Wednesday, May 30, 2012

{g's skin}

Those of you that know us personally know of our never ending struggle with G's skin.
But for those of you that dont know, since G was born, she has had severe skin issues. 
Especially on her sweet little face
She has always been a Rosy cheek little girl :)
We thought at first it was just baby acne.
But the last few months, her skin has gotten way worse..
Believe it or not, these pics were taken on a "good" skin day.
On a bad day, her whole face is like a giant, sad, puss filled scab.
It just breaks my heart....

Her pediatrician has told us he thinks its severe eczema.. but i dont know.
We've tried everything to clear it up & make her more comfortable.
We've done everything the Dr. has told us to do, & no luck.
Weve tried every cream & lotion, again, no luck. 

Food allergies have always been in the forefront of my mind as a possibility.
I have personally dealt with severe food allergies my whole life.

 Because of this, i am strictly nursing for a little longer.
We want to get her skin cleared up a little more before we try adding solids to her diet again

Early on, i noticed that when I ate eggs or dairy products, she was not a happy camper through out the day..& especially at night.
So for months, i have been egg & dairy free. 

After observing her & documenting what i ate & how she acted the days following,  I figured out that when i eat oats, wheat/gluten... her face gets worse.
so.. i thought i would try cutting those items out of my diet for a while to see what happens

For the past week, i have been:
egg, dairy, oat, wheat/gluten free 
& her face seems to be clearing up!
I cant believe it!

Ive never heard of this before..
A baby that is only breastfed having so many allergies. 
I didnt even know that it was possible for all of that to travel through your milk. 

We have an appointment in June with a specialist, so were hoping he can give us more answers. 
& maybe do an allergy test.
We are just happy to see her face clearing up.
She seems so much happier & not so uncomfortable
She is such a sweet little girl! 
Has anyone else noticed food allergies { through breastmilk} in their children ?









12 comments:

  1. My cousins children both had allergies similar to those and she had to put them on a special formula and then she made all of their food for the next couple years. She is just now introducing them to dairy and gluten and they're responding very well. I'm sure it wasn't easy but she did what was best for her kids by making all of their food. She always brought hot dogs to birthday parties that her kids could eat and brought them special cupcakes so they weren't left out. A good thing about these types of allergies is there is a chance for the baby to grow out of them. Good luck with everything! She is adorable!!

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  2. My little brother had severe eczema as a baby. The pediatrician could not figure out what was causing it, so we took him to our homeopathic doctor who was able to tell us exactly what was going on. Apparently he was highly allergic to food colorings, especially red #7, which is in a whole lot more foods than you would realize. Once we eliminated the allergens from my mothers and his diet, he little face cleared up right away.

    Good luck!

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  3. She is such a cutie. I am sorry you are going through a rough time. It would be so nice to have clear cut answer and I am hoping you get that. Hopefully she grows out of it. Give yourself a big pat on the back. You don't often get that as a mom, so I am giving you kudos and saying you are doing a great job!

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  4. poor little sweetie! i am by NO means an expert, but have you considered switching to a raw, vegan diet? it's extreme, but it might end up being worth it.

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  5. Discovered your blog a few weeks ago and thought I'd offer some advice. Everything you eat and drink, as well as all medication you ingest or use topically, goes into your breastmilk. I would suggest seeing a homeopathic doc or at least a practioner who will try and treat her skin from the inside out, rather than prescribing topical ointments, which could be doing more damage. As someone posted above, if it's an allergy it could be something very specific that needs to be eliminated (like Red #7) before things will start to clear up.
    Hope that helps!

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  6. My boy was strictly breastfed(he is 18 months and we are weaning now) and I don't have any food allergies but he was tested and is allergic to peanuts and dairy. I had to cut those out of my diet and it seems to help. I am sad about his allergies but at least we know what to avoid. He has pretty bad eczema too. I hate the medicine's that the dr.'s prescribe! Just wanted to let you know your not alone!

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  7. http://www.lalecheleague.org/nb/nbjulaug98p100.html

    http://www.organic-baby-resource.com/baby-eczema.html

    Those are just some things I found written by people much smarter and more informed then myself. Another thing though, don't be afraid to ask your primary care physician to refer G to a specialist. If they can't give you answers or a solution that works then you should meet with someone who can. Best of luck and I hope your beautiful baby girl is feeling better soon!

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  8. A mom on another blog I read also struggled with allergies and her breastmilk. You should check it out: "with two cats". Her little girl ended up being allergic to her breastmilk. I don't know that it was causing skin issues or if it was just making her very sick but it might be worth reading about or I am sure you could message her and she could tell you their story and how they finally found the cause. A mother's instincts are nothing to ignore :) You know G best.

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  9. I found your blog and yes a baby nursing or in the womb can have allergic reactions. My family has many and if you need help my sister-in-law and sister both have kids with tons of allergies so recipes and products I refer to them when I have questions.

    I will offer if you are interested in hearing about a natural food product that helps babies with different issues you can contact me. My facebook is AnaKatarina Lalonde. I use the adult food products right now for my prenatal vitamins. I am very happy things have cleared up thus far. The best way like someone already said is to clear up her system from inside out. That way then it will flush her body out. You can add the powder to breast milk in a bottle and or take the adult version for yourself and she will reap benefits. Plus it really helps produce your milk supply! God bless Ana

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  10. What is your recipe for baby diaper clening to get poop off easily. How about laundry detergent do you have a recipe for that and safe for diapers?

    Thank you
    Ana

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  11. I am sorry to hear about her skin issues,but I have randomly been getting zits(on birth control and low stress) on areas of my face where I normally never have. Since reading this post, I think I will take out a few foods and see how it goes. Thanks for the inspriation!

    jessicarwarfield at gmail dot com
    www.warfieldfamily.com

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  12. Hello. I'm a little late, but wanted to share our experience. My youngest is now 2 and a happy, wild toddler. But, when she was newborn she became very ill. Her belly sounded like an over-heated car radiator. At 3 weeks old she had a G.I. scan which revealed extreme acid reflux. She was given Prevacid which helped but did not solve her stomach issues. She was exclusively breastfed.

    Backstory- my husband was sick for years. Indigestion, acid reflux, distention, etc.. always, always sick. We changed our diet many times and he was never any better. One day, while disucssing this with a friend, she told me of another friend who just found out about Celiac Disease.

    We cut all gluten. Within 2 weeks the baby and my hubby were better and after 4 weeks, both quit taking all medications.

    My youngest was getting gluten through the breastmilk. Gluten, along with other foods, can cause skin issues.

    I sincerely hope you are able to discover what is causing problems for your baby.

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