Betsy- I'm so glad someone else made the tocopherol link. There's been research that concluded that people w/ soy allergies don't react to it, so soy doesn't have to be listed as an allergen. MSPI kids are different, though! I was so upset when rice krispies changed their "recipe."
On doctors- if anyone else is near Milwaukee, Children's Hospital has been great for us, both the GI clinic & the allergy clinic. My son's GI doc is the only reason I'm still sane!

Joann - The best advice I got was from my ped (just before he moved away, boo hoo!). He told me he trusted me far more than all these specialists, and not to let them push me around. Trust yourself. Let the docs inform your decisions, but remember that you know your baby best. Medicine doesn't have all the answers on this and most issues of "wellness" as opposed to disease, so just recognize where the docs are coming from and you'll be fine. Most get uncomfortable in a situation where they might have to say "I don't know" so they start to behave badly. Give them room to offer you what they know and you'll be able to get the best out of them. I have gone down many alternative practitioner routes in my time, and when I'm in front of a doc I just make light of it, letting them know that I'm open to the fact that medicine doesn't know everything and I'm willing to try almost anything, but that it's my choice how I manage my health and that of my family. Some are happy to paint me as gullible, but I just want them to know that I make the choices, and if I can point to a specific value that I got from a particular experience I may share it, but usually I don't bother. Don't expect too much and you won't get disappointed! On the other hand, it's important to make the doc feel accountable, so make sure you have one who wants to take responsibility for your case and will champion your needs as the two of you decide what they are together. Phew! I hope that's not too confusing or preachy. It's a difficult balance, and it's hard to get used to the idea that nobody has the answers, but we've got each other!

Diana: wow, very nicely put!

Sent from my iPod

On Feb 6, 2010, at 2:22 PM, QT - Diana <qtopic-23-aSxbbAkUULVMX@quicktopic.com > wrote:

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Thank you Dee Dee!

Well rats...Abigail is getting some patches of eczema and some "chicken skin" -- I guess that means the clarified butter in the bread was a fail. She hasn't had this since I was eating dairy more than a year ago. :(

Wow. Ok, I just found this board. I almost cried reading the posts. This is the first time I've engaged with other women who have had to deal with the same issues I have had to deal with.

Anyway, a couple of questions for the group. My son developed bloody stools at about 10 weeks. Prior to that he had been super fussy, but our doc just told us he was colicky. I was bound and determined to keep breastfeeding, but it took me a full three months to fully cleanse my diet of dairy and soy. Dairy wasn't hard, but the soy was so difficult. Fast forward to now. My son is almost 9 months old, still breastfeeding, and I've managed to completely avoid dairy and soy. It means I don't ever eat out, and am half crazy when I go to the grocery store. I'm sure you all understand. I've been avoiding anything that contains soybean oil and soy lecthin. Do I need to? Also, for those with little ones over one, what kind of milk did you end up giving your child to drink once they were weaned?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Helen,
I too just found this board a few weeks ago or so ago and cried when I saw that I am not the only one. As for my son, who is 21 months now, I avoid all soy: soybean oil & lecthin. I breastfed him until 10 1/2 months and couldn't any longer for other reasons. During my breastfeeding days, I didn't know what I do know now, so I am not sure what to tell you. But from what I gather, if depends on the baby. Also, in case you didn't know: when canola oil is an ingredient, they do not have to put its orgin, but usually it is soy based. Nolan, my son drank Alimentum until 17 months and which time we slowly transitioned him to Peptamen Junior, which he has @ 12 oz a day now. Then I use rice milk to cook with. Warning: the Peptamen is not covered by most insurances, unless its fed through a feeding tube. And where I am at it costs $9.27 a can.

Helen,



Welcome to the group.



I know that some babies can't tolerate the soy oils and others can. I don't have personal exerience with this because my toddler could always handle soy. For us, it is dairy, wheat, and peanuts.


The answer to your other question really depends. How is the baby doing with the introduction of other foods? I've heard of using rice milk (with added fat and protein) as well as hemp milk and almond milk. Then, there are those of us who continue to breast feed for longer. Because we didn't know for sure that my daughter could handle soy directly until about 15 months, we just continued with breastmilk. She passed direct soy and we slowly introduced the soy milk. She still breast feeds, although it is really for comfort at this point.


I'm sure that others will pipe in as well.



Melanie





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Hi, Helen - My son couldn't tolerate soy oil or lecithin via breast milk initially. At 12 months - when he was still nursing - we challenged them directly (I figured it was easier to give it to him directly than have it lingering in the breast milk). He passed (and a new world of food opened up to me!). My son nursed until he was almost 17 months. But we did supplement between 12 mos and 17 mos with rice, hemp, coconut and almond milk. Each has different advantages, so we got him used to each of them (he never liked the coconut - we use So Delicious brand - so we mix that with others - it's good for sat fat). Look for ones with as little sugar as possible. "Almond Dream" comes unsweetened as does the coconut - it's good for mixing with hemp (good for protein) and rice milk (which has 10 g of sugar and is basically just vitamin-fortified sugar water - but seems to be palatable to some babies - that's the one we started with and then moved on to the others). They all have added calcium and vitamin D. He's 19 months now and this is still his "milk" diet and will be for quite some time, I imagine (he had one milk challenge at 17 months and failed it miserably so we won't be trying again until he's 2).

Helen: Welcome. Robby (3) and Elli (2) drink half rice/half
unsweetened vanilla almond milk. They also have fruit smoothies with kale (calcium) and flax oil (fat) and pine nuts (fat/protein) every day. Elli is still sensitive to soy oil. We stay dairy-free at our house, although they both tolerate hidden dairy. No cow's milk-based cheese, yogurt or milk. It started as a health requirement and has evolved into kind of a lifestyle choice. I also personally avoid soy b/ c I'm sensitive to it, too.

Sent from my iPod

On Feb 8, 2010, at 3:28 AM, QT - Cathianne <qtopic-23-aSxbbAkUULVMX@quicktopic.com > wrote:

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Helen: I am still nursing my daughter at 19 months, but I let her drink coconut milk and almond milk whenever she asks for it (her brother and sisters drink it, but she usually only has a few sips). She was intolerant of rice until a few months ago, so we never got into rice milk. I personally find it too thin and sweet to be satisfying. Somewhere around 14 months, I started eating soy oil/lecithin again, and she tolerated my milk. I still don't cook with it, but I no longer worry about it in restaurants,etc. She can now eat the oil or lecithin directly, but I believe that she still has problems with soy foods, so she still avoids soy. I can, however, eat a meal with soy sauce and she is okay. I still must avoid dairy, although I can get by with an occasional meal with butter. I haven't tried anything else dairy. Rice was a big intolerance, but I was delighted to find that she can eat it now!!! :) I am rambling, I now realize, so I'll stop!!

In reading others responses to Helen's questions I now have a question. What is hemp? Nolan can't tolerate almond or coconut milk. I do give him coconut water from time to time cause he has low iron. I don't ever recall giving him hemp, at least I don't think.

I just found a posting on another Mom's board I'm on about eczema:
"Eczema? If it looks like it bothers her, a little Aquaphor Healing
Ointment should help until you see the doc. We alternate that with prescription lotions (per doc) when my son breaks out."

Heather - Hemp milk is made from hemp seeds. Coconut is a seed - but so is sunflower and sesame, so you if you know if Nolan can tolerate those, it might give you an idea about hemp. We use Hemp Dream. It's pretty expensive and it's a strong flavor. My son likes it mixed with other things but not by itself, which is just as well, since I wouldn't be able to afford it as his regular drink! It's got some protein and some fat, although it's not high in sat fat. Personally, I think it's pretty tasty.

Thanks Cathianne. I'll have to think about this. Nolan can't do coconut milk or sunflower anything, so? I don't know. I guess it could be worth a try.

Another question: what brand of probiotics do people use? Seeing what else it out there. We use the Genestra brand, Seyoral makes it. We order it through Nolan's chiropractor.

We use Solaray BabyLife. It's specially made for babies, and though it costs nearly $20 a bottle, it comes with a scoop instead of being in capsules (or liquid or tablet) and it lasts a LONG time. Other than the probiotics themselves, the other ingredient is corn maltodextrin.
~Karen

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