An Elimination Diet How-To

Welcome to the elimination diet!

Ok, it's not that exciting. But what is exciting is the knowledge that you and your baby are on your way to sleeping at night. Say it with me now: you will sleep at night!!

It works. Yes, it really and truly works. Unless you have an overactive letdown, a situation in which your baby isn't getting enough hind milk, it will work. Sidebar: I thought I had one (two?), but it turned out I was still drinking coconut water because clearly that couldn't irritate her (it was the coconut water).

I went on an elimination diet the week of Thanksgiving. It was tough. I wanted green bean casserole and I wanted pie. But I also wanted a happy baby who didn't poo blood. I decided to try the diet because I couldn't figure out what was bothering her. I had already cut out dairy and at the end of the two-week waiting period, she was still awake all night screaming. I had also randomly tried cutting corn, wheat, soy, nuts... But when individual eliminations didn't work I went back to eating those foods again, thinking something else was the cause. I was completely lost.

And then I saw the section of Dr. Sears' The Baby Book about the elimination diet. I was desperate and tried it. 

These are the things you can eat:
lamb, turkey, white rice, brown rice, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, zucchini and summer squash, and pears. Oh and water.

There's more to it than it seems. Rice milk with rice cereal. Rice Dream ice cream (good stuff!). If eggs work out, then that brings gluten-free bread into the picture! Tinkyada brown rice pasta. Kinnikinnick gluten-free animal crackers (amazing). Some of Pamela's products (like the cookies!).

Once you're ready to start reintroducing foods, it'd probably be best to avoid these at least at first because they're the most likely irritants:

tomatoes, citrus fruits and vitamin c supplements (acidic); chocolate (caffeinated); coffee and tea (acidic and caffeinated); onions, broccoli, peppers, cabbage and cauliflower (gassy). The top allergens: corn, eggs, soy, shellfish, fish, dairy, nuts (especially peanuts), and wheat. 

Here's a list of likely safe foods that you can try:

bananas, mango, avocado, apples, grapes (wine!), peaches, celery, peas, carrots, butternut squash, acorn squash, pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sunbutter, spinach, chicken, lentils, quinoa, millet, sorghum, hummus (tahini bothers some people, but homemade without is good too!), Earth Balance dairy- and soy-free fake butter, grapeseed oil and olive oil. 

It's confusing, yes. I thought Julia was bothered by beef, but I still need to retest it to be sure. Her pediatrician thought she might have a whole cow allergy. And large amounts of pork bother her - I think. But "large amount" is tricky to identify because I ate one plain pork chop and she was upset. However, I also don't remember what else I ate that day. Moral of the story: start a food diary. I downloaded an app that just lets me type in whatever I ate that day, which keeps it simple.

As you begin to reintroduce foods, this is critical: never test a new food late in the day. Otherwise, you won't find out until night time, and the overnight shift is challenging enough without added tummy troubles thrown in. And as you do try foods, wait 3-4 days after each one to be sure. Some foods bother Julia after a few hours, but others don't show up until the next day. 

Holidays and special occasions can be a challenge. You can consider bringing your own food, and chat with the host ahead of time to see what's on the menu. Try not to arrive hungry though because the appetizers are probably not going to be friendly. 

One trick I've learned is to excuse myself from the table for a baby reason when the going gets tough. Everybody else eating cake and calzone while you've got rice? Been there. Just go. Go feed or change the baby. Or go play with him/her and pull a good snack out of the diaper bag. It'll get easier, but the first few times are challenging and hard. Partly because people will ask you questions over and over about why you're not eating what they're eating.

And finally, don't worry about calories right now. Your energy level may be lower than usual while on this regimen. Mine is. So carry snacks and a water bottle with you, and take seconds with dinner. You really need it.

And remember - this is temporary! There is a light at the end of this dark and hungry tunnel! Your baby will thank you by granting you nighttime sleep again, and you can still breastfeed. There is no reason to stop.

You can do this!