help me with my 7 wk old ebf ds

[Michigan Mama]

nak
ok, so a couple weeks ago, I started suspecting a problem with my ds2, slightly green poo, seeming a little more watery than normal. He started crying more, maybe around 4-5 wks. startrd spitting up ore around then, too. i waas quesyioning between food issues vs foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. about a wk ago i switched to nursing only on one side per feeding. poo color is better now, but he still cries a lot, arching his back like he's in pain. still spitting up.

yesterday p.m. i decided to take dairy out of my diet to see if it helps. took me a long time with ds1 to figure out that dairy was one of his worst. (if it helps, i am allergic to corn, soy, yeast. ds1 is allergic to dairy, soy, nuts, beans, peas, etc, potatoes & onions)

i'm just randoming picking dairy because i know it's common. any other suggestions, tips or ideas for me? How long before I should be able to see improvements?

How long does it take food to get from my mouth to my boob? How long until it clears out of my body?

[Bokonon]

It can take 2-3 weeks for dairy to leave your system, and potentially another 2-3 to leave baby's. Most people see results within 2 weeks if dairy is the culprit. Since you have such a family history of food allergies, eliminated dairy is probably a good place to start, but does Santiago arch his back during the feedings? You may still have an overactive letdown if that's the case, especially because you saw improvement switching to one breast per feeding, and block feeding is probably a good idea, and you will see results much more quickly than with the dairy elimination. Try feeding from one breast for a block of 3 or 4 hours before switching to the other for the next 3 or 4 hours, and within a couple of days you will likely see improvement if overactive letdown is what's going on.

[kjbrown92]

For me, with my DS, it took exactly 24 hours after I ingested milk, for it to get into DS through my milk, and then another 72 hours before he'd stop reacting. Not sure if that's normal or not.

Are yours and your DS's IgE allergies or intolerances (that's just a curiosity question)? Actually I guess it's not just curiosity. If it's allergies, then I'd think about the top 8 allergens, and if it's intolerances, I'd think about the top 4 intolerances (dairy, gluten, soy, corn). I did the same thing though, with DD2, the first things I took out were dairy and soy because those were the foods that DS had an issue with. Then I went from there (and they both share the top 4, and then are intolerant to a whole host of opposite foods).

Keep a food journal while you're figuring it out.

[Michigan Mama]

Originally Posted by Bokonon

but does Santiago arch his back during the feedings? You may still have an overactive letdown if that's the case, especially because you saw improvement switching to one breast per feeding, and block feeding is probably a good idea, and you will see results much more quickly than with the dairy elimination. Try feeding from one breast for a block of 3 or 4 hours before switching to the other for the next 3 or 4 hours, and within a couple of days you will likely see improvement if overactive letdown is what's going on.

there have only been a couple of instances where he seemed uncomfortable (arching, etc) during a feeding. Sometimes he does sort of choke and sputter, but my milk doesn't spray or anything. Just drips when I have a letdown. Sometimes it does seem like it's coming too fast for him, though. During the days he probably eats every 2 or 3 hours or so, often more like 3 to 4 at night. I don't really watch the clock, but would it work for block feeding to just do two feedings on a side before I switch? I'm not really familiar with block feeding.

Are yours and your DS's IgE allergies or intolerances

Mine are IgE allergies. Ds has never been tested, but many of his produce rashes, hives, etc. in the past, peanuts and dairy have both caused his eyelids and earlobes to swell. soy gives him diaarrea and horrible (bleeding) diaper rash. I'd assume that's allergy and not intolerance. Does that sound right? I"m still learning about all this stuff.

[Michigan Mama]

OK, I'm going to add body rash and red around the anus to ds2's symptoms...

Anymore thoughts? I think I'm also going to take peanuts out of my diet, just to see...

[mamafish9]

For me, DS reacts about 3 hours after I eat something, and then keeps reacting for about 24 hours. So it can be really variable.

How much you take out I think kind of depends on how desperate you are to find a solution (i.e. how unhappy your babe is). You might start by pulling out everything your other child is allergic to, and see if that helps. If not, then I'd be tempted to pull all the top allergens in the list kjbrown2 gave you, and see if that clears up symptoms (you'll likely see improvement in just a few days if you have everything out). Then you could add things back in and figure out which ones are problems.

[Michigan Mama]

Thanks, mamas.

Does the frothy poo I've seen over the last couple days give me any more hints as to whether I'm dealing with fore/hindmilk imbalance or a food issue? (Or it's nothing and I'm just weird?)

[dulce_mami]

I am taking notes here ...
My 5wk DS has had bad stools from the beginning (which I understand means that it will take longer to overcome the allergies/intolerances) and I am still far from figuring things out. After taking out the top allergenic and intolerant foods, he was still not better (except the rash on his face got better). Over the past week I tried to eat only a handful of foods, but he did not get better, so for the past couple of days I ate only quinoa, chicken, and apples. His stools became the worst. I think it may be the chicken or the apples ... Anyway, since I started bleeding/spotting again (I assume I am missing calcium or
iron?), I broke my ``TED tonight" and ate a bunch of things (I can't believe how hungry I was!)

Tomorrow is another day and I don't know what I should eat ...

[kjbrown92]

Some things you do have to give time. If you only went on the TED for 2 days, you could still have food in the breastmilk from your previous diet. And some things like gluten, take longer to clear out of the system. And some kids get a little worse before they get better. You might try going with foods you haven't had before. Like instead of chicken do lamb or venison. Instead of apples do plaintains or plums. Use beets as a veggie. Something like that. Foods you haven't had before.