soy intolerance in baby?

[Teejay]

Does anyone here have babies who are soy-intolerant?

My little boy (nearly 3 months old) and breastfed, has been having some nasty symptoms, has seen the GP and is seeing a specialist on Wednesday.

The GP rang to let me know the specialist/paediatrician had said, "Try discontinuing dairy up until the appointment, & see if it helps." I had to tell her I haven't taken in any dairy for eight years!

But doing some reading on the internet, I had learned that soy can cause the same problems. So for the past week I have eliminated soy from my diet (wow, I didn't realise I ate so much soy in different forms until I had to get rid of it) and at least the runny nose and eyes have cleared up, and the diaper contents have returned to normal colour 90 percent of the time.

I guess I am just looking for reassurance, and impatient for the specialist appointment to come.

My little boy is gaining weight normally (big for his age, even), sleeps well, and feeds well too. What panicked me was that he twice had blood (not a lot) in his diaper. But apparently this can be caused by an intolerance or allergy too.

I saw in the pregnancy forum that quite a few people were asking about whether to eat soy during pregnancy -- but I am wondering if anyone has had any bad outcomes.

[Erin Pavlina]

When I gave birth to Emily she ended up going back to the hospital for jaundice. While there, the pediatrician noted a little blood in her diaper. Told my hubby (who was with our daughter) that our baby was allergic to dairy. He told her I had not eaten dairy for years. Doc said, "Oh, must be a soy allergy then."

I eliminated soy (very hard) but after a couple of weeks at her next appointment the doc said she did not have a soy allergy and I went back to eating soy. She never had a problem after that.

What you are describing could definitely be a soy allergy, but he may grow out of it in time, maybe at a year.

Let us know what happens as time goes by. We'll be curious to see how his health changes as you keep him off soy, etc.

[sophie]

Hi Teejay,
My daughter (now 4) had a soy intolerance. I didn't realise until she started drinking soy milk, she got rashes on her face and bottom and was very unhappy and grizzly. She got tested and was intolerant to a few things. When I was breastfeeding and consuming soy (before she had solids) I think it affected it her more subtley, she was quite an unsettled baby and I'm sure that's why. But now she is 4 and can tolerate soy much better, she only has it occasionally and I think she is growing out of her intolerance. My new baby is 3 weeks old and I will be very careful this time, I am only having soy in the form of soy milk in my tea, so far he is extremely settled, totally diifferent to his sister at the same age. It could be a coincidence but I want to err on the side of caution. Good luck!

[Teejay]

Thanks, people.

We had the appointment today and the specialist is sure there is nothing structurally wrong with our baby. She says to keep off the soy as the diarrhea has stopped since I stopped the soy.

I was relieved to find that she wasn't difficult about my vegan diet. (Well, a specialist in tummy & bowel trouble I guess ought to know how bad meat and dairy can be...)

She had blood tests done just to be sure, and we will know the results tomorrow.

I appreciate the support from people here on the forums -- it's horrible when such a little one is unwell -- as I'm sure we all know...

[Erin Pavlina]

Keep us updated. I hope your little one is feeling well.