If your first child had food allergies...

[vettechick99]

What did the allergist suggest as far as formula feeding the second child? Did they recommend hypoallergenic brands like Alimentum or were regular formulas ok?

 

[Mandychelle79]

My dd was allergic to Milk. We were told to go ahead and try Alex on milk based formula when he was born and see how it went. When I weaned him, he went to milk based, but almost immediately was switched to Soy and did fine on it. He then transitioned to milk at 1 with no problems.

 

[kellyg403]

My first ds was born in 1985...so I date myself and say that things may have changed. He had several allergies as well as a milk allergy. All 5 babies afterwards the ped put them on the same hypoallergenic formulas.

Kelly

 

[vettechick99]

DD always did fine with milk, but once she hit table foods we learned she was allergic to eggs, nuts, yeast, etc. I just wonder what the chances are for #2 to have similar allergies. We don't go back to the allergist until after the baby is born, although I could call him. Mostly just curious!

 

[FINFAN]

DD was put on soy formula, was more of a digestive issue than allergies, thought I was going to have to do the same for DS, but he was fine. I guess I would have a small amount on hand of the hypoallergenic, but try reg first to see what happens? What does your Ped think?

 

[PaulaSue]

Sorry, never used formula with any of my girls. We have a ton of different food allergies between Dh, me and my first 2 DDs and DD3 has none that we can find but she is VERY picky eater.

 

[diznygirl]

First child had allergies, but the second did not. Hoping the same for you!

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

All 3 of mine are allergic to different things. Nursed all 3 as well.

 

[golfgal]

I would just start the new baby on regular formula because she may or may not have allergies. The Am College of Pediatrics have done a lot of studies about the increased rates of allergies in the US and have basically concluded that kids are not exposed to enough 'stuff' in their early years to build up the tolerance for many allergens. There are still kids that are just predisposed to them but a lot of kids are getting them because houses are too clean, they aren't exposed to enough foods early on, etc. If she develops issues, then switch her.

 

[laughinplace199]

DD (now 11) wasn't diagnosed with food allergies until she was 3 (peanuts, tree nuts, & peas). By that time, DS (now 9) was already a year old. He was nursed for 6 months and then put on regular formula. He had (and still has) no allergies.

A few years later, we had baby #3. I was nursing him but had to supplement with formula. I started him off with regular formula. Shortly after this, he started showing signs of an allergy (we're guessing milk allergy). I had to take all dairy and soy out of my diet and supplement with Nutramigen. Eventually, I stopped nursing him and he was totally on Nutramigen (insurance paid for it, thank goodness) until he was 13 mos. Luckily, by that time he could tolerate milk. He has no allergies that we know of, but he hasn't had anything with nuts yet. He's heading to preschool in the fall though, so I want to give him something with nuts before that so we'll know if he's allergic. I'm very nervous about this, but we need to know for his safety.

Good luck!

 

[vettechick99]

Thanks everyone for the comments. DD is the only one in the family with allergies so we are hoping it's a fluke.

I would just start the new baby on regular formula because she may or may not have allergies. The Am College of Pediatrics have done a lot of studies about the increased rates of allergies in the US and have basically concluded that kids are not exposed to enough 'stuff' in their early years to build up the tolerance for many allergens. There are still kids that are just predisposed to them but a lot of kids are getting them because houses are too clean, they aren't exposed to enough foods early on, etc. If she develops issues, then switch her.

DD went to daycare at 4m and my house is far from spotless. But it seems to me that the more foods they are exposed to, the more likely an allergy will form. Isn't that why my allergist put DD on a schedule of when I could introduce foods? DDs first allergy popped up at 11m when I gave her eggs. Peanuts at 18m. It's all confusing.

 

[golfgal]

Thanks everyone for the comments. DD is the only one in the family with allergies so we are hoping it's a fluke.



DD went to daycare at 4m and my house is far from spotless. But it seems to me that the more foods they are exposed to, the more likely an allergy will form. Isn't that why my allergist put DD on a schedule of when I could introduce foods? DDs first allergy popped up at 11m when I gave her eggs. Peanuts at 18m. It's all confusing.

They put you on the schedule so you can identify allergies if they form. Some kids are just prone to allergies and there really isn't anything that can be done to prevent those. With as severe as your DD's allergies are I doubt it would have made a difference if you gave her things at 6 months vs 3 years or whatever. A person can't have an allergic reaction to something the first time they eat it, get stung by it, whatever. The body develops histamines to whatever that allergen is and over "time" one can become allergic to that substance. That "time" might be the 2nd time they eat peanuts or the 1,000,000th. I don't blame you for being cautious based on your experience though.