So I could she was in obvious discomfort all the time, and not just crying out of tiredness or something easier to solve. I would go to the GP, even ended up in A and E, when I did not know what else to do about a baby who was crying non-stop. She was exclusively breastfed. I soon realized one day when I had consumed a lot of cow’s milk, a day when she was especially upset, that maybe this was linked. Throughout the remainder of her first year I cut out milk from my diet (as much as I could). This significantly helped, but didn’t solve it all.

At the age of 3, she started throwing up after eating apples. I initially put it down to choking on the apple skins, but then it just became too instant; a bite of an apple, and then immediate vomiting. We spoke to the GP who sent us for an allergy blood test. 

Her list of food allergies was 3 pages long, apples and Milk being amongst her most severe.

She has not grown out of the allergies, but now we are much more aware of them. We are now aware coughing is her first obvious sign. If my daughter eats something and then starts coughing aggressively and for longer than a few seconds, we add that food to the list of no, no’s. She uses an epipen and antihistamines as and when needed.

I don’t use any websites but there is amazing child allergy community on Instagram, which I frequently learn ideas from.

I google all foods to check for dairy. I watch the menus at restaurants and have to ask a lot of questions to make accommodations. I try to keep it simple right now with just protein, fruit and vegetables. I have found a-lot of dairy free items such as cheese, sour cream, almond milk, oat milk, etc. that makes it easier. I’m still learning and it can be really frustrating to want to eat things I used to love and not be able to until we can find a non dairy solution.