My Five Month Old Has Food Allergies to My Breastmilk! What Do I Eat?

I just want to encourage you to continue breastfeeding rather than introduce any kind of formula. Babies will almost always tolerate and digest breastmilk better than any formula. I suspect there is something else in your diet that you could eliminate. (Wheat is a definite possibility.) As one other response noted, you may have to cut out many, many things, but hopefully not for too long. If you can at least get your son to 12 months with breastmilk, he will do better in the long run. Also, as already noted, look into whether he suffers from acid reflux. I hope you can hang in there! I know you really want to do the best for your baby, and that is the most important thing. (And if you haven't already, please contact La Leche League. They've seen it all when it comes to breastfeeding issues.)

1 mom found this helpful

A.,
Not sure if this has been suggested or tried. My children have very mild allergies compared to your little one. What I used for my daughter before I could get her on rice milk was Goats Milk. It is so different compared to cow's milk or any of the other formulas. You can try to contact your local dairy to see if they have some or you can get powdered goats milk normally at a health food store. That would be all I could suggest at this time. Best of luck and don't give up.

We also had success with Nutramigen. The new formula has a probiotic in it. It's pricey we call it liquid gold but worth every dollar. If it works for you Babies R Us now sells a larger can. Hang in there

Have you tried contacting your local LLL? I knew a baby who was allergic to just about everything in her mothers breastmilk. The mother eliminated almost everything in her diet. She could only drink water and eat rice, some veggies and some fruit. She had to eliminate all dairy, wheat, a lot of sugar and meat. She lost a lot of weight. I think she went to a nutritionist to help her choose vitamins and supplements for calcium and other things her diet lacked. Her baby gained a lot of weight and did very well once all the food offenders were out of moms system. I'm sorry. It must be extremely frustrating for you.

A.,
I feel for you and your baby!
I don't know, but could it be something like celiac?

My hubby's cousin ended up going to a chemist to make her daughter's food - she was allergic to everything! It got them through her first year and her next two kids were not as severe. Ask your pediatrician where to go for this.
Good luck - I'm sure it's miserable in your house right now!

I went through this too! My daughter was allergic to everything!!! I was down to eating rice, chicken and a couple of veggies. I lost a bunch of weight. But, whatever she needs I'm going to do! He should be old enough to do allergy testing since you are having big problems. One Dr. told me 6 months was too young. Then another said 6 months is old enough. Have you tried cuuting out all dairy? It is very difficult. I tried it for 2 weeks, nothing. Decided to try again for 3 weeks of no dairy, success! It took that long to get out of my system. She did better after that and all of the other things I cut out. She still deals with the food allergies and it can be very hard at times b/c most people have no clue about them. But, I would definately take him to a pediatric allergist!!! Also, there is a support group called boulderallergykids.com. Good luck and take care!

I don't know for sure if they can do anything, but National Jewish is a leading respiratory hospital in the country, and I am currently seeing a doctor there for my own food allergies. It might be worth looking into. They are really good. Good luck to you and your baby!

You mentioned cutting out several common allergens from your diet, but I didn't see wheat/gluten on there. Wheat is one of the top 7 allergens, so if your little guy isn't responding to any other measures, you might try cutting gluten out of your diet. It hides under many names, so if you decide to do this, look closely on ingredient lists for: gluten, wheat, rye, barley, spelt, and even most oats have cross-contamination from gluten.

I'm sure you already know this because of your other son, but it can take 3 weeks or more for something to clear out of your (or your son's) system, so he may still have symptoms for up to a month after eliminating a food suspect. When you eliminate something, make sure you don't eat it at all for 3-5 weeks before deciding if it was the culprit or not.

Unfortunately, if your poor little guy is sensitive to something in your diet like cow's milk or soy, formula will not make it any better, since formula is made of either cow's milk or soy.

Have you considered seeing an allergist for your son? Good luck, I hope you can find a solution soon.

I would look at ruling out any type of digestive issues because it sounds like you have gone through most of the common allergies. My son had horrible reflux (as well as a dairy intolerance) and could not sleep very long unless up right (until he got too big he slept in his swing, bouncy chair, or car seat). Good Luck and don't give up the anwser is out there!

I second the goat's milk.

I am so sorry to hear that you are having these struggles - it is draining on everyone!

Have you been to an allergist? They have more experience dealing with allergies than a pediatrician and one might be able to narrow down exactly what is causing the problem.
The other thing you might want to consider is seeing a gastro-enterologist (sp?). There may be something going on in your little guys tummy that is contributing to these issues and, once dealt with, may lessen the severity.

Good luck! I wish you all well

Is your diet high in sugar? I would suggest putting yourself on a high alkaline diet, such as spinach, brocholi, cucumbers. Anything green and leafy. If you can cut out meat entirely which is high in acid, and avoid anything with sugar. Go to a specialist if you can to eliminate ciliac. Good luck to you and your little guy

Just a thought from a grandma. Have you tried goat milk?

Hi A.,
My daughter had severe allergies to eggs, and had milk and soy protien intolerance. I had to therefor avoid all the allergens while breastfeeding. I avoided, fish, nuts, shellfish, gluten (wheat), eggs, dairy and soy. Another one can be corn. Have you tried avoiding wheat? Are you sure there are no hidden dairy products/protiens in the foods you are eating?
I also found out that my daughter had reflux, so we put her on zantac, and that helped her sleep.
My daughter sounds just like your little one. She had rashes, gas, spit up and was uncomfortable. The reflux medicine really helped! I also noticed if I took probiotics, aloe vera juice, and vegetarian/plant based omega 3 (fish oil), that that also helped her. What you put in your body is going to help through your milk.
I hope this helps because I know how frustrating the guess work can be. It took alot of trial and error, and alot of research on our own to figure it out, but I was able to successfully breastfeed her til she was 13 months. I also had the help of an amazing allergist(Dr. Marc Ebadi and his P.A. Tammy. She is amazing!) and a naturopath. I wish you all the best!
A.

I went through a similar thing with my daughter. It ended up being a dairy allergy. She got rashes, spit up, gassy. She also had some acid reflux. we had her on prevacid until she was about four or five months old. But really once I got my diet under control her symptoms seemed to disappear. She is extremely sensitive. Once I ate a few croutons on my salad and then read the label that they had some milk and she broke out in a rash. I know you said you eliminated dairy out of your diet but did you eliminate ALL DAIRY and dairy products including whey and cassein. A lot of stuff has whey in it that you wouldn't think of. And especially if it is the protein that he is allergic too than that would be a huge offender. I even avoided stuff that said it was made in a factory that made other milk products. I also agree with another poster that you might try going off of wheat a very common allergy. I would try an extremely limited diet for like two weeks and see if you notice any improvements in him. Then slowly add things back in to your diet, giving each new thing a week to watch for reactions. Painful and slow and frustrating I know but a happy baby is worth it.
It is so frustrating especially because the formula for babies with allergies is soooo expensive. My daughter for some reason can use Alimentum but not Nutramigen. Have you tried that one? It's also frustrating because you feel like, what can I eat? I haven't tried Neocate because my daughter has been able to handle the Alimentum. I nursed her until she was about nine months. I exclusively nursed until six months and then she started weening herself, most likely due to the fact that i got pregnant again. But the formula is expensive. i wish I could have nursed for longer even with the restricted diet that I had.
I am sorry, I don't know about a doctor you can see. But I would recommend looking into acid reflux as well. I do know that you can have a pharmicist make your own formula. I did some research but because my daughter was able to handle the Alimentum for some reason, i didn't look too much into details.
Are you on any medications that might be affecting him? or even taking any supplements or herbs that could be causing him pain? Just an idea.
Good luck my heart goes out to you. I'm sorry if this isn't much help.

I agree with the idea shared of putting yourself on a very limited diet (rice, somce veggies). Maybe pick 3 foods (wow, that sounds drastic) and then give it at least 3 days of watching your baby. A true elimination diet is 14 days, but results can often be seen in as little as 3.

If you see no improvement, perhaps your doctor would recommend some testing rather than just changing his food. Might as well figrue it out with a few tests.

Good luck! You must feel very frustrated and sad.
A.
www.breastandbottlefeeding.com

A.--
I have lived this life--I'm so sorry for you and your son. My son did exactly the same stuff yours does and my pediatrician couldn't seem to help us either. However, I do have an amazing solution if it resonates with you. I found a chiropractor that does something called EDS (electral dermal screening) that tests not only for food allergies, but also food sensitivities. It also tests the health of all the organs and systems of the body and can tell you how to get the child back in balance. I swear this man saved my son's health!!! It's completely non-invasive and I can't understand why all doctor's don't use this diagnostic method. If you're interested let me know and I'll get you all his information. I can't say enough good things about this doctor and I've referred about two dozen people to him--every one of them sang his praises as well and ended up with much healthier, happier children. I don't want this to be a commercial, though, so I'll send his number to you privately.
J.

Well, I don't know much about allergies other than they are really tough to pinpoint and because your son is under one year of age, it's also tough because he's got to have a formula or breast milk and I know it can be so hard to find one that doesn't bother him.

I did want to ask if you've ruled out acid reflux? Many kids who have allergies do have acid reflux as well. My son suffered from acid reflux and it was exactly as you describe - only he couldn't even nap for a half hour without screaming and crying. He did not spit up/throw up at all, which is something most doctors associate with reflux. He had something called "silent reflux" which is just the acid coming up the throat so it's a lot harder to diagnose. We put him on Prevacid and while it took about a month for the medication to fully kick in, it was a night and day response. He was finally comfortable again.

You might see if your doctor is o.k. doing a month-long round of Prevacid to see if it helps. (If your doc suggests Zantac first, however, don't bother. Zantac doesn't do anything!). I'm sure your son does have allergies which will have to be sorted out... but maybe he has something on top of the allergies (reflux or some other tummy discomfort) that is bugging him?

Anyhow, I hope you find some relief. I know exactly how you feel. It's so hard to watch them suffer and to be so worn down yourself. Good luck!

I LOVED the bonding and closeness I felt breastfeeding my first. My second (little man) at 8 mos became very cranky and mucus and blood showed in his stool. I was given the option to start an elimination diet or put him on a formula that contained partially digested milk protein (the suspected culprit). I choose the formula - and within three days he was happy and not in pain anymore. He is now 21 months and very happy and healthy! I don't regret the decision, it was best for him in my opinion. The formula was Nutramigen (Enfamil), you can buy it at Target/Walmart etc. It did take a bit for him to get used to the formula (smelly!) Mix it w/ breastmilk and slowly increase the amt of formula in relation to breastmilk. Good luck whichever you choose. There is no "right" decision, just what is right for you... I missed the closeness of breasfeeding, but not that feeling of causing him pain. It made my heart happy to see him happy and content.

Looks like you have a lot of responses - and I don't have the time to read them all right now, but rice cereal usually has soy in it and my daughter was allergic to both Dairy and soy. Check labels carefully to make sure there's no whey (dairy) and lots of fried foods like crackers etc. use soy oil. Her pediatrician said switching to goats milk wasn't an option either as it was the long chains of amino acids that her body wasn't able to digest.
Good luck! My daughter did grow out of her allergies after a few months & then we were able to give her yogurt etc.
Hugs!

This sounds so familiar. My second son cried for the first 8 months of his life non-stop. The whole family was a wreck! My first boy had allergies as well so like you I assumed all of his problems were food related. I tried everything. Finally at about 7 or 8 months my doc suggested that he had Esophagitis. My understanding is, it is like having reflux only he never spit up, the stomach acid just sat in his esophagus therefore burning it, irritating it, and even infecting it. Since he never spit up, it was very difficult to diagnose because you can't see the problem. Here are the symptoms, extremely upset tummy, excessive crying, obvious discomfort over all. My son even had rashes and seemed to have reactions to certain foods.

He was prescribed a medication that I gave him several times per day (usually when I fed him). This helped tremendously however, he still was more upset than I liked to see until I discovered Baby Bliss. Baby Bliss is an all natural product that you give the baby (I gave it to him in addition to the prescription) and it instantly soothes the horrible symptoms. I still watched what I fed him and made sure I kept irritating foods away until he was older but finally found relief!

Give this a try, you are welcome to see the doc we saw at the time. He was great! His name is Dr. Roos at CrownPoint Pediatrics in Parker. Good luck to you, there is nothing worse than seeing your baby unhappy!

I totally know how you feel! I'm trying to help my son by not only going to the allergist, but also going to NAET. We go to Dr. Thomas Anderson in Salt Lake. We think his egg may be cleared and are going to the allergist today to see how things are. Go to NAET.com to look for a practitioner and also look at my blog that I started to track my little guy's progress. goobyeallergies.blogspot.com

Good luck! I know I often feel like I'm in a battle to protect him and I am losing. I cry a lot a lot.

Hi A.. I feel your pain and frustration! I was like your son as a baby. My mom kept a detailed food and symptom diary and eliminated foods until she was down to 5 foods and then we were all happy. I am amazed she was able to do that and then was able to nurse me until I was 2. I then had to be put on Neutramagen (sp? I don't recommend it- its mostly sugar), a non-food formula. I was on this for over a year and it is not recommended for more than a few months. In the end, we began eating a macrobiotic diet and my mom was slowly able to introduce foods into my diet at around 3. I know I was an extreme case and my guess is that your son will outgrow a majority of the allergies soon. I know my mom had a lot of trouble with doctors thinking she was just crazy. My advice to you is to find a really good allergist and start doing skin tests on your little guy to find out what the offending foods are. Keep a detailed diary of what you are eating and how he is doing. Make sure the probiotic he is on is dairy and allergen free. Try to find a homeopath or someone who is in alternative medicine who knows about allergies and nutrition who will work with you with diet and remedies and help you figure out what to do. I'm sure my mom would be happy to talk to you, too, if you need some support or want to talk to her about what she did. I wish you and your little guy the best!

I don't know much about your issue, but it brings to mind a friend who's child was allergic to potatoes. She discovered this through a similar process of eliminating things from her diet when he was miserable w/ breastfeeding. she said once she stopped eating potatoes, bam, he was better. Good luck.

My son sounded exactly like this. We ended up with Neutramigen (sp?) Formula. It's really really expensive but saved us. We also had him on Prevacid (maybe he has acid reflux?) Don't know if you have already gone that route, but good luck. My son seemed to be the happiest when he finally could sit up and crawl. Seemed to ease his pain.