While we are on the topic of allergies- help!
I really appreciate those who read this through. I suspect my EBF 2 m.o. DS is having allergic reactions to something(s) in my diet. I’m tired, and stressed, etc., and thought others here could help point me in the right direction.
The symptoms he has had are green, watery/mucosy stools, lots of baby acne and a yellow/waxy cradle cap type thing on his forehead and ears. He also is quite spitty, but doesn’t seem too bothered by it. He’s not a very fussy baby, doesn’t get cry more than an hour or so each day and sleeps well for his age.
About 2 weeks ago I stopped eating all dairy, even trace amounts. Immediately his stools became more yellow, and less frequent but they are still watery/mucosy. The acne and cradle cap type rash is pretty much gone. He has never had a diaper rash. He still spits up a lot, but again doesn’t seem bothered by it. I have since cut peanuts and egg (it’s been about a week). I will try wheat and soy next. I have my own GI issues would really really like to avoid "total elimination" for several reasons.
How long after eliminating a food should I expect symptoms to clear? Does this sound like allergies to parents who have BTDT? What next?
Thanks in advance!
RE: While we are on the topic of allergies- help!
It sounds like FA's to me. Any blood in the stools? Green and mucus and watery is pretty key for a lot of FA parents. Is the acne/cradle cap like eczema? The fact that stopping dairy changed his stools etc so fast is very informative, IMO.
It can take 1-2 weeks for the food to get out of your system and then another week or so for the baby, i read that from other bbb'er and think it's pretty correct, but i don't' know for sure the exact dates.
It also depends on how much of the allergen you are eliminating. Such as all main dairy sources, or the "smaller" sources like whey, casein, lactose etc. Each child is different on what they need. You say you eliminated trace dairy. If that's your intention, and you haven't already, you might want to find all the names of dairy to eliminate. There's a lot. Same w/ the other foods. I don't know if dc's react to mom eating cross contaminated food thought.
On www.kidswithfoodallergies.org, they have a whole forum on elimination diets during bf. Lots of mommas there. They'd know more about how long it would take for baby to be clear of food and expect sx to clear. I believe many of them eliminate all of the top allergens to get to a baseline (no reactions) quicker, and then reintroduce foods one at a time.
Good luck and keep us posted.
keep a detailed diary of what you eat, when and how ds reacts and when.
Bottom line, if your mommy instinct is it's fa's, talk to your ped. And probably talk to a ped allergist. Not all ped's are really up to date on FA's. My ped is awesome and she totally wasn't up on FA's.
