Who has been on a dairy/soy free diet while bf?

[DairyfreeDiva]

My ds had severe allergies where he pooed blood, protectile vomited etc etc... Initially I cut dairy, soy, wheat,eggs,gluten,preservatives, colours and nuts from my diet until poor ds showed some improvement... Although the diarreah never really went away until i totally stopped bf. I bf for just over 10 months before the diet became just too much for me... I was eating pretty much only fresh fruit, veggies and chicken even for breakfast. I'm a pretty skinny person anyway but I was less than 50kg when I finally put ds on prescription formula.
Anyway it was a heartbreaking and difficult time for me... I used to cry every time I changed another blood nappy...
5 weeks ago I had my beautiful dd.. I have cut out dairy n soy but not traces. Dd has so far done 4 blood poos the most recent one tonight.... I'm devastated !
I would love to meet n chat to other mothers who have been through this. I'm not sure I can go back on that extremely strict diet again.... It's not fair!!!

[ElizaDoLittle]

Oh hunni :( I'm on my
Phone so I'll be quick but pop back later. I had the same thing with both my kids, frothy blood y poos etc. I put ds on prescription formula (well the paed did) at 4 weeks. Dd I went 12 months in dairy and soy free including traces. It's massive isn't it? Give her and yourself a bit longer, it can take up to three months for the gut to heal if it has been reacting to allergens.

In the meantime :hugs: for you!!

[peanutbutter&jelly]

I'm dairy and soy free, not including traces though, we're lucky. DD also reacts to mandarin and kiwi fruit (so far...)

Somewhere around is Cassie (Formerly OllieBollie) can't remember her new user name :o :laughing:, she went gluten and nuts as well from memory, maybe she'll have some new ideas for you? I know she's still BFing her DS who grew out of his allergies + intolerances relatively early...

:hugs: :hugs: Its hard to cut anything, especially when all you want to do it EAT while BFing and you just can't :(

[furkids]

Hi,
I couldnt read your post and not answer. I bf my DS (now 4) until he was 27 months. I was dairy, soy, egg and nut free as well as following low salicylates. He couldnt have prescription formula as he was allergic to the soy oil in that as well (soy is his worst allergy).

I too am a very thin person. Obviously it was a very strict elimination diet.

Am happy to chat or ask any questions you like :-)

[DairyfreeDiva]

Thanks so much for replying... It's comforting to know I'm not the only one out there. I was so convinced my new baby wouldn't have allergies as I thought my over consumption of dairy while pregnant the first time caused it. But poor 5 week old dd has already done 4 blood poos, heaps of mucus and was projectile vomiting this morning. I have loosely cut out dairy and soy since birth but am now being stricter and cutting out traces too. I'm struggling with what to do.... I was on the strictest diet ever with ds and even though he improved, his diarrhea only really stopped once he went on prescription formula.... I was eating ONLY chick, fruit and veggies for 6 months so have no idea what else was causing the diarrhea. Hopefully cause vie caught new bubs allergies early she won't get as bad as ds...
So... How do you ladies cope with your diets? Do you find it difficult socializing? Everyone always buys me things they think I can eat and then argue with me to at least try stuff even though I know I can't eat it. For those skinny girls... How do you keep your weight up? Energy levels? I hate cooking and don't have a lot of time with a 16 month old and a 5 week old.. :ecomcity:
:ecomcity: Whats easy and yummy snacks? Do you feel guilty when you accidentally eat something n cause your little one to be sick... I used to cry. When I went through this with ds I literally starved myself cause I was too scared to eat anything in case it hurt ds...
Sorry for the rant... I just can't believe this is happening again :(

[dido]

Awww hugs to you. I had a reflux bub and eliminated dairy, soy, corn, gluten, chocolate, tomato & nuts hoping it would help her. It was sooooo hard and I sympathise with you. It's especially hard in those first few months of breast feeding when you are so hungry, I could never put dd down for long due to her reflux so struggled to eat enough. Everything had to be prepared as packaged stuff was out as you know.

My best snack was rice cakes (not really even a food in my opinion!) with avocado, tuna and cucumber with salt and pepper (the condiments made all the difference to me for some reason). I used to eat about 12 of these a day at various times including breakfast. My hubby used to make a pie with cooked rice and canned salmon topped with mashed potato and sweet potato which was awesome for leftovers. I used to hate ricemilk but grew to accept it on rice bubbles (the yucky natural kind) with banana. I also ate a lot of plain potato chips, Kettle brand were my fav with mashed avocado & lime "dip". I also occasionally roasted a small piece of lamb so I could have it cold on rice cakes even though I don't really eat much red meat. Made a change from bloody tuna!

In the end I'm not even sure if the diet helped but I was terrified to eat anything different in case she refluxed more than normal. The day I tried to reintroduce yogurt she screamed so hard she burst a blood vessel in her eye, it was heartbreaking.

I lost a lot of weight although that wasn't a bad thing for me. I was 69 kg pre preg, 84kg while preg and am about 63 kg now. I am pretty tall though so prob technically underweight.

The good news is my daughter is now 8.5 months and I have reintroduced everything except gluten and have the occasional bit of diary which she seems to be okay with.

Good luck with the diet, it really sux. You are such a dedicated mum to do this for your baby, you deserve so much love and support and I hope someone is there to give it to you :kiss:

Diane xxx

[calmstillwaters]

:hugs:
i can empathize. I BF my DD for 3 yrs on a dairy kiwi and sesame and nut free diet due to her allergies. When my DS was born, I also eliminated dairy, kiwi and sesame and nuts, only to discover he was allergic to soy, tomato, beef and egg.

DS is now 8 mths old. It is tough. I was devastated, and wondered if my soy overload due to cutting out dairy had caused it. I still BF him 2-3x, as he wakes hourly to 2 hourly at night and i can't manage getting him neocate then. broke my heart when we had to use neocate-meanwhile I strictly avoid dairy, nuts, kiwi, fish, shell fish, egg. And have just starte using soy sauce in cooking (we are chinese) for the past 1-2 mths. I dare not solely BF him just in case he is reacting to stuff I don't know about. I can probably take fish and shellfish, but just don't dare to do so, as it is one of those allergies that are less likely outgrown, just like nuts.

Since we started weaning, we have discovered he goes bananas with bananas.

So he is mainly on neocate and just vegies and fruits so far, but seems not to be putting on sufficient wt (not following the curve)

Breaks my heart when I see other mums BF with such ease. socializing is tought too-i just eat veggies!

[Mezmerised]

Our case isn't as bad as yours by the sound of it, but I've been dairy and soy free since DD was 12 weeks old (now 6.5m). Her symptoms were reflux and constant unsettledness. Now if I eat the wrong thing she is just more unsettled than usual and can be up screaming for a few hours overnight if it's bad.

I bake my own snacks like brownies, cookies etc from an allergy cookbook or recipes from a friend whose DS is the same. I've found the one bread in the supermarket that has no dairy or soy and only eat that. I'm back to my pre-preg weight of about 53kg (depending on boobs lol!) which happened after I cut out the dairy, but luckily I haven't been bordering on underweight at all. I take a multi, calcium, and fish oil supplements each day. I use the rice milk with added protein too. We've found brands of most dinner foods we like that I can eat and stick to those (ie Mission Brand Mexican over Old el Paso). It's been good in that it is forcing us to eat healthier, freshly prepared foods. Popcorn and grain waves I love to snack on. It can be hard going out for meals but if I'm in doubt or want something 'bad' I just give ebm from the freezer for a couple of feeds after. Luckily she's at the stage now where I don't have to be quite as strict - I can have some milk in tea or a bit of cheese for example. I think that she can tolerate more since being on solids.

Sorry that turned into an essay! Hugs, I know how hard it can be, but what gets me through is the satisfaction that I can still bf her. Sacrificing these things is worth it to be able to bf, to me. I'm also hoping that because we got onto it early she'll grow out of it earlier

:hugs:

[DairyfreeDiva]

Ive had a rough evening. Dd did the biggest blood poo yet this afternoon. I had biscuits this morning and sausages for lunch and am feeling really guilty. I have to be stricter. I'm going to see a dr tomorrow for a referral... Am thinking of toughing it out on the diet until dd is 3 or 4 months then go down the formula road. I feel guilty for wanting this.... I'm just tired and hungry. I've lost the drive after doing the diet for so long with ds previously. :rain:

Hugs to all you ladies... I read your stories and empathize as I know how hard it is... You're all amazing...

Can you believe how many foods contain soy? Even chewing gum!!