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First Food Fights

Could Your Baby Have a Food Allergy?

By Alexandria Powell

Adapting to life with food allergies can be tough. "We don't take much for granted anymore," says Godwin. Everything must be planned in advance. For example, odwin's family never goes out without safe foods, medicines and self-injectable epinephrine (EpiPen is one brand). "Our grocery bill is double because of the special foods and supplies we have to buy," she says.

When the food allergic person is a baby, there are special considerations. If your child is breastfeeding, for example, you'll usually need to change your diet, too, as allergic proteins from food transfer into breast milk. As your baby grows, so does the amount of foods she's exposed to. Learning to read labels – on all kinds of household products, not just food – becomes crucial, as children can have reactions to items containing even tiny amounts of the allergen that bothers them.

Indorato recommends asking your child's doctor for a referral to a registered dietitian as soon as he is diagnosed. A registered dietitian can help you navigate difficulties such as label reading and diet substitutions, which is especially helpful in light of the special nutritional needs of babies, toddlers and nursing moms.

Both Ramos and Godwin stress the importance of building a support system. Other parents of food allergy sufferers can provide both practical information and emotional support.

Ramos suggests starting by asking your baby's allergist about local support groups. If the doctor's office doesn't know of any, "get online and look them up," says Ramos. "It helps to know that there's another parent who can tell you that yes, it does get to be easier [and] that you're able to get through it."

Want to see more?

• Coping with Food Allergies
• Daycare Dangers: Protecting Your Food Allergic Child Away From Home
• Fatal Food: When Your Child Has a Peanut Allergy
• I Spy Something Red: Could Your Child Be Sensitive to Red Food Dye?
• Talk about it!