Pen Pal: dairy free Carmel
#TeamFeed would like to thank Carmel for allowing us to republish her story about breastfeeding her first baby with cow’s milk protein intolerance.
I always wanted to breastfeed my baby, as many mamas do. It was a difficult journey for us, taking at least 2-3 months to get established. I’ve heard more stories of breastfeeding difficulties than of babies emerging from the womb and nailing the breast crawl. Of course, you don't hear of those difficulties at antenatal classes do you? Contrary to popular belief, I don't think all babies are born to breastfeed, nor do I think all mamas are able to breastfeed. I would say my daughter and I are very lucky to have made it as far as we did. Delilah was diagnosed with a severe milk and egg allergy at 6 months. After trying her with some formula at a few months old, we had our suspicions. However, our first family Sunday roast confirmed it; cauliflower cheese made clear our Achilles heel, with the hives and the screaming taking us to A+E. I went dairy and egg free. While our paediatrician was nice we were of little concern to him because Delilah is growing well and is healthy so we had to figure it all out ourselves! Continuing breastfeeding became the easiest way for me to ensure Delilah was getting all the nutrition she needed without fear of an allergic reaction. Whilst this was inconvenient it was manageable. BUT, and it's a big BUT.... there are massive downsides to breastfeeding that no one told me about. I haven't had more than 3-4 hours solid sleep for over 11 months, maybe I would have done with a bottle fed baby, maybe not. I haven't had a proper evening out or night away since before Delilah was born. She is still totally dependent on me, which I'd be lying if I said I didn't sometimes love…. but my gosh I wish I had a bit more of my own life back. She's never taken a bottle so I don't have that option nor has my husband ever had the experience of feeding her. And because she has CMPA I've not eaten any chocolate or other dairy/egg foods for months! To mamas out there, if you want to breastfeed then go for it. If you don't want to, then that's fine! If you do want to but it doesn’t work out for whatever reason then I hope you make your peace with it. Babies need love and nutrition no matter how they get it! No one should be made to feel like less of a mama because of the methods they use. There are downsides to all feeding decisions, sometimes they feel so big it makes you feel worthless. But just look at your babies face and everything will be ok; nothing else will matter.
If you have any advice on surviving breastfeeding a baby with CMPA please get in touch and share your Tips for the Tits!
Thank you so much Carmel for sharing your story.
Love Team Feed x
