Good bye dairy.....need advice!

Rubes
Rubes Posts: 28 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So my three week old beautiful daughter ends up extremely gassy and fussy whenever I eat dairy products (I am breast feeding).....so I am saying good bye to my daily milk, yogurt, and cheese. Does anybody have any good suggestions for replacement foods? Not only am I worried about missing out on the calcium but I am also wondering what I am going to eat! Dairy is a HUGE part of my diet.....Thanks!

Replies

  • jonesin_am
    jonesin_am Posts: 404 Member
    Do you know for certain that all dairy makes her gassy? I would suspect that yogurt wouldn't but obviously you know better! I recommend trying almond milk...not the same but better than soy, etc. IMO. I also enjoy the "veggie" cheese that's usually in the produce section. Most of it is actually pretty good...I always buy the sprinkle parmesean cheese. And as far as yogurt, I'm not sure of a good substitute... Good luck :)
  • JGainingHealth
    JGainingHealth Posts: 194 Member
    Other than almond milk, I don't know what to tell you - I love dairy and I would feel the same way! My stomach hates soy products so I can't have a lot of the vegan replacements. I've heard of this happening a lot to babies/breastfeeding mothers... Interested to see what other people suggest in case I ever encounter this!
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,923 Member
    I only drink Almond Milk now (regular milk actually taste weird now). It's really good - my fav is the 30 calorie Pure Almond Vanilla.

    Silk has a yogurt that has the same stats as a greek, but it's dairy free. It's pretty good.

    Use non-dairy creamer in your coffee and give some "veggie" cheeses a try.

    Good luck!
  • CoachReddy
    CoachReddy Posts: 3,949 Member
    So my three week old beautiful daughter ends up extremely gassy and fussy whenever I eat dairy products (I am breast feeding).....so I am saying good bye to my daily milk, yogurt, and cheese. Does anybody have any good suggestions for replacement foods? Not only am I worried about missing out on the calcium but I am also wondering what I am going to eat! Dairy is a HUGE part of my diet.....Thanks!

    i'm doing 4000 cal right now (ugh so much) completely lactose free - feel free to peruse for ideas.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Load up on the green leafy vegetables think broccoli, kale, spinach, chard. I assume you are still taking your prenatal correct? If you can stomach it sardines are one of the highest sources of calcium. Salmon also. Of course you can look for fortified milk products like almond, soy, or rice. Just be sure to read the label and make sure they are a source of at least 10% of your RDA of calcium. Also fortified cereal products will have calcium. Molasses and tofu.

    And is it all dairy? How about yogurt or kefir or cheese?
  • theCarlton
    theCarlton Posts: 1,344 Member
    Almond milk is great.

    Try Greek yogurt (get a flavored kind) and harder cheeses one at a time and see if they work out. You might not have to totally cut it out. I'm lactose intolerant and these are things that don't bother me
  • daffodilsoup
    daffodilsoup Posts: 1,972 Member
    Almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk or any other non-dairy milks are fantastic. I love So Delicious Coconut Creamer for my morning coffee.

    Cheese: Galaxy sliced mozzarella is delicious and melty! If you're willing to spring a little, Daiya cheese is the most cheese-like non-dairy cheese I've come across - they sell it in slices, shreds or blocks and it melts beautifully for pizza, sandwiches, etc. Also, I love nutritional yeast sauces for things like mac and cheese - and it's also super high in B12!

    Tofutti makes a delicious non-dairy cream cheese. For soft creamy textures, you can blend silken tofu into shakes, oatmeal, etc. and the flavor sort of disappears. It's a great replacement for mousse, sour cream, etc.

    As far as calcium goes - look to dark, leafy greens, fortified cereals/plant milks, tofu and almonds. They have a ton of delicious non-dairy calcium!
  • Factory_Reset
    Factory_Reset Posts: 1,651 Member
    Almond milk is great.

    Try Greek yogurt (get a flavored kind) and harder cheeses one at a time and see if they work out. You might not have to totally cut it out. I'm lactose intolerant and these are things that don't bother me

    This is me exactly.

    Have breastfed 4 kids and even when one had colic was never told to cut out food. Talk to your dr though if you're really worried.
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
    Almond milk (more Calcium than cow milk) or Coconut milk.

    Soy milk can mimic estrogen and rice milk can mimic testosterone. Neither of which is good for an infant.
  • domgirl85
    domgirl85 Posts: 295 Member
    Try aged cheese. I realized I don't have trouble with aged cheese (turns out they have less lactose in them). Also almond milk, soy isn't really good for you I've learned (it has estrogen-like hormones in it). And greek yogurt, I think it also has less (if any) lactose in it. Congrats on your baby :)
  • neacail
    neacail Posts: 228 Member
    Have you ever tried making your own yoghurt? It is really, really easy. And, providing you don't add any additional milk solids to it (skim milk powder), a fermentation period of 24 hours will break down all of the lactose in the yoghurt. That may, or may not, help depending on what exactly is causing the issue.

    I make five quarts of yoghurt a week. I usually eat it without sweetening or flavouring: mixed with berries, but it is easy to make palatable for people who prefer not to eat it plain (add jam, vanilla, sweetener, etc. after fermentation).
  • JossFit
    JossFit Posts: 588 Member
    Does Greek Yogurt have an effect on her?
  • Querian
    Querian Posts: 419 Member
    I'm on the almond milk bandwagon! I've also had almond based yogurts and they were pretty good.

    But as far as calcium goes eat your greens! They have all the calcium you need. You don't need dairy products for calcium. There are alos a lot of other non-dairy sources for calcium, just google search.

    I am also a big fan of nutritional yeast as a replacement for parmesan cheese. I know "nutritional yeast" sounds disgusting but it is actually delicious on popcorn or used in place of parmesan.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Just remember most sources of non-dairy milk will need some calcium fortification so please read the labels, and keep taking the prenatals.
  • dmd721
    dmd721 Posts: 4
    I avoid dairy generally because it does not agree with me either - it causes my face to break out like crazy, among other things. Dairy is one of the most common food allergies, and cow's milk is actually the most common allergy amongst little ones (most outgrow the allergy by the time the reach childhood).

    Almond milk and soy milk (I prefer soy because of the taste and protein content) are absolute musts for me. Goat cheese, goat milk and goat's milk yogurt (as well as soy yogurt) are also good options.

    Things that you might be able to eat still that maybe won't bother your daughter (since these have a medium-to-low lactose content) are feta cheese, mozzarella cheese and yogurt. However, check with your doctor first and if you do decide to add them in, make sure you do it slowly and see how she reacts. Good luck! :happy:
  • kts3639
    kts3639 Posts: 188 Member
    I see someone suggested veggie cheese, but be very careful and read the label. I bought veggie cheese thinking it was safe, and it ended up having lactose in it.

    I have cut out dairy for 3 weeks now. My 4 month old son doesn't tolerate dairy in my diet (doctor and nurse told me to cut it out due to his symptoms which included blood and mucous in his stool). If you want to friend me, you are more than welcome. My diary is a little repetitive since I am limited, but it's there to look at if you need to.

    One of the best piece of advice I can give you is look at the label on EVERYTHING. Even if you don't think it has milk/dairy in it, look anyways. I just found out last night that my vitamin C tablets have milk in them. Granted I'm sure it's not much, and his stools have been much better, but it was really disappointing to see considering how careful I thought I had been.

    Good luck, and like I said, I am here to bounce ideas/frustrations off of if you every need to :)
  • LauraDotts
    LauraDotts Posts: 732 Member
    Almond milk (more Calcium than cow milk) or Coconut milk.

    Soy milk can mimic estrogen and rice milk can mimic testosterone. Neither of which is good for an infant.
    QFT
  • BarbieAS
    BarbieAS Posts: 1,414 Member
    If your baby truly has a lactose intolerance/sensitivity, goat milk products shouldn't bother her. Goat cheese (many specialty stores, Whole Foods, etc should have a great selection beyond just your traditional chevre style), goat milk, etc should be fine, if you can find it.

    Also, there's LOTS of reasons for babies to be gassy and cranky. 3 weeks isn't very long to have thought of everything. Try eliminating one type of thing at a time from your diet (my daughter couldn't handle broccoli and my son couldn't handle caffeine - that was a toughy, lol) for a few days to see what helps. Milk, however, will take a week or more to get out of your system. And, as someone else mentioned, there's very specific symptoms of lactose intolerance that you'll see in your baby's diaper. I don't mean to jump to conclusions or anything, but make sure you talk to your doctor and/or read up on them before you give up something you love! You don't want to do that for no reason. :heart:

    Good luck to you guys!
  • kts3639
    kts3639 Posts: 188 Member
    Also wanted to add that it takes about 3 weeks for dairy to clear out of your system, so don't expect her to be completely better right away.
  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    You can get some coconut cream and cut it with a bit of water. It makes a good replacement for cow's milk in recipes. I drink lots of dairy but I get my milk from a local farmer.

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