Breastfeeding and elimnating foods, need help/ideas

[April8830]

I am EBF my 5 week old. About 2 weeks ago sha started having green seedy bm's. The LC told me to work on a possible foremilk/hindmilk imbalance. I did and no change so we went to taking out dairy not worring too much about hidden but only used a butter in the morning in a bagel. Well she seemed to be getting better until today. I started drinking soymilk on Friday. Today she had a green bm with a tiny amount of blood in it. Yes I have contacted her Ped. about this. She is gaining weight and drinking plenty as the weight we did in the LC meeting brfore and after nursing indicated she got 5 ounces.

For those of you who have had to eliminate how long did it take to notice difference in your babe? What did you do for eating since milk and soy are in so much? Did you eliminate hidden traces too?

Crossposted in May 2010

[PatioGardener]

I cut out all dairy and soy - including hidden/trace and "may contain". I saw dramatic improvement in 1 week, and we were back to 'normal' in 2 weeks.

I also have over active let down and over supply - so I had to work on those as well.

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by PatioGardener

I cut out all dairy and soy - including hidden/trace and "may contain". I saw dramatic improvement in 1 week, and we were back to 'normal' in 2 weeks.

I also have over active let down and over supply - so I had to work on those as well.

I was thinking that those symptoms could also be from OALD, if the baby took in 5 ounces in one sitting.

OP, does any of this sound familiar? http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html

[kittywitty]

I also have OALD. For dairy issues, it took about 2 weeks completely dairy free (no hidden stuff).

[kalamos23]

overactive supply can also be due to mom having dairy issues (you know how you get a runny nose when you have allergies? well, since the boob is a mucous/liquid maker as well, if you are allergic or sensitive to dairy and or soy, you can have oversupply from it). I had oversupply, OAL and DD was allergic to dairy/soy and eggs. I noticed my oversupply got dramatically better when I cut out dairy (I still had a ton of milk but at least I wasn't producing enough for all the babies in the US!). I have talked to a few other women who have noticed the same thing - not sure if it's coincidental, but it makes sense.

[April8830]

I guess I need to make a food diary of what I am eating. Today DD2 had a slightly mucousy/bloody stool two times. I took the diaper to the Pedi. office and they ran a test to see if there was blood in the stool. It came back positive, which you could just look at it and see that. Well they are sending it off to be cultured to see if salmonilla or something like that present in her gut. I may find out by Friday the results.

Well I called the LC office today and they recommended to pump thru the first letdown to make sure she is getting plenty of hindmilk, again. We have done this before but not religiously. They have been trying to help me figure out what is going on as well so they know the entire story.

The Pedi office said if the culture comes back fin then we would need to look at swapping her over to a Predigested Formula similar to Allimentium (I think was the name).

I do not want to feed her formula but I do not want to be making her sick either by EBF her. She has a rash all over her. Noe the rash I thought was a heatrash. It looks better in the morning not as red on her face and after the day has gotten stared it gets redder. We cosleep so she lays down during the night for feeding and during the day she is in the cradle position most of the time so that led me to believe it was heat related. But, the rash seems to be spreading now seeing more spots on her belly and legs. Now one thing is DD has gotten to the point where she is happier and will lay down to nap by herself and will lay down and just look and stretch for 30 minutes or so. So I think taking Dairy and Soy out have helped. I have learned some more "hidden dairy" terms today so I do not think I had cut it ALL out due to that.

I just needed to get that out and also ask would gluten be the next thing to omit from my diet? I do not know what to do. I desperately do not want to have to stop BF as that will make me extremely sad but I also do not want to make her sick.

I have not tried anything for the OALD as I do not think that is an issue. She does not choke or gag. Occasionally she will pull away and cough.

Thank you all for your suggestions and tips as I have used several of them already.

[Bokonon]

I don't think a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance would cause bloody stools - have her stools been green or frothy?

Is the LC you're seeing an IBCLC? That can make a world of difference.

Please keep doing the elimination diet, as your breastmilk is far better for your baby than any formula. If she pulls away and coughs while nursing, you very well may have OALD and I would strongly suggest block feeding for a couple of days to see if there is a difference.

[CoBabyMaker]

Blood in the stool doesn't sound like foremilk/hindmilk issue to me at all. It does sound like allergies. Are you just off of dairy? Sorry if you said, I read the posts but I'm not clear.
Personally, I would go off the top 8 allergens plus corn and strawberries. It's really hard at first but it's workable. For us, once DD's stools were normal (which took a few weeks) I waited another couple weeks. Then SLOWLY add the foods back in and watch. It's kind of a pain in the neck but it's SO worth it-and temporary!

[April8830]

Bokonon, I am not sure if the group is IBCLC or not. It is the group at the hospital where I delivered at.

I will work on possible OALD after we get through the poop issue if she is still having problems then. I am going to work on my diet first I feel as that is where I should start. Thanks for the suggestions!

[April8830]

I am trying the TED by Dr. Sears. I am eating only turkey, rice, potatoes, yellow and green squash, and pears. For drink only water, rice milk, or diluted pear juice. I am eating this for all meals. Today makes 48 hours I have been eating this way so I guess in a few more days I will see a difference. I am going to eat like this for 2 or 3 weeks and then slowly add back in some lesser allergenic foods one every 4 days. Then saving the more allergenic ones for later.

Thanks you all for your suggestions! I will posts updates as they come.