I Gave Her Probiotics and She Is Suffering with Them

M. - my infant son acted the same way when I first started him on probiotics when we first came home from the hospital. He seemed uncomfortable and groaned all night. I too gave a fraction of the recommended dose. I waited a couple weeks and gave even less (maybe 1/5 or 1/4 the recommended dosage) and gave it earlier in the day and he is now perfectly fine with it. I actually use the powder "Flora Baby" by Renew Life and dissolve it in a dose of Organic Gripe Water which soothes the stomoach with fennel and ginger extracts-and he loves it. I give the probiotic every other day as recommended by my chiropractor/nutritionist. One thing she made me look for was a probiotic that is dairy free...she says it is the dairy that often causes the upset, not the probiotic per se. If the container doesn't say dairy free, then it likely has dairy protiens and you should probably switch to one without. Could it possibly be dairy as a culprit of her discomfort?

As for the comment from someone about giving females Yeast.... I'm a little lost. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria for your gut, which help you AVOID developing any yeast problems, especially if you or baby are taking any antibiotics and breastfeeding....

Since you are brestfeeding, you can also take fennel (comes in a bottle of capsules at any health food store) which helps with baby's GI...stomach upset, etc. It's in Gripe Water too, which is given directly to Baby... Hang in there and good luck!

Dear M.,
I too had 2 children the same way. I also had to make all their baby food because of the allergies. When I would nurse my babies the allergist would have me take a benadryl an hour prior. That helped so much with the allergies. I will tell you they tried my daughter on every kind of medicine out there before I went to an allergist. However to this day little tummies has worked the best. Find a good peds allergist. My daughter is elevn now and the research we are finding, it is IBS. My daughter is still to young and small for any IBS medication. Good Luck and also try to stay calm that had alot to do with it.

Dear M.,

Have you considered taking her to a nutritionist? There is an excellent nutritionist in Clearwater - Dr. Susan Player - who works with infants and young children, as well as adults. She saw my son when he was just 2 months old, and helped me handle problems with gas and indigestion.

when you say she is suffering....is she having gas? if so, you could give her a bit of gas medicine...also are you mixing the probiotics in something like a bottle of breastmilk or a little food? That seems to help w/ my 10 month old daughter. Also...are you taking them as well? This helps inmprove your own digestion and therefore your breastmilk too.We use an Acidophilus Bifidus blend ny Natural Factors that I picked up at Whole Foods- you need to keep it refrigerated and take it directly after meals. For her I just break open a capsule and sprinkle it in fruit puree or a bottle of expressed milk.Good Luck and please feel free to contact me if you need further info-L.

Hi M.,

So sorry to hear this! I was wondering how things were going with you and your little one. You might try researching the enzymes angle as opposed to the pro-biotics. I'm not sure how enzymes & probiotics work together etc, but a little body may not produce the enzymes needed to digest certain things. It can be that she needs to ingest the foods in order to begin developing the necessary quantities & types of enzymes in her gut, and that until then the digestion will be painful.

I also wanted to mention one thing I've learned in parenting - babies turn on a dime as they develop. One day my daughter would be in pain due to a first feeding of something, and the next time she ate it, she would be just fine. It was a phase, and certainly a difficult one for her and us. We became very wary of feeding anything new for a long time, and like you, I omitted lots in my diet to keep the breastmilk okay.

Best of luck!

Yeah, what are they for? You don't just give them to children no matter where they come from. If she is uncomfortable, stop. If she needs them for a specific reason, talk to your doctor about what else to try. Don't add things to a childs diet just because.

I NEVER recommend that females take yeast! Some do take them & do OK with them but many will have najor problems. I don't think that I would do that again if I were you.
A couple of things come to mind as I read this.
Do you know all of her food allergies and avoiding them? (u probably are!) I would be sure to run her tests for any suspected food & read all labels bew4 you give to her.
Does blood sugar problem run in your family anywhere in the present or past? Most w/ blood sugar problems have many food allergies and often can not take yeast. (Your Daughter does not have to have an actives blood sugar problem for these to be acting on her. BS problems are genetic for the most part and that can effect things in the background.)

S.

Opinion only...but you may want to look into a holistic approach, as when you see stomach and digestive issues early, you can intervene early and prevent a lot of other issues that could spiral into bigger problems. Wholistic Pediatrics/Dr. Berger can offer assistance or even suggest a nutrisionist that focuses on a healthy approach for little one with "gut" issues. Mainstream will not assist with this...been there and done it. Good luck.

Hi M.. I'm so sorry you're going through this. It's so hard to see our babies suffer. I give my 21 month old pro-biotics. For those who don't know, they are a source of good bacteria that replace bad bacteria in your intestines. Typically used while being on anti-biotics to replenish the body and help with infection. You're intestines play a huge part in fighting off infections and colds. In fact, my whole house just got the "Worst" stomach of the century! You know that stomach flu that only comes around once or twice in your life? Kaylie got it first and it literally lasted as long as it took to vomit it up. It lasted in me for over a week and I was almost hospitalized for dehydration. So I really believe they are beneficial. You may need to try a different kind or lower dose. First, if I were you, I'd bring her to a holistic doctor. They can be really expensive, but WILL get to the bottom of things without prescription medicine. I give Kaylie Renew Life Flora Baby Pro-biotics. It's a little less potent then many of them out there and she has always done very well with it. Good luck with this. If there's anything else I can help with please send me a msg.
Many Blessings!
J.

I understand how you must feel.My son is allergic to soy,wheat, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts,milk, confirmed by blood test.But after much research and a lot of reading, I think it may be time to get him retested.We found out about his allergies at 15 months --after a lot of suffering---he had stomach pain (I assume) and moderate to severe outbreaks of ecezma.Today he is three years old.He is mainly on RIce milk---rice cakes-rice krispies cereal/can have chicken and meat -thank goodness for that! I read all labels and had to learn the other names for things.Sometimes ingredients have two or more names -like with milk ingredients! He has frag. free soaps-laundry- non-soap liquids for bath etc.. It is a real pain to feed him- especially since I have two teenagers who like to eat normal foods----We've all learned to hide when we eat pizza.I go to the health food store twice a week.He eats rice pastas and olive oil... The list is endless.I bought a probiotic to try and then when I got home I re-read it to find it contained something he couldn't have!
But I have read the research on it..Let your daughter get a little older and let her system mature.THe allergies can change over time too.Try the Food & ALlery network wesite.There is a lot of information on the web........L.

What does the 8 mo need probotics for? Just wondering, to see if I can help. K.