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teachingmyown
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| Posted: Aug 22 2006 at 12:43pm | IP Logged
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You would think I would have it down by #7.  but Emily won't stop fussing. She has several episodes a day. It seems stomach related, but I am down to eating totally bland foods , no dairy etc.
She will be four month in five days and was such a contented baby up until about a week ago. She had even been sleeping through the night.
Am i missing something here? My muddled brain is at a loss. Someone suggested an ear infection, but I don't think it is likely. She nurses well and feels better right after nursing. No fever or anything.
Help!
I will probably take her in this afternoon if I can't figure it out.
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In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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JennGM
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| Posted: Aug 22 2006 at 1:22pm | IP Logged
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Molly,
When you say no dairy, are removing casein and whey also from your diet? Many times infants have a milk protein intolerance, which they can outgrow.
Does she spit up a lot? Are her bowels normal, or do you see signs of blood and/or mucus? Does she sleep at night? Is she better being held? Do you wear her at all? Does that help?
You say she feels better right after nursing. Then what? How long after nursing does she have a fussy period?
From my experience with my one child, he had reflux, but it was caused by food allergies. Dairy helped some, but it wasn't until I eliminated wheat, eggs and dairy did that help. But that was helped through the doctor's guidance.
If you suspect food allergies, you can try to eliminate one at a time the "Big 8" -- peanuts, tree nuts, soy, dairy, wheat, eggs, fish and shellfish. How long have you been without dairy? It takes a whole 2 weeks for your system to be completely free of the allergen. But sometimes you'll be able to tell early on if things are helping. Keep a food diary and read ingredient labels carefully. I can send a few links if you want accurate neames for hidden dairy and other products.
A child can develop allergies, and not just "born" with them.
Some reading: Breastfeeding and Food Sensitivity
Can a Nursing Mom eat this Food?
Bloody Stool
Reflux and Spit UP
How Does a Mother's Diet Affect Her Milk?
La Leche League has a few other sites if this isn't enough. I just love this above site. She's very thorough and many outside links for support.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: Aug 22 2006 at 2:11pm | IP Logged
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[QUOTE=JennGM] Molly,
When you say no dairy, are removing casein and whey also from your diet? Many times infants have a milk protein intolerance, which they can outgrow.
Help me out here, Jenn. (I am nutritionally challenged!) Besides milk and cheeses, what would I need to cut out?
Does she spit up a lot? Are her bowels normal, or do you see signs of blood and/or mucus? Does she sleep at night? Is she better being held? Do you wear her at all? Does that help?
She spits up a lot, always has. Her bowels are normal, bu ther spit up is often mucousy. Before now she was sleeping through the night, now she is waking up several times. She likes to be held up on my shoulder, she doesn't like the sling because it doesn't get her high enough. But when she is having a crying spell, holding her doesn't really help.
You say she feels better right after nursing. Then what? How long after nursing does she have a fussy period?
She will start fussing maybe 15 minutes or so after nursing. Often she won't burp for a long while and I can feel her stomach rumble.
From my experience with my one child, he had reflux, but it was caused by food allergies. Dairy helped some, but it wasn't until I eliminated wheat, eggs and dairy did that help. But that was helped through the doctor's guidance.
Great, I am eating eggs every day! This was in place of my Kashi cereal which I was sure upset her.
"If you suspect food allergies, you can try to eliminate one at a time the "Big 8" -- peanuts, tree nuts, soy, dairy, wheat, eggs, fish and shellfish. How long have you been without dairy? It takes a whole 2 weeks for your system to be completely free of the allergen. But sometimes you'll be able to tell early on if things are helping. Keep a food diary and read ingredient labels carefully. I can send a few links if you want accurate neames for hidden dairy and other products. "
So what do I eat? With past babies, I was usually successful just cutting out cheese, milk, chocolate, etc.
__________________
In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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Christine
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| Posted: Aug 22 2006 at 2:12pm | IP Logged
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Just in case this is what you have done: Our first child's pediatrician told me to be sure not to replace the dairy with soy, as it can make the baby's discomfort worse. She said to use rice milk.
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Christine
Mommy to 4 girls, 5 boys, & 2 in God's care
Memories of a Catholic Wife and Mother
Pretty Lilla Rose
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JennGM
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| Posted: Aug 22 2006 at 4:04pm | IP Logged
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teachingmyown wrote:
JennGM wrote:
Molly,
When you say no dairy, are removing casein and whey also from your diet? Many times infants have a milk protein intolerance, which they can outgrow.
Help me out here, Jenn. (I am nutritionally challenged!) Besides milk and cheeses, what would I need to cut out? |
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Butter and if you do margarine, some of these contain whey and casein and other milk products. We use Smart Balance Organic and Earth Balance (same company). Make sure it says "vegan".
Milk is in almost everything you buy store-bought. Not sure how you cook, so I'm not sure what you do. Any kind of baked goods probably has butter or milk products, hot dogs sometimes have casein, even coffee creamer, marked as non-dairy has casein solids. Breads have dairy of some kind. It took me a long time to find one or two brands that didn't have milk.
Like Christine said, the protein intolerance sometimes relates to soy, so don't start drinking soy. But if dairy isn't doing the trick, I'd try soy next and that's really hard to do (sorry to not being so encouraging) if you're not making things from scratch. Amyable has soy allergies in her family, so she might be able to chime in there.
Milk ingredients to look on labels
Milk ingredients
I had this reply just a few days ago for allergy help.
this page has name brand products to help guide you.
Quote:
Does she spit up a lot? Are her bowels normal, or do you see signs of blood and/or mucus? Does she sleep at night? Is she better being held? Do you wear her at all? Does that help?
She spits up a lot, always has. Her bowels are normal, bu ther spit up is often mucousy. Before now she was sleeping through the night, now she is waking up several times. She likes to be held up on my shoulder, she doesn't like the sling because it doesn't get her high enough. But when she is having a crying spell, holding her doesn't really help. |
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Quote:
You say she feels better right after nursing. Then what? How long after nursing does she have a fussy period?
She will start fussing maybe 15 minutes or so after nursing. Often she won't burp for a long while and I can feel her stomach rumble. |
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Oh, gosh, Molly, that sounds like my little one. He felt better while nursing, because it seems to cool down his inflamed esophagus, but then it all started coming back up in such a short time that he cried. We had to put him in the car seat for sleeping, because he would cry as soon as he lay flat. We were novice parents, so we would tell the doctor -- "He seems to spit up a lot" and they would say all babies spit up. Looking back, it was constant. I would go through 3 burp cloths (the cloth diaper kind) after one feeding. I'd have to pack 6 burp cloths any time we'd go out and they would be soaked by the time we got home.
But even if she isn't spitting up a lot, doesn't mean she isn't experiencing reflux. There is such thing as "silent reflux" where the baby swallows it and that is even more dangerous.
Quote:
From my experience with my one child, he had reflux, but it was caused by food allergies. Dairy helped some, but it wasn't until I eliminated wheat, eggs and dairy did that help. But that was helped through the doctor's guidance.
Great, I am eating eggs every day! This was in place of my Kashi cereal which I was sure upset her. |
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I know! I eat eggs daily, and a lot. I didn't know what to eat. I ended up eating meat to get my protein in the morning. Trader Joe's has a nice frozen rice waffle without dairy, eggs or wheat that is a staple here, but it won't work if you're eliminating soy. I also made my own pancakes with substitute ingredients.
You will be able to eat, trust me. But I'll be happy to hand hold. Being so bleary-eyed from lack of sleep makes one want to just do hand-to-mouth eating, no scratch cooking. Think fruits and veggies, the best hand food ever. There are kinds of dark chocolate and semi-sweet choc chips without dairy, if you need a chocolate fix. Tortilla chips and salsa and hummus was a snack I did often. And don't forget that glass of wine -- safe and good for your nerves!
Quote:
"If you suspect food allergies, you can try to eliminate one at a time the "Big 8" -- peanuts, tree nuts, soy, dairy, wheat, eggs, fish and shellfish. How long have you been without dairy? It takes a whole 2 weeks for your system to be completely free of the allergen. But sometimes you'll be able to tell early on if things are helping. Keep a food diary and read ingredient labels carefully. I can send a few links if you want accurate neames for hidden dairy and other products. "
So what do I eat? With past babies, I was usually successful just cutting out cheese, milk, chocolate, etc. |
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Molly, PM me. We'll talk.  I thought I would starve, but now 2 years later and Mommy brain fog gone, there are a lot of options. I just couldn't see them. I'll be glad to brainstorm. Write things down, make a list of what you CAN have. That made all the difference to me, because forbidden things list seemed SOOOO long.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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amyable
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| Posted: Aug 22 2006 at 7:08pm | IP Logged
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Before I chime in with allergy help, the one thing that catches my eye here is that she is almost 4 months old and the problems are *just starting*. I know allergies can develop at any time, but what is the general experience of those here with allergic babies? My babies were all showing signs way before 4 months. I would just hate to have you go on a totally restricted diet when it's really just a case of a growth spurt/fussy week before a developmental leap. The tummy rumbles can be caused by all the air swallowed from crying if it's not allergies.
That being said, if there is anything you just started eating when this began, I would start with elimnating that! :)
I hope this doesn't sound like I'm dismissing everyone elses advice - far from it, I agree with all they've said. Just trying to throw other ideas out there, from my vast  experience.
I'm more than happy to help some more if you continue to think it is food related.
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Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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JennGM
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| Posted: Aug 22 2006 at 7:36pm | IP Logged
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It could be reflux, and milk protein (and soy protein) intolerance happens in babies but not necessarily allergies.
Another thought -- it just could be that your baby is sensing your stress (hope I'm not stepping on toes...you might be handling it well, just I know you have quite a bit of stress causers in your life right now). My mother's third baby was born during some rough times for my mother. She was having marital problems, her father died when my sister was only 2 months old. LLL says your milk doesn't dry up, but my mom always experienced it under heavy stress times. The baby didn't gain, her milk wasn't flourishing and my sister cried non stop for many months of her life. They called it colic. Not sure what doctors would call it now. Could it have been diet related? Not sure. Crying could cause the gas. Stress can make the esophagus inflamed and cause reflux and cause the endless circle.
There's some homeopathic tablets mixed with water that my mother used for my two youngest siblings, as they had "colic" and were up straight nights for months. That finally worked. Not sure what it was...I'll track it down if you want to try that route.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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mary
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| Posted: Aug 23 2006 at 6:28am | IP Logged
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i don't have any suggestions, just wanted to offer some sympathy. my fourth has been a fussy baby and at 9 weeks, i finally tried some gas drops. oh my, the relief for all of us is pure joy. probably i need to figure out what foods are causing her gas issues, . . .
molly, i hope you find your happy baby again!
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Fussy baby
