No Moo For You!

So I've finally decided to write about my dairy exclusion experience! I knew when I started breastfeeding that some infants could have a sensitivity or allergy to cows milk they recieved through their mothers breastmilk. After seeing some of the symptoms of a dairy sensitivity in Emma Claire (about a month ago) I cut out dairy from my diet. Woah buddy...I feel like we have a different baby! I'll go over the changes in detail but she improved very quickly. A few days after eliminating dairy my husband looked at me one night while playing with her and said, "I feel like she's a completely different baby." It was then that I knew I made the right decision to cut out dairy.

In this fun little dairy-free guide I'm going to outline for you how I cut out dairy, what I eat for meals, and how Emma Claire improved. I hope I can help some of you by sharing my knowledge and experience.



So you think your baby might have a dairy sensitivity?

I first knew something was up with my little one when I noticed her normally seedy yellow diapers with low odor changed to bright green and terribly foul smelling. It was almost like sulfur or rotten eggs. Gross, I know. Before I had Emma Claire I heard that parents obsessed over baby poo, I had no idea why...until we started having green diapers! I then became obsessed with checking every poopy diaper to see if it turned back to yellow.

After a week of green diapers I also noticed that Emma Claire was extremely gassy, it was so sad. She would grunt and strain so hard for half an hour before she had a dirty diaper. It was hard to watch, I knew she was in pain. Then her sleep started getting interrupted by her gas. She would wake up screaming in the middle of the night because of it.

About a week before cutting dairy out Emma Claire also got a nasty rash on one side of her face. At first I just thought we finally  had the dreaded baby acne, but it just didn't seem like it. She had it on the left side of her face, head and neck. It started to spread to her shoulder and chest as well.

The last straw for me was when I began noticing little blood specks in her poo. I was seriously freaked out. At this point I had decided to cut out all dairy but called our Pediatrician anyways. She confirmed that Emma Claire most likely had a diary sensitivity and to cut out ALL dairy and call back in a week if she hadn't improved. So my journey began...

Cutting Out Dairy

Now that you plan on cutting out diary you need to make sure you cut out ALL dairy. That means all products that have any ingredients that are a derivative of cows milk. This includes, milk, whey and casein. Make sure that when reading ingredient lists if you don't see milk you double check for whey and casein. They are both milk proteins that will upset your little one's tummy just like milk would. Since you're eliminating dairy you must take calcium supplements!

What Can I Eat?

I remember being so freaked out by cutting out dairy that I almost cried. Being a new mom is hard enough, adding on a complication that changes your entire diet is overwhelming. My husband was so supportive through this process. If you can, get your spouse on board. It will help make things so much easier. Once I decided to cut out all dairy the Hubs and I sat down and made a big grocery list and went on a "non-dairy" shopping spree.

We took our time and went down every aisle and read SO MANY ingredient lists our heads were spinning. You'll be so surprised what has dairy in it, and what doesn't. We were pretty grossed out that many butter foods have no actual butter, and equally bothered that oreos have NO dairy in them...

Meals Without Moo

I hadn't realized how much of my diet was composed of dairy. Here is an example of my daily food intake BEFORE cutting dairy.

Breakfast- Scrambled eggs made with a dash of milk and 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese. Possibly a glass of chocolate milk.
Lunch- Turkey Sandwich with cheddar cheese. If I had chips they would've been cheddar lays.
Dinner- I was VERY into casseroles when pregnant and right after having Emma Claire. So for dinner we would usually have some sort of casserole that would contain both milk and cheese.
Dessert- I CRAVED ice cream right after having Emma Claire. So we always had it in the house.

WOW. So. Much. Dairy. When I took a good hard look at my diet I felt so much Mommy guilt. I was eating a ton of diary, no wonder she had horrid gas and couldn't sleep. Her tummy just couldn't handle the milk proteins coming through my breast milk. Also I wasn't eating well AT ALL. Hardly any fruits and veggies and lots of sugary foods and simple carbs. There is also the common misconception that eating healthy takes more time. I do think that to eat healthy you have to THINK about your food more, but it takes no more time to prepare in my opinion. Here's an example of what I eat now.

Breakfast- Oatmeal with cut up apples, raisins, cinnamon and brown sugar. I always have fruit in the morning now. Lately it's been oranges and bananas.
Lunch- Grilled chicken (I love the pre-grilled Tyson's chicken), green beans, sometimes I'll have a cut up whole tomato, a handful of almonds, craisins, carrots, and fruit like strawberries. I have this pretty much every day. Sometimes I will add romaine lettuce and make a huge salad.

Dinner- I have made Chili, Taco Soup, lots of tilapia, chicken and rice with veggies, and pasta with olive oil and veggies.
Snacks- Fruit, almonds, craisins and for my junk food of choice... the "blonde oreos". I think they're called golden oreos but I prefer blonde ;-)

Some cooking tips

- Look at what you have. Find a meat, veggie, and starch and go from there. A lot of the time I will saute onions and garlic in olive oil, then toss in some chopped veggies and lemon juice, then add in some chicken, boil some pasta, then toss it all together and you've got a yummy dairy free pasta dinner!
- Think about dinner before 5 o'clock. That's when I have the hardest time cooking. If during the day I check out what's in the fridge and pantry I can cook dinner quicker and it's much less stressful.
- Olive oil will be your new BFF ;-)
- Most store bought brownie mix doesn't have diary. Go ahead, rejoice. I did!
- Have dairy free snacks on hand. Almonds are my go-to snack. A few almonds really help tide me over until meal time.
- I suggest getting as many fruits and veggies as you can! Right now we stock up on bananas, clementines, and apples for fruits and carrots, tomatoes, asparagus, and cucumbers for veggies.
- Microwave steam fresh veggies are WONDEDRFUL! I have a TON of green beans and corn in my freezer. They're perfect for lunch or dinner and I just love adding a little salt and pepper then they're good to go. I highly suggest having these in your freezer. It helps me eat more veggies because they're so quick and easy!

Eating Out

I have begun to HATE eating out. If we got to a regular sit down restaurant then I pretty much have to order chicken with veggies because I can make sure they aren't cooked in butter. I almost always have to talk to a manager and explain that I have a dairy allergy. It's easier to just say it that way instead of filling the server in on my current breastfeeding delima ;-) If I don't want to cook our go-to restaurants are Pei Wei and Chipotle. I love that I'm not restricted to grilled chicken and plain veggies. At Pei Wei I get the teriyaki chicken with white rice and extra veggies! At Chipotle the only items that have dairy are the cheese (duh!) and sour cream! It's nice to feel like I have so many choices. I always try to look for an allergen menu online before we go anywhere that way I can be prepared.

Emma Claire's Progress

Well I knew a few days after eliminating dairy that it was working. She immediately began to sleep better. Her rash started to go away almost immediately and was gone within the first week. Within two weeks she had started sleeping through the night. It took three weeks for her poop to start turning back to yellow. The blood specks left her poo within two weeks though. A few days ago I accidentally ate a granola bar that I didn't know had dairy, oops!!! (That's' why you ALWAYS read the wrapper!) And boy could you tell! She was not a happy camper! She had really bad gas and was super fussy. We're still recovering.

Whew! If you read all of that, kudos to you! ha! I had a hard time reading it all, that's the longest post I've ever written! I didn't realize just how much research and information I've digested lately. Dairy elimination was a pretty big deal in our little lives so I've been reading about it constantly since I started. I hope that this little dairy free guide helps someone! I know I would've loved a little starter guide to cutting out diary! :-) It's all worth it though.

I would cut out dairy for the rest of my life if I had to, just for this sweet face...