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Meet Lisa, Founder The Story Behind
The Story Behind
Happy Tummies
This isn't a brand built in a boardroom. It started with a sick baby, a stack of doctors' appointments, and a mum who refused to stop asking questions.
When my son was a baby, he was sick. He woke up all night, wouldn't eat well, vomited constantly, and cried endlessly. I took him to the doctor more times than I can count and was told over and over again that nothing was wrong.
I remember when he was 7 days old, leaving the NICU and the nurse handing him over said, "Good luck with this one!" That should have been a sign.
It wasn't until I happened to see a different nurse at the child health clinic — who suggested allergy testing — that things finally started to make sense. I hadn't even considered food allergies. My little boy barely ate anything, so how could food be the problem?
"The allergist said it was my fault. He said my son was just fussy, that if we lived in a third world country he'd eat anything. Then he did the skin prick test — and my son's whole arm came up in red wheals."
The doctor looked at the results and casually said: "Oh, so he does have some allergies. From now on, no dairy, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts or soy. I'll see you in 6 weeks."
My son lived on dairy. I asked what I should feed him instead. The doctor said he didn't know. Feed him rice milk.
That was it. That was the help we got.
This is why I do what I do. I don't want other kids suffering unnecessarily like my son did. I don't want another mum brushed aside the way I was. And I don't want food to be as hard for you as it was for me in the beginning.
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The good news? My son is doing so much better now. It's been a long road — he has Eosinophilic Oesophagitis (EoE) on top of his allergies, which means certain foods trigger an abnormal immune response in his oesophagus. We've done elimination diets, food challenges, endless specialist appointments.
Where we're at now ✨
Alex currently avoids wheat, rice, dairy, soy, fish and shellfish, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, and pine nuts — and he's at risk of anaphylaxis to cashews, pistachios, and peanuts. It's a long list. But we've successfully added a lot of foods back over the years, with the biggest win being egg!
He is physically well. He is thriving. He is happy. Honestly, I never thought I'd be able to say that.
And if you're at the beginning of this journey right now, reading this from a place of overwhelm and exhaustion — I want you to know it gets easier. And we're here to help make food part of the easier bit. 💛
