Most people I know are already aware of the fact that our baby daughter, Addisyn, has a cow's milk intolerance, a common problem for lots of babies. Basically there are 25 proteins in cow's milk that babies can develop an intolerance to, and roughly 50% of babies that have a cow's milk protein intolerance also have a soy intolerance. Babies are exposed to cow's milk and soy through baby formula (most commercially available formulas are derived from either milk or soy), or through their mother's diet if they're breastfed. Symptoms of milk protein intolerance may include intestinal irritation, excessive gas, reflux, fussiness, trouble sleeping and general discomfort. We were fortunate that Addisyn's only symptom was some intestinal irritation (evident from mucosy stools that contained microscopic blood), but she didn't have any of the other symptoms that most babies exhibit. The solution? For me to eliminate milk and soy from my diet of course.
When I first realized that I might have to cut out dairy I had hoped that it would just be dairy products: milk, yogurt, ice cream, butter, etc. I was wrong... I needed to cut out ALL foods containing milk, and soy too. At first it was quite overwhelming, and I was quite depressed when I began looking through our kitchen and reading ingredient labels. It is amazing the sorts of foods that contain milk products that you would never guess: lunch meats, ramen noodles, even spaghetti sauce already comes with cheese in it! And it's not just as easy as looking for milk, butter or cream on the labels - oh no! - there are lots of names that you would never know means milk! Casein, Ghee, Hydrolysates, Lactalbumin, Whey, Lactoglobulin, just to name a few. Soy isn't quite as tough, but there are certainly still secret code words for soy too: miso, shoyu sauce, tamari, tofu.
Fortunately I am able to eat soy oils and soy lecithin - these are fats and not the troublesome proteins. Were these not allowed I would have had to eliminate A LOT of other foods! I have also found substitutes for many of the foods that I could no longer eat. Sorbet is a great alternative to ice cream. I am able to have almond and rice milks (which also come in chocolate!). I have found dairy-free, soy-free buttery spread, which is actually really good. Most dark chocolate doesn't contain milk - yea for (dark) chocolate covered coffee beans, in moderation of course because of the caffeine. A friend also introduced me to the "Enjoy Life, Eat Freely" brand which makes trail mix, cookies, candy bars, and other foods/snacks that are dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free, and vegan. They actually are made without the 8 most common allergens.
Now that I have been on a milk-free, soy-free diet for a little while and have a pretty good grasp of what I can and cannot eat it's not so bad. When Addisyn is around 7 months (4 months from now) I will be able to slowly start reintroducing milk and soy back into my diet. Most babies grow out of milk/soy protein intolerances by the age of 9-10 months.
You're a good momma.
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