One Probiotic for Mom and Baby

[sparkprincess]

I'm looking for a probiotic that my one-month old and I can both take. Needs to be dairy-free. Any suggestions?

TIA!

[Amoreena]

i'd think it's fine for *you* to take probiotics and your infant will get that through your milk. i wouldn't think it would be necessary to give it directly to your infant, and i probably wouldn't, myself, unless i had someone i trusted telling me it was okay to do so.

i think i would want to check this out with a few people to be sure it's okay for an infant to even be getting probx through breastmilk. if it's for yeast/thrush, it makes sense i think...

obviously, i'm not a professional, either medical or lactation, so take this for what it's worth and carry on researching!

as for dairy-free probx, i know that Bio-K makes one. that's a canadian brand that's excellent. i've seen it at lassen's. perhaps whole foods would also carry it. also, i've seen another soy-based brand at lassen's. i wish someone would create a rice-based one so people could avoid both dairy AND soy.

good luck!

[jennmiller]

They DO make one and I tried it with DD. I can't remember the name, but I got it at whole foods. It worked way better for me to take a really good supplement myself (like 60 billion per day with multiple strains of bacteria) and let baby get them through your milk. What your child gets through your milk will certainly be sufficient to meet her needs. Even if you have a GI problem. Remember,their guts are basically sterile when they are born and are populated by our breastmilk.

[sparkprincess]

Okay, that makes sense. I had read somewhere that you could dab the probiotic powder on your nipples so that the baby could get it so I assumed I *had* to do that.

I'm wanting to take a probiotic because ds has reflux and I've heard that reflux and food allergies/intolerances go hand in hand (it did with my first ds). He's on Zantac right now, but I'm also looking into other things I can do to help him.

[sparkleshine]

Originally Posted by sparkprincess

I'm wanting to take a probiotic because ds has reflux and I've heard that reflux and food allergies/intolerances go hand in hand (it did with my first ds). He's on Zantac right now, but I'm also
looking into other things I can do to help him.

I'm in the exact same boat - reflux and food intolerances - and am just starting to look into probiotics myself. I haven't ad the time to research it yet, but I just got a recommendation for a propbiotic made by "Kirkman" which apparently is allergen free (I'll believe that when I see it!) I'll post back once I find out more about it.

good luck.

[tboroson]

I don't think much probiotic comes through breastmilk. Those bacteria colonize your gut, not your bloodstream and fatty tissues.

[jennmiller]

I don't think much probiotic comes through breastmilk. Those bacteria colonize your gut, not your bloodstream and fatty tissues.

They absolutely DO come through your BM. Everything you consume, from beneficial bacteria to toxins finds it's way to your bloodstream, and consequently your breastmilk. Babies GI's were made to be colonized by the colonies of bacteria present in mother's milk.

[sparkleshine]

Here's a link to the Kirkman Labs hypoallergenic probiotic. http://www.kirkmanlabs.com/products/...0_Spec042.html

I still want to do a little more research on the strains that are in it but it definitely looks promising.

Glad to hear that I don't necessarily have to give directly to babe for them to get to him.

[nataliachick7]

for you mommas of reflux babies..as a member of an infantreflux.org board as well as the milk soy protein intolerance quickboard, i have seen many many babies on probiotics.
also, many babies that are sensitive to milk protein are also sensitive to soy protein, so read labels carefully.
many babies also benefit from digestive enzymes. good luck!
as for the zantac, that never helped my DS, but he is 100% better on prevacid and a milk/soy free diet! (many reflux babies do not get relief from h2 blockers like zantac)

[sparkprincess]

Thank you all for your help. I'm going to try the probiotics and see if it works for us!