It was a moment of sheer desperation, back in December 2015, when I logged onto Facebook and joined a group for parents of children with milk and soy allergies. My five-month-old son could not gain weight, and was given the awful diagnosis of ?failure to thrive.? He seemed to be allergic to my breastmilk due to the foods I ate. His GI doctor, who was guiding me as I systematically eliminated foods from my diet to help my baby tolerate my breastmilk, suggested that I join Facebook groups for moral support and allergy-friendly recipe ideas. Though I?ve always been skeptical about online communities, I ran out of other options and decided to give it a try.
At first I posted questions and joined conversations about allergy-friendly restaurants and recipe ideas. ?What do you eat when you?re craving a dairy/egg/soy-free dessert"? But over time, as I witnessed the helpful and non-judgmental posts and replies showing up on the message board, my posts became raw and direct. ?Help! What the hell do I do when my kid is allergic to every formula, and every food through my breastmilk" How on earth do I feed my child"!? I was shown compassion from fellow parents in the group, some providing practical advice, and some with virtual hugs and ?me too? camaraderie. We connected with each other over our children?s similar symptoms, and how these allergies affected our lives. We shared concerns over our babies? sleep disturbances and stomach pain. ?My son?s reflux is out of contr...