Reintroducing dairy/soy? How?

WinesNotWhines · January 2011

M was diagnosed with a dairy and soy allergy when he was 3 months old. His pedi said some babies outgrow the allergies by 6 months, and I could try reintroducing those products back into my diet as a test to see if he still has a problem. I'm not really sure how I should do that though. His tell-tale allergy sign was blood in his stool, but now he's eating solids, so his stools are much different than they used to be. Would I still be able to notice a tiny speck of blood? I ate a small piece of cheese on Saturday, and he seemed fussier than usual on Saturday night, but I don't know if that's related to the cheese or a coincidence. We also went to a party on Saturday, so he could've been overstimulated. I didn't notice any blood in his diaper. Sigh. This is going to be harder than I thought. I could go gung-ho and eat a huge plate of mac and cheese or something (oh God that would be divine), but I don't want to eat so much that I screw him up for a week if he's still allergic. How did others test these allergies? When did your LO outgrow them?

eeclem · January 2011

Our pedi said to wait until 1 year, so that's when we tried. We basically just eased his transition in to whole milk (and actually used hemp milk for a bit). Green diapers were his big red flag, so I think it would have been easy to see if he still didn't tolerate it. He actually had bloodwork a few weeks ago to see what other allergies he had going on and was all clear for milk.

WinesNotWhines · January 2011

eeclem:
Our pedi said to wait until 1 year, so that's when we tried.

Does that mean you didn't reintroduce dairy into your diet until C was 1 year?

I've also been wondering what happens if M is still allergic at 1 year. I don't mind extended BFing if he needs it due to allergies, but I really want to ditch my pump in August!

eeclem · January 2011

gtown_bride:
eeclem:
Our pedi said to wait until 1 year, so that's when we tried.

Does that mean you didn't reintroduce dairy into your diet until C was 1 year?

Yup. But, I never had to be very strict to begin with (I still had soy, goat/sheep cheese).

Sofka · January 2011

I think 6mo is too young

I re-introduced dairy into my diet when DD was 9.5 mo old, OMG that 1st scoop of real ice cream was DIVINE!! I ate it and she was fine!! so then I gave her dairy - baby yogurt (immediate allergic reaction - face all red), Greek yogurt - the same; cheeses - the same (this was over a period of weeks).

I was able to eat dairy at that point and tried giving her cow dairy at 12.5mo (waited til after her b-day party), she did fine w/ yogurt and I was able to stop BFing and go to cow milk at 14mo old. so in our case - we lucked out and she outgrew the dairy intolerance but it was a tough 1st year.

I would wait another 3 mos, your DS is just starting solids, it's a lot for his little system, wait til he's on solids for a few months and then drink a glass of milk or have an ice cream cone or mac-n-cheese and see how he reacts over the next several days.

WinesNotWhines · January 2011

Thanks for the advice. I can hold out another 3 months. Crying

mzovoce · January 2011

Dairy gave Brooks serious gas, so not as extreme as others. Our pedi also said to start reintroducing at 6 months. So I did, like you I started with a small piece of cheese and I didn't notice any change. Then a few days later I had a sip of john's milkshake, Brooks again had terrrible gas keeping him up, throwing his head back and arching his back. I felt awful! I tried again a few days later but with skim milk. He hasn't had any issues with skim milk, but anytime I have tried something with a higher fat content he is out of sorts. So I make sure if I have dairy it's before 2pm and it's low fat. I haven't tried to reintroduce gluten yet. Until he is 100% with dairy I won't.

alliapistor · January 2011

I have no clue about the timing and whether he is old enough, but if you're reintroducing dairy AND soy - you need to do them separately. That way, if he has a reaction you know what the cause is. You can try eating dairy for a week and look for any changes. Then avoid both for another week and then add soy. Ideally you would want to add them a month apart. Some people have a delayed reaction and it could take awhile to see a response or if there is a reaction for the reaction to fully go away.

Also - when he gets older, you can get the blood RAST tests. They only check for true allergies though. You can have an intolerance to a food that is not a true allergy and wouldn't show on the blood test. Skin prick tests provide a lot of false positives for food allergies.

babypuplove · January 2011

I was only off dairy until DD was about 4 months (maybe a little sooner). On a whim, I ate a piece of pizza (the best pizza I had ever tasted, LOL), and she was fine. I ate a little here and there over the next few days, and no issues at all. She never had blood in her stool that we were aware of, so I'm not sure about that. But our pedi did say that most babies outgrow it sometime between 4 and 6 months. Good luck!

2vthokies · February 2011

I agree with PP that since he just started solids I would wait on the dairy. I gave up dairy and soy for DD #1 (found out I was lactose intolerant through the process) and didn't reintroduce till one year. Soy was fine, dairy not so much. She didn't start eating cheese or yogurt until she was almost two. She still isn't on milk yet, but we are going to try her soon (she's 2.5). I pumped until she was 13 months old and continued to nurse until she was 17 months old. Around 13 months we transitioned to hemp milk for bottles/sippies during the day (even on the weekends) and that's what she still drinks. I just nursed in the morning and evening. I didn't mind because I learned I was lactose intolerant so I don't eat dairy anyway, but if I wasn't, I'd be dying for some mac 'n cheese, too!

luvmagoldn · February 2011

Was the milk allergy diagnosed through testing or observation? DS #3 was diagnosed at seven months through a blood test. He had reactions to BM which first tipped us off. I eliminated milk products and he was better but would still have random hives. We saw an allergist and that's when we found out he is allergic to milk, eggs and peanuts.

What kind of reactions did your LO have? Were they strictly gastrointestinal or were they anaphylactic (hives, throwing up, etc)? You might take him to an allergist just to be sure before you try to start reintroducing things he is truly allergic to.

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