breastfeeding and allergies

SweetPea is almost 10 weeks old, and we’re finally getting to the bottom of her food sensitivities. I wrote about my elimination diet a few weeks back here {Elimination Diet: SweetPea Protests Something in My Breastmilk}, and have written on our son’s eczema here {Dry Winter Skin} and here {Infant Eczem: The Scourge of Winter} and about his allergies here {What Do You Do When You Find Out Your Toddler Has a Peanut Allergy}. SuperBoy is also allergic to eggs, but I’ll write about that separately. After following a strict elimination diet that meant I ate chicken, fruit, veggies, Udi’s gluten-free granola, and a variety of rice products, and then carefully and watchfully reintroducing foods one at a time, we know the culprit. Not to draw it out, but to clarify, she had a terrible rash and open, oozy sores on her face, neck, and chest. This was not a question of whether or not her nighttime fussies were food related. This was watching my daughter’s face transform from what was beyond painful to clear in a matter of two weeks, with notable improvements in the first week. Corn. That’s what brought back the rash. Corn. And I had been eating lots of organic blue corn chips (my fav) with sharp cheddar melted on top. Lunch, anyone? Add avocado and it’s practically a health nut salad 🙂 So, moral of the story: do a clean diet if you want to learn with accuracy. I would have guessed traces of dairy, but only by reintroducing…