Breastfeeding woes



To nurse or not to nurse, that is the question. Hmmm??

Let me explain myself. First off, I am big advocate for breastfeeding in my family. I totally respect the decision other mommies make to not breastfeed, but I think in general, it's the most nutritional choice for your baby. Not just because of the immunity building capabilities, -- which is a great feature -- but also because of the opportunity to avoid the use of formula.

With that being said, I also understand that not all mommies can nurse and I'm an advocate for mommy sanity too. Here's my dilemma: As most of you know, Reese has severe food allergies to dairy and egg. I found out after I introduced formula to her for the first time at about 6 months and she had a horrible allergic reaction (Emergency room, shot of epinephrine, the whole bit).

Because I was nursing I gave up all dairy and eggs until she was fully weened at about 11 months of age -- this was not an easy task my friends considering I usually have eggs for breakfast and a quesadilla for lunch. Reese could not tolerate soy formula and was generally difficult to give a bottle to as well, so she sort of forced my hand in the matter.

Now, fast-forward a year or two, and Sydney began showing the same food-allergy-like symptoms. We had her allergy tested yesterday and it turns out she does not have any food allergies -- hooray! The allergist thinks she probably has a food sensitivity that causes intercolitis (very common in infants), but still recommends I avoid all dairy, egg and soy...ugh...

Maybe I'm totally selfish, or maybe I'm not as strong a breastfeeding advocate as I once thought...but I'm not sure how long I'll last with this restrictive diet? I'm just...soooo....hungry...All.The.Time.  Am I bad mommy? What would you do?