After going through a million things of what it could have been we realized it was allergies. I was digesting something or things that were making her sick, uncomfortable, and unhappy. In order to find out exactly what I was eating that was making her sick, I had to eliminate all of the 6 common allergens (dairy, soy, wheat, egg, nut, and fish) from my diet and slowly add them back in. Have you ever tried to not eat any of those 6 things? I've been doing it (among other foods) for 5 months. I dare my readers to attempt it for a week. It's TRICKY.
Every 2-3 weeks I could attempt one of the allergens to see if she was allergic. So...figuring it out took (and is taking) a LONG time. We've discovered that the poor kid is allergic to dairy, soy, eggs, wheat, citrus, and tomatoes. We just happened to figure out the citrus and tomatoes by accident and haven't attempted nuts or fish.
A lot of people have asked "Why don't you just put her on formula?" Well, there are a lot of reasons really. Breastfeeding is really important to me. I don't judge anyone who uses formula but the benefits of breastfeeding are amazing. I LOVE breastfeeding. LOVE it. If E didn't have all of these allergies, I would probably be one of those women who breastfeeds 'til there kid is 5. Also, a lot of formulas have soy in them. AND...we tried to give her formula, she wouldn't take it.
This beautiful little human has made eating very tricky for me. Especially since we found out right before the holidays. No Halloween candy, no "normal" Thanksgiving foods, no "normal" foods at the many Christmas gatherings. Thank goodness for potato chips and In-N-Out french fries (my vices). But I would eat, or not eat, anything for her!
Photos of E right around the time we found out she was allergic to the world...
