Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Living with a Baby who Has Milk and Soy Protein Allergies


By Tracy Abney, Guest Blogger

Green, mucous-filled diapers are NOT normal
After three kids, I'd seen my fair share of poop.  So, when my forth child started having green, mucus filled, stools at 6 weeks, I knew something was off.  Searching on Google, I saw that the types of stool my infant daughter was having were similar to other babies who had a milk protein allergy.  I decided to cut out dairy a few days before my daughter turned 8 weeks old.

At my baby's 2 month appointment, I brought up the green stools.  The pediatrician didn't have strong opinions about whether or not my child had a milk allergy or not.  She only told me to listen to my intuition. 

My intuition told me that it was, in fact, a milk protein allergy.  As I continued to learn how to cut dairy completely out of my diet (checking those darn labels for secret ingredients that are actually forms of diary) I saw drastic improvement in the color of my baby's stool, gradually turning to that typical "mustard" yellow of breastfed babies.  I had never thought of her as much of a crier, but her crying, especially at night, seemed to diminish as well.

As I neared the 3 week mark, which was how long the doctor had said it could take for the proteins to leave my little girl's body, I started noticing something else.  Her diapers looked as if someone had sprinkled fresh black pepper in them.  When I called the doctor, they assumed that it was probably nothing.

From that time, (she was around 3 months) until 6 months, we continued to see the black pepper-looking flakes.  My baby also continued to have random crying jags, sometimes lasting for hours.  Sometimes I could pin-point it to an accidental slip up of dairy.  (Usually, due to me forgetting to read the label!)  Other times, we had no clue what was causing her discomfort.

At my child's 6 month appointment, I brought it up again.  This time, they decided to do some tests to check for blood in her stools.  They all came back positive for blood.  (It turns out the black pepper "flakes" were dried blood.)

Around this time is when we started discussing the possibility of a soy protein allergy as well. Without having a firm diagnosis, however, I was reluctant to cut soy out of my diet.  Eventually, we ended up at the allergist. 

The allergist diagnosed my baby girl with type 4 Milk and Soy protein allergy.  Essentially it means that my daughter was having baby colitis any time she was exposed to dairy or soy proteins. Lots of cramping, gas, pain.  The allergist told us that breastfeeding was the best thing I could do for my daughter now.  She needed my milk!

Avoiding soy and dairy is not all unicorns and rainbows. 

 I walked away from that appointment pretty overwhelmed, but also determined.  I had already learned to live without dairy.  I could do without soy, too!

The hardest part about learning to live without dairy and soy was figuring out what I COULD eat.  I learned how to determine what I couldn't eat pretty quickly, with label reading.  But coming up with things I could eat proved harder.

Thankfully, someone pointed me in the direction of a blog about  MSPI (that stands for Milk Soy Protein Intolerance). She had a list of recipes on her blog that contained every day ingredients.  I didn't need to rush to the store to find some specialty item (though, I quickly found a chocolate I could have -Enjoy Life chocolate chips, if anyone is curious.)  I meal planned my week out with what I had in my pantry and refrigerator.

With the help of her blog, and other websites like it, I learned alternative things to eat. Oddly enough, one very helpful resource is the abundance of Paleo recipes out there.  (Paleo recipes are dairy/soy/grain free.)  Different paleo recipes helped me think outside of my ordinary food repertoire. 

I also made a binder full of restaurant information.  Most chains have allergen information on their website that you can print out.  I printed out several places near our house, or places that we frequent when we travel, and highlighted the things I COULD eat.  That way, when we're in line, or sitting at our table, I can quickly pull out my binder, go to that restaurant's section, and choose from the things that are highlighted.   One of my favorite places to eat here in town is Red Robin.  They are SUPER helpful with allergies and actually have specific allergy menus.  Plus, my binder helps me with avoiding "hidden" allergen foods, too.  For instance, McDonald's French fries have dairy in them.  I don't know about you, but I never would've guessed that on my own with out reading it in print.    
  
There are a lot of benefits for ME to be dairy and soy free for my daughter.  It’s a whole lot easier to lose weight!  Something I learned quickly was that fruits and vegetables are dairy and soy free!  Plus, they were something I should be eating a lot of anyway.  It was better financially as well.  It’s a heck of a lot cheaper to cut out something than it would've been to add in a special, very expensive formula. 
 
The benefits for my daughter are, in a word, insurmountable.

Don't get me wrong.  Avoiding soy and dairy is not all unicorns and rainbows.  Sometimes I feel left out, especially at celebrations and get-togethers.  Sometimes I just really want a fettuccine alfredo from Olive Garden.  But, I remind myself that this is temporary.  Eventually, my daughter will wean, and I can choose whether or not to eat dairy or soy.  But, for now, I chose my daughter's health over my fleeting cravings.  

Tracy is a birth doula who resides in Madison, AL, with her husband and four children.  When not juggling kids and births, she enjoys sewing, running and spending time with friends.

12 comments:

  1. I can’t believe this. A great testimony that i must share to all HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS patient in the world i never believed that their could be any complete cure for Herpes or any cure for herpes,i saw people’s testimony on blog sites of how dr Ero prepare herbal medicine that cure and brought them back to life again. i had to try it too and you can,t believe that in just few weeks i started using it all my pains stop gradually and i had to leave without the pills the doctor gave to me. Right now i can tell you that few months now i have not had any pain,delay in treatment leads to death. Here is his email:(dreroherbaltreatment@gmail.com) whatsapp him with +2348073673757 or text/call me (270) 693-5854....

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    Thank You Once Again Dr.UNEME

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  9. I am very happy to inform the general public that I am finally cured from Herpes simplex virus recently with the use of herbal medicine, the powerful herbal medicine cured me completely and i was tested negative after usage, I am using this means to inform other's who have the virus that there is a cure for Herpes simplex 1&2 . It is absolutely true. I was cured by Dr Alli, only him I can recognize who cure Herpes perfectly well. I will advice you to contact this great doctor who God has send to put an end to the sorrowful and deadly disease. Contact him via Email  Allispellhelp1@gmail.com or add him on WhatsApp +2348100772528

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  11. I’m here to testify about what Dr Godwin did for me. I have been suffering from (GENITAL HERPES VIRUS) disease for the past 4 years and had constant pain and inching, especially in my private part. During the first year, I had faith in God that i would be cured someday.This disease started circulating all over my body and I have been taking treatment from my doctor, few weeks ago I came across a testimony of Rose Smith on the internet testifying about a Man called Dr Godwin on how he cured her from 7 years HSV 2. And she also gave the email address of this man, advise anybody to contact him for help on any kind of diseases that he would be of help, so I emailed him telling him about my (HSV 2) he told me not to worry that I was going to be cured!! Well, I never doubted him I have faith he can cure me too,, Dr Godwin prepared and sent me Healing Oil, Soap, roots and herbs which I took. In the first one week, I started experiencing changes all over me, after four weeks of using his Roots/ Herbs, Oil and Soap, I was totally cured. no more inching , pain on me anymore as Dr Godwin assured me. After some time I went to my doctor to do another test behold the result came out negative. So friends my advise is if you have such disease or know anyone who suffers from it or any other disease like HPV, HBV, HIV, ALS, HBP, CANCER etc. you can contact Dr.godwin for help via email drgodwinsolutionhome@gmail.com whatsapp +2348054615060

    ReplyDelete
  12. i want to inform the public how i was cured of HERPES Simplex Virus by a Doctor called Dr.EBHOTA. i visited different hospital but they gave me list of drugs like Famvir, Zovirax, and Valtrex which is very expensive to treat the symptoms and never cured me. I was browsing through the Internet searching for remedy on HERPES and i saw comment of people talking about how Doctor EBHOTA cured them. I Was scared because i never believed in the Internet but i was convince to give him a try because i was having no hope of been cured of HERPES so i decided to contact him on his email, i searched his email on net and i saw a lot of people testifying about his goodness. when i contacted him he gave me hope and send a Herbal medicine to me that i took and it seriously worked for me, am a free person now without problem, my HERPES result came out negative. You can contact him on
    his Email: drebhotasolution@gmail.com or whatsapp him on +2348089535482 and get all your problem solved.
    1Sickness of any kind
    2 Help to CURE Hepatitis B, HIV/AIDs CANCER and BIPOLAR
    3 Divorce, Breakup problem and To Re-unit
    4 Pregnancy problem
    5 Financial problem and Job promotion
    6 To get a good and rich life partner
    7 To Lose your wath
    8 to enlargement of pennis
    9. CANCER
    10. ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease)
    11 Hepatitis B
    12 chronic pancreatic
    13 emphysema
    14 COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)   

    ReplyDelete

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