Does this sound like a dairy allergy to you?

[dislocator3972]

DD was breastfed + solids, and we introduced cheese/dairy sometime around 8 months (end of March).

She has never slept through the night, but she was waking up, nursing back to sleep, and having no real trouble until early summer when she'd start crying around 3-4am. Not really awake, but fussing/crying and twisting and rolling and struggling. It would last usually an hour or two every night.

Fast forward: I get pregnant. Cannot keep up with night time feedings. 6 times a night and I was a crazy shaking, crying, mess one night. Nightweaned DD at 10 months (ish). At first we nursed her at bedtime, then DH gave her water unless she really demanded BM, then he gave her some in a bottle. I knew my supply was likely to suffer, but she quit before my mammary glands did. She stopped nursing and we wound up giving her cow's milk to put her to sleep at around 11 months (early August).

The nighttime behavior changes to sleeping from bedtime until 3-4am when she has the same odd sort of struggle.

Sept 28: We see a naturopath and form a plan for eliminating dairy. Coconut milk at bedtime. The first week seemed to show huge improvement. She would still wake up (now earlier - closer to midnight) but she would settle in and go to sleep with us. Second week, she gets goldfish crackers at church (didn't think ahead on that one) and then again at an LLL mtg on Wednesday. It's Sunday night and she's been screaming all week. Nearly all night, inconsolable. EXCEPT for two random nights when she just slept all night without a peep.

Of course it could be an ear infection (she's had her fair share of those) and it could be teeth (I've been eyeing molars for a few weeks now). Or, it could be the coconut milk. The first few days off dairy she had rice milk, then we tried coconut milk. I just wanted to see which she liked better, but maybe she likes the one that hurts her stomach. I don't know.

I really want this to be over. I want to stop looking at allergies because I'm TIRED of cross-checking every variable wondering why the heck she's upset now. I'm not even sure I believe her half the time. She's been pretty high needs since day one and I'm just feeling over it. I want an easy baby. Or at least one that makes sense. If dairy is really the trouble, then fine. But I'm going to need some sort of proof or evidence here. When exactly does that happen?

[mamafish9]

I think you have proof. You eliminated dairy, and you're getting strong reactions when she consumes even a little dairy now (reactions are often a lot stronger after you've eliminated a food. If you need more proof, you can try a dairy challenge again when she's not teething or anything else that would make you question a reaction.

Food intolerance reactions can last 3-4 days, so I'd guess you're seeing reactions to the goldfish (with a couple of exhausted nights where she collapsed and slept). Teeth and ears could be playing a role too.

It can be very overwhelming at first, but you can and will figure it out! Reading labels for the first month or so sucks, but it does get a lot easier.

And it's worth chasing down - you may be really surprised once you get all the reacting foods out of her diet, that she's not as high needs by nature as she's been so far, that she sleeps better, that she's just generally a happier kid.

[jellybeanmumma]

It does sound a bit like dairy, especially the 3-4 am grizzlies. DS (16mo) used to start then and often fuss till morning - he was still asleep often but thrashing, squirming and wingeing and obviously in pain. He is so much better now that even the current teething sleep is an improvement on what it used to be. I've heard coconut milk is quite rich and high calorie for young bubs so it needs to be watered down. We do rice, almond, quinoa, oat or hazelnut (mmm) milk depending on what the health food store has in. Reactions to dairy are definitely stronger now if I slip up. I had a coffee the other day that tasted funny then that night was a shocker as were the next 2. I think they must have messed up and given me cow milk. I was just wondering today if we would have had it easier if we'd figured it out earlier as DS is also high needs. I think it is just his personality but it makes me sad that he had pain that I could have alleviated sooner. The easier nights make it ok to miss out on cheese platters and MIL's lasagna..after he won't BF forever!! Oh yeah and as for her maybe liking the one that hurts her tummy it is often the case with allergic foods as there is some kind of opiate effect in the body - DS used to love yogurt more than anything yet it was one of the only forms of dairy he had! Best of luck. Good luck with bump!

[missnoodlesmom]

Constant Night waking, chronic ear infections (18 in the year after he started solids), excema, bronchitis/pneumonia from excess mucous production....these were all signs of my sons dairy intolerance. Didn't show up on a skin test but after cutting it out, it was pretty clearly the culprit.

[dislocator3972]

Well I guess we'll keep plugging away then. I guess since I'm home full time now I should be able to keep an eye on her diet easier. Or at least know it was my own dumb fault if she eats dairy.

Back to the kitchen to be reading labels. Any chance she'll grow out of this??

[akemt]

There is a very good chance she'll grow out of it (though not all do and perhaps not completely, as in the case with some of my kids). Your BEST chance of that happening, in my experience, is to keep your child de-sensitized as long as you can. It took us a couple years, doctors, and kids! to finally figure out ours was a protein issue, not a lactose issue. Then we found out it was milk-soy protein intollerance (so keep an eye on the soy too as it is commonly both) and after going off both completely for 6+ months, which isn't an easy task --cooking everything from scratch or buying uber expensive stuff since they are in everything mass-produced, my older two were de-sensitized enough to be able to choose for themselves. One still avoids most dairy, the other loves it now. My youngest (three now) still need parental monitoring. It can be a nightmare till you get the hang of it, but having people with similar food issues (my friend and her kids have celiacs) can be a real life saver mentally, so try to find some friends for support locally. I found the "kids with food allergies" forum to be really helpful when I first started out about 3 years ago.