11:45 - this is a PP that also had to deal with serious eczema for my 3 month old.
Really, try to get over your fear of steroids. It was the *only* thing that helped my daughter. She was so itchy she scratched herself bloody and ended up with secondary infections and big patches of oozy areas. You don't want that to happen. Speak to pediatric dermatologist if you are concerned, and they will let you know the amount of steroid cream that would start to cause concern, and you can see the amount you need to keep the eczema under control is MUCH MUCH less.
We just needed the stronger steroids for about 1 or two. Once her skin healed, DD was fine and wasn't constantly scratching anymore. Now, we just put a tiny dab on occasionally when a breakout is about to start.
But if you really want to avoid steroids, I would try going on a complete elimination diet if you are breastfeeding. No dairy, wheat, soy, peanuts, treenuts, shellfish and eggs. Try this for *at least* 2 weeks, best if you can do it for four weeks. Obviously, this means no formula either.
And you have to try to avoid hidden dairy too. That means reading the ingredient list and avoiding ingredients like, casein, whey, and curds.
Here is a list:
http://www.kellymom.com/store/freehandouts/hidden-dairy01.pdf
I saw 2 pediatric dermatologists, and they both said that eczema is related to food sensitivities only about 30% of the time. But if you really don't want to use steroids, I would start here.