Hi, mamas! I've gotten some good stuff from you ladies before, and I'm really hoping you can shed some light on my current issue.
My (exclusively breastmilk-fed) 3 1/2 week old has a tendency to cry occasionally during feedings. It is, in fact, the worst cry she has - she didn't even cry this badly when she got the heel prick at her two week visit. It doesn't seem to be related to a bowel movement, or to reflux. (Though she does have reflux more often, it seems, than my three-year-old did at this age.) Is this a symptom of a food allergy? Her big sister had a cow's milk allergy as an infant (which she thankfully outgrew around six months of age). But the symptoms were different - excema and blood in her stool, which the little one doesn't have. I know I should keep a food diary, but it's the occasional nature that confuses me - wouldn't an allergy have her crying at every feeding, not just occasionally? (The reflux IS consistent, but her father had bad reflux as a baby as well.) She doesn't seem to have thsese crying jags when bottle feeding (which she's been doing in conjunction with breastfeeding since birth, thanks to a stay in the NICU - medical issues, not a preemie); this makes me think that maybe she's just frustrated with having to work harder at the breast than the bottle.
I guess the main question is, do any of you know if this is consistent with a food allergy symptom? All of my books just say there are lots of symptoms. But have any of you had this, and then been diagnosed with a food allergy? Neither her father nor I has food allergies, but my father and my husband's brother both have SEVERE food allergies.
Thanks in advance for any insight you ladies might have!
Thanks, everyone for your feedback! I talked to our ped, and she confirmed that yes, this is painful reflux. We had already inclined both the changing table and the bassinet matress, and the doc gave us a prescription that will help suppress the acid long enough for baby to heal, and hopefully eliminate or at least reduce the pain she's been in. Thank you all so much!
The first thing that comes to mind for me is burp her, she sounds like she is getting air. Try burping every little bit easy enough to do and if this is the problem you will know soon. Good luck.
I am not sure if it would be food allergy. It seems unlikely to me that the crying would be while feeding----I would think it would occur after.
Has the pediatrician checked the ears? My youngest used to get frequent ear infections before age 1, and turning him on his side to nurse made him cry due to ear pain. We didn't find this out right away....b/c he had no other symptoms.
A similar incident happened to two of my cousins and a friend, for one cousin and the friend the baby was lactose intolerant, one mom went to formula and the other cut out all dairy products in her diet so she could continue to breast feed - for my other cousin, her daughter has an extreme allergy to peanuts and she discovered that she would grab a PB&J because it was quick and easy but it was actually hurting her baby. Talk to your Pediatrician asap.
My middle son was in the NICU and wasn't able to start feeding until he was 18 days old. When they finally started the feedings they had to stop twice because of digestive issues. To make a long story short once he was able to continue feeding it was like he was making up for lost time. Of course I had tried to pump so that he would have it when he could begin feedings. I had to supplement with formula because I couldn't produce enough no matter what I did.
With my youngest son I had no problem with production, but he DID have reflux. I had to pay close attention to my diet to try not to make it worse for him, and he still had to take medicine. Thankfully he grew out of it.
Having said all of that-My first thought is are you producing enough breastmilk? If not you might want to try pumping to help increase production. Also make sure you are drinking plenty of water. I found a herbal tea called "Mothers Milk". It seemed to help increase production, plus I enjoyed the taste and the comfort of having hot tea. You should be able to find it either in the coffee/tea aisle at the grocery store, or maybe GNC. Try not to stress too much, stay away from caffeine and probably soft drinks too.
Do the best you can and love that angel that God has given you. Good luck! God bless you!
When it was a tired of working at the breast issue my daughter would fuss, not really cry. My daughter also did the crying at the breast when it was acid reflux. It was so difficult, she would get so upset as I was offering her my all. anyway, I found that part of it was a dairy sensitivity, I stopped eating all dairy and it got some better for a couple of weeks, then I took her to the dr and they put her on an ant-acid and that made everything better. It took about a week but my screaming little girl turned into a sweet natured angel, I may be biased but it made a huge impact on our family. She is now 7mo old and doing great. Good luck.
Is it possible that the milk flow from the breast is either too fast or too slow (compared to the bottle)? Mine was also in NICU when first born and began with a bottle while there. She had some discomfort whenever she breastfed because the flow rate was so different than the bottle that she ended up swallowing a lot of air and consequently had lots of painful gas. On the other extreme, there were times when my breasts were so engorged that the milk was too much, too fast for her and she just couldn't handle it. Over time it got a little better but eventually we ended up giving her expressed milk from the bottle only, which we continue to do at 8 months now. It's a hassle for me to have to pump all the time, but she's much happier. (Oh, and mine also had milk protein allergy, but what you describe doesn't seem like it would necessarily be related to an allergy. I'm sure the doc would be better able to tell.) Good luck!
The best way for you to find this out is for you to go on an elimination diet. Take out all wheat, dairy, soy, eggs and nut from your diet. Also eliminate spicy foods. Do this for a week and see what happens.
The next week, reintroduce 1 of the above foods back into your diet and see how she reacts. Do this 1 food every week until you have your regular diet back. If she reacts in any way to any of the foods, you have found your culprit and you will know what you cannot eat.
Good Luck.
My family has a problem with food tolerance rather than true allergies. It takes the build up of an allergan in the system to cause a reaction. I am intolerant of sulfides (preservatives) in food. I do not react until my system is overloaded. It took the help of an alergist quite a while a bit of time for me to figure this out. Sulfides are in many different foods. My oldest son had the same problem with corn as an infant.
I think your baby is trying to tell you she is hurting. Notice if you hold her more upright when she bottle feeds than breast feeds. My baby went undiagnosed for a year - bcuz he was not projectile vomiting, all the Drs. we sought help from ruled out reflux. Finally, my own Dr. ordered him an Upper G.I. his reflux was in the most severe catagory. When it hurts to eat, it is reflux. My baby was comforted by being in a sling, bouncing while being held upright and liked sleeping upright in his car seat. In fact, my baby had a milk protein allergy AND reflux. See a Pediatric Gastroenterologist and camp out in their office until they do some testing if this continues as she gets older. Drs. told me it was "colic" month, after month, after month! I regret I didn't keep pushing.
