Food intolerance questions...
I posted most of this on BFing, but didn't get any response... so I am coming to you ladies!
I mostly want to hear it is okay/ good idea/ bad idea to challenge dairy.
So... question: do most food intolerances present the same way? DS was fussy, had a hard time passing gas, was gassy, and had a little ring of small sores around his anus. His poop was mostly seedy yellow with some green, maybe quarter sized in a full diaper. I gave up dairy, and secondarily gave up caffeine - since I didn't really drink pepsi, coffee was a waste of time with no cream, chocolate for the obvious.
He was better within a couple of days. Lass fussy, less gassy. Diapers have kinda gone downhill, more runny, still green, but more like foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. Almost no yellow, almost no seeds. Rash cleared up.
Three days ago I had pepsi... the day after he was gassy and fussy (although the fussy could have been left over from his needles.) He was having the same issues passing gas.
So... would you try dairy again? I am thinking I was too quick to cut it out. And, is my diet likely to have effected the fattiness of my milk that much? I really don't feel like I have oversupply issues again, although I could be more diligent about block feeding.
Thanks!
Re: Food intolerance questions...
Interested to hear others' take on the second question, as I recently gave up dairy and have wondered how much it will effect my milk.
I'd try dairy again - maybe start with hard cheese and yogurt as I've heard sometimes that is easier to digest than other milk products.
My supply didn't go down because of giving up dairy. That said, I always had supply issues at first, but that had nothing to do with whether or not I ate dairy. Flannery was 10 months old before I could eat any cheeses without it bothering her. Eggs and soy are back in my diet fine, though.
Been off dairy 3 weeks. Didn't do the full elim diet. But I have watched hidden dairy.
He never had signs of blood or mucus in the diaper, so I went obvious possibility first.
My supply (quantity) doesn't seem to have been effected, but he does show some signs of f/h issues. I just wondered if that was me paying less attention to which side he was on when (since we had early oversupply issues, and I still have lots of milk) or if it was diet related.
I have been eating more margerine (soy) and more eggs since cutting out dairy. It would be a little hard for me to do full elim, if only because I can't really buy the stuff nearby, which means an hour trip to town to do a proper grocery stocking to be prepared for it.
I have no idea what to make for supper and there is a casserole in the frezer filled with mozza that I could throw on... since it only took a day or two for him to feel better before (and not the full 3 weeks) I am very tempted...
If it only took a day or two for him to feel better, dairy may not be your cause or there may be other causes as well. I believe dairy takes 3-5 days to clear out of your system. Since you found Pepsi may be a problem, here is our experience.
I have had a very different experience that I always try to share. My pedi said dairy is highly overdiagnosed and he believes a lot of things people avoid when cutting out dairy are the real culprits. For example, someone who eats peach yogurt might have a baby sensitive to peaches. For this reason, he recommended a different diet but also said if I do determine dairy to be the cause, I should challenge different things to be sure. There are a lot of women on here who definitely have a problem with dairy, I just wanted to tell you what worked for us.
He called his diet the white diet. I was only allowed to eat plain chicken, vanilla yogurt, white bread, and drink apple juice and water for the first 5 days. He said it is all very bland and easy to digest. DS stopped with the screaming within twelve hours and all of the fussiness was gone within a day or two. I then had to challenge fruits and vegetables, one every 2-3 days, then other meat, than whatever I chose to add in. In the first week, DH got me a grilled chicken sandwich that happened to be seasoned. I didn't realize it until I bit it and went ahead eating it anyway. DS screamed for hours that night. That was how we discovered black pepper was an issue. We tried it maybe 3 times in the first year (accidentally each time) and always had a reaction. The only other thing we found was blueberry muffins (no idea why, I can eat blueberries and I can eat other muffins but not blueberry muffins). I still limit my pepper intake, DS seemed fine for a while but every now and then it seems to bother him.
Good luck figuring it out!
ETA: Some babies are very caffeine sensitive. Even at over 2 with limited nursing, DS sleeps like crap if I have caffeine. I have been having iced tea lately and I think I just realized that is why he is sleeping poorly. Time to start a log. Anyway, that could be part of the Pepsi thing.
Thanks all! I realized I may not have been clear that I suspect caffeine instead of dairy.
Comes from always typing while hoping babe will sleep through the post!
Quazel... thanks for the suggestion! I think if this doesn't work I will try something more like that. I didn't do any food logs, and that sounds like a good way to pinpoint issues.
Sucks in part because DH usually gives DS a bottle of pumped milk in the evenings... so I may have to either stop that, or be very scientific with my research...
I think I will be daring and try the casserole. I have eaten everything in it besides the cheese in the last three weeks, so I should be able to limit it to that if DS does react.
Of course, I think that I have felt better since giving up dairy, so I may find only certain things work with me too...