Should I avoid PB while nursing? Need lunch ideas!

[3inclothdiapers]

Ds (6 weeks old) has symptoms of silent reflux and allergic colitis. He's been on zantac for almost 2 weeks now, and does seem to be feeling better some of the time, but his poops are still pretty nasty. So, i'm continuing to be dairy-free with my diet. Here's the problem- normally I would sometimes have grilled cheese, or quesadillas, or alfredo pasta, or something else with lots of dairy in it. Now that those options are out, I've been eating a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Now I'm worried I'll cause him to develop a peanut allergy, which from what I've heard, can be much worse than a dairy allergy. And I'm not even convinced he's got a problem with dairy because eliminating it has not improved the poops (I've been off of dairy for a month). Besides, the "allergic colitis" should be outgrown by the time he's 12 months old; it's a physiological response, not an immune response. So, knowing he'll outgrow this anyway (like his older brother with the same problems did), I'm wondering if I should go back to a more varied diet that includes dairy. That would probably help me avoid the peanut butter. I definitely don't want him developing a true allergy to peanuts!

If I should stay off of dairy, then I need some more lunch ideas!!! Leftovers from dinner are not an option these days, because dh ends up taking them to work for lunch. I guess I could increase the amount I cook for dinner each night, but I'd still like some ideas.

[thepeach80]

I would ditch the pb, we use Sunbutter instead. If you are doing soy (I left you a message on the bfing board btw), you can do soy cheeses like Tofutti. Remember that babies can be intolerant to several things and dairy AND soy go hand in hand (all of mine are intolerant to both) so just b/c there is no improvement when dairy was pulled doesn't mean dairy wasn't a problem, it just might mean there is another problem too.

[elmh23]

Try sunbutter if you're worried. Sunbutter tastes pretty similar to pb, but with a sunflower seed aftertaste, lol.

Dd is allergic to peanuts and of course this pregnancy I've been craving pb&j. Sunbutter is enough like it that it tricks my mind

[wendy1221]

We also use Sunbutter. I try to make enough dinner most days so we can eat leftovers for lunch.

[Caden's Mom]

Another person on board with sunbutter. I think it tastes just as good.

[Pauli]

Another Sunbutter lover here too! www.sunbutter.com

If you have a child that you believe is prone to allergies, you should definately avoid peanuts while nursing to avoid sensitizing him. Peanut allergies have a tendency to be life-long and life-threatening.
Avoiding dairy is really really hard at first, but it DOES get easier. It takes awhile for your habits to change. We've been dairy free (among many other things) for two years now, and it's easy now. In fact, in spite of the fact that I still really miss cheese, I may never eat dairy again.
There's a ton of stuff to eat that doesn't have dairy. Dark chocolate is something you have to aquire a taste for, but when you do, it's awesome (I recommend the Endangered Species Bat Bar, or the one with the butterfly, or the rainforest mint one, Dagoba is AWESOME chocolate, esp, imo, the cherry one), Toffuti products are all very very good. If soy is ok, try several kinds of soy milk, they're all quite different.
Earth Balance Buttery Sticks and Willow Run margerine are dairy free and you can cook with either like butter.

Bread often has dairy, but if you have a bread machine, it's totally easy to make your own (we use soy if the recipe calls for milk, but you could use rice milk too). So how about sandwiches without cheese for lunch ? Pasta with sauce, soup, stir fry, soy yogurt, fruit, ritz crackers with just about anything (ritz with apple slices is yummy), chili, I'm just listing things that come to mind hoping to get your mind in a different groove!

We eliminated dairy and it didn't help because my dd was allergic to a bunch of other stuff I was eating also. You might consider an elimination diet. You can do allergy testing when he's a little older, but if you've already done an elimination diet you'll have some good suspicions to test for!

I'm so sorry you're going through this....I totally remember how difficult and frustrating it was and how long it took to get answers. But keep after it and you WILL figure it out. Just do what you have to and keep telling yourself it's not forever, it's just for right now.
Good luck!