Yesterday Bryson was 3 weeks old. He weighed 9lbs 8oz, up 1 pound since the week before!
Since his fussiness has gotten worse, I called my lactation consultant on Saturday and asked her what I should look for to see if he had reflux because that seemed to be a common question I was getting from other mamas when I mentioned how fussy he is.
Oh wait, he is screaming...maybe more later...
Okay, I'm back.
Lactation Laurie said she could tell if he had reflux in about 5 minutes if she could watch him eat. She was certain his fussiness was due to a feeding issue. When I asked her how she knew, she said "because I have been doing this for 28 years and what you are describing is not that uncommon". Oh.
So as soon as she took him out of his carseat on Sunday morning she said, "OH MY GOSH, this boy is FILLED with gas." He is so gassy and has cramps and that is the issue. She didn't think it was a milk sensitivity because that normally comes with crusty eyebrows and cradle cap, which he doesn't have, but after looking at him a little more, and seeing that he is nursing well, for sure no reflux, gaining well, just gassier than gassy can be...she decided to have me try no milk protein in my diet for the next three weeks. Also I'm giving him infant gas drops before each feeding.
Sunday night was horrible. Lawrence was out returning the TV we borrowed for the buckeye game. He just screamed in pain, inconsolable for 2 straight hours, and I was alone. I know friends who've had babies with colic, who cry for 4 hrs per night every night for 4 months, and I could not have imagined. Two hours felt like an eternity. At the end when he finally went to sleep I felt exhausted and worn out and numb.
So we had a pediatrician appt yesterday and his circumcision is finally all healed up. She confirmed everything Laurie said, agreed with most of the suggestions, though said if I wasn't seeing a difference in 10 days of dairy free, she would probably stop and not go the next 10.
He had a great day yesterday, napped well, lots of happy awake time. Lots of TOOTING! Last night was a little rough, and today I'm beat. Today hasn't been as good as yesterday but I do see a bit of an improvement over a week ago.
Dairy free is hard for me to do. I have everything in the house because of Addie's allergy. But I don't like soy. At all. And there is no French Vanilla Coffee Creamer at Albertsons, even the dairy free has milk in it. Go figure. But I plan to try Trader Joes or Whole Foods to find something I can put in my coffee.
So Lynnette, Sharon, anyone else out there who gave up milk protein for a YEAR, any suggestions...advice...how quickly is this gonna work?
And Laurie did say part of this is just his personality. He has a hot temper and wants what he wants NOW!
Man...it probably goes with out saying but a non fussy baby is so much easier. Addie, you spoiled the CRAP out of me!!
I'm worn out, I'm tired, there's not much in the tank for the girls...but I'm making it through, on very little caffeine and sleep...or protein...all of my favorite snacks are dairy.
Someday my daughters will forgive me for being such an impatient mama with no energy for them. At least I got a nap yesterday, today, I laid down for a while, but couldn't sleep because of a headache and some other stresses I couldn't stop thinking about.
Our old nanny Katy is visiting tonight and so is my aunt and cousin...
...and wouldn't you know it...
It's time to nurse again. Three hours passes at the blink of an eye!
Man, I wanna love nursing...but...
Maybe Lynnette can give you better info. Stuart's behavior was only borderline better when I was off dairy/nursing. I don't think I ever went off dairy for Marcus, and ALLERGY! Also peanut allergy as of today.
ReplyDeleteAs for what to do about coffee...I don't think I drank much coffee. Soymilk is completely unsatisfying. Maybe a mixture of coconut milk (for texture) and vanilla rice milk (for flavor). Perhaps it's time to switch to tea. As for nondairy protein snacks: Hardboiled eggs. Ham. Meatballs (dairy-free of course). Nuts. Hummus, maybe? Grilled chicken?
I myself have my feelings and suspicions about soy...Lorelei too was extremely gassy and colicky and while I couldn't breastfeed, she did seem to get some relief when I put her on a lactose free formula. Georgia was the same only with her it was watery poop that was leaving her poor little butt beet red, so lactose free for her too. Both my girls have been able to tolerate dairy once they were over a year old. As for snacks, I'm a dairy lover too so not much to suggest here, maybe graham crackers???? LOL...pretty lame huh? You'll find something that fits, I'm sure of it. Hugs
ReplyDeleteOh Jenny, I'm sorry. It is doable, though, trust me. :)
ReplyDeleteFirst, the mylecon drops are wonderful. I think they did as much for Keilah as anything else. The only thing is you have to use them with every feeding or they don't work as well.
Non-dairy staples: Safeway non-dairy creamer used to be truly non-dairy - haven't checked lately. Fred Meyer brand wheat bread is safe. Safeway brand margarine is good too.
Snacks: I ate fruit often. For me, applesauce was an especially good replacement for ice cream. I missed cheese A LOT and really didn't find a good replacement for it, unfortunately. Pita bread wedges with hummus became a staple for me. There are some very good soy replacements for sour cream which allowed Greg to make me a garlic fettucine alfredo clone that didn't taste like soy at all. If you guys like mexican, there are a lot of recipes out there that taste very good dairy free when guacamole is used in place of cheese and/or sour cream.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I've been eating my normal foods now for more than 3 years so we're stretching my brain. However, I have also been mentally planning on being dairy free for this next one... just in case. :) I'll continue to think on this and will send you an email if I come up with more.
Love you!
P.S. Meant to comment that we noticed a real difference with Keilah after about 2 weeks. Mind you, her gassiness wasn't intolerable and it was more a clearing up of the flakiness on her forehead that told us it was working.
ReplyDeleteFinally, send me an email with some of your favorite snacks that are now off limits and I can maybe help you better with substitutes. Our favorite dairy-filled snacks may be different. :)
Just found some pita chips (crunchy like potato chips) at WinCo in varying flavors that are completely dairy free. They were on top of the fridge island that had the party platters, dips, and hummus. They were perfect for dipping in hummus for a chips and dip snack.
ReplyDelete