if you BF(ed) and had to go dairy-free...

happ17

was it just straight milk products or anything possibly containing a milk product?

Alia's having severe gas/digestion issues so the pedi said she may have a milk protein allergy. He told me to go dairy-free and use alimentum when I supplement for a week to test it out, but I don't know how fanatical I should be about mt diet.

Any tips/suggestions from anyone who's been in this situation?

 

Zenya

I did dairy (all, including trace) and soy b/c 30% or so of the time soy is a problem w/dairy allergic babies.  I never supplemented (fine if you want to/feel the need to - just if you don't want to)

am doing it for the 3rd time now.  totally fine once you get the hang of it.  want to pm me your email?   am typing one handed now but can email you something I typed up for someone else w/menu ideas etc.

happ17

that would be great thanks! ygpm

Bride2b2004

I did it twice (both of my boys had dairy & soy allergies).  I was fanatical.  I wouldn't even eat foods processed in the same facility.  After 3-4 weeks (4 weeks is how long it takes dairy to clear the system, though I noticed clear improvements in less than a week) if baby is healthy and well, you could slowly try to lay off the more fanatical parts and check for reaction.  

It is tough at first to figure out what you can have, but it is so worth it to make sure DC is getting the best you can give and help them get past the digestive issues.   Good luck!

penguingrrl

I went dairy and soy free at the same time, per my doctor's recommendation that they are often concurrent. I went totally free, as in not in products either. It wasn't easy, but I do a lot of whole foods/from scratch stuff so I just substituted and omitted where I needed to and got creative.

I didn't use formula while waiting for the dairy to get out of my system as Emma wouldn't take a bottle at that point and she slowly got better. Within 2 weeks she was a different, much happier, baby. Then I tested it by having a soy latte and we had a rough few days, then a regular latte, and again a rough few days. 

A few months later I slowly tried soy items with success, then dairy with success and very slowly reintroduced them into my diet. By 12 months she was fine with any and all soy products even in her own diet and by 14 months she had switched to cow's milk without a problem.

I think in her case it was mostly an immature digestive system that wasn't ready for those proteins and once she healed properly she outgrew it. Good luck! I found almond milk was the best tasting substitute for coffee. Rice milk tasted exactly like non dairy creamers to me, which I can't stand... too creamy tasting and made the coffee too thick.

Angela814

I just did major forms of dairy for dd1. We found the dairy sensitivity when she had blood in her stools around 1 month. Eliminating just major forms was enough, and I was able to add dairy back into my diet around 8 months.

shouldbworkin

I cut out all dairy b/c that's what my kids needed (they still can't have dairy). I would cut it all out until you see her symptoms improve completely, then try to add back in some baked goods one at a time every few days to see what she can tolerate.  Kosher bakeries were my savior when I was BFing.  But, until I discovered them (which is funny in itself since I'm Jewish and keep kosher), I did lose a lot of weight from eating pretty much just fruit/veg and protein.  WFs is a good place to start with DF foods so you can learn the brands you can find in a regular grocery store.