Peanut allergy and Cutting out Dairy

Amanda&EricB

A couple issues/questions:

1. My DH and MIL are both allergic to peanuts. My son is 5 weeks old, and I'm BF'ing, so I avoid all peanut products. When can LO be tested? How likely is it that he is allergic too?

2. There is a possibility that LO has reflux. I've heard that I may need to cut out dairy. I'm finding that there is dairy in SO MUCH. Any advice on what I can eat? It's going to be hard because I absolutely love milk and cereal, when I was pregnant and was gestational diabetic it was really hard/awful for me to give up milk (I had to). I guess I just need some tips on what I can or should eat.

Thanks so much!

BeachBlondie456

I was just wondering what your Lo's symptoms are for reflux or dairy allergy because I'm thinking my LO might have the same issue?

magdusia

1. My DH and MIL are both allergic to peanuts. My son is 5 weeks old, and I'm BF'ing, so I avoid all peanut products. When can LO be tested? My allergist said that she can test as early as 6 months without symptoms if a family member has allergies.  but you might not have the best results since he's never been exposed to it.  IMO, when he's about 6 months old, have some PB and see how he reacts.. (have very little one week, and then increase week by week) -this way you are testing it in a very safe way "via breast milk"..  I think it depends on the allergist also.. Some allergist won't test a child until he's 1, some won't test until he's 2 or more.. it depends -you have to find an allergist that suits you.   How likely is it that he is allergic too? The chances are higher, but it doesn't mean he is.  No one in my family or DH's family has allergies, none!  and my son is allergic to milk/soy/eggs/peanuts.  So he may be lucky.

2. There is a possibility that LO has reflux. I've heard that I may need to cut out dairy. I'm finding that there is dairy in SO MUCH. Any advice on what I can eat? Cutting out dairy is probably the easiest thing (IMO!).  Cutting out soy is a PITA, on the other hand.  There are so many alternatives.  For dairy, there is soy... you just can google vegan recipes (and add meat) to avoid dairy.  Even if you have to go dairy and soy free, there are alternatives (even yogurts made from coconut milk) It's going to be hard because I absolutely love milk and cereal, when I was pregnant and was gestational diabetic it was really hard/awful for me to give up milk (I had to). I guess I just need some tips on what I can or should eat. just curious, why did you have to give up milk when you had GD? i had GD with my first pregnancy and i still had dairy.

watermelonmargarita

There are quite a few options for dairy free. Alomnd milk and cereal are a really great couple. When I made the switch to Almond milk, I also had to give up ice cream. That was tough. But So Delicious Coconut Choclate is so good!

Where do you grocery shop? Publix had a list of their groceries that were dairy free. Daiya cheese is the best cheese. Amy's makes non dairy pizza and burritos. They are very good. 

I know it's intimating at first to start reading the food labels of everything but you will find it's better for you in the long run. It takes time, myself if took about a month, to find things you like and it will get easier.

I EBF'ed my son till he was 12 months old with food allergies. YOU CAN DO IT! 

Amanda&EricB

Thank you for the suggestions! To answer your question, I had to give up milk (mostly just for breakfast) because the sugars in it caused my blood sugar to spike. If I ate a bowl of cereal in the morning, I'd get a one-hour number of at least 150.

Rachel*Neocate

I've been BFing my LO on an elimination diet for a little over a year now. He has allergies/intolerances to dairy,soy, eggs and tomatoes.  Dairy and soy are tough to eliminate together but once you get used to it, it's not so bad.  I used godairyfree.org and kellymom.com when I first started.  Both sites have ingredient lists that I printed out and took to the grocery store with me, to help me read labels for hidden dairy. 

If you are going to eliminate dairy I would definitely cut out all obvious, milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.) and hidden dairy like whey, casein, etc.  And give it some time, a good two weeks, to really see improvement.  

My LO is now 14 months old and he's still nursing, and I give him rice milk in a sippy cup just to get him used to drinking.  I personally love all things dairy, so i haven't really experimented with rice milk, rice cheese, etc, but I did use coconut creamer in my coffee for a little bit, and it tasted pretty good.  I've also heard that Diaya "cheese" is a really good alternative.  

Good luck!!

Bella_S

I know what you are saying, I never thought I could give up dairy as much as I have.  I haven't gave it up completely because I am not bfing.  My kids are both super intolerant to dairy and I just felt bad having it when they couldn't so I just stopped buying it - and I was a girl who put sour cream on EVERYTHING!   We haven't had milk in our house for over 6 months.  There are so many great alternatives out there.  I use almond & hemp milk for baking.  The unsweetned so delicious coconut milk is amazing for white sauces.  I would suggest seeking out some vegan blogs because they will not have dairy.  Good luck:)