7mth old, dairy allergy, fats needed in her diet

[mimmymouse]

Hello,

my 7 month old DD has, potentially, an allergy to dairy. I understand from a bit of research and chatting with HV that there are different types of diary allergy - lactose intolerance, allergy to CMP etc. After my DD had a severe reaction to a berry fromage frais, which resulted in a trip to hospital, we have been advised to avoid dairy until we have seen the consultant allergist. That appointment is, unhelpfully, in 6 weeks time.

As it was a berry yoghurt, we have been advised to avoid berries as well. And our HV suggested that children with dairy allergies are usually allergic to wheat and to eggs as well, therefore I am to avoid giving those to her. I've also been told to keep BF her. (She has been EBF.) I have no problem with that.

However, there seems to be a gaping hole in her diet, namely fats. Aside from avocado, which she mercifully enjoys, what else can I give her if eggs are also off the menu?

All advice gratefully received.

Thank you!

[mimmymouse]

Ooops "dairy" allergy. Hopefully, she isn't allergic to diaries too

[DorisIsAPinkDragon]

I think your hV is talking a little beynd her remit really. Had you previously had any problems with wheat or eggs or just not tried them yet?

If you are BF your dd will still be recieving more than enough nutritionally from you ( I think you underestimate the quality fo BM), Avocado is fantastic (great fro DD2 high fat diet!). although 6 weeks feels like a lifetime when you want help and advice, realistically as long as you continue to bf your dd will be fine, some children are only just beginning the weening stage at 7 months (for a variety of reasons) .

HTH

[mimmymouse]

Very helpful - we hadn't tried eggs or dairy yet! Weaning only just for a month now. DD didn't respond brilliantly to weaning - took ages to get her to take more than a few mouthfuls. Wheat and eggs simply hadn't come up yet. My DH wanted to give her some pasta and I was thinking eggs would be useful to get some fat into her! And you're right - 6 weeks isn't all that long.

Believe me, I do not underestimate the power of BM!!

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I would be interested to hear from any other Mums whose DC have dairy + wheat or egg allergy. Was HV talking absolute crap?

[mintyneb]

hi, my DD (now 4) has a severe allergy to cows milk protein but has no issues with either wheat or eggs. Having said that whenever we tell people that she is allergic to 'dairy' they often think that includes eggs, and this regularly comes from catering professionals!!I just tell them that milk comes from cows and eggs from chickens and let them work it out....

It is common though for some children with an allergy to cows milk protein to be allergic to soya products as well although fortunately for us that is not the case with DD.

For now I think I would ignore your HV advice until you have seem the specialist. 6 weeks will fly by before you know it

[menazovut]

My son is severely allergic to cows milk, and not so severely to soya (think this is common). Absolutely fine with eggs and wheat, though was told to offer eggs and wait a few days before offering eggs again to check (by dietician, didn't seem a big deal). Fish is the only other allergy we found.

If it makes you feel better my son was nearly 8 months when he first had solids! He became scared of food/ bottles for a while. He's fine now. In fact my 9 months he was practically tucking away a full sunday roast unblended. At one he's an eating machine.

[mimmymouse]

All brilliant to know - thank you. I have also been warned about the connection between soya and dairy, so we're avoiding that too. Sounds like a lot of avoiding.

Any other tips for fats? (Eggs and avocados aside.)

Thank you

[DorisIsAPinkDragon]

forgot to say both dd1 and ddh are intolerant to dairy (not allegic in the truest snese) and whilst neither have problems (touch wood with wheat or eggs) dd1 does seems to react to soya aswell.

[MrsShrekTheThird]

ds1 has a cows milk allergy. Not particularly lactose, but interestingly he's not good with beef - anything cow related. Not heard of any significant link to wheat, but yes to eggs til you've had it ruled out.

[MrsShrekTheThird]

sorry, meant to say. I also think that a bf 7mo will be fine for fats, tbh. I bf all my three til 12-20 months, variously, all fine and none of them underweight. My advice would be don't panic. Not till you are looking at full scale weaning. I'd be more concerned with the potential correlation to soya/nut allergies than wheat tbh.

[mimmymouse]

Thank you all very much. I think we may try some wheat - but give eggs and soya a miss for now. I hope he is a good consultant too - or I will be posting again!

Thank you

[jenjenjenjen]

My 7 month old is allergic to CMP and has had no problems with wheat or eggs. I do think your HV might be a bit misinformed and over cautious.

After the CMP allergy was diagnosed we were advised (by allergy consultant and dietician) to introduce other foods at risk of causing allergy eg. wheat, eggs, fish, nuts) cautiously i.e. try a little bit, see how they are, if no problem then try again this time with a slightly bigger quantity but that it was important to give them. And with eggs we were told to give in baked form first (egg pasta or biscuit containing egg) then if there was no problem try very well cooked eg hard boiled or well cooked omelette.

For fats try roasting veg in lots of olive oil then give either as finger food or mashed/blended. Fried potatoes also go down well in our house (I just fry up leftover boiled new potatoes and cut into wedges). We also use Pure sunflower spread on bread / toast (could get wheat / gluten free bread if you are still worried about wheat).

[freefrommum]

I agree that the HV is getting a little ahead of herself suggesting that milk allergy is likely to mean egg and wheat allergy. In fact, true wheat allergy is quite rare (wheat intolerance such as coeliac disease is far more common but totally unrelated to allergies). I would avoid soya for now though as about 50% of those with milk allergy are also allergic to soya.

I probably should admit though that my son is in fact allergic to milk, wheat and eggs but according to our consultant, it's really not that common. Avocado is fantastic for getting good fat into little ones, you can mash it with banana for a nice sweet variation - soooo nutritious! When my DS was little, I used to add olive oil to lots of his food to increase the fat content and give him oily fish at least once a week. If it turns out your little one is allergic to all 3 of the above, let me know and I can offer some more food suggestions.

[PeppaPigandGeorge]

We have cow's milk protein intolerance diagnosed. Basically really violent vomiting causing her to be off the scale in weight terms if I ate any dairy (diagnosed pre-weaing during EBF). She is now weaned and is fine with wheat, eggs and pretty much everything else.

[JulesJules]

DD1 was allergic to dairy ( we had to take her to A and E the first time) and also had eczema. (She eventuallygrew out of both of these but now reacts to banana). My HV mentioned other foods which can commonly cause allergic reactions, but did not recommend that I start excluding other things. There was no mention of specialist referral either!

I continued to bf (ended up bf until she was 2) and used soya products, avocado, olive oil and oily fish.

Try not to worry too much about the lack of dairy in her diet - we have a very dairy-heavy diet in this country so it's easy to worry that she will be missing out on an important part of her diet - but they don't in other countries, Japan for instance.

Good luck.

[mimmymouse]

Gosh, I'm overwhelmed with your helpful advice! Thank you all so much. Olive oil roasted veggies sound delicious and we'll be getting the spread. She already loves avocado mixed with banana - just as well. Will try egg pasta etc Really good, practical ideas. I'm so grateful.

[InvaderZim]

I am dealing with a potential CMP issue too, I use a really flavourful (spendy but a little goes a long way) extra virgin olive oil on toast. (Think bruschetta) DD gobbles it up!

[MrsShrekTheThird]

oooh we did that too, and those weirdy little Italian crisps which are more like croutons, made with olive oil. We also gave them bits of toast, cut up into bite size bits with df spread and honey. good for energy and [natural] sugars, as well as the fats.

[cardamomginger]

DD is severely CMP allergic. We were anticipating all sorts of other allergies as well. She had bad eczema and I am nut allergic and gluten intolerant. The whole thing looked like it was going to be a disaster. We were referred to an allergist and I was beside myself with the thought that she would have all sorts of problems. Thank God we seem to have got away with it - she can eat nuts, gluten, wheat, other grains, soya, berries, fish with no problems whatsoever. So you may be OK! HVs can be the voices of doom and gloom - ours was telling us how she probably has a dust mite allergy too and that we needed to remove all our soft furnishings and install hardwood floors. Hang on in there - 6 weeks is not so long - and fingers crossed you will be OK. In the meantime, get yourself a bottle of paediatric piriton (I know it says for age 1 year and older, but it's fine). And if you get any reactions, take a photo to show the allergist. Good luck!

[mimmymouse]

Thank you all. Have baby Piriton - and was used when she had her reaction. I am glad to hear so many of you have positive stories! Feel like I have menu options! DD had avocado for tea!! I'm grateful to you all for taking the time to reply. IZ, I hope your potential allergy issues resolves favourably too.

[tiredfeet]

Didd they discuss with you that you should cut milk and products containing it out of your diet too if you are breastfeeding? Ds had a severe reaction to cows milk and we were asked to wait and see the dietitian before leaving hospital so she could advise on my diet too.

We were also advised not to cut anything else out of his diet, but I did keep antihistamine nearby when he was trying new things. So far he is also allergic to eggs, soya, wheat, cod, peanuts and we are awaiting tests for strawberries, tomatoes and kiwis. Hopefully your list won't be so long!

[PeppaPigandGeorge]

Absolutely tiredfeet - I too have to totally eliminate all milk products from my diet as I am BFing. Can be v annoying!

[harverina]

Hi OP!
I know this thread is a few days old but I wanted to post because my stopry is so similar to yours. When my DD was a few days off 6 months old I gave her a yogurt with strawberries and she had a severe allergic reaction. We were very lucky as the consultant at the allergy clinic slotted us in outwith the clinic due to my DD's age and the fact that she was weaning. Everyone I spoke to after the reaction told me that it would be the strawberries - even my HV said this and told me to try some cows milk in my DD's porridge - thank goodness I didnt because we subsequently found out that my DD is allergic to CMP and eggs. My DD has no other allergies that we know of at the moment.

As your DD is mainly drinking breastmilk then you dont have to worry too much about the nutrition lost from dairy at the moment, however, I can understand your worries.

We use vitalite spread - we all use it as its actually pretty tasty. We also used Oatly to make porridge/weetabix or for any sauces. Mashed potato with vitalite and oatly mixed in is actually pretty tasty. For calcium and handy snacks Alpro soya yogurt is also fab. These are suitable from 6 months. Soya milk is not suitable until after 1 year.

If I cant think of anything else I will come back :) My DD isnt getting tested again until she is 3 so we are pretty used to it now, although initially you feel so upset.

[TheSnickeringFox]

Have only skimmed so apologies if I am repeating myself but coconut oil is an excellent fat to use in cooking or even just warmed to melt and given on a spoon.

[TheSnickeringFox]

D'oh I mean if I am repeating what someone else has said!