I just fall more in love with my little ham every day. She just cracks me up with all of her faces :-) Her personality is so fun already at just 7 weeks, I can't wait to see it develop even more!
Okay Mommies I need your help!
If you are not inclined to read about breastfeeding or baby poop then stop reading now :-)
Breastfeeding itself has been getting better but I am just about at my wits end. Here's our little situation...a few weeks ago Emma Claire started to get really REALLY gassy and colicky and her little poops went from seedy and mustardy yellow to stringy and green. I researched this situation and found that it was most likely a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance which is pretty easy to fix. You simply block feed to make sure the baby is getting enough of the higher fat hindmilk that comes at the end of the feeding. Well that worked for a little while then last weekend the gas came back and her poop went back to green. So I decided it wasn't an imbalance and is most likely a sensitivity to something I'm eating...most likely dairy. So the Hubs and I revamped our fridge and pantry to accommodate this. I had NO CLUE how much dairy I ate on a daily basis...now I'm having MAJOR mommy guilt because I'm the reason she has been in pain. Anyways my questions to y'all are....
Did any of you have a little one with these issues or a dairy allergy/sensitivity?! How long did it take to "work"? Do you have any suggestions/advice?
Thank you in advance for any insight you can give me! I just want my little one to feel better. She is SO SO happy and content most of the time. Until her tummy starts hurting or she has to poopy, then she's miserable and screams in pain until she's passed gas or pottyed. :-( I'm hoping that she will start feeling better soon with the elimination of dairy.
13 comments:
Aww, Mallorie...don't beat yourself up. Honestly, I wish I could help, but even though I've done this 3x, I'm useless to you right now. Hope you find answers! I have heard that eating oatmea and i think almonds are supposed to be good for your milk production, but THAT'S not really the issue here is it? Lol. ;) Sorry! :(
She IS a ham...we've known that for a while. :) So cute!
Is EC gaining weight okay? If she's gaining weight well then I would think she's getting plenty of hindmilk. I know you sometimes supplement and that can also change the color/consistency of her poop. I suggest talking to or meeting with a lactation consultant. My pediatrician gives terrible breastfeeding advice. He wanted me to feed for 15 min on each side at each feeding. Thanks to my LacCon, I feed on one breast until he's full and I pump the other. If he still seems hungry I offer what I pumped, if not, I freeze it. My dr had us doing formula supplements, but that does more harm than good and can cause your supply to go down.
I'm not going to be a whole lot of help, but my littlest was sensitive to pineapple. And, I was told that it takes about 36 hours for an irritant to be completely out of your milk. Then, it seems like it would take another day or so to be completely out of her system. Bless your heart (and hers)! Have you talked to your pediatrician about it?
(Clarifying here....) I totally agree with Cheerful Homemaker. Pediatricians aren't the best at breastfeeding advice. But, I would definitely talk to your pedi about possible things that could be causing sweet baby girl's upset tummy. Dr. Google is a wonderful, terrible thing. And I would just hate for you to be treating the wrong problem.
Her little digestive track is also brand new, so that could be a factor. You can take a probiotic. I think acidophilus can be purchased over-the-counter. You can also get the same benefits from yogurt, but if you're trying to eliminate dairy I'd skip the yogurt way. :)
My little girl was also dairy sensitive. When she was 4 weeks old I cut out all dairy and she got much better! I did not reintroduce dairy until she was nine months old and started slow with yogurt...She is now 13 months old and loves yogurt and cheese and tolerates it just fine. I would definitely talk to your pediatrician and a lactation consultant as both can be helpful! I hope this helps!
I can't be of much help but I would discuss your diet with EC's pediatrician. Formula does change their poop though and some types can cause gas. We give Georgia Similac sensitive and that is for dairy allergies. I can say that for us BF was not worth the stress. When I fully switched G to formula she was a totally different baby. Not saying you should stop at all but for us it was best.
breaks my heart :( I'm so sorry you are having to go through this... but really dont beat yourself up! :) I hope you find answers soon too and I agree with everyone- I would give your dr. a call :) Praying for yall! :)
Love that little face, so precious!!! My first advice would be to get in touch with your local La Leche League. Seriously. I went to my first meeting when my first daughter was 1 month old, and it helped me so much. To see other moms breastfeeding and to ask questions, etc.--SUPPORT--from moms who've been there and done that. I've made some of my best and treasured friendships through LLL. Here's the link that lets you find a local group:
http://www.lllusa.org/groups.php
I want to say that it takes about 2 weeks for cow's milk protein to leave the body, so I wouldn't expect for Miss Emma Claire to feel better until you've totally been off dairy for at least that amount of time (if that's the case). But, if you're still supplementing with formula at times, then it gets tricky, as it could be the formula contributing to her green poop and gas.
Mallorie, you're being the best mom you can be to Emma Claire, and don't beat yourself up for anything. Try not to lay on the Mama guilt too thick :) you are a fantastic mom and you're doing a terrific job.
Look into Similac Alimentum. Once we started supplementing with it, Avery's fussy/gassy spells got much better. You know I'm off dairy and soy...seems to have helped but not sure. Our peds office seems to tell everyone to stop dairy so I don't know if that is it or not. You should bring it up to your pedi bc they tested Avery's stool to investigate.
I'm sorry you are having to deal with this issue, but she is SO cute! :)
Mallorie - Don't get too upset with yourself. I started breastfeeding Taft and thought that things were going great. He latched on perfect! then he got jaundice. And it got worse. The peds recommended that I suppliment with formula. So - I just thought that I would pump and save milk and to my surprise, there was nothing to pump. Maybe 1 ounce. I was starving him and had been for days. I just had no milk. Talk about guilt.
But - he did get gas and hiccups A LOT. We gave him Gripe Water. It is over the counter and Target and some pharmacies have it. It is all natural and worked great.
I hope that you find a solution for Emma Claire soon. ;0
Mallorie, I just read this post. I have been so swamped and blogging as taken a major backseat. What you just described sounds exactly like what we went through with Maryclaire. I had to completely eliminate dairy from my diet for a good 6 months. After that, I could have it in small portions. I could always tell when I had a little too much by Mc's reaction to it (poops, spit-ups, fussiness). It was so tough, but before you know it, she'll be weaned! Mc just turned a year old and I still can't give her much dairy. My brain is so foggy I don't remember if I blogged much about this issue, but you can always check to see if I did. Good luck!!!
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