new here - some questions

Christmasbaby18

Hi ladies! I hope you don't mind if I join in:)  I'm a bit of a lurker these days because I'm so busy but I've been on the bump since I had my daughter 4 years ago.  Well now we have a baby boy (8 months) who has some pretty serious allergies.  He is severely allergic to wheat and eggs and slightly allergic to milk.  My brother had the same allergies and more growing up so I know it's genetic and I'm fairly comfortable dealing with it, but here are my concerns.

He is totally fine with breast milk no matter what I eat which is great except I work full time and pumping enough each day is extremely difficult and very stressful  I'm a teacher (year round schedule) and I was just off for 5 weeks in which I nursed him exclusively and he was totally fine, gaining weight, sleeping well, ect.  Now I've been back at work for just a week and today I could only pump 4 oz over two pumping sessions.  I honestly want to take a leave just to stay home and feed him but we cannot survive without my income so leave without pay is not an option.  We thought he might be ok with formula since his milk allergy is slight (class 1) but both times with tried recently he had a rash and was itchy.  He is not allergic to soy but I've read really bad things about babies having soy.  What other option is there?  and is it even affordable?  will insurance help at all?

My other concern is our baby sitter.  We love her but I'm worried that DS might be more than she can handle, she has 3 kids of her own (12, 4, and 2) plus my four year old DD and 8 month DS.  She's a stay at home mom, not a licensed day care provider.  She is great with the kids and so loving, but she tends to have a bit of a messy house and her 4 year old is pretty wild.  I just worry that he's going to be grabbing food, crusts from sandwiches or cherrios on the floor now that he's crawling.  Soon he'll be walking and then what?

Thanks for reading.  If you have any advice I would appreciate it.  

Gina

AnotherPreggo

There are other options out there for formulas.  I too would shy away from the soy, but I know insurance will not cover dairy/soy free formula unless medically necessary.  I didn't FF, so I am not super knowledgeable on the topic.  But it is really great news that your LO isn't reacting to the wheat, eggs, or dairy that you are consuming. I know you said they are severe, did the allergist tell you what number they were? I only ask because DD was unable to have my BM with dairy/soy present, but when we finally had her tested at 10 months, her number was a 3 for dairy and 2 for soy.  I began reintroducing at 11 months (in my milk), and was able to transition her right to cows milk at 1 year. I wish I had her blood tested younger so we knew how severe her allergy was as a little one.  But if your son isn't reacting to your milk, I would think (hope!) that maybe he will be able to outgrow some of these eventually. Though.... I know you just got him tested and said it was severe. So... sorry for my mindless rambling.

But to get to your 2nd question.  I would find someone else to watch your children, for sure. It is way too likely with trigger foods like wheat, egg and dairy that one of her kids will drop something, or even feed something to LO. I had to get my church nursery to "outlaw" foods in there, because DD has so many trigger foods that send us to the ER. I had been planning on babysitting for a friend with 2 toddlers, but since we've found so many problem foods, there is no way I want to risk dealing with that.  I mean, I know you don't want to think about it... but imagine if LO were to accidentally consume something. With so many kids in that house, how well would the sitter handle the situation? I am sure you have given her an epi pen now, so it isn't like she'd have to pack everyone up to the ER.  But... still.  Not worth the risk, by any means.

HTH.

sapphiremom13

I agree with everything that anotherpreggo said. My DS has a severe dairy allergy, and while I bf'd, he would have major reactions to even the tiniest bit of dairy that I consumed.
So, great outlook there, I would think!
I agree also that you need a new babysitter who really understands that your son can't accidentally consume his allergens. At our daycare, food is only consumed at the table and she takes it very seriously.
Good luck!!