Milk/Whey/Seasonal/Everything Allergy

Elayne officially has an allergy to cow's milk.

This saga pretty much began when she was born, although we didn't realize that until we started looking back. She's always had, what we called, "seasonal allergies." She always had a cough, was congested, had some drainage, etc. And sometimes, she had a combination of all three.

Our pediatrician suggested early on that it might be a food allergy, but we wanted to see if it would clear up on its own since Elayne loved the formula she was on. Months went by with no improvement. But then a couple of weeks ago, Elayne got even worse. She couldn't lay down to fall asleep and would wake up coughing every night. It was quite pitiful.

We took her into the pediatrician once again, this time determined to get to the bottom of things. Again, he suggested it might be a food allergy and this time we were ready to hear that. We started with a whey-based formula, which most babies with a food allergy take really well. The way I understand it, milk-based formula is made up of two parts - whey and milk protein. When babies initially show signs of an allergic reaction, it is to the milk protein. Therefore, a 100% whey formula is best.

However, this formula made Elayne even worse. We immediately had to change to another formula that contains neither whey nor milk protein in its natural state. Soy formula won't work either, since most babies who are allergice to milk/whey are also allergic to soy. Hmph.

With the change, we saw marked improvement. Elayne still had some wheezing as a result of drainage. But we pretty much realized that was probably due to seasonal allergies on top of the food allergy. Can't catch a break.

But this weekend we turned a corner. Elayne had her first chiropractic adjustment! I know what you're thinking... how is this crazy woman okay with having a chiropractic intern snapping her wee little baby's neck!? woah there tiger. That's not at all what they do with babies. Nope. With babies it's more like a little massage.

And her wheezing is gone. Just with one appointment. It still happens every once in a while. We go back twice a week for two weeks, then once a week for two weeks, then once a month. And that should solve everything. I am even more of a believer of chiropractic care now!

Sweet pea is on the mend and hopefully that much closer to feeling better.