[heres hoping]

Hi everyone,

I am writing to you all to see if you can give me some tips/help. I am breastfeeding my little cherub, who is currently 10 mths old. When she was 8 mths we saw an allergist and he confirmed through tests that our little girl is totally allergic to dairy and eggs. Hopefully she will outgrow this. I am breastfeeding her so I too need to cut out all dairy and eggs as well.

So it is now 2 mths down the track and our LG is doing well but I am starting to struggle. Basically I am losing too much weight and I have trouble trying to work out what to eat. I am now only 45kg and it isn't because I am trying to lose any weight, it's just hard working out what I can and can't eat as I don't want to affect my LG. I can have soy as she isn't allergic to that but I think sometimes it upsets my stomach (not 100% sure though). When we are out for the day if I haven't taken a lunch for me for example it is hard buying food out in case it has been in contact with dairy/eggs.

So I am asking you my internet friends if you could give me any suggestions, food ideas, tips etc and I thank you for all your help.

Mel

[Guest_Padmé Amidala_*]

Hello, I'm breastfeeding a baby with allergies too. The thing I find most helpful is to cook lunches in bulk and just heat them up each day. So, I'll eat either before of after I go out anywhere during the day (sometimes it means an early or a late lunch). I also take snacks with me wherever I go, plain Sakatas or fruit for example. And if I feel like buying something when I'm out (it's a habit, I guess), I just buy a Coke Zero or something.

I hope that helps. Good luck!

(I'm still losing weight though, but there's more of me so it doesn't matter as much)

[Z-K-L]

I'm also breastfeeding a baby with allergies (dairy, egg, soy, nuts). I try to make sure each meal is very filling - I eat as much as my husband now, if not more.

For breakfast I have porridge as cereal is no way near as filling. I also add grated apple and pear and bran to the porridge.

I drink a lot of calcium fortified rice milk as well as oat milk. If nuts are OK almond milk is also available.

I don't have a barmix but I was thinking to get one so I can make myself banana milk shakes (now that they are back to $3 a kilo or so).

At dinner I try to cook huge amounts so I have enough for a full meal for lunch the next day. If I haven't done that then it's 2 sandwiches for lunch.

I make sure my meals are very protein rich otherwise I quickly get hungry again and end up eating half a loaf of bread during the coarse of a day.

Lots of fruit, veg and rice cracker/ rice cake snacks. It's best to have lots of snacks hanging around the place.

Oh, I never eat out now, just too hard.

With all of this I'm not losing much weight at all - just a normal amount that I've been trying to lose since the birth.

Good luck with it OP and if you are after recipes try the book 'Friendly foods', it has loads of allergy friendly recipes.

Edited to add: be a bit generous with your good fats - pour on a little extra olive oil and add more avacado to your salad etc etc.

This post has been edited by Z-K-P: 29/11/2011, 09:25 AM

[winkywonkeydonke...]

Have you tried rice milk instead of soy, I prefer it to soy as soy upsets my tummy a bit too.

try posting in the allergy section as they may have some more ideas.

Could you make an appointment with a dietician?

[heres hoping]

Thanks to everyone so far that has posted.

Padme - what type of lunches do you have? Also, with the Sakatas I went to buy them but it mentioned something about milk, can't remember now. So obviously they are ok then


Z-K-P - thanks for the menu tips, some great ideas there. What brand of rice/oat milk do you find tastes best. When I first started I tried a rice milk and it was terrible, but it could have been the brand I used. I will look into the book you suggested for sure

Bika - I didn't even know there was an allergy section! Will check it out. What rice milk do you prefer? I had thought of a dietician, I just hadn't got around to it. That will probably be my next step I think. I thought I would try other mums first as we all know what it is like to go through it and sometimes docs etc can be too clinical and not supportive, if you know what I mean.

[heres hoping]

Thanks to everyone so far that has posted.

Padme - what type of lunches do you have? Also, with the Sakatas I went to buy them but it mentioned something about milk, can't remember now. So obviously they are ok then


Z-K-P - thanks for the menu tips, some great ideas there. What brand of rice/oat milk do you find tastes best. When I first started I tried a rice milk and it was terrible, but it could have been the brand I used. I will look into the book you suggested for sure

Bika - I didn't even know there was an allergy section! Will check it out. What rice milk do you prefer? I had thought of a dietician, I just hadn't got around to it. That will probably be my next step I think. I thought I would try other mums first as we all know what it is like to go through it and sometimes docs etc can be too clinical and not supportive, if you know what I mean.

[Riotproof]

I often buy sushi if we're out.. as long as you choose something that's not obviously eggy like the hardboiled egg boats or has mayonnaise, it is generally egg free.

Given you want some extra calories, try coconut cream. If you buy the pure stuff, you can chill it overnight and then whip the solid stuff to be a pseudo cream. It's very, very good.. particularly in coffee.

Also, try baking your own vegan treats. I think the feelings of deprivation can be quite strong, so it's nice t have a little muffin or biscuit that you can take out with you to have with your coffee. Oh, and the healthfood aisle has some good treats too.. Leda make a timtam wannabee that's pretty good.

Oh and re soy, what brand have you tried? I find So Good should really be renamed So Bad, but Vitasoy Soy Milky is actually pretty good. I wouldn't drink a glass of it, but it's okay in a smoothie.

[Guest_Padmé Amidala_*]

Hey, the plain Sakatas are dairy-free, but other brands aren't necessarily. And anything with flavor (so chicken, BBQ etc. Sakatas, chips etc.) will have milk solids in the flavoring.

I eat a lot of rice... with meat/veg stirfrys, chilli con carne etc. for lunch and for dinner I usually have (a huge) chicken salad or meat and three veg. Boring, I know but basically all I can eat is rice, meat, fruit and veg.

[Guest_Padmé Amidala_*]

If I'm feeling lazy, the Chicken Tonight Cacciatore is dairy-free so I just whip that up with chicken and rice.

[deejie]

Hi OP,

I BF DS who has multiple food allergies until he self weaned at 23m of age. Going egg free and dairy free is tough. I, like you, ended up 5kg below my pre-preg weight at a far-too-skinny-47kg. At my worst, it was uncomfortable for me to sit on hard surfaces. To maintain/gain weight, I absolutely had to load up with food.

The PPs have given you some great tips. I compeltely agree with ZKP about cooking extra at dinner time to have a full hot-meal for lunch. Asian food in particular was my saviour. Stir fries, curries (using coconut milk) with lots of meat and rice. Canned tuna, salmon is great because the protein is filling and they are full of good fats. So are nuts if your little one is not allergic. Carmen's make some yummy muesli bars which are dairy/egg free, even their dark chocolate ones

Snacks-- Golden Circle Crumpets! I must have eaten a pack every couple of days. Plain sakata rice crackers, saladas, OREOS (who would have thought?) Water crackers. Have a look in the dips section-- Yumi make a couple of yummy egg/dairy free dips (hummous and beetroot). Tofutti make a decent soy-based cream cheese which is great on savoury biscuits with other toppings (tomato, salads etc) and helps make them a bit more filling.

Eating out is hard, I agree. I wasn't so fussed about me having food which may contain contaminating traces of egg/dairy as diluted through my body and then BM it wouldn't do DS any harm. Going out and feeding DS however, is something I am still yet to master. There are only a couple of cafes that I have grown to trust.

Hope this helps