy, we also found out that my second child had an intolerance to gluten. She was reacting to the dairy in my breast-milk and I removed it around 4-5 months old. I was able to reintroduce it into her diet around 9 months and she was fine. It was only cow dairy that she was not ok with otherwise I just replaced it with goat milk products. I didn't have any problem with dairy. Got pregnant with #4, not thinking anything of it, went back to eating cow dairy with only limiting gluten in our diet. He started reacting to my breast-milk around 5 days old, made the connection and removed cow dairy out but then had to remove goat dairy too as he reacted to that. Then about 7 months he started reacting to eggs. So I removed that. He just got over his reaction to dairy at 2 years and still reacts to eggs at 30 months but the symptoms are less severe-getting better. Now thinking about all the sleepless nights and screaming baby, meaning that there was absolutely no sleep between 8pm and 5 am, He was up all night, I decided that I didn't want to have a baby that was not sleeping as much as s/he should be. So I decided to take out dairy when I was about 20 weeks pregnant with my 5th and for the first time also because I was becoming lactose intolerant. Also because I knew dairy takes up to a month to leave your system. I also started to limit my eggs-only indulging in a certain baked good cooked with egg once a week. Once I got closer to the birth I gave even that up. It only takes about 3 days for eggs to leave your system. Gluten is actually the longest at a few-6 months then dairy at about a month to leave your and baby's system. Most of the rest leave within a few days. Anyway she is now 13 months old and is able to freely eat dairy after introducing it a month ago, no symptoms at all. :) I believe not having it in my diet help heal her to the point that she could have dairy without reactions. Though I still have not added it to my diet-she is still mostly breastfed. I believe that the kiddos react to my breast-milk because my gut is leaky. The proteins don't get digested and go thru the breast-milk and baby can't digest them either so s/he reacts. I am on a special diet to heal my leaky gut in hoping that future babies don't react to anything in my milk and I can finally have a normal newborn period. I would talk to the people on the SCD yahoo group, they are a wealth of info and can really help you out. There is quite a few pregnant ladies on there. Eventually I will be one too. :)

[boysmom2]

Wow, thanks Jewellz!  I'm wondering if I should try avoiding things during pregnancy rather than waiting to see how the baby does, so I appreciate you sharing your experiences.  Are there things I can do now to heal my gut?  Or do I need to wait?  

[scsigrl]

Originally Posted by boysmom2 

Wow, thanks Jewellz!  I'm wondering if I should try avoiding things during pregnancy rather than waiting to see how the baby does, so I appreciate you sharing your experiences.  Are there things I can do now to heal my gut?  Or do I need to wait?  

There is NO proof one way or the other that removing things from your diet will help prevent an allergy in a baby.  A leaky gut in Mom may be an indicator but cutting the offending food doesn't mean there will or won't be an allergy.  One of the top predictors of if a child will have an allergy (be it environmental or food) is a parent has an allergy.  

[jewellz]

I would try to heal your gut now otherwise it could get worse. Each of my kids that was born next would have more intolerances then the last. I didn't want to keep removing things from my diet. I would look at the symptoms of leaky gut and read Breaking the Vicious Cycle-what SCD is about. I would also join the yahoo group and ask tons of questions. The only thing I'd worry about during pregnancy and breastfeeding is the die-off from the bad buggies and all the other bad stuff leaving your body. There are ways to help detoxing and to go safely about it. If the intro diet sounds too hard then one member had advised to start removing the bad stuff -ie. all the rice products, all the sugary products-one type at a time until you have removed every bad thing and then start the intro. Then add foods but keep up the proteins, that will help with the morning sickness, cravings, keeping up energy. But make sure before you start the diet to read the book and ask tons of question because you need to make sure you understand the diet and why it works and to make sure that you really want to do it.

hth

If you have any questions, just ask, I love to help.

[jewellz]

Originally Posted by scsigrl 

There is NO proof one way or the other that removing things from your diet will help prevent an allergy in a baby.  A leaky gut in Mom may be an indicator but cutting the offending food doesn't mean there will or won't be an allergy.  One of the top predictors of if a child will have an allergy (be it environmental or food) is a parent has an allergy.  

No there isn't but with my personal experience I felt that removing the items that offended my other kids helped my youngest to be able to have the offending foods sooner. My goal is for them to be able to eat healthy, normal and not be so restricted. I can't remember if I had read somewhere about it or if it was just an intuition but I felt that's what I needed to do. :) And I was just sharing that.

[boysmom2]

Originally Posted by jewellz 

I would try to heal your gut now otherwise it could get worse. Each of my kids that was born next would have more intolerances then the last. I didn't want to keep removing things from my diet. I would look at the symptoms of leaky gut and read Breaking the Vicious Cycle-what SCD is about. I would also join the yahoo group and ask tons of questions. The only thing I'd worry about during pregnancy and breastfeeding is the die-off from the bad buggies and all the other bad stuff leaving your body. There are ways to help detoxing and to go safely about it. If the intro diet sounds too hard then one member had advised to start removing the bad stuff -ie. all the rice products, all the sugary products-one type at a time until you have removed every bad thing and then start the intro. Then add foods but keep up the proteins, that will help with the morning sickness, cravings, keeping up energy. But make sure before you start the diet to read the book and ask tons of question because you need to make sure you understand the diet and why it works and to make sure that you really want to do it.

hth

If you have any questions, just ask, I love to help.

So the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle is where you recommend I start?  Are there any others?  I've been reading things online, but I feel like it's hard to tell what's good info, yk?  And it's all so overwhelming!  I guess I don't really have any other questions right now, since I don't even know what I need to start with yet.  Thanks so much!

 

Originally Posted by scsigrl 

There is NO proof one way or the other that removing things from your diet will help prevent an allergy in a baby.  A leaky gut in Mom may be an indicator but cutting the offending food doesn't mean there will or won't be an allergy.  One of the top predictors of if a child will have an allergy (be it environmental or food) is a parent has an allergy.  

I guess I wasn't thinking so much of preventing the allergy as avoiding the problem.  If dairy is our issue I'd rather just not have to go through the rashy baby, waiting for it to clear from our bodies stages.  I have a lot to learn about all of this!

[jewellz]

Originally Posted by boysmom2 

So the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle is where you recommend I start?  Are there any others?  I've been reading things online, but I feel like it's hard to tell what's good info, yk?  And it's all so overwhelming!  I guess I don't really have any other questions right now, since I don't even know what I need to start with yet.  Thanks so much!

I guess I wasn't thinking so much of preventing the allergy as avoiding the problem.  If dairy is our issue I'd rather just not have to go through the rashy baby, waiting for it to clear from our bodies stages.  I have a lot to learn about all of this!

Yes. That book talk about the scientific info and the SCD diet. It's most for healing crohns and UC and IBS/IBD but deals with intestinal stuff.  The website by the same name is a good way to start while waiting for the book, also pecanbread.com-which is mostly for parents who have put their autistic kids on the diet but the info is good and the stages sheet is helpful. Also REALLY recommend the yahoo group.

Yes that is the exact reason that I did that. Felt like a selfish mama- :) LOL- in not wanting a crying baby and to see them in pain from the dairy. Plus I wanted my sleep- it was not fun to be up from 8pm-5am every night. My first two-who did not have these problems- were great peaceful sleepy wonderful babies and I wanted that back.

HTH

[boysmom2]

Originally Posted by jewellz 

Yes. That book talk about the scientific info and the SCD diet. It's most for healing crohns and UC and IBS/IBD but deals with intestinal stuff.  The website by the same name is a good way to start while waiting for the book, also pecanbread.com-which is mostly for parents who have put their autistic kids on the diet but the info is good and the stages sheet is helpful. Also REALLY recommend the yahoo group.

Yes that is the exact reason that I did that. Felt like a selfish mama- :) LOL- in not wanting a crying baby and to see them in pain from the dairy. Plus I wanted my sleep- it was not fun to be up from 8pm-5am every night. My first two-who did not have these problems- were great peaceful sleepy wonderful babies and I wanted that back.

HTH

Great!  I just requested the book from my library and I will check out the yahoo group and website.  Thanks so much!

[AshleeS]

I am pregnant with my third.  My first two had digestive issues - very frequent loose stools, some mucousy, green, etc. lots of spitting up, lots of gas, very uncomfortable, etc - lasted at least the first few months of their life and they both just weren't has happy as I think they could have been. My first had hives until I took out gluten and dairy.  My second actually had major spitting issues until she was nearly 12 mo.  SO MESSY and irritating.  I did everything I could to try and figure out sensitivities through my milk and never could pin point specific foods.  It drove me CRAZY!!!  I am wanting to embark on a GAPS/SCD/ paleo type diet to heal my potential gut issues.  Even if I end up with a third child with similar issues at least I will know that I did what I could to improve it!  And a plus is that it forces you to eat cleaner and really well through pregnancy.  I am almost 17 weeks now.  I have a big family reunion / road trip in a few weeks.  I don't want to be high maintenance through that.  Do you think it is reasonable to do some significant healing if I start at 20 weeks?  I already eat quite well - lots of whole foods, very little junk, and am very knowledgeable about nutrition and health.  I am ready for this next step!  The key things to give up in my opinion are gluten, sugar, grains, processed foods, and pasteurized dairy.  Not sure if/how long I will include my beloved 120 day aged organic white cheddar cheese LOL.    

[boysmom2]

I have another question: since I did not notice any changes in myself, including no improvement of MY eczema, when I was off dairy for several months, do  you think I need to avoid it now?  It clearly made my last baby better for me to avoid dairy, but since I don't seem to be troubled by it, I'm confused.  I'm guessing it's MY gut that was letting the dairy through to my breastmilk, which then caused problems for ds.  If that's the case, does that mean that it is causing problems for me too, and I just couldn't tell? Or can I continue to have it now?  I'll give it up if I need to, but man do I crave cheese and yogurt right now!  If I don't need to, I'd rather not.

[AshleeS]

boysmom2 - I understand not wanting to change your diet if you don't need to, and it can be hard that first trimester, but maybe after the first 12 wks or so it would be easier.  I don't have eczema or any obvious gut issues, but if it means a more manageable baby and not changing 8-20 acidic poo diapers a day - I will do anything!!!   Oh, and did you ever go off gluten?  That could be an issue too.