To expect the NHS to pay for me to breast feed

[pamplem0usse]

OK so not quite:
10 week old DS has a cows milk allergy. He's EBF so the only solution currently is for me to cut out all dairy from my diet. I'm already a pescatarian.
Dairy free alternatives seem to be really expensive.... AIBU to think I should be able to be prescribed some of these given (a) the amount of money I'm saving them on hypoallergenic formula and (b) since I'm likely to save them significant amounts of cash by helping prevent further allergies develop....

The one thing I will moan about though is the lack of egg free cakes in the supermarkets though. Thankfully I like baking and would probably have made their birthday cakes anyway, but it would be a nightmare if I didn't!

Trixy is egg off limits when you have a dairy allergy? I didn't know that but DD has never wanted to eat eggs so I haven't seen her react to it. I actually thought she didn't want eggs because she may instinctively know they aren't good for her. She always spits it out when I have made her some.

Can you please tell me which dairy free probiotic you used for your DC as I couldn't find a dairy free one when I was researching a few months ago. I would really appreciate info on any products you can recommend.

Saintly you said "when I had to go to Chinese supermarkets to buy the flour to make the bread". This was exactly one of my points. Lifestyle does not always permit the time needed to stand in the kitchen and prepare things like bread from scratch. Luckily my DD can eat store bought bread fine.

I think people are thinking that I feel sorry for myself. I don't. I just think that it is not always that easy either. My point was that depending on individual circumstances, it is not actually as easy as people think to manage an allergy like a milk allergy.

re: Ice cream

freeze bananas
blend

ta-da, ice cream

Co-Op UHT sweetened soya milk for non-sugar tasty soya milk (uses apple juice instead)

Another good tip is Kosher Parev/Parve (sp?) food. This is food which is neutral in Jewish food laws and therefore is dairy free. Back when I couldn't eat dairy I used to use the tiny Jewish range in our local Sainsbury's for treats and sweets sometimes. I used to live in dread that they would stop stocking it as there wasn't a huge Jewish community in that town so I regularly bought all kinds of stuff from the range just so they could see demand was there (DH's particular favourite was in the run up to Passover one year when I came home with Kosher Sprite for no other reason than 'I want them to keep stocking the parev stuff, they need to think I'm Jewish!')

Also regarding substitutions for kids, my own experience (I was 18 when my allergy was diagnosed) was that I loathed dairy products, all I associated them with was making me feel ill - I was the freaky 5 year old who ate Bournville not Milky Bar, never ate sponge cake etc. You may find you don't need to actually substitute at all, they may not be missing those particular tastes/flavours. There is also the valid point that with genuine allergies, kids do need to learn that life is sometimes a bitch and they simply cannot have what everyone else is having - it is horrible, DS has sobbed and sobbed to me a couple of times when he first started school and kids had brought in cakes that might have had nuts in but fundamentally he has had to learn that lesson. He's now coming up 8 and was extremely matter of fact when I explained he won't be getting an ice-cream on the class outing in a couple of weeks - yes he'll get to take some sweets from his swap box but I can't rustle up a nut free ice-cream to take on a school trip and he has had to learn to accept that.

Thank you higgy and ace!

Any tips are appreciated. DD has started eating a few new things in the last few weeks so I'm hoping its a sign that she is opening up a bit when it comes to solid foods. She wouldn't even eat bananas until last week! She used to throw them back up too.

I don't like forcing her so after maybe three separate attempts, if she still won't eat whatever I am trying with her I stop trying and wait a few weeks before trying again. It has been a struggle to get her beyond eating only bread as a snack and wanting to breastfeed for every meal. I honestly think she associated solid food's with feeling ill.

I will try all the things suggested.

LDNmummy, both my kids are allergic to egg (DS also to nuts, sesame, lentils, chickpeas ), you don't need to avoid it if you have a dairy allergy, but if your DD is spitting it out, it may mean it is making her mouth feel funny. It was a long time ago, but I'll have a look and see if I can find what the probiotic was.

I'd forgotten about the frozen bananas, they are really nice.

I'm fairly certain it was viridian that I used. There seems to be a larger range and some cheaper ones available than when I used it though.

It's hard to know when weaning an allergic child whether to keep trying things or not . We made a few mistakes, most notably with humous on the dietician's advice, wish I'd followed my instincts.

LDNMummy THIS is a very good pro-biotic & it is lactose free (suitable for vegans). It is in capsule form, but for young DC, you can always open capsule & put into a drink etc