BF baby with stomch pain - cross posted from "Life with a Babe"

[sk8boarder15]

My newborn has been exclusively breast fed from day one. He will be three weeks tomorrow. And he seems like he has an allergy.... he cries anywhere from 2-20minutes before a BM. Sometimes he just grunts and cries and there is nothing we can do to calm him... He also has a ring of very raw diaper rash right around his anus. He is cloth diapered and doesn't have diaper rash anywhere else.

I've given up all dairy for a week now and it doesn't seem to have done anything. Should I just keep trying common trouble foods??

I'm a first time mom and hate seeing my LO cry. Any suggestions??

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Here was my first response to some questions:

I've tried to give it up 100% but have had a few minor slip ups. I took a bite of my husbands CHEESEburger, the other night. Instead of getting a soy latte, I got Soy MOCHA... oops. And I found out the peanut granola bar I had eaten had a tiny amount of dairy in it. Besides that I think I've been really good. I've been eating lots of chicken, fish, fruit and salad (no cheese no dressing).

It hasn't seem to have made a difference yet though in 7 days, with only three minor silp ups. Before that I was drinking glasses of milk and having huge bowls of ice cream (I really missed Ice cream since I was GD.). So I would think that even with that much diary gone I would see something.

Also I started with dairy since I found out I couldn't handle dairy as a baby, I was fine with soy, but my mom couldn't give me any dairy till I was over two years old or else I would projectile vomit.

My fear is that wheat is his issue, and I really don't know how to eliminate wheat from your diet completely. That would be very very hard for me.

I'll post this in the allergy forum as well, I didn't even know there was one!

[mamafish9]

The other three top intolerance foods are gluten, soy, and corn. I'd try taking them out next (one at a time or all at once). If you don't see improvement in a week, you likely don't have all the culprits, you're right about that. Doesn't mean milk isn't an issue - it might be, but you won't see improvement until you have the rest out.

Gluten free isn't too hard for a week - if you're eating lots of basic home made foods already, you're well on your way. For a week trial, I'd just stick to naturally gluten free meals (rice, etc). If it helps, and you have to stay GF, then you can master the art of gluten free baking and stuff.

There's lots of support here, most of us have been through restricting all the top 4 intolerances plus a bunch more. It's awesome you're figuring this out when your LO is only 3 weeks old .

[tanyalynn]

My kids were older--a toddler and a 3.5yo--when we cut out gluten and dairy, and although the toddler was nursing, he seems to react to what he eats more than to what I eat--so I'm not sure how long it should be before you see improvement. With no change at all in 7 days, I'd probably be thinking an additional food or two. Dairy and soy are very cross-reactive, and gluten's pretty commonly a problem. I'd either take out 1 more food, or 2 if you can handle it. Corn is everywhere, that's why I'd say start with easier stuff before you try to eliminate corn. And consider a food journal, with what you eat at each meal and then a timeline of crying and red bottom getting better/worse. If you have multiple foods, if you can get out some of the common ones that are consumed ever day, then it's easier to see the infrequent ones.

Easy gluten free lunches & dinners are meat + (rice/potatoes/sweet potatoes/quinoa/legumes) + veggie. Familiar meals (assuming you're omni and in the US) that are already gluten and dairy free--chili, stews, roast chicken with veggies, roast beef with roasted veggies.