Thinking of weaning early because of elimination diet. - Page 2

[Zenmama1]

Originally Posted by kfillmore 

If you can afford it and have someone in the area I would try Advanced Allergy Therapeutics (AAT). We were helped a lot!!

and if you care, personally, I would do ANYTHING that was best for my baby. I would keep breastfeeding. It is only temporary anyway.

Can you tell me more about AAT. I am all for alternative treatments, but the info online is a little vague. I'd like to hear about your experience if you dont mind sharing
Edited by Zenmama1 - 9/19/11 at 7:43pm

[Zenmama1]

For those of you who have done allergy testing on your LO, how old were they? I have tried two different docs and one said they wont do it for children under 4 and the other wont for children under 2. Am I missing something?

Also, my regular ped isnt very good with this stuff, should I see s pediatric allergist (even if they say she is too young for testing)  or is it better for me to try and figure it out myself?

[SweetSilver]

I won't answer to "better", but my daughter was tested first at 2, our allergist's minimum.  I can understand the desire for some to wait until 4 as dd developed several new (including one very severe) allergy between that time and when she was tested again at nearly 5.  Hers was a skin test.

The test at 2 was pretty basic: a handful of environmental allergens and the Big 8 foods.  Testing at 4.5 was more extensive and specific (individual nuts instead of "nut mix" which I don't think included almonds or else I'm sure would have been positive even then.)

[NewBeginnings1]

Bocamom:

• Follow your gut and take any transitions to new food or milk sources very slowly, with your mind positive, but your expectations low.
• IMO: My son's appetite for BM is maybe one feeding less since we've started solids, no matter how much I give him. I had issues with bottle feeding my son too. Now that he's older, I've gotten some fun sippy cups and tried to make it very exciting (even though it was only water). He loves trying to drink out of it. The no-spill kind are difficult for them to use right away. After 3months, we're making some headway. 
• I had some kitchen and table time to myself bc he learned how to pick up and eat solid foods early with Baby Led Feeding. This has been a huge blessing bc I can cook or clean (with my eye/ears on him) or eat a meal while he is eating his food on his OWN. Tons better than spoon feeding him EVERY meal. Oddly enough, be refuses to eat dairy and other things that he's allergic to, but has a healthy appetite for fruits, vegtables, chicken and pork. * I do give him purees too.

Originally Posted by Bocamom 

For those of you who have done allergy testing on your LO, how old were they? I have tried two different docs and one said they wont do it for children under 4 and the other wont for children under 2. Am I missing something?

Also, my regular ped isnt very good with this stuff, should I see s pediatric allergist (even if they say she is too young for testing)  or is it better for me to try and figure it out myself?

My 13mo son has had minor hives since I started baby lead weaning. He has been learning to feed himself fruits, veggies, pasta, since he was 6mo. Throughout this, he has exhibited hives in the areas where certain foods touched his skin. Once he had head to toe hives from eating honeydew melon. I tried standard cow's milk formula (Similac) once when he was 8mo to see if he would tolerate it in the event of an emergency. He promptly projectile vomited the entire bottle all over me (*suspect cows milk allergy). At 12mo I handed him a glass of cows milk to drink and he spilled it all over himself and the hives showed up immediately (*confirmed in my mind).

Concerned about a possible cow's milk allergy and my husband's history of tree nut allergy, I asked for him to be tested. I was told by my ped that between 1 and 3 yo (and after), a blood test can be done to evaluate IgE. This is an alternative to the skin prick test or RAST (>3yo). I was worried about my son having his blood drawn, but a very experienced pediatric nurse talked him through the whole thing and we left with only a few whines. A week later, the test showed high responses to cow's milk, peanuts =(, egg whites, wheat, soy, and several other household allergens. My ped prescribed an epi pen and referred me to a specialist. We're waiting to see what's next. Even if the test has some inaccuracies, I feel like it is a starting point for an ED or a discussion with your health practitioner.

 

http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/allergy/tab/test

[Zenmama1]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like I will be holding off on the allergy test for awhile. I wonder if doing my own at home "skin test" would work. Like if I put a drop of cow's milk on her cheek, will she show a reaction if she has an allergy to it? 

I am a little nervous about letting her feed herself. Even though she is showing interest. I am just worried she will choke on the pieces. Am I crazy?

[tankgirl73]

You're not crazy, but you are lacking information.  :)  I suggest getting Gill Rapley's book "Baby Led Weaning", or checking out websites with that title, for more information about why choking is *not* a huge concern.  

In brief, it has to do with the gag reflex, which is a protective mechanism.  When food (or anything else) gets too far back in the mouth, unexpectedly, then the gag reflex kicks in and you hork it out again before it gets to your airway.  In adults, the gag reflex is located all the way at the back of your throat.  In infants, it's much further forward, so it's activated much more easily.  This makes completely logical sense -- when infants are in the stage where they are learning how to eat -- how to chew, how to manipulate food in their mouths -- it protects their airway while they figure things out.  It then gradually moves back over the next few months to a year or so.

Spoon-feeding actually bypasses the gag reflex, so it loses its protective mechanism.  Plus, infants lose the opportunity to learn how to control food in their mouths.  Once they're allowed to start some foods that require chewing, it's often much later and the gag reflex has already started to recede, lessening its protective function.

The practical result of all this is that babies feeding themselves real food will often *gag* -- they'll make "bleahhh" and horking noises and stick their tongues out and food will be forced out, sometimes it even looks like they're puking... it looks and sounds terrible, but it's completely harmless and normal -- it means the protection is working.  It's very different than *choking*, where they make no noise at all and nothing comes out.  We often say someone "choked" on a bit of food when we really mean they "gagged", it's definitely unpleasant but not dangerous.  "Choking" means your airway is completely blocked.

Besides... not offering real foods early on for fear of choking doesn't mean they won't choke.  They can aspirate purees.  And older kids, fully weaned onto 'real' regular foods, can still choke.  My niece choked on an apple piece when she was 3 -- well past all the "don't give them chokable foods" caution ages.  And yes, this was truly 'choking' -- turned blue, passed out, went to the hospital.  (She was fine later)  Having done everything the 'usual' way with purees and gradual transition to solids (and she was still bf at that time too) didn't mean she was any less likely to choke.  

Oh, and just a note that the term "baby led weaning" refers to 'weaning' in the British sense -- weaning onto solid foods.  In North American we tend to use weaning to mean "stopping breastfeeding" -- it's more accurate though to mean the *process* of transitioning from fully bf to fully solids, and that process can take months or years to complete.  BLW is a concept completely about starting solid foods and has nothing to do with how long you choose to breasfteed, or even formula feed, although since the infant is in charge of the transition and not coerced into an artificial imposed schedule, they can be more likely to breastfeed for longer.  :)

Anyway, I'm sorry I don't have much info on your bm/formula allergy dilemma, but I did want to reassure you about the choking thing and encourage you to look more into BLW.  There is some evidence that it's especially valuable for kids with allergies, many parents report that their children will naturally avoid the foods that they're allergic to when we stop interfering!  :)  Also, when dealing with severe allergies, you've already got enough to worry about, enough work to do -- as you already know in regards to your own cooking and meals.  BLW is SO. MUCH. EASIER. than purees, it's one less thing for you to have to stress about.  

Oh, and the book and websites have more info about common sense steps to reduce choking worries (shapes of food pieces, etc) -- I do suggest reading some before just diving into it blind, since you're a little nervous about it.  :)

[SweetSilver]

Some skin is very responsive to allergens.  My daughter's skin has been very handy this way and that's been nice for this worst-case-scenario mom.  the place to try is on the inner arm, between wrist and elbow.  Using whole milk is best.  Check the skin after 5 minutes--milk reacts very quickly.  If you don't see redness there, then try the chin just below the lips, same thing, for 5 minutes.  Just because there is no redness doesn't mean that the allergy isn't there.  It's possible the skin won't react or that the allergy is mild.  A home challenge would then continue with a tiny taste of milk in the mouth.  then wait 5 minutes.  Then more, wait, more, until you have given a small serving.  Severe milk allergies will express symptoms very, very quickly.  *If you suspect the allergy is severe, then just don't do this at all.*  Some folks don't think of milk as a life threatening allergy, but I have twice had to consider whether to grab the EpiPen Jr. when my daughter accidently was given milk.  Scary stuff. Milder milk allergies will generally express themselves as crankiness and diarrhea, redness around the anus, GI upset, etc.