I love dairy. Seriously. I could snack on cheese all day, and ice cream for dessert after every meal? Yes, please!
However, after Lucy was born and we delved into all of her issues with reflux, cutting dairy seemed like it might help. So, we tried it. For 5 months, I didn’t have one taste of anything with dairy.
No ice cream, no cheese, no butter, no regular coffee creamer. Nothing baked outside of what I made myself.
Let it be said, going dairy free is really hard.
I’ve been gluten free for a long time, and it’s not really that difficult for me. There’s tons of options out there when you just have to have a chocolate chip cookie or something like that.
Just saying “no” to bread-y items was as natural as breathing to me, and I never felt like I had to question if something had gluten in it or not.
Dairy free is a whole different ball game. While there are a few substitute options to help with cravings, there’s not all that many and some of them just plain stink.
Basically anything pre-packaged that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg is NOT dairy free. Everything I ordered at restaurants had to be checked with their nutrition information before I touched it. Where gluten is obvious, dairy is sneaky!
While it was really difficult, it wasn’t difficult saying no to a dairy item when I wanted it. I knew that it could potentially hurt my baby, and I was not willing under any circumstances to do that.
Where it was hard to stick to was when you’re trying to eat anything that you didn’t prepare yourself. Was this cooked with butter or oil? Does this recipe call for a splash of milk anywhere?
Vegan websites with long list of acceptable foods became some of my most frequented. Surprise, McDonalds french fries… dairy! My favorite lactose free coffee creamer… dairy!
There are a few things that really helped me stay away from dairy during this time.
Eat at home. This one was pretty easy for us, because I was doing all of this in the peak time of COVID-19. We weren’t going out to eat or to other peoples houses and that made knowing exactly what was going into my meal easier.
Get dairy out of your house. We didn’t have so much as a slice of cheese in our refrigerator during these 5 months. I didn’t want to accidentally pop something in my mouth without thinking about it, and not having it around made all of the difference.
Stick to simple recipes. I figured out a few recipes that we liked that didn’t feel like they were missing anything without dairy and made them over and over again! A few of our favorites were chicken and rice, red beans and rice and anything off of the grill!
Make your own desserts. I have a major sweet tooth and in the past, I have filled that craving with the best gluten free dessert around–ice cream! That wasn’t an option after cutting dairy, so I found some super quick and easy desserts that I could make when I was really wanting a sugar fix. Blueberry cobbler with gluten free flour and dairy free butter became a favorite of mine!
Check nutrition labels and check them again. I never just assumed a food item didn’t have dairy in it, and more often than not, I was surprised to see it had milk on the allergen list! A big surprise to me while shopping one day was that some of my favorite tortilla chips were made with milk. I wouldn’t have ever known had I not been adamant about checking the labels.
While all of these things are great, I’m sure you’re wondering…
Did cutting dairy help my baby?
Honestly, I’m not sure. I do know that her reflux improved from that point forward, but that’s also when her medicine starting kicking in.
I wasn’t willing to test the waters any earlier than her GI doctor recommended. So I stayed away from all things milk, cheese and butter until she was almost 8 months old.
We ended up weaning her off of her medication starting at 7 months, and when we were done with that and she was still doing well, I gave her yogurt. I decided that if she was going to have a negative reaction from dairy, it would be better for her to quickly work its way through her system once instead of being in my milk for days and her having to suffer the consequences.
After a few days of that with no issues, I went to my favorite Mexican restaurant and ordered my favorite dish of chicken, cheese and rice.
It. was. glorious.
Would I recommend you trying dairy-free for your reflux baby if you’re breastfeeding?
Absolutely.
Cutting out a food group for a relatively short time is a very small price to pay to alleviate reflux or tummy issues in a baby!
I’m sure that most mamas of babies who have been in pain would eat a diet of only bananas and mushrooms if there was a chance that would help. I had a baby who was in pain, couldn’t eat and couldn’t sleep. I would have tried anything.
Cutting out dairy is definitely worth a shot. I’ve read that you should give it about 3 weeks to work it’s way out of your system before you give up.
Obviously, you should consult both you and your babies doctor before you alter your diet in a drastic way. If they give you the all clear, try it out!
Relief for your baby might just be a dairy-free month away.