Help with Diary Sensitivity

[icy02]

Long Story Short: I cut dairy out of my diet back in October b/c my DS2 was such a fussy baby and was a horrible sleeper. He also inherited by eczema which I hated to see on my precious baby's skin.

I have just recently been experimenting with dairy. Cheating really ...  because I am starting to miss some of my favorite foods. Please help me decipher this!!!!

Last Sunday I ate a salad that had some ranch dressing on it around 1pm. By 9pm my stomach hurt but had no diarrhea. DS2 was up every 2 hours that night when he normally wakes once.. I thought it was the dairy, but then I noticed a new tooth so I couldn't be sure he was wakeful during the night from the teething. So I cheated again..

This Sunday (SuperBowl Sunday) I just had to have a piece of the yummy chocolate cake from Costco. I ate a piece around 6pm. By 3:30am I woke up feeling soooo sick. I just knew I was gonna vomit. I fought it until 4:30am when I vomited a few times and went back to sleep. I felt really sick all morning until around 10am. By 1pm I felt completely fine! I just want to mention that I did vomit but had no diarrhea or gas. DS2 started getting fussy Monday evening. Monday night into Tuesday morning he was up every 2 hours just comfort nursing even though I could tell he wasn't really hungry. All day today (Tuesday) he has been soooo crabby. Also, I've noticed his eczema is a lot worse this last week. I don't know if it's from the dairy exposure or the colder weather.

I'm pretty sure we are both reacting to dairy. My question is: What is it in the dairy that we are having problems with? I ask this because if it's lactose can I just take a pill when I want to 'cheat'? And if my D2 is still having these issues my breast milk, do I just completely avoid dairy as I introduce foods to him?? When is he old enough to try him on dairy?? 2 or 3 yrs old? Please give me guidance and insight!!

[kjbrown92]

it's doubtful it's the lactose for him, because there's lactose in your milk, and it's very rare in babies. It sounds like you have a problem with it, and vomiting sounds more like a milk intolerance than a lactose intolerance. I'd be very strict about it for a while, and introduce healing measures (like bone broth and other things I can't think of at the moment) and see if you can heal the intolerances.

[icy02]

Hmm... I just can't wrap my head around all of this. Why was I perfectly fine consuming a ton of dairy and now I am 'intolerant' to it?? I do understand that most people have some kind of issue with dairy, but I really seemed fine.

Also, I have 'cheated' with goats cheese a handful of times and seemed 100% ok. So does this mean I can buy some goat's milk yogurt? I am having a hard time getting enough calcium without eating dairy and my RD cousin is kinda freaked out for my well being.. I do take Calcium supplements, but they don't absorb as well as dairy does and have been shown to have nasty side effects if taken for too long. I plan on nursing my LO til he is at least 2 yrs old so I just need to get this figured out.

[kjbrown92]

you may have had a problem all along and you just didn't notice until you went off it and then went back on it (that happened to me). For some people, goats milk is okay. For others it is not. I would get the cow dairy out of your diet first, then trial the goat's milk to make sure that it's okay for both of you. It's also possible that you have a lactose intolerance and the baby has a milk intolerance, though your reactions sound more like milk than just lactose to me.

We get our calcium through other sources. Almond milk has more calcium than cow's milk, rice milk also has calcium (when you get the Enriched one). We make bone broth which is full of gelatin which is healing to the intestinal tract and contains calcium and a lot of other minerals. I believe it's also in spinach, and salmon, and some other things I'm not remembering right now.

[icy02]

Thanks! Where is a good resource to find out more about milk intolerance?? We have been drinking coconut milk, but when I go to the store i will get some Almond milk to try. 

[Halfasianmomma]

This site has been very helpful to me:

http://www.godairyfree.org/