[haren.13]

DD has a dairy intolerance, which we've just recently discovered. Between 12 and 15 months she only gained 4 ounces. At 15 months we totally eliminated dairy, and within a month she gained a whole pound. Since then (2 months ago) she's gained maybe 1 ounce. Our doctor isn't concerned, even though she's been consistently dropping on the growth chart (now in the 4th percentile for weight, and did not gain any length or head circumference in the last 3 months). DH and I have been pretty diligent about replacing her dairy with other high fat (good fat) foods so I don't think it's an issue of not getting enough fat/calories.

Is it possible that she has other food intolerances that are causing ONLY slow weight gain as an outward symptom? Since eliminating dairy, her sleep has improved, no face rash/eczema, and normal poops with no diaper rash (most of the time ~ occasionally she gets one but we can almost always figure out the culprit as there are a few other foods she can't eat).

I am very hesitant to cut out any more foods from her diet because she is already so little.

If you had a child with slow weight gain, at what point did your ped become concerned and do some sort of testing, and did it show anything? She started dropping on the chart at 6 months (before we intro'd solids) and has dropped in percentile consistently since then. Every appointment the ped says it's fine, and that she'll probably start to go back up the curve (at 12 months, at 15 months, at 18 months, now they say at 2 years...).

To be honest, if I didn't know what her weight percentile was, I wouldn't be concerned as she is developing normally in all other aspects. But, I don't want to miss something that will affect her in the long run, KWIM?

 

[kjbrown92]

What are the other foods you've pulled and how long has she been off of them all? Did you figure them all out at the same time - 2 months ago? If so, I would give it a little more time. And start gut healing measures, if you haven't already. How is her sleep?

 

[jplain]

Did you replace dairy with soy? A large percentage of dairy-intolerant kids are also soy-intolerant.

We started with dairy elimination at 6 months, and eliminated soy a few months later. We eventually eliminated eggs (at 15 months) and wheat (at 24 months). Her symptoms ~ eczema, disrupted sleep, nighttime itching, possible nighttime reflux ~ have largely cleared up.

At 3 years old she's finally made some progress on the weight charts, though we're still a little concerned about her height. We've done allergy testing for the top 8, both scratch testing and blood testing, all negative, and a CBC and iron, all normal. If her height percentile has dropped further at 3.5 years old, our new pediatrician will be referring us to specialists.

We eat out infrequently, because she seems to have trouble with restaurant food even when we avoid the foods she seems to be intolerant of. She ends up with disrupted sleep and eczema, followed by about a week of very low appetite. It just isn't worth it to go out unless she's eating foods we're pretty certain are safe/clean.

I now regret not having pushed for reflux evaluation or trial of reflux medication when she was a baby. *sigh*

 

[kjbrown92]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jplain I now regret not having pushed for reflux evaluation or trial of reflux medication when she was a baby. *sigh*

Why? They would have put her on meds and you wouldn't have figured out the foods, which would have continued to cause damage. Most reflux which isn't structural is caused by food intolerances.

 

[jplain]

Quote:

Why? They would have put her on meds and you wouldn't have figured out the foods, which would have continued to cause damage. Most reflux which isn't structural is caused by food intolerances.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't have pursued food elimination as well. She clearly hasn't been completely healed by anything that I've tried, and I've tried a lot. I do believe reflux meds could have been a very good complement to other approaches when she was younger.

 

[tanyalynn]

I've read of gluten causing poor growth and nothing else. That wasn't the case for my kids, their growth wasn't affected, it was more typical intolerance stuff. A 3-month or 6-month GF trial could help figure it out. Seems like a pain, it's definitely an adjustment, but it's very doable.

 

[haren.13]

Thanks for the answers, ladies

We didn't really replace the dairy with anything ~ she does almond milk on her cereal, but doesn't drink it besides that (she just won't drink it). We tried soy but got the same sort of reaction as dairy, so that trial ended after about 4 days. Other foods we've eliminated are tomatoes, strawberries, pineapple, and blueberries. Those along with dairy seemed to be causing all her symptoms. All of them were eliminated ~2 months ago (except the blueberries, which have been out since she was ~8 months old). We did reintro yogurt and cheese on a trial basis, but only this week, so they wouldn't have been a culprit in the weight issues, I don't think.

Her sleep is ok ~ not stellar but much better than it was before the dairy elimination. She wakes up 3-5 times/night to nurse and then goes right back to sleep pretty much. We're starting to work on cutting that down tonight, as we have another baby due in July and I really would rather not wake up 5 times with DD AND who knows how many times with the new babe!

I'll give it another couple of months dairy-free and watch for other signs before I try another elimination. She does eat a lot of carbohydrates, so while I'd be willing to do a GF trial, I think I need to hold off to make sure the dairy elimination won't help more than it has already (it took almost a whole month completely dairy free for her symptoms to go away).

 

[jacobsmommy]

You post caught my eye.

Now is dairy free all hidden dairy too right? Like cheese in crackers and so forth?

 

[haren.13]

Yup, dairy free is *all* dairy. The only things that might contain dairy would be "natural flavors" but we hardly buy anything processed for her so it would be very unlikely that she gets anything like that.

I've actually become a little lax in the last couple days

and she's started to get a rash...so I'm gonna have to go back to being really diligent...

 

[kjbrown92]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haren.13 Yup, dairy free is *all* dairy. The only things that might contain dairy would be "natural flavors" but we hardly buy anything processed for her so it would be very unlikely that she gets anything like that. I've actually become a little lax in the last couple days and she's started to get a rash...so I'm gonna have to go back to being really diligent...

And it's completely out of your diet as well, right? When you said "for her" it made me wonder if she's still getting it through you...

 

[haren.13]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kjbrown92 And it's completely out of your diet as well, right? When you said "for her" it made me wonder if she's still getting it through you...

Well...I fear you may be right

For the past several months, I've had no milk supply, though DD has been nursing as if there is no difference. Just in the last 2 or 3 weeks my supply has come back up (colostrum I suppose). I never went dairy free when she was a newborn though I wonder if it would have improved her sleep...she never had the rashes until she started drinking cow's milk herself when my supply dropped, so I didn't put 2 and 2 together until then (thought poor sleep was just how some kids were...).

Guess it's time for me to put my money where my mouth is, so to speak, and go dairy free for all of us (cause I'll be one cranky wife if DH is eating stuff I can't have, right in front of me!

). DH will be happy that we're not buying $6/gallon milk for at least a little while!

 

[kjbrown92]

Look at it this way, you may have found your culprit. DH and DD1 still eat anything they want at my house and I cook it for them. It's really not that hard when you see the results. They do get annoyed at me though when I say "Can I just smell it?" and grab their plate and stick it under my nose. And there are still lots of things that you can have.

 

[jacobsmommy]

Sarah,
Is your LO still gaining weight well with the no dairy? I ask because my DS is sorta what you described in your OP. He is 16mo and about 21lbs. He has always been lower on the growth charts. He has slight eczema and wakes up still quite a bit and sometimes itching himself and his weight has been slow. He didnt gain really any weight from 11-13months, but then he gained a few lbs after that and now seems to be holding still again for the last month. I dont know if its his normal growth pattern or what. But he has shown some dairy allergy and gets hives on his face. It doesnt happen with all dairy though. And he has never gotten a rash at all on his bum. So I am wondering if the dairy is a problem or not. It would be very difficult for me to remove it completely from his diet as a trial as he doesnt eat a lot of solids yet so I am limited with what I can give him. Although I dont know if taking that stuff out would help him eat better. I am at a loss right now with this eating habits. He is still nursing a lot but my supply seems to be lower these days so I really wish he would eat better.

 

[Theloose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haren.13 Other foods we've eliminated are tomatoes, strawberries, pineapple, and blueberries. Those along with dairy seemed to be causing all her symptoms. All of them were eliminated ~2 months ago (except the blueberries, which have been out since she was ~8 months old). We did reintro yogurt and cheese on a trial basis, but only this week, so they wouldn't have been a culprit in the weight issues, I don't think.

My dd reacts strongly to foods that I eat, so I definitely vote for you going off of all her triggers as well. Next, I'd look at gluten - it can cause a whole host of problems without any obvious direct symptoms.

And looking at the other foods you've eliminated... Does she react to raw pineapple and tomatoes with a red rash wherever the food touches? A histamine reaction like that happens to some people. In dd, it seems to be directly related to her methylation status - which makes sense, because methyl groups are used to inactivate histamine. When she and I are getting plenty of folate (food form, not folic acid) and B12, she doesn't get the reaction at all. Methyl groups are also important in detoxing all sorts of other stuff, so if that picture fits, then it might be a big clue for you!

 

[haren.13]

jacobsmommy ~ she did initially gain weight when she went totally off dairy, but seemed to gain all at once and then level off. She went from ~19 to ~20 pounds from the end of January to the end of February (we cut dairy February 1), and is still sitting right around 20 pounds. I know it's not crazy that she wouldn't gain much in a month or so, but I was hoping for more for her to "catch up" as she's very low on the charts (and dropping ~ it's more the dropping than the low that concerns me).

whome ~ she does get a rash where tomato or pineapple touch, and also gets bright bright red cheeks (same reaction with any food that she's sensitive to). Then tummy upset and bleeding diaper rash. With tomato and pineapple specifically, she has reacted to very very tiny amounts, processed or raw ~ the tomato one that I recall was a tiny bit of cooked bbq sauce on pizza crust, the pineapple was an ingredient in the filling of a fig cookie that she ate 1/2 of.
I just looked at a list of foods that have folate...and we don't eat many of them I'm assuming that fortified breakfast cereals don't count?

I'll have to sneak some spinach into our diets...

 

[Theloose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haren.13 whome ~ she does get a rash where tomato or pineapple touch, and also gets bright bright red cheeks (same reaction with any food that she's sensitive to). Then tummy upset and bleeding diaper rash. With tomato and pineapple specifically, she has reacted to very very tiny amounts, processed or raw ~ the tomato one that I recall was a tiny bit of cooked bbq sauce on pizza crust, the pineapple was an ingredient in the filling of a fig cookie that she ate 1/2 of. I just looked at a list of foods that have folate...and we don't eat many of them I'm assuming that fortified breakfast cereals don't count? I'll have to sneak some spinach into our diets...

My dd reacts with the rash to raw tomato, but not at all to cooked. Are you sure it was those tiny amounts she was reacting to and not something else? Not to suggest you subject her to potential pain, just that you might be overlooking something?

Bright red cheeks I've seen mentioned as a symptom of salicylate intolerance, which would go along with the other foods you mentioned. The feingold and failsafe diets have more information if you want to look down the elimination route. My route

is that they're detoxed by either sulfation or glucuronidation. Problems with those systems are most likely to be either gut bacteria (in which case calcium d-glucurate might be a useful diagnostic tool) or molybdenum or vitamin B6. Tuberose might have some interesting reading

We have MTHFR genes that make folic acid in supplements or fortified foods useless and then it competes with the food form. I just bought folapro, and we're starting to see good results with that so far.

 

[Aletheia]

The weight charts at WHO are for babies who were exclusively breastfed, and have a more gradual curve. Check them out if you haven't already.

And avoid traces/shared machinery dairy, too!