So many allergies!! What do I do?!

[Comma2]

My dd 7 mths was tested for allergies and is allergic to milk, peanuts, tree nuts,soy and egg. I'm still nursing, with a 2 yo, and really stressed out, as I don't seem to be able to keep all allergens out of babys and my food. There is always something on the label I don't find, and with the two of them, I don't have enough time erading labels in the market.
It gives her hives and rashes and eczema, the poor thing.

I'm really worried dd won't get all the nutrients she needs. I would like to wean her, but isn't that really bad when they have allergies? Where do they come from??? DD1 is fine!

Where can I go for info? SHould I talk to a dietician? It's all so difficult with two kids, and dh has no time whatsoever to jump in.

Sorry for the ramble. Really would appreciate help, though.

How very stressful for you. It's so worrying when your child is diagnosed with allergies. Goodness knows where these allergies come from!

Reading labels can be very time consuming to start with but you will soon get very good at it. These days I do my shopping online because some supermarkets put label information on their websites. (When you find a 'safe' food, you still need to check when you open a new packet, as sometimes the ingredients do change without warning.)

Some people do find their dietitians helpful. Have you been referred to a dietitian? However, you don't need to worry in the short term as at 7 months as your DD is still getting the nutrients she needs from breastmilk. If you want to go down the formula route, there are specialist formulas that you can get on prescription if necessary (babybarrister posted a useful list of alternative milks on this thread the other day). If you want to keep bf, it definitely is possible to exclude all those allergens and still all have balanced diets (I know this because have done it, although we have recently started eating soya again).

I don't think I'll ever forget the sense of despair and helplessness I felt when started to realise how many allergies my DS had... believe me, it does get easier. We still avoid loads of foods but at 21 months, he is a perfectly normal, healthy, happy little boy. It helps to read these pages on mumsnet - you don't meet many children with multiple allergies in real life but there are lots of mums out there coping with situations like ours.

Don't despair Comma2, my ds was diagnosed with the same allergies (plus sesame) as your dd at the same age. I can remember walking out of the hospital just reeling with shock at the test results and wondering how we would cope.

However DS is now nearly 4, still has the same allergies unfortunately (although we've had the all clear on soya) and we've managed fine. It's just part of everyday life now and we're used to managing it. I breastfed until ds was 2 as he wouldn't take the formula's prescribed at the hospital. I went back to work when he was 7 months and managed by expressing and doing a lot of night feeds! I cut his allergens out of my diet as well and found it useful practice and handy he could eat from my plate when weaning.

You'll learn to label read very quickly never assume anything is safe without checking. Some crisps have milk in them, bread is a particular problem for soya & milk allergies. M&S have a couple of loaves that are fine and also some rolls. Pure sunflower or M&S dairy free spread is fine. A lot of the Goodies baby range is ok - rice cakes, gingerbread men, raisins etc. Hipp Organics have some jars that are ok for emegencies. Try to go shopping without the kids if you possibly can as it takes forever to start with.

The dieticians were useful for prescribing a calcium supplement but not much else. This board is a lifesaver, you'll have an awful lot of questions and there's always someone here with an answer. Always carry Piriton to deal with any disasters and at some point you may need an epi pen.

On the plus side your dd's eczema may improve when you have cut the allergens out, it didn't for my ds unfortunately but I know it does for most people.

Go ahead with weaning and try not to be scared about it. Start one thing at a time and leave a gap of a few days so you can see any reaction. There are sites that list the most common allergens that might be worth checking. I didn't realise sesame was a fairly common problem and had a disaster involving houmous all over the face!

There are plenty of us out there managing the same problems so don't be afraid to ask and keep your chin up - you will get used to it

Thank you so much, greenbananas and bilbomum. I'll do my best, but it does seem a lot right now. I guess I have to bake my own bread and such- I'm in the US and haven't found one bread in the market that doesn't have one of the allergens. And I am shocked at what all contains soya! I knew it was in a lot of things, but really, I had no idea.

Also, thanks for the tip with the sesame. I bet she's allergic to that too- her eczema has flared up unexplainedly and I just gorged on sesame sweets, happy to finda treat something without soya or nuts. Or milk.

The entire anaphylatic shock thing has me freaked out. And I don't want my babies life to revolve around food. I hope the allergies go away...

Oh sorry Comma, I didn't realise you were in the US. My food tips probably don't make a lot of sense then...

Spend a bit of time on the net, there are specific companies who do food aimed at the allergy market and I think there are lots of American sites that should help. Soya seems to be a cheap filler that's used far too much. Cherrybrook Kitchen is American I think and does fabulous cake and frosting mixes. Maybe a bread maker would make things easier?

One good tip I was given - if you're suspicious about anything put a tiny amount on the skin well away from the face. If it comes up in a red patch it's quite likely your dd is allergic. I did it with cheese when I suspected ds's milk allergy and he came up with a huge red welt where it had skin contact. You could try a tiny patch with the sesame if you think it could be a problem.

Don't panic about anaphlaxis too much, DS's allergies are classed as severe and we've managed three and a half years with just one hospital visit and even that they managed to treat with antihistamines. DH learned his lesson about label reading pretty quickly after that one.... Just make sure you find a good allergy consultant if you can for future care and treatment.

I would start educating your older daughter as soon as possible though. You can't ban all allergens from the house as presumably she has a normal diet. You need to avoid her feeding the baby, tell her why - it's amazing how quickly young ones pick things up. The sooner you start explaining it the more she'll look out for her little sister hopefully.

Thanks all! I have an appointment with the pediatrician today, hopefully he can at least clear up the eczema she's got now- a result of the allergist not telling me the full list of allergens, so I gave dd all the wrong things. Ugh. I think on top I have to find a new allergist.

She isn't allergic to wheat -- yet. If she will be at some point, there is nothing left but meat and rice, not exaclty balanced.

But I learned that my insurance will pay for special (and special expensive) formula, so that's good. Would make it so much easier if I had something to make sure she gets what she needs, as I don't have enough milk to fill her up anymore.

salt therapy is yielding good results for eczema and psoriasis.... suitable for babies to adults. There's a salt therapy clinic in tunbridge wells, if anyone is interested to give it a go.

Poor you! How tricky when you're feeding your two-year-old as well! It's a nightmare when it first hits.
Re nutrition: I found my paediatric dietician a great help with my son, she helpd me re-introduce foods slowly slowly (just as Bilbomum suggests) and get my child onto the hideous hypo-allergenic formula feed. This is disgusting and you'll find all sorts of threads on this site on advice on how to get your child to take the stuff but once they are you can feel reassured of the nutrient in-take. Fat intake is a problem for dairy allergic children so I need to add lots of oil to cooking.
Re: weaning - the simpler the better helped me - all home cooked and baked; one this front all us allergy-mums are clearly the alpha mummies - not that we asked for it!
Also try some of the Food Allergy Moms groups in the US - they're great. And of course we'll always be here for you.
If it helps my son grew out of lots of his allergies too!
good luck
tx

i think you need to think about the positive aspect to all this, all of you will have to eat a good diet, because you will need to cook from scratch.

and although you do have a fair few allergies on your plate, there are others out there with many more.

so, its not all bad.

stop buying packets, and start with good fresh fruit and veg and move on from there.

could you get a bread machine and make your own bread?

Thanks for the advice!
I'm trying to see the good, but life seems just now stressfu enough without worrying about kiddo picking up a peanut somewhere and having to get a shot of the hideous epipen- that thing SCARES me.

I make my own bread- anybody who has to, too, there is a great book Artisan bread in 5 minutes- the master recipe is on teh web, and it literally takes 5 min for all the dough and shaping aspects.

I'm fascinated by how much processed food we were still eating, without noticing- I always thought we were mostly fresh foods etc-- haha, not so.

As long as my baby is safe, its all good. But I do hate to go to other people''s houses now, and am scared of the shock and soo sorry that next year, my baby will have to start the difficult route of being the only one not allowed to share everybody's snacks and birthday cakes. Breaks my heart, character-building nonwithstanding.

Comma2 - agree; it's crap - but you'll manage - try to think of yourself a bit through this, the stress is really wearing.
One wonderful thing that's struck me from this whole thing is that people are wonderful and really go out of their way for us, it's really helped.

Are you near any of the food allergy mum groups - north london and marlow in bucks?

Thanks Topiary-no, I'm in the US.

I had kids over today, they were really sweet and their mom made them wash their hands after eating cheese crackers etc, but I still broke out in a cold sweet everytime they touched the baby (who WANTS to be touched, doesn't make it easier). Ohgod though, am going a bit psycho on this. But we have to, right? don't want to scare lovely friends away with overly strict rules.

Comma2, glad you're coping. It is hard, isn't it? But it gets easier over time.

You're not 'going psycho' about rules, you're just doing what you have to do to keep your baby safe. Most of your friends won't be scared away by strictness in these matters - they'll try to realise what it must be like for you and do everything they can to help (like the lovely mom who made her kids wash their hands after eating crisps). Of course, some people can be ignorant and think you're exaggerating the risks, but if you explain calmly and carefully, these people are thankfully quite rare. You'll end up spending time with the lovely people and not the ignorant ones!

sorry to abuse someone else's thread this way - but I'm interested in 'food allergy mum groups'. topiarygal, what/where is that? I could get to Marlow.

My DD has all the allergies that OP's has, but aged 4.5 she's now outgrowing them, slowly. Sadly my DS (6months) has just been confirmed as allergic too, we don't yet know the full extent of his allergies. Here we go again...

I wish you all the best OP, like others above say, it does get better, as you get more used to dealing with the food prep. Your friends will also get used to your dd's needs, mine are all sympathetic, so birthday parties etc. have not been a problem. This week for the first time my dd had lunch at her friend's house, unsupervised by me, all was well, it fees like a bit of a milestone!

No problem with the abuse- wished I had a group here, too.

Yesterday night I had a major freak-out. It's only slowly trickling in that this is real. Oh God. I know its not the worst ever etc, but still seems so complicated of my already too stressful life. Never wanted to move back home quite as badly.

Comma2... soory to hear the news. In a rush, but we are on your side of the pond and there's a brand handy for treats (at your baby's age, at least for you!)

enjoylifefoods.com

Our DD - no milk, egg, nuts, peanut, soya, fish; now tomato, sweet peppers. BF her (on a restricted diet) until 18 mths.

Mumsnet - brilliant resource and network.

Hang on in there; it gets easier as you adjust and learn about different foods and recipes.

We're UK based, but have relatives over your way and they are stocking up for our visit. We have found a food company based in the US which has recently started to make oat milk, which has been our lifesaver for our ds who has dairy, egg, soya, nut, fish and kiwi allergies.
Try Pacific foods.

Also, search on Amazon for some allergy cookbooks. Three which have been great for me are
this
this
and, of course
this

Obviously I'm looking on the UK site there, but you many be able to track down something similar on the US website?

We have a similar age gap and dd is now really good at asking if she can share stuff with ds (who is now 21 months and into everything ). He is classed as severe allergies but no anaphalactic (sp?) shock, his worst reaction was to kiwi and that was scary, but mostly its hives and screaming and scratching.

I take packed lunches for ds and usually find that if you check when eating out he can have things like spaghetti bolognaise, pasta and tomoto sauce, steak with boiled potatoes and veg. I've overcome the fear of eating out but you MUST remember to take dessert because I've yet to find anywhere that does dairy and egg-free desserts. According to my paediatrician, although we should keep him away from anything specifically including nuts, we shouldn't go to the extent of worrying about things that say 'may contain nuts' (which is just about everything these days!). Obv if he had had a reaction to them that would be different, but so far so good, for us anyway.

Sorbet is a good dessert for allergies, also strudel (check pastry ingredients though, the frozen supermarket ones are OK), and summer pudding, sometimes these are available in restaurants. If you check you'll usually find these three are dairy, nut, and egg free. Summer pudding obv. has bread in it so may have soya in.

Thank you all so much! Will look at all the links and have ordered a couple of books with 'everyday tips' on how to deal with this. Sorry for the moaning. My heart really does go out to all the people that have much worse things to deal with.