Milk Protein Intolerance {Update!}

First of all, I must say my heart goes out to everyone in Boston. My cousin and her fiance live about a mile from the site of the explosions and are thankfully ok. I have spent the last two days glued to the news-feed surrounding this terrible act and I just cannot fathom how people would want to hurt others. That being said, I hugged Trey (and Jim) super tight when I got home last night...

Now, back to Trey's milk protein intolerance .. It hasn't been easy. Considering milk is hidden in SO many foods, it's been very hard to avoid it. I have had to change our meal plans, what and where we eat out and what I buy at the grocery store. As if I didn't already try to eat healthy, I now have to scrutinize every single thing I put into my mouth.

Don't judge me! A Five Guys burger, fries and sweet tea are completely dairy-free!! :)

It hasn't been easy.

But it's totally been worth it to see this precious little one feeling better!

Besides two slip-ups (oops!) I have been dairy free for a month and a half. Even Mommies are human and make mistakes... One slip up occurred around Easter when I figured "a little" chocolate probably wouldn't hurt Trey too badly. It's true that "a little" likely wouldn't have, but a couple of days worth of chocolate bunnies, Reece's eggs and Cadbury mini eggs later, we had a fussy baby with blood in his stool again and a terrible diaper rash :( My other slip-up occurred when I ate two granola bars with milk in them two days in a row along with Trey consuming a bottle at Sara's from the freezer that was from Easter and contained all the dairy from the chocolate.

Needless to say, I am now super careful about what I eat. I have started to scrutinize all labels and have spent countless hours researching foods online. 

Our expenses for groceries have increased as "dairy free" foods tend to cost more not to mention I have to purchase double of some things... Thankfully Jim is ok with drinking Almond or Soy milk and using Silk coffee creamer, but he draws the line at the Daiya soy cheese and has requested I buy him real cheese again :)

I have tried many dairy free foods since starting this journey and so far my favorites have been: Silk French vanilla coffee creamer, Silk Berry Smoothie, Vanilla Almond Milk, and my new favorite as of tonight- SO delicious coconut milk ice cream (mint chip). This ice cream is life changing- seriously. I would seriously eat this dairy free or not.

With my new dietary adventure, I have noticed some pretty big changes in myself. I have less tummy discomfort and bloating and my stomach is noticeably flatter- which is an unexpected but welcome side effect for sure!! I think its a combo of weight loss from breast feeding and now taking dairy out of the equation, but I am below my pre-pregnancy weight and can fit back into all my old pre-preggo clothes- yay!! I also treated myself to a little Mommy makeover today and got a much-needed haircut!

Before I go, I must add that there is one negative to this diet change... Up until yesterday I had about 70 ounces of frozen milk stored for Trey. After we had to give him some frozen milk one day while I was at work (little piggy ate all his bottles and wanted more!), he had blood in his stool again and I decided keeping that stash was simply not worth hurting his little tummy again.

So, last night, I threw out approximately 40 ounces of frozen milk which really made me sad. I chunked it super fast and closed the lid of the trashcan and decided to move on. Instead of dwelling on it, I counted the amount of " safe milk" that we had left over and realized it was a healthy 30 ounces! Not too bad of a starting point and at least this way I know it is all good for my little one.

Our pediatrician recommended we trial some dairy when Trey is around 5 months, but we are doing so well I think I will wait a while longer before doing any dairy trials. 

I plan to continue with updates on his MPI as we start solids in the next month or two. I hope his only intolerance is to dairy but I guess only time will tell...