Mothering Forum banner

I think my twins have food allergies and elimination diet help

827 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  lilepad 
#1 ·
My 8 wk old twins have (what I thought was) severe baby acne (actually it's a rash that varies in severity throughout the day/week) and red, dry cheeks (eczema).

Gabriel had a bad rash and eczema (still does) as a baby. He was really fussy, etc. He was sensitive to dairy if I ate it and allergy testing at 2 revealed his allergy to peanuts.

Hazel and Lucy have a terrible rash really dry skin on their cheeks. They're really fussy and not happy often. Here is a pic of poor Lucy's face. (pardon the boob!) They also have (or had) these other symptoms listed on Dr. Sears about tracking down food allergies:

dry, scaly, itchy skin (mostly on face)
rash
runny nose
stuffy nose
watery eyes
mucousy diarrhea
gassiness
crying
irritability
night-waking
crankiness

So, I'm on the road to an elimination diet. I'm unsure about doing a total elmination since I'm nursing two babies and that cuts calories big time. Maybe start with dairy and nuts (since DS is allergic to them)? Any thoughts?

I'd like to start it NOW, but don't think it would work well with Christmas coming. I'm so sad to be dealing with this again. It's so hard to see your babies uncomfortable and not know what's causing it. And it's flippin' hard to cut things out of your diet.

Any thoughts, etc, would be appreciated!
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Is there a nutritionist you can work with? I'm taking alot of vitamins and eating a ton of our safe foods. And feel better than I have in a long time. Its taken 3 and a half months to get this far, but is so worth is to see my baby happy and healthy. You can do it!
 
#3 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by *Lindsey* View Post
My 8 wk old twins have (what I thought was) severe baby acne (actually it's a rash that varies in severity throughout the day/week) and red, dry cheeks (eczema).

Gabriel had a bad rash and eczema (still does) as a baby. He was really fussy, etc. He was sensitive to dairy if I ate it and allergy testing at 2 revealed his allergy to peanuts.

Hazel and Lucy have a terrible rash really dry skin on their cheeks. They're really fussy and not happy often. Here is a pic of poor Lucy's face. (pardon the boob!) They also have (or had) these other symptoms listed on Dr. Sears about tracking down food allergies:

dry, scaly, itchy skin (mostly on face)
rash
runny nose
stuffy nose
watery eyes
mucousy diarrhea
gassiness
crying
irritability
night-waking
crankiness

So, I'm on the road to an elimination diet. I'm unsure about doing a total elmination since I'm nursing two babies and that cuts calories big time. Maybe start with dairy and nuts (since DS is allergic to them)? Any thoughts?

I'd like to start it NOW, but don't think it would work well with Christmas coming. I'm so sad to be dealing with this again. It's so hard to see your babies uncomfortable and not know what's causing it. And it's flippin' hard to cut things out of your diet.

Any thoughts, etc, would be appreciated!
I think a nutritionist would be helpful too, just to ensure that you're getting enough of a well balanced diet for feeding you and two babies. I cut dairy out when I was nursing, and it didn't cut into my calories. I just ate more of what I could, and drank plenty of rice milk for the calcium and vitamin D (I'm glad I didn't switch to soy milk, which I didn't like the taste of, since it turned out he couldn't have soy either!). I made sure to get enough high protein foods like tuna and hard boiled eggs.

I would start with the top 8 allergens (wheat, milk, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, shellfish) or if that seems too much (it would to me), I would take out milk and soy, because there seems to be a connection with the milk-soy-protein-intolerance for 2 weeks, and then if that didn't help, I'd either take another one out each week, or switch off (though that wouldn't help if there were multiple intolerances or if each child had different intolerances). With my son, I noticed a 4-day change, that is, when I consumed milk, he would react for 24 hours AFTER I first ingested the milk, then for the next 72 hours (my son was a projectile vomiter). And then he'd be fine. Not to say that all children are the same, just telling you my experience.

Good luck.

Kathy
 
#4 ·
Your story sounds like my nursling...thought it was baby acne, turned out to be allergic reaction. I'm on a top-8 elimination diet. I tried removing all but wheat but she was still having problems that were resolved when I did remove wheat. I think that soy was our biggest skin offender though (and maybe tree nuts) because the eczema went from looking like your picture to just a few spots within days of removing them. (Her tummy issues lessened w/ the wheat elimination)

I agree with seeing a nutritionist. I haven't done that but I only have one nursling. I lost about 10 lbs so if I were nursing two babies, I think the weight would have dropped even more and faster, which isn't necessarily a good thing (ketones and all that). Make sure you are taking your vitamins. I'm still taking prenatals but also added additional calcium, acidophilus, and payaya enzymes (which contain calcium).

Good luck! I hope that you can find an answer for them!

(PS I'm a Lindsey too
)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top