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food allergies/sensitivities in EBF baby, a few ?'s

784 views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  momma_c 
#1 ·
NAK but I'll try to be complete with info here I've been waiting to get some free time to type it all up but it ain't happening

this first part is long but you really need the backstory I think...
DD2 was super mellow from birth to about 1.5 weeks, got a little fussy but easily consoled (rocking, etc.), by 2.5 weeks we were in full blown colic where shes screaming all day long, won't sleep, can't be comforted, etc. At 3.5 weeks I call my LLL leader who comes over to look at her and talk to me more (screaming babies and phones don't mix....) and says she looks like she has an allergy. She has the red ring around her anus and under her eyes towards the bridge of her nose is red like she has a sunburn (though she doesn't). I cut out dairy and within 2 days I noticed a huge difference, she was still fussy but more like week 2 where it just took a little effort to calm her. I've been dairy free for 6 days now and all was going ok until yesterday.
It was DD1s bday and I made all the food dairy free. I ate some watermelon, corn chips and roasted veggie salsa, some air pop popcorn, and a carrot cake cupcake that did contain eggs, walnuts, and a soy frosting. I also ate some of the frosting before the party when making them

During the party she was pretty calm, she was passed around a lot but did come back to me to nurse quite often if she even made a squeak. She didn't sleep a lot during the day, just little catnaps. After the party we went to the toy store and out to dinner with ILs, she slept that whole time. At dinner I made it VERY clear that I was "highly allergic" to dairy, they told me the bread had dairy but the pasta did not, so I ordered regular pasta in a plain marinara and again stressed "no dairy" and they were really nice about it, even when another server came out to offer cheese to the table he knew I wasn't eating it, so I'm sure the kitchen was informed....
After we got home and she woke up she was extremely fussy again, almost a return of colic. We even took a walk and she cried most of that time (even tried stopping to nurse, etc.) At first I thought she was overstimulated from the day, being passed around, etc. but then she started having what seemed to be really painful, powerful gas and screaming mostly right before passing it.
She slept well last night, like normal just waking to nurse 3-4 times, but this morning, while she isn't fussy, she cried hard right before she pooped, it came out powerful, and I noticed her red circle on her bottom seemed darker than usual this morning. The poop looked fairly normal, maybe a little slimey (mucous-y?)
Sorry if any of that is TMI I'm just really trying to figure out how to help my baby feel better

I'm wondering now if something I ate yesterday is something shes also sensitive to....
but how do I know?

my questions I wanted to ask are:
How long do food allergens take to show up in breastmilk? Would something I ate in the morning bother her in the evening, or something just an hour before? days?

Should her physical signs have gone away in the 6 days of dairy free if it was just dairy? Her red ring got less red but was still there slightly (and is now dark again today) and the "shiners" under her eyes stayed the same the whole time.

If I do cut something out next, how do I know what to cut? soy? tomatoes? corn? wheat? eggs? I've eaten all of those in the other 6 days, though in smaller amounts I'd guess (except wheat, I've eaten a lot of pasta and beans
)

I've read about the TED, but I'm vegetarian (for something like 6 years, so its not exactly something easily broken) so it would be REALLY hard for me to have to chose between eating turkey or having zero protein source....but if it came down to that I would do it to help my baby girl


the other catch in all of this is that my ILs are here from NH for the week so we pretty much have to eat away from home (with sightseeing, etc.) They are letting me pick where to eat so that makes it a little easier but still scary to put my DDs well being in another cooks hands. Do you think it could have been the restaurant last night who messed up and that made her react? It seems too soon though, she started screaming maybe a half hour after dinner....

Thanks for the help, this is all new to me, I thought the no dairy would be easy since I used to be vegan but its so hard when you know a slip up will cause pain to your LO
 
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#2 ·
I would say it's probably the soy. Dairy and soy allergies seem to go together for some reason. Also, the dairy is probably not completely out of your system yet, so it could still be aggravating any reaction that she's having to another food.

don't have time to type more right now... but check out my blog if you want. I'm sure other mamas will have a lot more to add too.
 
#4 ·
Yep. Soy is the next thing to cut - hopefully that'll be it. It sounds like you're in a tight spot with the IL's in town but eating out is always a gamble - can you pack lunches for yourself or something to help cut down on meals out? Restaurants can tell you whatever they want to. They also frequently might think something is dairy free when it's not. People not used to cooking to accomodate dairy allergies would not know to look for ingredients like whey, sodium caseinate, etc. in any prepared ingredients they are using.

Offending foods show up in milk at different times for different people. Some as soon as 4-6 hours, some as long as 24 hours I think. (I don't think there's any way a bad food could get into your milk and into your babe within 30 minutes of eating it).
Dairy takes the longest to fully leave the system - weeks. You have to be patient with that one, but it sounds like your LO is also responding to at least one other food.
Regarding TED. Perhaps you could consider altering it a bit if you go that route. Maybe choosing a type of bean instead of turkey. Not the traditional TED but it may work.
 
#5 ·
ll try cutting out soy, and maybe eggs too, egg is the only thing I had yesterday that I hadn't had the rest of the week (though the only soy I had all week was soy margerine on toast a few days).
I have another ? too and maybe I should xpost in CLW, DD1 is still nursing and does eat dairy, I've been trying to wipe off my breast with my tshirt after she nurses but do you think her saliva could set off a reaction in DD2 if she nurses from the same breast? How could I prevent that? I thought about buying the lansinoh baby wipes and using those after she nurses......
I'm glad MDC is here I don't even know who else I could ask these questions of!!
 
#6 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by *mama moose* View Post
I have another ? too and maybe I should xpost in CLW, DD1 is still nursing and does eat dairy, I've been trying to wipe off my breast with my tshirt after she nurses but do you think her saliva could set off a reaction in DD2 if she nurses from the same breast? How could I prevent that? I thought about buying the lansinoh baby wipes and using those after she nurses......
I'm glad MDC is here I don't even know who else I could ask these questions of!!

Oh, yes, that would make me nervous. I wonder if a rinse-off with water would be good enough. I would probably try that instead of the wipes if it were me, just because who knows what's in those wipes.
 
#7 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by *mama moose* View Post
NAK but I'll try to be complete with info here I've been waiting to get some free time to type it all up but it ain't happening

this first part is long but you really need the backstory I think...
DD2 was super mellow from birth to about 1.5 weeks, got a little fussy but easily consoled (rocking, etc.), by 2.5 weeks we were in full blown colic where shes screaming all day long, won't sleep, can't be comforted, etc. At 3.5 weeks I call my LLL leader who comes over to look at her and talk to me more (screaming babies and phones don't mix....) and says she looks like she has an allergy. She has the red ring around her anus and under her eyes towards the bridge of her nose is red like she has a sunburn (though she doesn't). I cut out dairy and within 2 days I noticed a huge difference, she was still fussy but more like week 2 where it just took a little effort to calm her. I've been dairy free for 6 days now and all was going ok until yesterday.
It was DD1s bday and I made all the food dairy free. I ate some watermelon, corn chips and roasted veggie salsa, some air pop popcorn, and a carrot cake cupcake that did contain eggs, walnuts, and a soy frosting. I also ate some of the frosting before the party when making them

During the party she was pretty calm, she was passed around a lot but did come back to me to nurse quite often if she even made a squeak. She didn't sleep a lot during the day, just little catnaps. After the party we went to the toy store and out to dinner with ILs, she slept that whole time. At dinner I made it VERY clear that I was "highly allergic" to dairy, they told me the bread had dairy but the pasta did not, so I ordered regular pasta in a plain marinara and again stressed "no dairy" and they were really nice about it, even when another server came out to offer cheese to the table he knew I wasn't eating it, so I'm sure the kitchen was informed....
After we got home and she woke up she was extremely fussy again, almost a return of colic. We even took a walk and she cried most of that time (even tried stopping to nurse, etc.) At first I thought she was overstimulated from the day, being passed around, etc. but then she started having what seemed to be really painful, powerful gas and screaming mostly right before passing it.
She slept well last night, like normal just waking to nurse 3-4 times, but this morning, while she isn't fussy, she cried hard right before she pooped, it came out powerful, and I noticed her red circle on her bottom seemed darker than usual this morning. The poop looked fairly normal, maybe a little slimey (mucous-y?)
Sorry if any of that is TMI I'm just really trying to figure out how to help my baby feel better

I'm wondering now if something I ate yesterday is something shes also sensitive to....
but how do I know?

my questions I wanted to ask are:
How long do food allergens take to show up in breastmilk? Would something I ate in the morning bother her in the evening, or something just an hour before? days?

Should her physical signs have gone away in the 6 days of dairy free if it was just dairy? Her red ring got less red but was still there slightly (and is now dark again today) and the "shiners" under her eyes stayed the same the whole time.

If I do cut something out next, how do I know what to cut? soy? tomatoes? corn? wheat? eggs? I've eaten all of those in the other 6 days, though in smaller amounts I'd guess (except wheat, I've eaten a lot of pasta and beans
)

I've read about the TED, but I'm vegetarian (for something like 6 years, so its not exactly something easily broken) so it would be REALLY hard for me to have to chose between eating turkey or having zero protein source....but if it came down to that I would do it to help my baby girl


the other catch in all of this is that my ILs are here from NH for the week so we pretty much have to eat away from home (with sightseeing, etc.) They are letting me pick where to eat so that makes it a little easier but still scary to put my DDs well being in another cooks hands. Do you think it could have been the restaurant last night who messed up and that made her react? It seems too soon though, she started screaming maybe a half hour after dinner....

Thanks for the help, this is all new to me, I thought the no dairy would be easy since I used to be vegan but its so hard when you know a slip up will cause pain to your LO


your poor LO!
I just wanted to say that I agree with everyone else as far as the soy but you need to make sure its not hidden in anything as well as milk, they are hidden in nearly everything.

I was also a vegetarian of 15 yrs when I started out on this journey for my LO and I, and needless to say, that had to change. It was not easy for me and wasn't any easier when my milk disappeared on me after all the hard work, but he is 100% worth it to me.


Good luck to you!
 
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