How old is your child and how old were they when you started this journey?

My son is 13 months old now and was only 6 weeks old when we started cutting dairy/soy (although he had been having symptoms since 1 day old, I just didn’t realize it.)

What were the initial symptoms?

From the first day of his life he was constantly screaming if he was awake, wanting to nurse every 30 minutes around the clock, gassy, and having watery diaper blowouts 8+ times a day. He had a rough red rash on his cheeks and legs, and also had “baby acne” and cradle cap. He also had reflux and spit up so much that he would soak through 5 or more burp cloths a day and several outfits. It wasn’t until he was 6 weeks old that we started seeing blood and mucus in diapers.

What foods did you cut out initially?

We started with just dairy and soy, then after a few weeks added eggs.

How long did it take to clear up?

The insane fussiness and blood in diapers went away within a day of cutting dairy and soy (although it came back a few times before we found all the food triggers). The day after we cut the last trigger, he was a different baby. Totally symptom free within 2 weeks.

What was the winning combo of foods for your child?

We were cutting things one at a time for a long time and then finally went Top 12 free (hidden soy was fine) + avocado and coconut. That was our winning combo for about 6 months. We’ve since been able to add back in oats, wheat, peanuts, and green beans, as well as soybean oil.

What's your favorite allergy friendly brand or food? 

Before we went totally top 12 free, I was loving Enjoy Life and Nature’s Bakery. Once we hit top 12 + avocado and coconut, I was most excited about normal brands that just happened to be safe (Utz chips, Wegman’s store brand chocolate chips, and Trader Joe’s sunflower butter cups and jerk style plantain chips were staples in our house). I also just got really into baking with homemade quinoa flour (which is ridiculous). And we loved Thrive Market for finding new foods that fit my dietary needs.

What is one piece of advice you would tell someone who is just starting out?

Stress less! I spent so much of my son’s first year obsessing over what I was eating and what was making him cry. Looking back, I wish I had worried about it less. Obviously you don’t want your baby to be in pain, but if you’re doing your best you’re doing as much as you can. Spending 24 hours a day thinking about every ingredient you eat and whether or not it will affect your baby doesn’t help anyone.

Where are you right now in your journey?

We are almost at the end of our journey with breastfeeding, although he’s still got a lot of food triggers to work through as direct-fed solids. My original breastfeeding goal was six months, then a year, and as an exclusive pumper at this point I’m just ready to be done. But I’m grateful for everything I’ve learned from this community that allowed us to make it this far!