Kudos for Romano's Macaroni Grill

I actually had a rather pleasant experience at a restaurant this weekend. My husband, daughter and I went to Romano's Macaroni Grill for lunch, and I asked the server about recommendations for someone with a milk allergy. She went back to the chef, and not only did he make recommendations for "safe" menu items, he actually offered to make me a loaf of bread that was dairy free. I have never had a restaurant go out of their way to accommodate my "dairy allergy" so I wanted to share my positive experience. Hopefully others will find similar treatment at other Romano's.

Needless to say, I will be going back. Very soon!

Eating Out (Yes It's Possible!)

I didn't eat out for the first several months after my daughter was born. I was not trusting that restaurants would be informed about dairy allergies, or would take them seriously enough to prepare meals without dairy if requested. I've since loosened up a bit - probably around the time my daughter was 6 months old. I have found that going to larger chain restaurant websites can provide information about allergens in their food, or recommendations for menu items you can safely eat. I also talk to my server, or if I didn't feel I was getting the attention and concern necessary, the manager.

Following are some tips I've learned along the way...

• Go on the websites of large chains. I usually do a Google search of "RESTAURANT NAME allergen" or "RESTAURANT NAME dairy"
• Call the main office of chain restaurants if they don't have information on their website
• Some local restaurants that have multiple sites have been surprisingly well versed on food allergies. Try giving them a call. I have found that the smaller mom-and-pop types of restaurants are not good at identifying dairy in their foods, nor can provide recommendations on what you can safely eat.
• Higher-end restaurants also typically have more "respect" for food allergies and will work with you to find menu items that you can eat.
• If you aren't sure, don't risk it! I've had many meals where I've ordered something safe (like french fries - as long as they aren't the batter dipped kind - and applesauce). While it's not the most wholesome of meals, at least I'm not hungry and I don't have to be a recluse and stay home or at the office while everyone else goes out to eat.

Here are some websites that I also have found helpful in identifying "safe" restaurants:

• http://gfcfrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/01/gfcf-restaurant-guide.html This is a website that offers a restaurant guide for gluten free and casein free restaurants
• http://www.avoidingmilkprotein.com/USARest.htm A list of restaurants and contact information on websites that provide information about good allergens
• http://mspikids.info/Eating_Out.html A list of restaurant websites with ingredient lists
  

Still Milk Free :(

Well... here's what I ended up deciding to do with testing Julia's dairy intolerance. I didn't want to eat something and have her react, and have to feel sick for 4 days (the typical amount of time it seemed to bother her the most) and then another few weeks for the dairy to be completely out of my system. So..... I decided to give her 2 oz of milk formula and see how it went. Since Julia did so well with my "dairy milks" I thought it was worth a try.

She didn't do too badly. I gave her the formula one day, and skipped the next day to see her reaction. She seemed to be ok on the first day, but day two she was "off". She didn't seem to be her usual chipper, happy self. Since it wasn't anything obvious, and she didn't have the blowout problem, I decided to try again on days three and four with 2 oz of formula both days. Day three she again seemed kind of "off" but day four she definitely wasn't herself. She would all of a sudden get a pained look on her face and fuss. Since an 8 month old can't tell you what's wrong, and the formula is the only thing different that either she or I have eaten, I think it's the dairy.

I guess that means another month of being a Milk Free Mama. Which is ok, I've done it this long, what's another four weeks if it means that Julia won't be sick. Besides, I've found a lot of really interesting websites/blogs with recipes I'd like to sample.

Speaking of those sites, here are a few for you to try...

• http://www.nursingmomrecipes.com/ Recipes "...for nursing moms whose babies are sensitive to or allergic to milk and soy proteins"
• http://www.godairyfree.org/Table/Dairy-Substitutes/ A list of substitutes if you are trying to cook dairy free. I just found the site so I haven't tried the substitutes yet...
• http://mspimama.blogspot.com/ A blog from a Mom with a child with MSPI. She has lots of great recipes for the breastfeeding Mom
• http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/resourcespre.php?id=103&title=Basic_recipe_substitutions_for_milk_allergy Another dairy substitute site
• http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/occasionscollections/tp/BirthdayCakes.htm Recipes for dairy free cakes
  
• http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/ As the name suggests, recipes for dairy free cooking
• http://intolerantoffspring.com/ Website devoted to foods that can be eaten by children with "intolerances" and by association, their breastfeeding mamas.
• http://tedmamas.blogspot.com/ A blog with lots of recipes for mamas who are on the total elimination diet
  

Thoughts of Reintroduction

Well, it's been four days of giving Julia one bottle of "dairy milk" per day and I haven't noticed anything yet. I am starting to get excited, but am afraid to hope that dairy might actually be in my not-so-distant future.

Now the question is: how do I reintroduce dairy into my diet? Should I feed Julia something with dairy in it directly and see how she does, rather than me eating something, her having a reaction, and being sick for days.

I've been Googling this question all day, and am thoroughly confused. Some say to feed the baby so that if she has a reaction we can immediately stop the source and I won't have dairy in my system for 2 - 3 weeks. Others say that I should be the one to eat the dairy because giving her full-blown dairy will be too much on her system. Then there's the question of how to reintroduce to either one of us. What do I feed her? Yogurt? Something made for babies that has dairy (like a baked cracker type of thing?). What do I feed me? Yogurt? Drink a glass of milk? Eat some cheese? Eat something baked with dairy in it? Some people say to eat cooked food because that starts to break down the proteins, but others say this doesn't make a difference. And even further, do I eat, say, a piece of cheese every day, or just once and see how she does. So many questions, so little time! AAACCCKKK!!

I will think through everything I've been reading and sleep on it. I'll let you know what I decide to do, and will post how Julia does.

Wish me luck!! I plan to take next week off from work so I can be with Julia and watch her reaction.

Below are some of the links I have been reading, which I thought might be of interest to you:

• http://community.babycenter.com/post/a10399485/reintroduce_dairy? 
• http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=276001
• http://www.fussybaby.ca/blog/?p=28 
• http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081219230154AAaYC8u 

Hidden Dairy: Seeing the Light of Day

As I said in an earlier post, I probably should have known that eliminating dairy in my diet meant more than just the obvious dairy - milk, cheese, butter, etc. But I had no idea that barbecue potato chips frequently have dairy. Or hotdogs. Or breads.

Below are some links to websites that list dairy ingredients and hidden dairy. It may seem overwhelming at first, but you'll become familiar with the terms. Give yourself a good chunk of time the first time you go to the grocery store because you'll be reading a  lot of labels. If you happen to make a lot of food from scratch, you're golden. If not, you can find a decent selection of dairy-free, pre-packaged foods. I fall into the latter category and am not much of a cook. If I've survived so far, you can too!

• http://kidshealth.org/parent/misc/milkallergy_cutout.html A dairy ingredient "cheat sheet"
• http://mspikids.info/Foods_to_avoid.html Another cheat sheet with dairy ingredients listed
• http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/docs/Milk_Allergy_Avoidance_List.pdf A pretty comprehensive list of dairy ingredients
  
• http://www.kellymom.com/store/freehandouts/hidden-dairy01.pdf A list of ingredients to avoid
  

Dietician at the Grocery Store???

I was quite surprised when I recently saw an advertisement on TV for my local grocery store. They said they have a registered dietician on staff who will be happy to help people with special dietary needs. I have never talked to this person (I always forget when I am there, or I'm in a rush) but it doesn't hurt to ask!

I live in a suburban area, but my grocery store is certainly not one of those state-of-the-art Wegman's types, so I'd think that others are just as likely to have dieticians on staff as mine. Good luck if you try to talk to them, and post a comment to let me know how it went!

Just thought I'd pass that little tid-bit on...

Resources: Facebook?!

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there are many groups on Facebook that are devoted to nursing moms of children with dairy allergies or sensitivites, or focused on older kids (and even adults) with dairy allergies. If you have a Facebook account, try searching for the following phrases and join the groups you find:

• Nursing mom recipes
• MPSI kids
• Milk allergy
• A milk allergy is not a weakness
• Eating dairy free
• Cow's milk protein allergy in babies
• Parents of fussy or 'high needs' babies

I have been a member (or fan) of the Nursing Mom Recipes group on Facebook for a while and have enjoyed getting notifications when they post new recipes. They just posted a yummy-looking pumpkin/banana bread recipe that I am looking forward to trying. I haven't eaten a baked treat in over 6 months!! The rest of the groups I just found today, so we'll see what kind of resource they provide.