Milk Protein Allergy

As of this Saturday, I have been dairy-free for two weeks. No milk, no cheese, no yogurt, butter or ice cream....and no fun some of you may say!

Let me back up...about three weeks ago, we were hanging out at the house like we usually do on Saturday mornings. I went to change Trey's diaper and when I did, I noticed blood in his stool. WHAT?! Yup, you read that right and your reaction is probably just as mine was when I saw it!

You see, for some time now I have suspected that Trey has a milk allergy. Although I do tend to over react about certain things and jump to conclusions (who, MEEEE?), he honestly has had many symptoms of having an allergy to milk. (Frequent stools that are green and/or have a mucus texture, having an explosive BM after each feeding, rash around the face, eczema or dry skin) Now, mind you, Trey has acted completely normal this entire time...no fussiness (other than the normal baby fussiness), no extreme bouts of gas, etc so I kind of let the possible allergy slip out of my mind...until I saw the blood. That's when I knew I had likely been right. 

I had no reason to think Trey would develop an allergy. I had no allergies as a child or even as an adult and neither did Jim (or so we thought). Come to find out, Jim had a milk allergy as an infant and had to be on soy formula and apparently if a parent has had a milk allergy it increases the baby's odds as well.

So, back to my story, we took him in to see the pediatrician that same day that we noticed the blood. After talking with the pediatrician on call about what was going on, he told us it was likely that Trey had developed a milk protein allergy. Apparently it can take quite some time for babies to develop these allergies (as in our case, as Trey was 3.5 months when he was diagnosed). 

The pediatrician told us it was nothing serious and that it was fairly common for babies to have milk allergies. We knew this as both of our godchildren had milk allergies as babies and were on/are on soy formula. He told us that blood in adult's stool is cause for immediate concern but that blood in an exclusively breast-fed baby was likely only an intolerance/allergy to something the mom had eaten. This made us feel TONS better...

The ped told us that milk was the most common allergen so I should start there with an elimination diet. If after a week to 10 days, Trey was still having symptoms (it can take quite some time for it to completely leave both the mom and baby's systems), I would have to add milk back and avoid something else. 

I started with the obvious places (you see, milk is sneaky and hides in many spots people wouldn't necessarily think about!). I cut out all milk, yogurt, cheese, butter, coffee creamer, and ice cream. I also cut out any sauces/gravies/soups that were obviously made with milk products. I did not completely cut out baked goods that may contain milk products, but I did make sure I limited them. 

Since starting the elimination diet, Trey has not had any more bloody stools- yay!! He continues to have green-yellow colored stools at times but I see the color beginning to get back to normal. He is still usually having a BM after each feeding, but the amount each time is decreasing. 

From these signs, I think the diet is working. I don't want to get too excited that we have it figured out yet, but I think we are definitely headed in the right direction.

Even though I have an extensive knowledge of food and nutrition, I have learned so much through this process. For example, Lactose (the sugar in milk that some people are allergic to/intolerant of) does not pass into breast milk. Because of this, it is very seldom that a EBF baby is lactose intolerant! SO interesting! The proteins in milk however (casein and whey) DO pass into breast milk, so this is likely what Trey is allergic to. Another thing is that when you cook milk or milk products, the proteins are broken down (denatured) because of this, most cooked products that use milk are safe to eat as the protein has already been broken down and should be easily digested.

So, you may be wondering what I am eating these days and how in the world I am getting any calcium? It would be easy if Trey had an intolerance to lactose, because I would just drink Lactaid milk (or "Sean milk" as I remember calling it growing up...My cousin Sean was lactose intolerant...or maybe still is?) Anyway, it has taken a while to get used to avoiding dairy and really thinking hard about every little thing I put into my mouth! I have found wonderful substitutes though that make this transition a lot easier. I have found soy butter (which tastes just like the "I can't believe it's not butter" that we usually use), vanilla soy milk (which I've had before), Almond Milk (which is one of my favorites anyway), Coconut/Almond Milk blend and either Soy or Coconut Milk Yogurt....all of which have been really good! Both almond and soy milks both have more calcium than cow's milk as they are fortified, so those have been my two main sources of calcium thus far.

Although this has been a challenge, I know I'm doing whats best for Trey and that makes it all worthwhile. I hope his symptoms continue to improve. If they do not, then I will need to begin a more strict diet- cutting out "hidden" dairy and maybe even soy as some babies are allergic to both milk protein and soy. I really really hope this isn't the case so any extra prayers that you could say for us would be really appreciated!

I will keep you posted as this unfolds!

Thanks in advance for the thoughts and prayers for our little guy!