Six-week-old with constipation and congestion

[DrBrockBaca]

My breastfed baby stopped pooping two weeks ago unless we give her a glycerin suppository, which we've been doing every 3-4 days when she seems to be repeatedly straining trying to poop. I cut out dairy from my diet a week ago, but haven't seen any improvement. When she does poop after the suppository, the stool is normal (yellow). She also has a lot of nasal congestion. I know both of these can be a sign of food sensitivity, but I don't know what could be the culprit other than dairy. My diet consists of organic cereal (no milk), whey protein shakes made with almond milk and frozen fruit, whole grain bread, turkey, chicken, fish, grass-fed beef, non-gassy vegetables (no cruciferous), fruit, almonds, rice, hummus, and sometimes chickpeas in homemade Indian food. I don't eat any processed foods other than an occasional Odwalla bar. Could any of these foods be problematic?

If the constipation and congestion are NOT caused by food allergy, what else could be the problem?

Any home remedies for the congestion? Should I be using a humidifier?

[MoonWillow]

Whey is a milk protein and there may be more hidden milk proteins in your food that you didn't realize. Any spreadable butter? Almonds could also be a problem. 

I'm inclined to move this over to the Allergies forum for you. 

[DrBrockBaca]

I haven't eaten any butter. I actually haven't had any whey protein in several days, either. How long should it take to see improvement once I've eliminated the food from my diet? 

[scsigrl]

Originally Posted by DrBrockBaca 

I haven't eaten any butter. I actually haven't had any whey protein in several days, either. How long should it take to see improvement once I've eliminated the food from my diet? 

It depends on a lot of things. I believe here people say 4 weeks for sure but many see results faster. I would start keeping a detailed food log now so you have some data that may be of use.  I did 2 dairy elimination diets (6 weeks and 8 weeks) and saw no improvement when DS was 4 and 6 months old.  We found out at 14 months he was allergic to much more than dairy.  Once I eliminated ALL those things, he was SSTN and other assorted good "allergy gone" things!

[MoonWillow]

My dd is allergic to MUCH more than just dairy as well. Dairy could still be in your diet without you necessarily realizing it though. Are you aware of the different terms? Caesin for one (sp).

[Princess_Rainbow]

this kind of sounds like my daughter when she was younger. i blamed it on dairy and went dairy-free for almost 2 years with not much improvement. allergy test showed she was allergic to wheat, and once we went gluten-free, i finally saw the difference!