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No, my milk did not go bad!
| Posted on October 25, 2011 at 1:22 PM |
 I want to share this story with you
because I believe it is a common problem, and with awareness and proper
education it can be overcome with little to no medical or non-natural
interventions. My second child, Erik, was born at
home on Christmas Eve. He was a big healthy boy weighing in at 9 lbs, 4 oz. and
was 21 in. long. After joining the world he nursed like a champ for at least a
solid hour. He was the best Christmas present I had ever received! Everything was going well until his
1 week birthday. My husband was changing his diaper and yelled for me to come
and look. He had bloody, mucousy stool in his diaper. We of course panicked and
I called our midwife/naturopathic doctor immediately. Thankfully, she was able
to come over within the hour. She was initially thinking it was uric salt
crystals (which is common and will go away on its own) but as soon as she saw
the diaper her hunch was that Erik was allergic to dairy. She instructed us to keep our 1
week pediatrician visit and go from there. The pediatrician cancelled his
appointments for the day so we were sent to urgent care. So off to urgent care
we went! After an unpleasant exam, the urgent care provider diagnosed that the
blood was most likely from an anal fissure; and they said that a dairy allergy
was possible, but not likely. We were told that if he had any more bloody
stools to go to the ER. Well, sure enough, a week or so goes by and he has 2
bloody diapers in one night. So off we went to the ER. They did the same
unpleasant exams and came up with the same answers as urgent care and we were
instructed to follow up with the pediatrician. The pediatrician saw no reason
why he should disagree with the two previous diagnoses but thinks we should see
a pediatric GI specialist, just to be safe. Erik was now 6-8 weeks old and we
are finally seeing the specialist. They immediately tell us that he is allergic
to dairy and will need to switch to a prescription formula and that he needs to
be on Zantac. I quickly told them that I don’t do formula and that was not an
option for us. I asked them, “How do I need to change my diet? What do I need
to do? I will do whatever it takes.” We passed on the Zantac, and of course the
formula too. I was now eating dairy-free and
desperately hoping that my sweet little guy would stop screaming constantly and
would never have a bloody diaper again. Well, a week went by and Erik was still
screaming but the diapers were good. Our very intuitive midwife, who diagnosed
this allergy from the start, gave me a lesson on eating dairy-free. Dairy-free
I was not! Dairy and it’s byproducts can be added to everything! I quickly
learned how to read labels and to cook with substitutions. Did you know that
some seasonings have dairy in them? Some breading on fish or chicken does, and
some do not. Some bread does, and some does not. I had to be constantly on my toes.
If I accidently messed up I would pay for it the next day by having a screaming,
inconsolable baby. I also learned that it was just cow dairy that Erik was
allergic too. That meant that I could have eggs and all egg products like
mayonnaise and such. Erik did get better but he still
cried and screamed way more than he should. After trying many different
homeopathic remedies we decided to go for the Zantac. We were told that it
would help heal the lining of his digestive tract as the dairy had made it raw.
(Being born during the holidays didn’t give this poor kiddo a chance! We ate so
many rich, creamy dairy foods.) After a few hours of his first dose he was a
new baby. I hated to give him medicine at such a young age but I felt that it
was the best option at this point. I continued to eat dairy-free and to
exclusively breastfeed. At one of the specialist follow-up
visits the doctor explained that as he grew and gained weight, his dose of
Zantac would not work anymore. I simply just needed to call the office and ask
for a stronger dose. The doctor was very pleased with my exclusively breastfed
baby. He was growing like a weed and was doing great! Well, sure enough, one day the
Zantac stopped working so I called the office to request a new dose of medicine.
A nurse called me back and said that my milk had gone bad and that I would have
to switch to formula immediately! I knew my milk had not gone bad; and I wanted
to scream that at her, but I remained calm. After a very frustrating phone call
Erik had his new dose and life was back to our “normal”. I bring this part of the story up,
to point out that if there is an allergy or a complication with breastfeeding
that we are quickly told to begin formula. This frustrates me to no end. The
benefits of breastfeeding are huge and vastly outweigh formula. Thankfully, I
was educated on breastfeeding and knew better, but not everyone does. I hope
sharing my story will help others to stay strong, to ask questions, and to keep
breastfeeding. Many people ask me how I survived
eating dairy-free. Yes, it was challenging; but for my baby I was willing to do
anything. My willpower was much stronger for him than it would have been for me.
Erik is now 21 months and has completely outgrown his dairy allergy. We are
still going strong with the breastfeeding. He was on the Zantac for only a few
months while his system healed and matured.
I was dairy-free for just under 1 year. How did I know when he outgrew his
allergy? The only way that can be determined is by trial and error and that is
not always so fun. The naturopath suggested that we try dairy at every
milestone. At six and nine months I ate a small amount of dairy and we had a
very fussy baby the next day. Just before his 1 birthday I tried
it again and the following day nothing happened. I couldn’t believe it! I added
more and more dairy in my diet and he was completely fine! He continued to be
happy and I sure was, too. At his last visit with the
specialist we were told that we could wean him off the Zantac. He had no signs
of needing it but I was so scared. I got up my courage and began the weaning
process. He handled it with no problem and was completely off of it after 2
weeks. He is healthy and can eat more than his 4 yr old brother most days. He
loves cheese, yogurt, and milk. You would never guess that he had such a rough
little start. Did you discover your baby had a food allergy (or allergies) when you
were breastfeeding? How did you manage
it (them)? About the author: Tina Lebedies, AAHCC is an Affiliated
Bradley Method® Instructor who teaches her classes in the Queen Creek and San
Tan Valley area of Metro Phoenix. To contact Tina directly for more information
on managing a dairy allergy in your nursling, or about her upcoming Bradley
Method® class series that start on 11/29/11 and 02/04/12, you can call her at 480-272-7086; or visit her website at www.welcomingbirthnaturally.com The
material included on this site is for informational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical
advice. The reader should always consult her or his healthcare provider to
determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation. This blog contains information about our classes available in
Chandler, AZ and Payson, AZ and is not the official website of The Bradley
Method®. The views contained on this blog do not
necessarily reflect those of The Bradley Method® or the American Academy of
Husband-Coached Childbirth®.  Now Enrolling for our Winter Series December 5, 2011 through February 20, 2012 Limited enrollment - one space left For more information or to register, please call us at 602-684-6567 or email us at |
Categories: Allergies, Breastfeeding, Breastfeeding support, Dairy Allergy, Fussy baby, Homebirth, Information Center, Midwife, Midwifery Care, Planning for Baby, Starting Solids
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338 Comments
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Jacqualine
3:30 PM on May 21, 2012
I know this is an old post but I found it scouring the internet for hope with my 14 month old. I suspected that he had a dairy allergy early on but my attempts to eliminate dairy didn't help him. Little did I know as you found out that dairy is in everything!!! Finally at 6 months we discovered that his problems were a dairy allergy and I went on a strict diet. His symptoms were always spitting up large amounts which I considered throwing up. When I tried to add dairy back in around a year, he wouldn't spit up but had very loose stools with mucus. The Dr never prescribed any medication to help his intestines heal. Is this something that you think I should look into. I would prefer to avoid medication and help heal naturally (with bone broths, probiotics, etc.)Just looking for some advise from another Mama who has had to deal with this (and the crazy Drs who just try to mask things) Thanks so much for this post. It encourage me and gives a bit of hope that we will soon be past this!
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Tina Lebedies
9:31 PM on May 21, 2012
Hello! I am so sorry to hear about your little ones issues but I am so glad my blog has helped encourage you. That is great to hear! I understand wanting to avoid medications. It was very hard for me to decide to give my baby the Zantac. I am so happy I did brcause he was a new baby within a day! If your instincts are telling you that his gut has not healed and he is still free of dairy, I would consider seeing a naturapathic doctor to help heal him with natural remedies and consider the possibility of another allergen. Soy and gluten are the next two biggies after dairy. I hope he feels better soon. Hang in there! Please keep us posted on how he is doing.
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