Please help - Eliminating Dairy/Soy

kaitylin

I need help - My DD has had a significant amount of blood in her stools (also they are green) and pedi is pretty sure its a dairy/soy allergy and wants me to eliminate it from my diet (I'm breastfeeding). She said it will take about 2 weeks to leave my system so in the meantime she wants me to pump and dump and use a hypoallergenic formula. I'm really really bummed about having to use the formula but also worried about how I'm going to do the diet. I'm vegetarian and have been for most of my life and soy and dairy are my primary protein sources. She did give me a referral for a nutritionist to help me figure out a diet that will eliminate soy/diary but still meet nutritional needs but until I can get to the appointment I need to figure out what to eat otherwise I'm going to be living on beans... I need help if anyone has any suggestions.

magdusia

Hi.. sorry to hear about the dairy/soy allergy.  If you need recipe ideas, google MSPI recipe (milk soy protein intolerance)  and you will get a ton of ideas. 

I'm also a vegetarian and when i breastfed i couldn't believe i had to illuminate soy but it's totally doable.  Soy is a hard one b/c it seems like soybean is in everything. 

Here are some products that are soy/milk free that you should get...  These products are always in my house..

~Daiya Cheese(melts like the real thing.  Acquired taste but i love it.. i make pizza, tacos with it..)
~Earth Balance butter (the red box)
~Enjoy Life Chocolate chips
~Let's Do Gluten Free Ice Cream Cones (the box with the girl on it)
~So Delicious ice cream (chocolate, coconut and mango flavor are soy/milk free)
~So Delicious yogurts (IMO -they taste better than cow's milk yogruts)
~Pizza Dough (I make it once a month and cut it into small pieces. Any time i want to make a pizza for my DS, I just de-freeze a ball of dough)
~Amy's products (some of her burrito platters are milk/soy/egg free)
~Ian's Alphabet fries
~Pasta by Eden Organics / Spelt pasta
~HeartSmart Bisquick (White Box) pancake mix
~Cereals: Cheerios, Chex, Rice Crisp, Honey comb
~Earths Best Oatmeal
~Cherrybrook kitchen cake and frosting cake mixes
~Carrs Crackers



Hope this helps a little.  Good luck and if you need recipe ideas -we got plenty!
 

ekc29

I was not told to stop breastfeeding when my LO's pedi believed she had an allergy. Same symptoms as your LO.  I'm not sure that is completely necessary, since you will be stopping dairy/soy. Yes, it will still be in your system, but I guess it will be much less, since you will be eating less, until it is out of your system.  That is just my opinion, and I am by no means a doctor, but I wouldn't stop breastfeeding.  

thatsmary

I too am a vegetarian on a dairy and soy free diet due to MSPI. If you choose to use the formula, I would not pump & dump, but rather pump & freeze. You can either use the BM when your LO outgrows the allergy or if she does not, you can donate the milk. Sometimes you can see changes in as little as a couple of days, so the need to pump at all is debatable.

I have a blog in my siggy and although I am not great at keeping up at it, the best part is my list of foods that I eat. There are also some websites linked that are interesting.

g_belle

I wouldn't pump and dump either.  Although it can take 2 weeks-ish to get it all out of your system- as soon as you stop there will be significantly less in your system and you might see a difference sooner than 2 weeks.  (plus pumping and dumping sucks).  If you want to switch to formula until it's all out of your system- I'd do what the others suggested and would pump and freeze.  As your LO gets older she may outgrow the intolerance and you can re-introduce the milk/soy from your frozen stash instead of eating it yourself and having to start the 2 week process all over again if she still can't tolerate it.   

FrumiousBandersnatch

I agree with pumping and saving.  Plus, you might try breastfeeding at 10 days.  Tatertot was fine at 10 days exactly.  

Those who mentioned donating... how would one do that?  I have a nice stash of dairy contaminated milk. 

TPOX

I agree with pps that you don't necessarily need to stop breastfeeding.  I am not vegetarian, but I am dairy/soy/nut/egg/pretty much all sources of protein-free.  The only think I'm eating that wouldn't fit in a vegetarian diet is turkey.  It's definitely doable!  Quinoa is a good source of protein, I love it.  Nuts would be another source, if you can have those. 

JamieSF

I am a vegetarian and have had to go soy and dairy free, too! Going dairy and soy free was really difficult at first, but it has gotten much easier over time. Soy and dairy are not the healthiest protein sources anyway, so I took this as an opportunity to eat better for both myself and my LO. 

 

My current primary sources of proteins are lentils, beans, grains (quinoa and couscous, mainly), and nuts. It is pretty easy to think of lots of meals when you cook and eat at home. Today I had toast with peanut butter and fruit for breakfast, black beans / bell pepper / onion / spices with brown rice for lunch, trail mix (home made) for a snack, and pasta with homemade sauce and a salad for dinner (salad dressing is a tuscan vinagrette from Whole Foods that does not have soybean oil).

 

The main hurdle is going out to eat. You have VERY slim pickings at restaurants as butter and soybean oil are used in just about everything. I have had to stick to chain restaurants and even then be VERY careful after a few unfortunate mishaps at local places.