Got Milk?

I have thought for months now that we might be dealing with some food allergies. So many health issues that have long been pawned off onto other things, but as they have grown worse instead of better, the pieces have come together. I suspected milk, but my poor child lives and breathes for all things dairy, so I secretly hopped I was very wrong. Our grocery budget is high with milk, cheese, and yogurt comprising the majority of our funds. So I waited in anguish of what might be. Aiden was coming up on his 15 month well baby visit, and I had many questions to ask the pediatrician.

Insert Mr. Stomach Bug. Yuck! However, it is common sense to stay away from dairy with a stomach bug and so we were able to test by elimination our theory. Our results were so clear, and encompassed so many issues, that our pediatrician chose not to do blood tests.

Aiden has been off of milk for 2 weeks tomorrow. That may not seem like a long time to you, but in that two weeks we have found a very different child. At 15 months he finally takes solid naps AND sleeps through the night!!!!! Oh glorious day, how long have you been in our grasp if we but knew what was keeping him up? We have also eliminated spitting up, blowout diapers,congestion, and eczema. It is amazing the difference we see in this child, and I am so very grateful!

I am, however, already finding a milk allergy to be a very complicated thing! Take yogurt for instance, it is Aiden's favorite! So a few days ago I splurged the ridiculous amount of cash required to buy Soy yogurt. He was so excited! The excitement was short lived as we suffered a sleepless night, worse than normal diapers, returned congestion, and spitting up. SURPRISE soy yogurt is not only soy...no see they think its fun to sneak some real dairy in there! I only found this out while pulling out our second yogurt and glancing at the label, he cried when I threw it away. ARGH! I was so very sad to learn I had made my poor buddy sick. There is nothing worse than knowing you are responsible for your child's pain, even if unintentional. It also seems that with the elimination of milk any new exposure creates a significantly stronger reaction. Fun times!

Milk is hidden in EVERYTHING! I am now armed with a wallet insert containing 70 names for milk, yes you did in fact read that correctly, I did say 70! I am overwhelmed with the task before me, but so grateful for the help of those who have gone before me, and a little thing called google! I know there will be many hard days ahead of us, like tomorrow when he wants goldfish in church nursery and doesn't understand why he can't have them. Oh please Whole Foods have a dairy free version, and one I can afford without a second mortgage! Even with all the "trouble" this new adventure causes, a happy healthy baby is more than worth the extra effort! Plus, sleeping at night is a DREAM ;)