EBF baby with dairy & wheat allergies - can anyone relate?

[Zenmama1]

Hi

This is my first post and so I hope I am posting in the right place. I am just looking for some support and advice. My DD is EBF and has been since day 1. She had really bad colic until I went on an elimination diet. I stayed on the diet until recently. She is 6 months old now and developed a really horrible case of eczema after I added wheat and dairy back in to my diet. I went to a LLL meeting and they told me just to keep nursing her and basically "oh well."

But last week I cut out dairy and wheat again and her skin cleared up to almost no eczema. Doctors and friends tell me to keep eating whatever I want but I can't do that and look at the sores on her face every day and feel good about what I am doing.

My challenge is that I am losing a ton of weight and starting to look like I am anorexic. And I have completely lost interest in food. I used to be a vegetarian but after I had my DD I added chicken & fish back into my diet but I don't enjoy eating them. I have been only eating root vegetables, rice, greens & corn with my chicken or fish. I haven't tried beans, broccoli or cabbage yet. And I am really missing the foods I used to eat: I love Italian & Mexican food.

Anyway I am just feeling kinda down about things and wanted to see if anyone could relate and share some advice. TIA

[homemademom]

A lot of moms here have dealt with this, including me. Check out the allergy board here on MDC for more support.  I'm sorry you haven't gotten support at home.  I've had two babies with food allergies and I nursed them each for two years. It is a pain until you figure out what you can eat. For grains, I used my rice cooker to make rice, millet and quinoa.  I made crepes and pancakes from rice flour and/or buckwheat flour with rice or almond milk.  You can eat them with syrup or even roll up sandwich fixings like a wrap.  I bought gluten-free oats for hot cereal and a binder in meatballs and falafel (etc.).

There are good rice pastas out there to make your Italian food (Tinkyada and Trader Joe's brands). To bread meat, use corn flakes or dredge in rice flour.  Make your own meatballs with the meat of your choice.  Cheese is out, but I started to not miss it. Just use lots of sauce ;)  For Mexican, beans, rice, corn tortillas, roasted peppers, etc.  

I would add back in legumes and veggies if I were you.  They've shown that gas-producing foods in moms doesn't translate to gas producing in baby. It's only something that happens in mom's intestines and doesn't get into your milk. That will give you some variety right away. (The source for that is kellymom.org, I believe.)  Good luck!  

[foreverinbluejeans]

It is tough having a child with food allergies. My grandson has multiple food allergies and has had eczema since he was around 8 months. He is almost 3 now. His mom didn't stick to the elimination diet perfectly and he had open bleeding eczema frequently. He just weaned a few months ago and his skin is doing better since he weaned. Neighbors recently called CPS because of his skin. It's strange that someone called now that he is doing better! He has an allergist and we give him his meds so someone calling CPS is no big deal.  

I live with them and take care of him (both parents work). I try to think of his dietary needs as a chance to be creative. It is frustrating when he won't even try something I make that I have put a lot of thought into. I try to make it fun. If your baby is having problems now then he may keep having problems. You probably won't want to eat foods he is allergic to in front of him. We don't keep peanuts or eggs in the house. I miss eggs and not being able to bake. He has never had a cookie or cake or anything with egg. He is allergic to chicken, beef, ham, and rice. There are probably things he is allergic to that there are no tests for.

When I was breastfeeding I had trouble keeping my weight up to 100 pounds. I look at pictures of myself and I did look anoexic. I had to avoid dairy with my 3 children. I have problems with lactose and don't eat much dairy anyway so that wasn't too tough. I just couldn't seem to eat enough since I ate healthy foods to keep my weight up.

I'm sorry the people at LLL didn't seem sympathetic. They may be sooo pro breastfeeding that nothing else seems to matter. It's not that no one cares about you. You just aren't around people that understand.

[Zenmama1]

Wow that is such a heart breaking story. I am so sorry to hear about your grandson. I too love baking and am really missing it. I did make gluten free blueberry pancakes tonight with egg replacer by Ener-g (not sure if your little guy can have that) but they tasted really good. http://www.ener-g.com/egg-replacer.html

And thank you so much homemademom for the meal ideas. I am going to focus on adding back in beans and more veggies.

[Zenmama1]

Hi

Thank you for sharing your story. It is really heart breaking to hear about these kids that are suffering. I miss baking too. I recently bought this product, maybe you could use it to replace eggs too http://www.ener-g.com/egg-replacer.html

Homemademom - thanks for sharing the ideas. I am going to try some of them out.

[andromedajulie]

I had this problem with my first dd, both wheat and dairy. If you don't have to go gluten-free, then spelt is very close to wheat in taste and texture. She may or may not be able to handle it. They make great pastas out of it and you can bake almost anything out of spelt and have it taste "regular". Dairy is tough. My husband has a dairy allergy but he is able to eat goat and sheep cheeses, which helps a lot. Still, it is a huge pain, and hard to miss those comfort foods during a grueling time, I agree. Also if you are losing weight, maybe you need more fats (like avocados and coconut milk, both healthy, and can make some totally yummy foods!!). good luck mama

[andromedajulie]

another thing i use to replace bread crumbs is almond meal - delicious - and a great price at Trader joes.

[Granola Momma]

My heart goes out to you. I don't know that my breastfed 2-year-old son has any food allergies, intolerances or sensitivities, but I do. So, since he was born, I have strictly avoided wheat, gluten, dairy, corn and peanuts. It is tough because my issues are more intolerances and sensitivities, not full-blown allergies. But I haven't wanted to cause him any dietary trouble, so I've really steered clear of all those ingredients.

It is SO hard, as a momma who wears so many hats every single day, to keep your body nourished. Then add dietary challenges to that and it can feel like you're totally not taking care of yourself and that you're eating the same thing every day.

As someone who has avoided wheat, gluten, dairy, corn and peanut products for over eight years now (and much more strictly in the past two years since my son was born), here are a few of my tricks to staying nourished, especially with quick, easy, good fats and proteins that sustain me through the day.

Fats - Coconut oil on Ezekiel bread or millet bread toast for sustainable energy and good nutrients (I can eat sprouted grains because they are "pre-digested" and millet is gluten and wheat free)

        - Olive oil on spelt pasta with some goat cheese, lemon juice, garlic salt and pepper - a super-quick lunch or dinner since spelt pasta cooks in about 5 minutes

Proteins - I don't like meat either, so I do lots of egg yolks (because the white part of the egg is the allergic part) in coconut oil on an Ezekiel tortilla wrap

              - Goat milk yogurt - great source of protein, calcium and probiotics

              - Hemp seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds sprinkled on oatmeal or millet cereal (hemp seeds especially have TONS of protein and omegas)

              - Goat cheeses - my son and I both LOVE goat cheese and he eats it with absolutely no bad reaction

              - Almond butter and sunbutter on ryvita crisp crackers (rye is gluten and wheat free and sunbutter has a good amount of magnesium)

              - And finally, of course, LEGUMES! I love all kinds of lentils, black beans, split peas and garbanzo beans. I eat them over wild rice with sprinkled goat cheese, salt, pepper, garlic and lemon juice.

              - I also have a fantastic powdered pea protein that I add to cereal or smoothies (if I have time to make a smoothie). Brown rice protein is good too.

Of course, I try to eat lots of veggies and fruits too, but these fats and proteins keep me going for the duration. And I just found out I'm pregnant with my second, and I'm still nursing my 2-year-old, so I'm even hungrier and in more need of nutrients than ever before. And I have NO time for making five course meals and dilly-dallying in the kitchen. My little man keeps me on the go non-stop and doesn't enjoy being in the kitchen, so if it takes more than five minutes of actual work at the kitchen counter, it's too long for me.

I can't imagine how hard it must be to be a new mom and have to change your entire diet and find new tricks for keeping yourself and your baby healthy. I hope a few of my suggestions help you.

You are doing an amazing job!

Peace...

[Zenmama1]

Hey Granola Mom thanks for these ideas. They are really great, because grabbing something quick is what I need. I cant imagine eating like this for 8 years. Wow. You must be very strong willed. :) I noticed that you said Ezekiel bread and spelt pasta and rye crackers are all ok. I hadn't thought of trying those. I am actually a bit surprised by the spelt since it is still a wheat. But you said you have intolerances not allergies. Unfortunately, I am not a fan of goat cheese. I have tried and tried, but just can't get myself to like it. But I do like all your ideas and will definitely give them a try. Now I am back to not eating eggs, dairy, soy, wheat, corn and it seems like that pretty much eliminates any prepared foods or restaurant foods. sigh!