[LiminalOne]

Hello there

I've looked for info online, but haven't been able to find any. We recently confirmed that my 3.5 yo ds can't have either gluten or dairy (the dairy is hopefully temporary). Before I was pregnant and during the first few months, I also avoided gluten and dairy and it really didn't work for my body at all, especially the dairy part. Even with adding meat, I just felt like I was missing something essential and was working against what my body needs. We had to add gluten back in to do some blood testing and both enjoyed being able to eat it all. But the tests came back positive so ds is gluten and dairy-free for now. I've been eating it and nursing him since I hadn't been able to express any milk. Now at 21 weeks, I expressed a clear drop that didn't look like colostrum, but did come from the nipple.

So, after that lengthy prelude, the questions:

1) is this clear substance colostrum?
2) would I need to avoid ds's allergies if he was getting a bit of colostrum (according to the allergist I would if he was getting milk, but how much colostrum could he be getting)?

I'm at a loss here as I really wasn't going to encourage our gentle self-weaning process, but don't know if I can live without gluten and dairy again (both dh and ds who were both recently diagnosed don't seem to miss it as I don't think their bodies need it).

Thanks a ton for any and all replies

 

[velcromom]

As far as I know, colostrum can vary quite a bit in appearance. I don't have any specific references on if there is any difference between what substances pass into colostrum vs. breastmilk... perhaps you could direct your question to LLL?

 

[FreeRangeMama]

I did need to avoid my ds' allergy even when I just had collostrum. It really depends on your child though. He reacts to things he really should't react to, but his allergy is fairly severe. FWIW I have been told that the more allergens you can avoid in pg the less likely the child will be allergic (or as severely allergic). I found this to be true, I avoided things like dairy and corn (which ds1 is allergic to), but ate a lot of soy. Guess what ds2 is allergic to? Yep, soy. This time I am eating dairy and soy in moderation, less it better I figure, and of course since ds1 is still nursing for about 20 sec. a day I still need to avoid anything with a high corn content.

Just anecdotal, I know, but it seems like there is no "right" answer with food allergies. Every situation is different. Hope you find some answers soon