All of this is a welcomed change with my little girl. I don't know that I have mentioned it before on my blog, but Kaelyn has been a very fussy baby from about two weeks on.
It started out slow with just fussing at night for a little while. Then, it turned into fussing and crying for five to six hours straight every night. Then, it turned into fussing anytime that she was awake...to the point that I couldn't wait for her to just go to sleep! Then, it turned into her fussing/crying/and screaming, along with some back arching. Then, her bowel movements became extremely foul smelling. She is a 100% breastfed baby, yet her poops did not smell like it and they were not the right consistency (very runny/watery).
I googled. I talked to friends. I googled some more. I had even mentioned her fussiness to her pediatrician at her one-month check-up, but it was more or less excused as a fussy/colicky baby. I have not talked to her pediatrician about her symptoms getting worse. I googled some more.
Everywhere I looked, I got the same answer. I struggled with the results for a while, hoping it wasn't the case, because it would mean a diet change for me. But the symptoms were getting worse and I knew it was time for a change. What were my findings? Kaelyn is sensitive to dairy. This is a fairly common problem for babies. It doesn't mean they are allergic to milk, but that they are sensitive to the proteins in cow's milk...this is different than being lactose intolerant. Kae's doctor and I had discussed this at her one-month check-up, but because she was not spitting up and she was gaining weight, it was dismissed as "probably not the case".
So, I have given up almost all dairy. I am keeping butter in my diet for now, but not eating any other dairy or any other foods containing dairy. The lactation consultant that I spoke with told me that the proteins can stay in my milk for up to two weeks. She told me to go ahead and keep the butter for now, but if her symptoms don't go away, I may have to give that up too.
I have been off dairy for eight days now (Any suggestions for dairy free meals?????). By day two, we had a different child. She was happy and content while awake! What a blessing! Since then, there have been good days and rough days as her body adjusts, but overall, things are going much, much better. I have always loved my baby dearly, but I am able to enjoy her now :)
Since I have removed dairy, Kae is happier and she now does tummy time for longer periods of time without fussing :)
- gets excited to see people
- gets upset if she is ignored
- she's a drooly baby, but not to the point of soaking her clothes - she usually just has some spit bubbles around her mouth
- plays with rattles and other small toys
- stands in her jumpy activity center (not sure what they are called)
- LOVES being outside
- Is still adored by her sisters :)
Things I LOVE:
Sweet baby hands
and feet
and this sweet little swirl
My favorite time of the day is in the morning. Ella wakes first, followed by Arin, followed by Kaelyn. The big girls climb into my bed, so excited to see their baby sister. They talk to her, sing to her, and hug & kiss her. Such special, sweet moments :)
Photo shoots are tiring :)
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6 comments:
Giving up dairy at first can be hard, but you really do get used to it after a while. My son is allergic to milk and I am allergic to soy so we substitute rice milk for almost anything that calls for milk. Plain rice milk tastes kinda blah so we get vanilla flavored. Www.foodallergymama.com has lots of wonderful dairy free recipes as well as Godairyfree.org sometimes when I need a recipe I just google whatever it is I want to make along with vegan and I get many tasty dairy free results. Good luck!
I found your blog in my search for homeschooling/educational blogs for my preschooler. I had to go dairy-free with my youngest. It was hard at first. I had to check all labels and pass up so much that I loved. But it got easier. It was totally worth it because she was a different baby. I used almond milk and I found it was a great substitute even in cooking/baking. Also I used vegan butter for baking. It is not very good by itself but it works for baking/cooking. Good luck in your dairy-free journey!
Kaelyn is so beautiful! I'm so glad that you were able to figure out what the problem was and so happy that she is doing much better! She looks happy! (Well, except the fussy pic, LOL).
We've been out of cheese and I've grown to love bean tostados without it! I do like sour cream but I could give it up for Franks Red Hot. =) ((((Hugs)))) Giving up dairy is so worth it!
If it's cow's milk she's sensitive to, could you eat things like goat cheese?
I had to give up all dairy when O was a baby. I slowly started adding it back in after she was about 6 months old. I gave up dairy with E, too, just in case...I didn't even wait to find out if it was an issue because I didn't want to deal with the repercussions if it was :) I'm glad she's doing better...she's beautiful!
What would we do if we didn't have Mother's intuition? I can't tell you how many times a Dr. has told me to chill and that it's nothing and so I had to figure it out on my own. Good job Mama! I'm so glad we live in an age with google.
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