4month old.. blood in poop & i am clueless

[lemoni]

Hello - I'm new here... my lovely friend beantownbaby referred me here for some advice from you ladies...

I have a 4month old daughter Emily, who is BF and EBF when I'm working. She has had a few diapers with teeny tiny streaks of blood in them. She has also had increasingly green, watery or mucousy poops lately. She sleeps well and isn't very fussy, but does have cradle cap and some patches of dry skin.

I'm starting to try and go dairy-free this week... but it's hard and I don't really know what I'm doing. Any thoughts on what's going on with her, or what I should do?

Thanks!

[kjbrown92]

Dairy free would be a great idea since that's the most common food intolerance. Pick up some supplies so that you have things to eat.
Veggies and fruits are naturally dairy free. Nuts, beans. Meat.
Things you have to check the ingredients lists on: everything else. And I wouldn't do deli meats while you're testing, since that's big for cross-contamination.

We drink coconut milk, rice milk, smoothies, red tea, pineapple juice, 100% orange juice (not calcium added or any of the other added formulas).

We eat roasted chicken, with gravy and rice. Beef stew. Chicken mirabella, chicken curry, stir fry meat over rice (look at all seasonings though), hamburgers (look at bun ingredients, if you eat the bun), chili, spaghetti and meatsauce (homemade is best, again, ou control the ingredients), roasted veggies in oil, steamed veggies, baked squash with maple syrup.

Breakfast could be cereal with rice milk, pancakes (sub coconut milk or rice milk for the regular milk), sausage (read ingredients), bacon, eggs (we fry ours in coconut oil).

Lunch can be salad (watch dressings; we did homemade Good Seasons, stick some nuts on there for protein, I also add dried cranberries), soups (homemade is best so that you know the ingredients), leftovers.

And while you're doing it, you might want to start a food journal (everything you're eating, drinking, supplements, etc.) and see if you notice any patterns.

[Shanny2032]

I was dairy, soy and egg free for 6 months before DD outgrew it all. I had her tested at one point so I knew she was just sensitive and did not have a true allergy which helped me to know that she would outgrow it sooner rather than later. PP had some good food suggestions. Also, if it weren't for a Whole Foods being 5 minutes from my house I don't think I could have done it. If you can, leave LO at home when you grocery shop at least in the beginning - it takes a long time to read labels and figure it all out. It can take several (shoot for 3) weeks for the dairy to get out of your bm and baby's system so give it time but if you don't see a change in her stools by then I would take out soy next as many who have one also have the other. It is really hard but was so worth being able to continue nursing and giving her what was best. Be careful when seeking medical advice in this arena - I was told more than once to stop nursing and give her special formulas! Good luck.

[Bokonon]

I've been dairy- and soy-free for 3 months now and have rarely cooked the same dinner twice! I haven't felt limited at all. Allrecipes dot com has a dairy-free section, and there are many blogs and websites about allergen-free cooking. Tonight we had Basil Chicken over Angelhair Pasta. Last night we had beef stew. We make chili a lot on the weekends, and I've made cornbread with rice milk instead of cow's milk and no one knows the difference.

For lunches, I usually have leftovers, or I make pasta with olive oil and herbs, or a PB&J sandwich, or rotisserie chicken.

Breakfast is usually oatmeal (I have to check labels very carefully, but have found some good options), dry cereal with rice milk, Orowheat 100% whole wheat bread (this is a safe one - many have milk in them) with Smart Balance vegan buttery spread and/or apricot preserves, bacon and eggs...

I would recommend getting your ducks in a row before committing to it, because you'll need to go shopping. Have a meal plan ready and a detailed list before you go to the store. Once you have done this diet for a few weeks, you will just know what you can and can't eat, and it will become second nature. It does require more food preparation than I was used to prior, but it's a much healthier way of eating because it forces you to eat many fewer processed foods.

HTH, and good luck!

[lemoni]

Thank you ladies: you just helped me plan meals for the week! I have just sent DH to the food co-op armed with a lengthy shopping list...

I am also kicking myself because I thought I'd done good this weekend and now I realize that the restaurant dinner rolls and breakfast toast might have undone my good efforts to kick this off

[BeantownBaby9]

THERE SHE IS!!!!

SO glad you posted hunny, I swear I would have lost my mind if it weren't for the fantastic ladies on here helping me figure out Chase. They will help you and Emily!

Getting basic meals, like a plain or CF marinated protein, a sauteed/steamed veggie and a starch can help you take the confusion out of this. Like KJ said, READ LABELS. I have only now gone to minimal packaged foods b/c when I was still figuring things out, it was so much easier for me to say "I ate steak, rice and salad greens.....its one of those three".

Don't worry about your dinner rolls, you will have set backs, we all have.

I think the cradle cap and skin may be able to be addressed with biotin. Lots of the babes on here have to take biotin because they can't absorb it properly from their BM or solids. Here is a good link from WHFoods and this from Mother Nature. I don't know whether you should add a little to her EBM bottles or you take it and have it go through your BM. Other girls may be able to comment better on that. It took about two months of putting 5mg of biotin in Chase's nightitme bottle to make his cradle cap finally go away. I think adding B vits at the end is really what put it over the edge.

[kjbrown92]

Originally Posted by Shanny2032

I was dairy, soy and egg free for 6 months before DD outgrew it all. I had her tested at one point so I knew she was just sensitive and did not have a true allergy which helped me to know that she would outgrow it sooner rather than later. PP had some good food suggestions. Also, if it weren't for a Whole Foods being 5 minutes from my house I don't think I could have done it.

I have seen the exact opposite (allergies being "outgrown" more often than intolerances).