Kids Food Allergies Blog

I am getting really stressed that my unborn baby is going to be even more allergic than my firstborn.  But getting myself all worked up may end up contributing to the problem.  According to a new study (hat tip ModernAllergyMom), stress may also increase my unborn baby’s risk for allergies and asthma later in life.

I found ModernAllergyMom’s story lending credence to this theory very interesting but slightly disheartening, given my situation. But I contrast her story with that of a friend whose children attend my daughter’s preschool . Her firstborn is her most allergic. Her middle child is less allergic than her first. And her youngest (who just turned two a few weeks ago) has tested completely allergy-free.

I just don’t know how this is going to turn out. But I guess I really shouldn’t stress about it.

If anyone told me this story, I would think they were a little loopy. But since it’s happening to me right now, how can I question it. Right?

I was a milk-allergic baby. Outgrew it by age 1. Diagnosed with a penicillin allergy as a baby. Not sure whether that’s still true or not. Other than that — no signs of allergies (seasonal or food) until my late 20s, when I would have mild discomfort from time to time during the fall.

Fast forward to pregnancy one. Out of nowhere — spring allergy season was just terrible. I was completely non-functional. Ringing ears, scratchy throat, sinus headaches, and sinus infections. Since I had never experienced this before, I was completely unprepared. In retrospect, I feel I should have known that I was carrying a highly allergic child.

In the five years between pregnancies one and two, seasonal allergies have continued (both fall and spring) — but in a much milder form.

Fast forward to pregnancy two. Spring allergy season has not been particularly kind. But I have had less trouble. (And more Zyrtec.) But allergies have manifested themselves in a new way: eczema. I have never had eczema before — but I have had two severe bouts of eczema since this pregnancy began, both of which seem to be triggered by eating dairy. This seems very strange to me — since I have only been dairy-free for 3 1/2 years. Before that, I was a total dairy-junkie/addict.

I was concerned when my daughter had eczema as a baby. Now that I have lived through it (and have been trying to crawl out of my skin for about a week) and know how horrible it feels — I desperately want to shield baby 2 from this discomfort. So, I’m eliminating dairy from my diet. Even outside the house when my daughter is in school. I must admit, I feel a little sad. And worried, that it won’t be enough.

If any of you have had experiences with eczema during pregnancy, please drop a comment. Did your babies turn out to have seasonal or food allergies? Would love to know whether I’m alone in this.

Call it desperation. Call it guilt.

Since many of the foods to which my firstborn is so severely allergic correspond to the comfort foods I ate in abundance in my first pregnancy (cheese, ice cream, egg-salad sandwiches, and smoked salmon) — I am desperately wondering what I can do differently this time around to prevent making the same mistakes twice.

My daughter’s allergist recommends that I remove nuts from my diet for the duration of pregnancy and breastfeeding.  He also advised me to remove fish from my diet for my last trimester of pregnancy and the first 6 months of breastfeeding.  Some mothers of food allergic children have recommended that I eliminate additional potential allergens (milk, egg, soy) for the duration of pregnancy and breastfeeding.

I am very curious about a study cited by Dr. Robert Wood that describes the beneficial effects of probiotics taken by young children with milk allergies and/or pregnant mothers of children at high risk of developing food allergies. Though the results are inconclusive, it seems that probiotics may have a positive effect in preventing the onset of food allergies. Seems worthy of a call to my daughter’s allergist for a second opinion.

If any of you have thoughts or experience with this, please leave a comment.