has your diet impacted your lo's sleeping?

[ktmama]

My ds isn't such a great sleeper. He wakes every 1.5 - 3 hours to nurse all night long. sigh.

Early on, we discovered that he was sensitive to dairy and I eliminated it from my diet with really positive effects. Here's my confession: I absolutely love chocolate - milk chocolate. However, I haven't noticed any of the same symptoms as diary (gassiness, spitting up, fussy sleeping) with chocolate. BUT, this past weekend I didn't have any and he slept for six straight hours last night.

What do you think? Was it a fluke? Have any of you discovered that your diet has had an impact (positive or negative) on your lo's sleep?

[norajune'smama]

absolutely. we are off of dairy, gluten, corn, soy, citrus, and tomatoes and the only thing that makes it tolerable is the positive impact that it has had on our sleep. the way dd sleeps is actually a big symptom that we watch and i record in our food log.

[ktmama]

nj'smama, if you don't mind me asking - what kind of symptoms do you look for?

[MujerMamaMismo]

We're just coming to understand the impact that diet has on our DS. He wakes every 1-3 hours - sometimes every half hour, even. So far he's off dairy, soy and tomatoes. If we don't see enough of a change, I think we'll get rid of wheat too.

Am very interested to hear the experiences of others - especially other symptoms as DS seemingly has no other symptoms.

[atlantafemme]

I'm interested to hear others' experience with this too! My LO is 8.5 months and still wakes anywhere between 4-8 times a night. I was beginning to feel like there was no rhyme or reason to why some nights were so rough but then last night, we had an easy night and it hit me that I hadn't had any cow's milk yesterday.

I also realized that the redness around his anus that I've been assuming is just random diaper rash may be related. His stools are normal and I haven't noticed any other allergenic symptoms but I read in Sears's book that these things can be subtle. Anyone else have positive sleeps results after cutting out dairy or other foods from your diet?

[ThankfulMama]

Sleep trouble is definitely one of the symptoms of DDs multiple food intolerances. As is the red ring around her anus/diaper rash. (Others include nasal congestion, spiting, rash/eczema, excessive gassiness, irritability, etc) I, too, record sleep issues in the food journal.

If you think it is the milk, you may consider a milk-protein-free chocolate. Guittard semi-sweet chips are free of milk protein, there are others too.

Best wishes.

[treemom2]

I never noticed my DD having trouble when I ate dairy, but when I ate chocolate she wouldn't sleep. It took me a long time to figure out what was happening, I mean, chocolate really doesn't have a lot of caffeine and she didn't have any issues when I ate dairy. Well, it was the chocolate. When I'd eat it, she would not sleep. Even now, at 8 years old, chocolate really sends her up a wall. . .if she's going to have it we have to make sure there is a park she can go run in and we always warn people before she goes to their homes that she has trouble with chocolate. We've found it makes her very, hmmm, mean?!!? She'll get an underbite then hit, scream, and just completely become a different child. We've found it isn't quite as bad with the more natural chocolates with no additives, but she still does have a reaction.

[norajune'smama]

our symptoms are similar to thankfulmama's. and yes, they are very subtle, it took me a long time to realize it. the thing that really lets me know that we've had a bad night is her general discomfort in the bed. it's not just that she would wake often. it would be that during the hour that she was asleep, she would grunt and groan and cry out and dh and i would not sleep at. all. she was also having a hard time pooping. it would take several times to get it all out.
then i realized that the rash on her butt wasn't going away. we EC and she was never in a diaper so at first we thought it was just dry from being nakey bum. she also started getting what we thought were a lot of colds for a breastfed kid who's never been vaxed or on antibiotics and stays home with her mama. it seemed like she was sick every time i would take her anywhere, but now we're realizing that a lot of those symptoms are allergy symptoms. she also sometimes coughs at night and i read that some other mama's LO's do that on the allergy forum. hmmm, what else?
oh, so, there are some weird behavioral things too. it's too hard for me to put into words. she just seems pretty aggressive and out of control sometimes, just not herself. and we can tell at those times, it's not just a hyper two year old, it's something else.
hth.

[Maluhia]

Oh yes you could tell how I'd eaten by DD's fussiness vs. calmness, her physical space being smooth vs. jerky and kicking a lot at night, etc.

[penstamon]

I never did the full elimination diet and I didn't see any changes when I took out dairy, but DS's horrible sleep and reflux connection is making me look back into food intolerances. He doesn't have any other symptoms other than hyperactivity after a bad night, which I chalk up to being overtired.

Our ped just suggested we start another food diary and consult with a pedi gastroenterologist after a few weeks. I am also waiting to get in with a naturopath who treats many infants through their mom's diet.

So who knows? I think that MD's tend to shy away from the FI route because there hasn't been enough conclusive research done, just anecdotal evidence.