- 1- Dairy allergy
- 2- Egg allergy
- 3- Peanut allergy
- 4- Tree nut allergy
- 5- Seafood allergy
- 6- Shellfish allergy
- 7- Soy allergy
- 8- Wheat allergy
What is a new mother to do? When my daughter, Grace, turned 3 months old, she celebrated by having her first bloody stool. My husband, Jeff, was changing her diaper and he called me into the room to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. My heart sank, and I ran to call the pediatrician. I was relieved to learn that it was probably a fissure caused by a hard stool (even though I was breasfeeding), and that, unless it happened again, I didn't need to worry or do anything else.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the only time it happened. So a day later, we were at the pediatrician's office to find out what was going on. Naturally, I had googled it before we went, so I was prepared to hear the words, "food allergy." I was ready for him to tell me to cut dairy out of my diet. I wasn't prepared for him to tell me that the list of foods I had to stop eating was a mile long... okay, so it wasn't actually a mile long, but it sure sounded like it. He wrote them all down on a piece of paper and told me to start with dairy, eggs, and peanut butter.
I came home feeling defeated. I had worked so hard to breast feed Grace. Other mothers know what I am talking about. It is the hardest thing I have ever done. Nursing around the clock with cracked, bleeding nipples. I cried every time for the whole time I nursed for over two months. I had JUST gotten to the point where it was getting "easy." And now this. But formula wasn't an option. Have you read the ingredients on that stuff? I'm not knocking any mother who has given their child formula, but it is not something I could (or can) do. Being a mother is the only thing I have ever wanted in my life, I went through so many trials to finally have a child, and I will be damned before I "give up" and give her an inferior "product" to replace what God intended. [ranting over]
Needless to say, cutting dairy, eggs, and peanuts didn't clear up the blood. So I cut out everything else on the list, plus a few extras: corn, beef, beans, and chicken. And that has led me here...
The hardest thing about this new diet (besides having to resist pumpkin pie on turkey day) has been finding food that I CAN eat. Raw fruits and veggies just don't do it for me. I have a sweet tooth the size of Texas and I have been desperately searching to find something without allergies to satisfy it!
Every day (or close to it!) I will post a recipe that I have found or created that is free of the "Big Eight" plus 4. They won't all be sweets... I have found some very creative ways to cook veggies and meats that are very tasty, very easy, and without allergens, too.
The doctor told me that he had 5 mothers this year with the same problem I have, and only one is still breastfeeding. The rest, he said, came back within a week "begging" for the formula. He expected to see me again (on my hands and knees). Well, he obviously doesn't know me very well!
*Edit:
Grace's "normal" pediatrician was not available on the day I took Grace in for blood in her stool. We saw another doctor in the practice, hence the reference to "he." Her regular doctor is a she and is much more pro-breastfeeding.
