My daughter was born in January 2017- straightway I knew something wasn’t right. Her skin was covered in really bad rashes and apart from when she was sleeping; she was uncomfortable and crying.
She never took a bottle. I attempted expressed milk (no formula) I just assumed that she didn't take to it, just like her older brother.
Between when she was born and when she was 6 weeks old, I must have seen the GP 10 times. I was told her mucusy poos were normal. I was told her dry skin was eczema and the spots were milk spots. I was told I should know all of this as after all, this wasn’t my first child.
At 6 weeks old, her hair started falling out. Chunks of it. She was bald in the space of two weeks. Her skin started shedding. She looked like she was a burns victim. It took two further weeks of appointments for my GP to agree that I wasn’t being paranoid and to suggest that I go to A&E.
The consultant saw her straight away and said she’d bet money on her having CMPA. I remember crying with relief. Relief that there was finally an answer to the distress that she was feeling. Relief that we were finally able to ‘fix’ whatever was wrong with her. I then cried with guilt. Guilt that my milk was the reason for my baby’s pain.
We were advised to stop breastfeeding altogether and try a hydrolysed formula. This was a non starter as she wouldn’t take a bottle.
I was then told to cut dairy out of my diet. I saw an improvement in about a week. Her skin still wasn’t great and her poos were still very mucusy so on doing my own research cut soya out of my diet. It still wasn’t great but the difference in her behaviour was nothing short of miraculous.
Blood tests showed that Amayah is allergic to milk, eggs, nuts (except almonds), soya, broccoli and pineapple. We carry four Epi Pens. We have had two episodes of anaphylactic shock, but we live to tell the story.
Amayah is almost three, she’s been at nursery full time since she was seven months. Apart from the occasional flare up, you wouldn’t know by looking at her that she suffers from any allergies. I am determined that she lives a full life and never feels any different to any children. I am determined to not let her allergies define who she is.
I remember feeling alone when I found out about her allergies- if this story helps just one parent to see that there’s light at the end of the tunnel, it’s worth every singe tear I shed.
