12 Week Old Allergic to Dairy/possibly Soy

Check out South Beach recipes - most (esp. entrees) are dairy-free.

Also, since I am a nursing advocate I understand what I'm saying and what a difficult and personal decision this would be, but my son had the same issue as an infant and as soon as I switched him to Alimentum formula by Similac all our issues were resolved. We continue to avoid giving him dairy as much as possible, but at seven allow 2 glasses of milk/day and the occasional cheese stick as he's grown out of the worst of the allergies.

Good luck!

Check out Kelly Mom! It is a fantastic resource for breastfeeding moms. They have tons of information about different diets moms have to go on for their babies allergies.

http://www.kellymom.com/

Hope that helps!
D.

Our fifth child was 7 weeks old and still had not gained her birth weight back. They found blood in her stools and it was determined that she had a milk protein allergy. I was breastfeeding as well. They told me I would need to stop which was hard. (But our human milk has proteins in it as well) She began similac alimentum formula and we saw an immediate difference. She started gaining weight and stopped fussing as well. I realize you asked about allergic colitis. But I thought I would present what we struggled with because it is worth asking about-docs are wrong sometimes. : ) I breast fed our 4 other children and would never have stopped feeding her if I didn't have to. I am def a breast feeding advocate. But it really was amazing how quickly she thrived after we made the switch. I actually pumped and saved my milk for 2 weeks so I could keep my supply incase I decided to go back to it if the formula didn't work. It wasn't even an option-even my husband was amazed at how much better she did. Anyway-hope you find the help you need...I know it's hard.

Dear A.,

You could also try removing artificial ingredients from your diet. Food dyes are made from petroleum and can cause many allergic reactions (especially yellow #5 & #6). Look up www.feingold.org. Feingold is a 30yr old non-profit association whose purpose is to inform the public about harmful food additives. It seems overwhelming to not eat artificial ingredients, but more companies are making all-natural products than ever before. Also, you will be amazed at all the little changes you see in YOUR health over time. Best of luck.

L. B.

Hi A., My son had the same problem, blood in his stool. It took my pediatrician 2-3 months and 2 trips to the ER to figure out what was wrong. I understand being nervous. I was also breastfeeding and I had to cut out the dairy as well and make sure that he ate/drank nothing with any dairy in it. I refused to stop breastfeeding. I pretty much just removed all dairy. If I went out to eat I always asked about the dairy content of the food I wanted. I fixed pasta (making sure that the sauce didn't contain milk - bye bye white sauces). You are safe with meats, but if you use any breading beware some contain milk/whey. If you need something sweet if I remember correctly Oreos don't have milk in them. I'm not sure about the soy though. My son didn't have an allergy to soy. My cooking really became very basic. Try www.allrecipes.com I found some good recipes there. It did get a little monotonous. My son stopped nursing at a year old. His pediatrician decided we'd try reintroducing milk into his diet. Thankfully my son's allergy was a milk-protein allergy (I still needed to cut dairy out) and he grew out of it. His ped. said it's not uncommon for a baby to have a milk-protein allergy and grow out of it and the child not have a milk allergy later. You could ask about this possibility. I hope that your son will have the same situation as mine. Oh, Chick-fil-a chicken nuggets don't have milk in them. Good luck. Katie H

Hi - My son is allergic to dairy and soy also. I breastfed him for 18 months and he did not have the colitis, but instead had extreme eczema andspit up a little bit almost every nursing - oddly enough not enough to be of concern or to even really notice as out of the ordinary except in hindsight. About five months in a La Leche League friend suggested I try takng out dairy and soy - and he cleared up within two weeks. So, the cheeseaholicc went dairy free for next 11 months.
He was officially tested at 9 months (for just a couple of things)and then at 3 yrs for the rest. He has 8 food allergies we know of so I've been down the WHAT do you cook road...
Try looking up the FAAN (Food allergy and anaphylaxis network) site for info and recipes and if your on Facebook there are anumber of groups dedicated to this.
Obviously your a long way from solid food for him , but check out Cherrybrook Farms brand for allergy free cake/pancake/baking mixes and there are a number of cookbooks out there too.For yourself, ask your grocer (at Kroger they're very accommodating) if they do or would carry allergy free products. Ours has started carrying chicken nuggets/tenders among other frozen items. Beyond that try a Whole Foods or similar type market. I found that I wound up eating a lot more veggies and fruits and "whole" foods rather than processed stuff which of course is better for us anyway (though a bit more trouble!). I would also reccommend asking a nutritionist or perhaps an allergist for local support in the case he doesn't grow out of them - so many do grow out of it that you can really feel hopeful at this point.
Good luck! I hope this is some help.

I just read the response right before mine - do ask your doc for a list of the other names ingredients go by - for instance whey or casien are milk products. And most soy allergic people can tolerate soy lecithin and soybean oil. Look for Jewish ryes b/c it can't contain milk if its Kosher(although you still need to check for soy flour and any milk derivatives) for bread (our Kroger bakery makes a white bread without either soy or dairy) that is my white whale for my son. There are no white or wheat national bread brands that are allergy free. AAAGH!

Hi A.,
I am a 42 year old stay at home mom of a 4 year old (who I breastfed for 16 months) and a 20 month old daughter (who I breastfed for almost 15 months)...My daughter was colic, she didnt eat as often as my son did and was a slow eater who only nursed around 20 minutes, (unlike my son who sucked it down and nursed for 30 to 40 minutes and ate every 2 to 3 hours) My daughter was very uncomfortable after I'd feed her, she'd spit up and laying her down was a nightmare. One night my husband held her after I fed her cause I was at my end. He put her in the swing and she slept for the first time for 3-4 hours. Thank God for husbands. Cuz I'd wake up and think I better feed her) So for 3 1/2 months she slept in the swing. Around 2 months I called a naturalpathic doctor (which I firmly believe in)...she told me to rid myself of all dairy and to see what happened. (even though my family is into alot of organics and we were doing organic milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream) After I rid myself of dairy her reflux cleared up 90-95% and I continued to have her sleep in the swing until 3 1/2 months just because she seemed to sleep better and I was told after feedings to hold her upright for about 20-25 minutes. I also avoided onions, garlic, brocoli. Try to stay away from sugars, processed foods (except on occasion) and watch the meats you eat. We do mostly organic no hormones, no antibody chicken, buffalo and beef. Do potatoes, sweet potatoes, califlower, your fruits, romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, (all your veggies except brocoli) Try humus as your veggie dip. Trader Joe's has a great plain humus (make sure no hydrogenated oils or corn syrup in your food)...When I weaned my daughter she did rice milk, and still hardly ever gets diary. Once in awhile a piece of cheese (white cheese Cabot brand) and alittle ice cream now and then and then I just watch to see if she gets a rash or diaherra (usually the rash is around the mouth or her bottom) She loves her fruits, oatmeal, humus, carrots, califlower, brocili, scrambled egges, ezekiel 4:9 bread (best when toasted) with jelly that doesnt have corn syrup, but sweetened only w/fruit juice, tuna, she loves raw cashews, sunflowers seeds, raisins, whole wheat noodles, w/organic spaghetti sauce. Ok, I've written a book, but I could talk forever about health and children and our foods. She is 20 months now and both my children are great eaters and we do have snacks that arent always the best choice and occasionally they get something that has the corn syrup or hydrogenated oils in it. BUT that is very occasional. If I can help anymore or your willing to talk more let me know. I'd also suggest finding a good naturalpath doctor and be open to hearing what they say and researching things that arent the "norm". Soy isnt suppose to be good either. I've also heard that soy for little girls is bad because of the hormones in it. Watch very closely what your eat, even lotions you use, what you drink, any medications you take. He will be OK and there is no quick fix, a lot of discipline on your part but you can do it.

i was the same way when i was a baby the only kind of milk i could drink was goat milk but its very expensive till this day i still have some problems with cow milk so when he gets to whereyou switch him to milk instead of breast milk you might want to try goat milk