NE1 eliminate soy and dairy?

outnumbered

How hard was it?  Did it work?  My son is very gassy and does not sleep so the doctor has suggested a soy and dairy free diet.  He is being tested for blood in his stool which would indicate an allergen.  The diet  looks tough.  I am not sure that I could keep up with it long and might resort to formula.  I am so tired and frustrated that i want to cry.

julyjennifer

I have done it.  My DD has mild eczema on her wrists and backs of knees.  My DH was dairy sensitive as a child so dairy was a logical first choice to try eliminating.  It improved significantly.  We layer cut out soy, and that cleared it up completely.

We started this last October, when my DD was 13 months old.  I was completely dairy-free/soy-free for several months over the last 8 months or so.  In the last month and a half I have been a little looser, as we had a trip overseas and it was hard to completely avoid.  She gets a little flared up but it is not too bad.  I am trying to get back on the wagon though.

Really, it is doable.  However, I can see how this would seem very overwhelming to you at the moment, with a 2-week old and two other kids.  I can't even imagine!

The first few weeks were the hardest, as I was still figuring out how to read labels, where to shop, and what I could eat.   Dairy was the hardest--later cutting out soy was not very tough, since I was already avoiding a lot of processed foods.  I am a vegetarian so I was kind of concerned about what the heck would be left to eat, but I've found I have just as much variety in my diet now as before--it's just healthier!  I have also found that I can have goat milk/cheese/yogurt and my DD is fine with that.  Which helps.

Maybe you can try it for 2-3 weeks and see how your DC does.

I shop at the local co-op for many things, but have also had good luck at our regular grocery store.  Sometimes the store-brand items are dairy/soy free whereas the name-brands are not.  For example, graham crackers and "ritz" crackers in my store brand are fine, whereas the name brands have dairy.

You could search through old posts for ideas--the dairy-free question frequently comes up on here.

Some things I eat:

PB&J sandwiches (Panera bread has several DF/SF breads)

Hummus

Eggs

Nuts

Veggies

Spaghetti (with no parmesan cheese in the sauce)

Amy's Organic soups and chili

homemade soups in the crockpot

cereal and rice milk/goat milk

oatmeal

Lindt's 70% cocoa dark chocolate

Purely Decadent Coconut milk ice cream

 

 

 

MidwestTexan

I've been dairy free since DS was 3 weeks old. It's not as hard as you think once you start doing it. I think it's totally worth the sacrifice!

smiley007

My son had blood in his stool and I started with cutting the "big dairy"... milk, yogurt, cream, icecream and cheese.  This did the trick for us! I drink soy milk and have soy icecream and creamcheese.  Unless there is reason to think there is an allergy to both... I would try cutting out just the dairy first. 

My DS has been free of bloody stool since I changed my diet a little.  HTH! GL!