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Breastfeeding
Jen64255
member
discontinuing breastfeeding due to eczema...?
Jen64255
member
My son has developed a fairly bad case of eczema over the past month. It is now on his arms, legs and torso. Our pediatrician now wants me to discontinue breastfeeding and strictly feed Nutramigin. She wants to do this for 2 weeks b/c she feels the eczema is food allergy related. However, he started with the eczema at the time he started daycare and we started supplementing with the Nutramigin. I do not want to discontinue breastfeeding and feel this is an extreme measure. Does anyone have experience with this?
I have not nursed him for over 24 hours at this point but I am continuing to pump. I am already having discomfort, lumps in my breast and some hormonal changes. ( I cant stop crying)I have also read that sudden stopping of breastfeeding is bad for both mother and baby. Obvious change in hormones?.which I think is my issue I am going to address this with the doctor but wanted to be able to make an informed case rather than an emotional one. Does anyone have any insight or experience with this?
I am also afraid to EP for 2 weeks since I already don?t respond well to the pump?.but I know it can be done. I should say too that I have previously eliminated dairy and soy in my diet and he developed the eczema during that elimination period.
I am looking for some advice other than break up with the pediatrician. It may come to that but I want to do what is best for my kid and I don?t think it is a good time to jump from doc to doc right now.
Thanks ladies!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: discontinuing breastfeeding due to eczema...?
First, let me say that you have to do what you feel in your heart is the right thing to do. That being said...
I read all that stuff about Eczema and food allergies, etc. I EBF my baby and he had a bad case of Eczema. I never changed my diet. His eczema was weird (swollen eye, dry patches behind the ears, PK). He never developed it in the same spot twice. He even as an older child developed it on the palms of his hands, and now a patch on his face right below his lip. Long story short...I don't think it had anything to do with food allergies. I know that people say that...but, I feel in my heart that it's not the case...at least with my LO. I have eczema and so does my brother. I feel it's a "run in the family" type thing...and if someone told me to stop BFing to "cure it"...I wouldn't have done it. That being said...I had people tell me to stop BFing because DS had a horrible latch and we had all kinds of nipple confusion in the beginning due to him being in the NICU. But, that's neither here nor there...we suck trained and got it going just fine and we weaned at 16 months. I'm off topic, but what I'm trying to say is that I wouldn't have stopped BFing just because someone told me to. I went with my gut. You should too. Good luck. BTW...I took my kid to a pediatric dermatologist to deal with the eczema and they did WONDERS for him. Maybe you could look into that, too. I loved my pedi, but I really found that they did not know as much about the problem as you would think a doc would. I think a specialist consult is in order for you if you can get one. I think pedis mean well, but sometimes they aren't as helpful as they think they are being.
Hang in there.
You don't have to break up with your doc, but it wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion. You might also want to talk this over with a LC. It also sounds like you have serious reservations about your pedi's judgement. The fact that eczema started when you were on the elimination diet might signal that it is related to something else.
My DS developed mild eczema + green stools around 2-3 months. I tried a total elimination diet but it didn't work. Since he wasn't in pain and was gaining weight, I decided not to push the issue and his symptoms cleared up around 5-6 months. Pumping + feeding formula would have been very hard for me, and my DS. Unless he was in pain or had issues that would have been detrimental to his health, I probably would have tried everything before switching over to formula, even temporarily. That is because BFing is more then just about food. It's also about comfort. I also knew that feeding him from the bottle (exclusively) might cause him to prefer it over my breast.
It sounds like you are doing the right thing questioning your doctor. Don't be afraid to ask questions and seek second opinions. You know your son better than anyone else. Good luck!
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
My DD developed slight eczema on her legs and arms when she was about 6 weeks old. It wasn't terrible, but it felt like sandpaper. My husband has terrible eczema, so I wanted to try to figure out the cause.
I did an elimination diet and found that dairy and gluten were the big culprits. I eliminated those totally from my diet and her skin got much smoother. I stayed that way until 6 months when she started solids, and I started added dairy and gluten back to my diet. Her skin is fine now.
I will say that daycare may be using sheet, bibs, sleepsacks, burp rags, etc. with a different detergent and that may be causing a lot of your problems. Ask if you can provide your own, or have your own set from school that you take home and launder to your specifications. I would also check your baby wash. We use California Baby on DD and her skin is so much better now (she had something like a prickly rash for weeks before we switched).
The last thing that I would do would be to give up breastfeeding. I would try environmental factors and your diet first.
First I just want to say thanks for reading this and taking the time to respond.
My son is 15 weeks old.
I did eliminate hidden dairy and soy. I then added soy then dairy back in.. he was never fussy when I ate those things to begin with.. I was concerned about mucus in his stool at the time.
The change in my diet appeared to make no difference. I actually limit dairy anyhow and don?t usually eat eggs unless baked in something. I did eat some peanuts/peanut butter recently and he seemed to flare up. So that is probably something to avoid in the future.
But after getting the right lotion from the doc on Wednesday his skin was almost instantly better, not completely but a huge difference.
My other concern is doing all this with the breastfeeding when it could totally be that he just has eczema. Is it normal to take 2 months to develop?
We use dreft on everything even our clothes. Daycare says they use something similar.
I just really want to make the best choice I can. I think you have helped me feel better about what I already know to be true. Thanks! Hopefully I can articulate this to my doc!
My son's eczema didn't start until he was about three months old. We tried all kinds of creams and lotions, and the only thing that got it under control was hydrocortisone cream. He's now 3.5 and hasn't had any big outbreaks until he was about 12 months or so. Eczema is really common, and can have lots of causes (his wasn't food-based, but he was given really heavy-duty antibiotics right after he was born, which I think is what caused it, frankly).
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)