Identifying allergy while EBF

may2806

Hi, I posted about this on the BF board but thought I would also see what you ladies think. DS is 10 weeks old, EBF, and several weeks ago I noticed little bits of bright red blood in his stool. I took him to the pedi and she said to avoid dairy. I started off just eliminating obvious dairy, but that didn't seem to have much effect so a week later I eliminated all hidden dairy. Took him back to the pedi and was told to eliminate soy. That was a Thurs; on the following Tues I took him for his well visit and saw a different pedi in the practice - she told me I needed to switch to the special formula at least temporarily. I really did not want to interrupt breastfeeding (we had a rough go of it at the beginning and were finally on track); he has no other symptoms besides the blood. She thought we should have seen an improvement by that point and really made me feel like I was a terrible mom. I suggested eliminating all the common allergens (to which she responded, "I don't know what you're going to eat") and she reluctantly agreed. I did not feel like I was being supported or that this doctor was knowledgeable about how to handle allergies in a breastfeeding baby.

The next day I took him to an allergist who said I did not need to stop breastfeeding while we tried to identify the allergen. She thought we needed to give it more time for the dairy/soy and then go from there, without resorting to cutting out other allergens yet. I know other moms said it took weeks for their LO to stop having symptoms, but now it has been over two weeks on eliminating all dairy, and almost two weeks eliminating soy and there is still some visible blood in his stool. If it's not MSPI, I'm really worried about being able to identify what it is, and in the meantime be pressured to switch to formula. I want him to be safe, but really feel that breast milk is best for him. He's not in pain or overly fussy. I will eliminate however many foods are necessary, but does this sound like a food allergy? Is it normal for a baby to be allergic to something other than dairy or soy at this young age (allergist seemed to think it was rare)? Any other moms able to EBF while identifying the problem?

sapphiremom13

Yes, you can definitely EBF while trying to figure it out!! Many moms do, with success. I was lucky and only had to eliminate dairy and soy, and eventually figured out that I could add back in soy. I know people who have eliminated the top 8 and ebf'd.
The dairy can take a month to be out if the system, so give it some more time.
Babies can definitely be allergic to other foods. I'm not sure how rare it is. Good luck!

=Lee=B

It took just under 4 weeks dairy free before my daughters symptoms went away.  We've been dairy free for over 6months now and if I slip up and eat some dairy (still BF) she reacts and it takes a good 3-4 days for it to clear her system.