Should I continue to breastfeed my 11mth old?

Hi Kris! I'm Joy, the manager for the site.

You should talk about a feeding strategy with your doctor or an allergy specialist as soon as possible.

Breastfeeding is recommended for infants as old as 18 months, though the U.S. Surgeon General generally recommends breastfeeding to 12 months. There have been studies extolling the virtues of breastmilk and it helping to prevent asthma and alleries in children.

But in the case of a child with food allergies, there are some difficulties. Women who continue to breastfeed a milk-allergic child will likely have to follow a strict diet that eliminates all dairy products. The trouble with that is, you'd be surprised where cow's milk, butter, eggs and all that might show up (bread, pasta, cookies, even some meat!). A woman in this position may need the help of a dietician to make sure she replaces all the protein and nutrients she and the baby need.

If your doctor recommends that you stop breastfeeding, you may be advised to use soy-based formula. But soy is also one of the top eight food allergens in the U.S., so be doubly sure your child isn't allergic to soy. If your baby is, then you may be advised to use a "hypoallergenic formula," which can be three times more expensive than milk or soy formulas. Don't worry too much though, a very small number of babies are allergic to both the milk and soy formulas.

Bottom line, sit down with a doctor and prepare a plan. Take this information with you and ask as many questions as you can. If you have any more questions, feel free to come back to us!

Joy

First, you will want to consider that it will not be easy to remove milk, egg and peanut from your diet although many of us who have food allergic children have removed those foods and more! You'll fit into your skinny jeans by summer!

The next point is that soy is one of the eight major allergens, (milk, wheat, egg, soy, peanut, tree nuts, fish, shellfish) and it is not uncommon for a child who is allergic to milk to also be allergic to soy.

Here is a link to a journal abstract, and as you can see from the quote, 12 of the 18 milk allergic infants were not able to tolerate soy formula.  
Comparisons of a chicken-based formula with soy-based formula in infants with cow milk allergy.
"RESULTS: In the group of soy-based formula, 12 out of 18 infants had evidence of intolerance and could not continue with the formula. However, only 4 out of 20 infants in the chicken-based formula group had evidence of clinical intolerance."

It's common to think of soy as a health food but there is a lot of information that contradicts that as well.

You may also be interested in the abstract below. It mentions that breast feeding while introducing new foods may help the baby tolerate them:
The importance of early complementary feeding in the development of oral tolerance: Concerns and controversies. 
"There is also evidence that other factors such as favourable colonization and continued breastfeeding promote tolerance and have protective effects during this period when complementary feeding is initiated."

I think the most important factor to consider is whether you are prepared to go on a restricted diet and continue to breast feed.  If you find that this is not the right choice for you, there are other formulas you can use even if your baby cannot tolerate soy. (Neocate and EleCare are two amino acid

Hope that helps!

Gina

I don't recommend soy for babies at all.  It's difficult for them to digest, doesn't have enough calcium in it and can cause far reaching health issues.

You may want to visit your local natural foods store and ask for references from experts on alternatives.  Also, at 11 months, I would imagine you have started some solid foods (hopefully homemade) and could easily cease breastfeeding over time (a month or so I would think).  There are some inexpensive manual (and small) food grinders to make baby food from your grown up foods.