Guilty mom here!!

[hello_kitty]

I have been having the urge to smack myself in the face since my baby's health scare 2 days ago. I fed him eggs for the first time and he had an allergic reaction almost immediately. He turned red (even his pupils), hands , feet, and lips all turned purple along with other dangerous symptoms.

I am glad I brought him to the ER in time. He is fine now but the peds said he will not be able to have eggs...in a very long time. I feel like this is all my fault. I breastfed my firstborn exclusively for 8 months and he has always been a healthy kid, never been back to the hospital since being discharged from the NICU. I recalled back on the benefits of breastfeeding and remember something about allergies...so I looked it up on a whim and this is exactly what it said: "breastfeeding can protect your child from developing allergies".

Thats when I felt it...the hammer that struck my heart. I didnt do all that I could to protect my baby. I am capable of breastfeeding (or pumping) my baby but allowed my busy schedule to hinder me from doing that.

I feel like by not offering enough bm, I allowed my child to fall into that dark pit. I am so depressed now. I give him as much bm as I can but I am so guilty that I was and still not for the time being able to breastfeed him exclusively. I am only getting 8 oz now.

Now that he is 6 months, I feel like nothing can offer him the same protection. Feel like that window has passed. I read an article that said breastfeeding past 6 months is useless...such a bad mom.

 

[OnErth&InHvn]

Breastfeeding doesnt magically get bad. It is good no matter how long or old your baby is. He may have been allergic to eggs whether BF or not.

Kellymom.com has a LIST of herbs/supplements/prescriptions/foods to increase your supply.

Call La Leche League and they will check you out for FREE.

 

[noon_child]

Bf CAN possibly according to some research help protect against some allergies. That isn't the same as saying you could have prevented this. My friend has bf her daughter from birth to 2yrs and has severe egg allergy.

Breastmilk past 6months is still wonderful stuff!

 

[HBGirl]

Don't feel guilty. Egg allergy is most often congenital.

 

[hello_kitty]

I just spoke to his pediatrician who ran his blood test to check for egg allergy and it came back positive. I asked her if its my fault for introducing it early instead of waiting over a year and she said "I dont know could be or maybe he would've gotten the reaction anyways if you waited over a year" doesnt make me feel any better.

Things on the internet are so contradictory. New research said introducing egg after 6 months actually decreases the risk of allergy to eggs but it didnt work out that way for him.

Based on both my son's experiences (ds1 has eczema) next time I will bf, bf, bf! Although I did bf ds1 exclusively for the first 8 months so dont know what the deal is.

 

[noon_child]

I just spoke to his pediatrician who ran his blood test to check for egg allergy and it came back positive. I asked her if its my fault for introducing it early instead of waiting over a year and she said "I dont know could be or maybe he would've gotten the reaction anyways if you waited over a year" doesnt make me feel any better.

Things on the internet are so contradictory. New research said introducing egg after 6 months actually decreases the risk of allergy to eggs but it didnt work out that way for him.

Based on both my son's experiences (ds1 has eczema) next time I will bf, bf, bf! Although I did bf ds1 exclusively for the first 8 months so dont know what the deal is.

Many, many exclusively bf babies have eczema. Only 10% of eczema in children is an allergy and only 10% of those is to food - so 1% of eczema is related to food.

As I already mentioned, I know a toddler bf till 2yrs (no formula) who has severe egg allergy.

None of this is likely to be your fault, you'll never be able to find out what caused it anyway, and you can't change it now anyway. Think of all the other amazing things you know you got right and give yourself a break!

 

[Lemonade]

It is not your fault! I was breastfed past 6 months and I have tons of allergies, including an episode of anaphylaxis. Also, my LO is BF and she has eczema (as do I...) - it is much more likely to be hereditary than caused by not BFing. Don't beat yourself up about it.

 

[c1403]

Don't feel so guilty. I have friends that EBF (no bottles) and continued until LOs were over a year old and their babies had allergies such as eggs, peanuts etc. whereas I also have friends that FF and had no allergies.

It's nice to know that BF can help in so many ways but each child is different and you will never know why he had this exact reaction. Try not to be so hard on yourself x

 

[kajastarlight]

My neighbor EBF her son until he was 1 - no food other than breast milk until he was 1. Then she started introducing some foods and still breast fed him until he was.... well, I lost track of how long she still breastfed him when he was 4. (I think I accidentally made a face and a tone one day when she was talking about it and said "really? Still? Huh...." and she never mentioned it to me again. It just took me by suprise, please don't anyone who reads this take offence.) So he was breastfed a long long time and that poor kid has so many allergies and sensitivities - and I think he probably would have had them no matter what. Some things are just the way they are no matter what you do. I know it is hard not to beat yourself up- - but really. Try not to.

 

[melfy77]

Not your fault at all!!! Actually studies now show that waiting to introduce ''allergenic'' food increases the risks of developping allergies. DD1 was mostly formula fed (did both until she was 3 months old than switch to FF). So far she's got no allergies, and I started giving her eggs and peanut butter when she was months. She did have eczema around 1 but she was eating a lot of tomatoes and oranges and my ped told me it's quite normal at this age, to limit those, wait a few weeks and try again, and she was fine (they are acidic food so apparently they often cause a reaction that has nothing to do with an allergy). DD2 was EBF until 6 months (and still is BF, she's the biggest boob monster EVER). I also started giving her eggs and peanut butter when at 6 months old, and she's totally fine.