Wanting to avoid having to heal the gut later - advice please

[ChristieB]

Our family has had some real gut problems. I want to avoid that in my baby. One thing we've been doing is to avoid giving him anything but breastmilk. We plan to wait til he's a yr. old to introduce solids (allergies in family). I've read that anything but breastmilk will change the flora in their guts.

Right now he's teething, and it's getting more and more uncomfortable. What he does for that is to nurse often, chew on anything and everything , and chew on ice in a mesh thing (he really loves that). I'm assuming that the little bit of water that he gets from that won't be a problem (most of it goes down his front).

What I'm wondering is if it's OK to give him a homeopathic, or if that will affect the flora, too. What I would do is to dissolve one pellet in a little water on a spoon and give that to him.

What do you gut-healing gurus know about this?

FYI I'll be gone tomorrow (Thurs.), but will be able to respond on Fri. or Sat., so please don't think I'm ignoring!

x-posted in Health & Healing

[Leilalu]

Well, I am no guru, but wanted to say something about the powers of breastmilk!

Breastmilk is going to give your baby a great start, really. That said, I gave my kids occasional tablets of homeopathic medicine for teething. I am curious to know if this is wrong as well.

[ChristieB]

Originally Posted by Leilalu

Breastmilk is going to give your baby a great start, really.

We're counting on that. But we also know that breastmilk alone is not enough. DS1 was EBF until a year also, but I was eating gluten, and I think that really messed up his gut (turns out he has celiac). This time around I've eaten no gluten since before pregnancy, and I'm really hoping that makes a huge difference. But he had thrush early on, so I've been giving him probiotics. I'm hoping that will help. Oops! I just realized that's something other than breastmilk! But I really think it's good. It helped clear up the thrush, and he spits up less when I remember to give it to him. And it's dairy-free. If anyone knows anything bad about that, let me know. I'm soooo trying to do things right this time that I sometimes make myself crazy. I know that isn't helpful, but having a child with two autoimmune diseases can do that to a person.

[quietserena]

I was in the same situation - gut problems and allergies in the whole family. What i'd decided was to delay solids for as long as possible and then only introduce quality stuff. Also, I'm avoiding grains completely for as long as I can do it because amylase isn't produced in sufficient quantities in the baby gut to digest grains until at least a year and Sally Falton says two years. DD has had a few bites of grains here and there but we're doing well grain free!

I tried homeopathic teething tablets with DD but they didn't do much for us. I did notice that when she was teething terribly and I'd give her multiple doses of the lactose tablets, she'd have green and bad smelling poops, which she didn't have otherwise, even when teething. I have heard that there are other preparations of homeopathic remedies, aside the lactose tablets but I haven't sought them out.

I personally would feel safe giving the homeopathic tablets because it is such a small dose. In my opinion, the gut is always self-righting and with babies when they're provided with the perfect food for them (breast milk) then it'll self-balance. Problems start to show up when foods that encourage the growth bacteria that's not beneficial become the staple food. But when there's food for the good guys, they crowd out the bad guys.

[nicolena]

you can take the homeopathic pills yourself, and your baby will get it thru your breastmilk. (i know from my own experience, but if it makes you feel more reassured, MT on vaccinations wrote about solving her baby's colic by taking one dose of chamomile.)

if the mix of remedies in teething tabs doesn't help, you may need a more specific remedy. i won't go into detail, tho, because my book's not right here...but if you want more info, i'll be glad to share!

(ps--i gave and still give my gut-healing toddlers lactose based tabs, but if you babe hasn't had anything else, your taking it will be fine. since homeopathy is energy medicine, and you share a lot of energy with a nursing babe, it will probably be helpful for you too! don't eat or drink for 15 minutes before or after, and be aware that mint and coffee can antidote the remedy. there's some debate over mint.... anyway, good luck!)

[nicolena]

ps--i've read nothing bad about probiotics for babes. only good stuff. and i'm not eating gluten or dairy during this pregnancy either, but i've already thought about buying the probiotics on radiant life just before the baby comes, just in case!

[holidaymama]

Maybe this is on another thread, but for those of you who are pregnant...and even if you are not...and you do not eat gluten or dairy...what do you eat? Well I mean to get all of your nutrients? Do you take supplements of some sort?

Just curiosity!

[provocativa]

It is my belief that a mom with a leaky gut allows more foreign proteins into the breastmilk. So, if you have a leaky gut your baby may already be exposed to minutae of other stuff- so I guess I'm saying avoiding gluten is a good idea. . . Hyland's teething tablets are a pretty weak dilution, so a different dose may be needed. This link has non-lactose based remedies in a liquid, and good descriptions of which different remedy is for which teething symptom. http://www.remedysource.com/ailments/39-teething.php I find that homeopathic pulsatilla is also helpful for clingy/whiny and nasal congestion in teething, or in general. Also if molars are coming in, mullein is a lifesaver and can prevent an ear infection from developing. It is my theory that teething inflamation irritates the eusachian tubes, resulting in congestion which can compound to infection, esp. if formula feeding and fewer probiotic bacteria are present. Homeopathics in a lactose base shouldn't be too much of a lactose load- a breastfed baby can digest lactose. The wrong homeopathic will prove the remedy- in other words, it can cause the symptom it is meant to treat. Serena, if you read the info you'll see that green diarhea is a symptom of teething. Maybe you need a remedy without chammomila or calc. phos. hth.

[ChristieB]

Thank you everyone. I think I'll just play it by ear, and if it looks like he needs something more, I won't worry about giving a homeopathic. And I'll ask my homeopath about taking the remedy myself (thanks for that idea!). I just want to make sure that it's a good idea for me to be taking it. It's probably fine, but I'd like to be sure. It makes sense that it would work for the baby.

Thank you for the offers to help me figure out the correct remedy. I feel confident that our homeopath can prescribe what we need. I'll be in touch if he messes up.

As for leaky gut, I think my gut has been mostly healed for a few years now. It's dh and ds1 who we're working on now.

And thanks for the reassurance about the probiotics. I was sure they were a good thing, and then as I was typing my post, it suddenly occured to me that they are something other than breastmilk that I'm giving him. So, I had a momentary "wondering".

[bluets]

my naturopath recommends ONLY probiotics as supplements for breastfed babes, even in moms with leaky guts. momma should be the one taking supplements if they are required.