(I am posting with prior listmother approval and stand to gain nothing  
financially in so doing.)

>>> In working to help breastfeeding mothers, a new hurdle is becoming  
>>> increasingly more frequent for many lactivists: food allergies. I  
>>> can't even count how many mothers have found their way to me via  
>>> word of mouth because their babies have been diagnosed with food  
>>> allergies and mom is at a loss about how to find and prepare safe  
>>> foods. Many mothers have felt it simply isn't worth the hassle and  
>>> have put the baby on formula so they didn't have to restrict their  
>>> diets. Every time one of these mothers tells me how overwhelmed  
>>> she is at trying to figure out how to find food without dairy,  
>>> soy, egg, wheat (gluten),  tree nuts, peanuts, shellfish and fish,  
>>> I can relate.
>>>
>>> Two yrs ago, my own baby was born w/ severe food allergies,  
>>> including most of the main ones as well as corn. His corn allergy  
>>> is so severe he can't have even a trace of it and it's in  
>>> everything. All children's medications, almost all mass-produced  
>>> foods, hygiene products, it's everywhere. I remember when all the  
>>> tests for cancers and metabolic disorders and all the other  
>>> terrifying things the pediatricians feared were the cause of his  
>>> weight loss and failure to thrive came back negative and the food  
>>> allergies came back positive, I wanted to be relieved. But all I  
>>> could think was, "How can I eat and breastfeed him safely?"
>>
>>> "What will i feed him eventually, when he starts solids?" Everyone  
>>> advised me to put him on elemental formula and stop breastfeeding.  
>>> This being my 5th exclusively breastfed baby, I refused to even  
>>> consider it. It's very fortunate I didn't, because as he grew, his  
>>> corn allergy became so severe, he would be allergic to all of the  
>>> elemental formulas (corn based) as well as the soy and dairy ones!
>>>
>>> It took me over two years of eating the same safe things made at  
>>> home over and over to finally get him to full health. It took two  
>>> yrs to realize all the hidden terms for corn, all the ways I was  
>>> still exposing him when I'd thought I had eliminated it all. Every  
>>> step of the way, every nutritionist, dietitian, doctor,  
>>> diagnostician we consulted, I asked the same thing: "Can you just  
>>> give me a sample menu that actually shows meals w/ all the  
>>> allergens and corn eliminated? Do you have a list of safe products  
>>> I can refer to?" Nobody could help me. It was way too time- 
>>> consuming, way too complicated.
>>>
>>> Now I hear the same thing every time I meet another mom in the  
>>> same boat. "If I could just get some actual meal ideas - if I just  
>>> knew what exactly to look for ... where to find it..." This is  
>>> such an incredibly overwhelming issue to deal with when you have a  
>>> miserable, reactive baby and other children to deal with ! I put  
>>> the entire family on the elimination diet as it was just easier  
>>> than cooking different things for so many people and risking cross- 
>>> contamination for the baby.
>>>
>>> In the last two years, my baby has been healthy and happy for  
>>> exactly 2 months. Okay, they call it 'terrible two' for a reason:  
>>> if demanding, spoiled and completely entitled = happy, then he  
>>> is :-) ! For the last two yrs, he hasn't slept at night, he hasn't  
>>> stopped clawing himself bloody, he's looked like a baby vampire  
>>> and he's hardly eaten. He's been so sickly and miserable, I told  
>>> one Dr. if he was a cat I would have put him to sleep by now.   
>>> Finally eliminating all the allergens by finding realistic meals I  
>>> could make and sticking to them with little variance is what made  
>>> him healthy again.
>>>
>>> By sticking as closely as possible to the same safe foods and  
>>> making them in different ways, any new reactions were immediately  
>>> traceable to accidental exposure or substitutions in ingredients.  
>>> It took me this long, but I finally sat down and completed a seven  
>>> day list of recipes for breakfast, lunch & dinner in a blog that a  
>>> dear friend encouraged me to start with her to discuss food and  
>>> environmental issues parents today are dealing with. I did it  
>>> every night after the kids went to sleep, staying up until 3 am.  
>>> It's not perfect, it's not in the most convenient online layout,  
>>> we haven't figured out how to make a printable version yet, but  
>>> we're working on it! I wanted to get it done as fast as possible  
>>> while I have the chance with my own healthy baby for all the moms  
>>> I know who are mired in frustration and overwhelmed at the lack of  
>>> direction for food choices. I would have paid dearly for this menu  
>>> of recipes when I was starting down this road. It would have saved  
>>> me so much time and trouble and my baby so much pain and suffering  
>>> to just know what to make that was really safe.
>>>
>>> The site is not professional - it's just two moms sharing what  
>>> they learn. It's not very polished, we're just getting started in  
>>> the blogging world. Until my baby got healthy, I hardly had time  
>>> to check my emails. But I include links to sites like  
>>> cornallergens.com and hidden dairy terminology sites, which list  
>>> all the dozens of terms corn & dairy can hide under. I also try to  
>>> list brand names that are safe and where to find them. I realize  
>>> this may not be applicable out of the U.S., but it will still show  
>>> moms what types of foods you can make w/ safe ingredients and give  
>>> a week long plan that might help give a sense of structure to the  
>>> chaos of realizing you can't eat 'normally' anymore. These aren't  
>>> foods you grow yourself, they aren't foods you sprout and ferment  
>>> and dehydrate. I have five young children to feed  - on one  
>>> parental income. These are foods kids will actually like and eat.  
>>> These are foods that will give them lots of energy and nourish  
>>> their brains with healthy fats and oils and help them gain weight,  
>>> even on an almost complete allergy elimination diet. These are  
>>> foods that will still be familiar to them, even if mom knows  
>>> everything about the way she cooks, shops, eats and feeds her  
>>> family just got turned upside down!
>>>
>>> The site is www.greenandbitchy.blogspot.com. my friend aptly  
>>> describes the name as "How you feel when you start out trying to  
>>> be greener and healthier (or go allergen-free) and realize how  
>>> much work it's going to be!"
>>>
>>> We welcome any feedback, constructive criticism or even additional  
>>> substitutions/recipes. All of the meals listed are free of: dairy,  
>>> egg, corn, wheat, soy, gluten, peanuts, tree nuts. there are some  
>>> with shellfish or fish, but in most cases, this can be substituted  
>>> w/ chicken or omitted. Please feel free to forward this email to  
>>> any parents, people, groups or forums you think would be interested.
>>
>>> Jacqui Gruttadauria, BSW - who loves it when something so small  
>>> can help in such a big way!
> near detroit, michigan
>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>


             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome