My son was 3 months old when I decided to try him on a bottle of formula so that I could have a couple of glasses of wine on our first family holiday in Majorca. Breastfed since birth, my son didn’t seem to want to take this strange, alien device I was trying to force into his mouth! I tried everything to get my poor firstborn to take a sip of this “wonderful milk” just so that I could relax and enjoy my husband’s 30th birthday celebration. Surely, he could not begrudge me one night off after the last 3 months of constant night feeds and sore nipples!! Eventually, he gave in and succumbed to the fact that this was all he was getting, he drank some of the delicious formula and fell asleep! After just a few sips of wine my motherly instincts kicked in (thank God!) and I decided my baby was much more important than a glass of alcohol! So, I downed a few pints of water whilst my other half continued to drink himself into oblivion!!
When we returned to our room that evening my husband passed out on the bed and I woke my baby boy to give him a feed. He opened his eyes and suddenly projected the most enormous amount of vomit I have ever seen all over me and the room. Whilst my husband slept soundly, I then had to deal with the most terrifying situation when my baby suddenly went blue and limp in my arms after constantly throwing up the contents of his stomach for 5 minutes straight! Little did I know at the time that this was my child’s way of showing his anguish and upset which he continued to do until he was 5 years of age! Thankfully, after blowing in his face and dancing around with him he soon came round, and his colour returned. However, this day will forever stick in my memory. I have never felt so guilty or so petrified and vowed to never give him formula again! I didn’t understand what had happened, but I soon realised 3 months down the line that this was the start of our journey with food allergies.
How do you realise your child has an allergy?
It wasn’t until Christmas day that I tried Alfie with anything other than breastmilk after my horrific experience in Majorca. Sometimes I do wonder about the choices I make in life! On this day, I decided to try Alfie with egg. What a treat on Christmas day, or so I thought! Alfie immediately tried to refuse it but I persevered! Why didn’t I learn from Majorca?! He instantly started swelling and hives appeared on his face! Luckily, I had Piriton in the cupboard which I gave him and the reaction started to calm down. We watched him like a hawk for the rest of the day!
Although I had made the decision not to give my poor child formula again I continued to wean him onto solids (minus the egg). When I made my own foods Alfie was absolutely thriving, however, whenever I tried him on jars of baby food he would projectile vomit as he had done on holidays. I started to look at the ingredients in the jars and suddenly it all made sense! My baby had a milk allergy!
What to do if you think your child has an allergy
As soon as the penny had dropped I phoned my health visitor who advised me to see a dietician at the hospital. The dietician was helpful and informed me I could either take Alfie for a food intolerance test uk or I could omit milk from his diet and replace it with an alternative. She advised me to eventually try the milk ladder, which is a step-by-step guide to introducing foods which contain milk so that the body eventually accepts them. Unfortunately, although it worked for many of my friends, Alfie is now 8 years old and still reacts to milk proteins. Thankfully veganism has improved his quality of life to no end as there are now so many alternatives to milk and he does not miss out in the slightest but leads a healthy and happy lifestyle.
