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Baby reacting to foods I am eating. People who have had to modify their diets when bf, please come and talk to me!

76 replies

IlanaK · 10/09/2008 21:22

I am a bf counsellor and generally say to mums that you do not need to modify your diet when bf. And this was true for me for my first two babies.

My third baby is now 7 weeks old and seems especially sensitive to what I eat. He developed very bad colic around 3 weeks of age that was resolved by cuting dairy from my diet. He then had a really bad reaction to egg that I ate - so that is now off the menu.

Today he reacted to something I ate at lunch time. (He seems to react within two hours of me eating with severe screaming in pain as well as bringing up partially digested milk). The only thing I ate that was different was some chutney which contained dried fruit. It has been suggested to me that dried fruit can be problematic. A cranial osteopath I saw today (prior to the reaction to my lunch) said it felt like he was still reacting to something I was eating. One possibility is the orange juice I have each morning for breakfast.

So, I am looking for other people's experience of this as well as some empathy! It is so hard having to keep evaluating my diet and knowing that things I am eating are upsetting him.

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thisisyesterday · 10/09/2008 21:26

hi
I had to cut out dairy and egg from my diet as ds2 is sensitive to them.
it can take 2-3 weeks for them to be completely clear of milk/egg that you've eaten, so if you've had any in the last month or so then it could technically still be causing problems.

I "tested" ds2 by waiting over a month and then eating milk to see if he reacted. he did, and we cut it out.
same with the egg.

so, I guess what I am saying is don't be too quick to cut too much out. give him a couple more weeks, then retry the problem food, or the suspect and see what happens.

and remember, sometimes babies are just sick/grumpy and if it's a one off then it may not be related to what you've eaten at all.
ds2 generally is very upset for quite a while if I've had egg or dairy (like, a couple of days)

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hellymelly · 10/09/2008 21:26

I found that both my daughters seemed to react to cows milk in my diet and I cut it out,but they were able to tolerate it when they reached about 6m old and they have no problems with it now.

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Madlentileater · 10/09/2008 21:33

long t ime ago now, but my Dts were badly affected by brassicas...was v inconvenient.

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fadingfast · 10/09/2008 21:42

I also suspect DD is sensitive to dairy. She has always possetted a lot and went through a period of screaming at the breast - as though she wanted to feed but it was causing her pain. She has always been quite windy but I think this has more to do with the way she feeds. I think she has mild reflux although this was never properly diagnosed.

Anyway, I have dramatically reduced (not completely cut out) dairy intake and I think this has improved things quite a bit. Very unscientific, but when we went to stay with my mum a few weeks ago I went back onto my normal (quite high) intake of dairy and she seemed to react again.

I have found it very difficult restricting my diet (dairy is so hard to avoid, especially as a vegetarian), but I have certainly noticed a difference just by reducing my intake rather than cutting it out completely.

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strawberrycornetto · 10/09/2008 21:42

I am trying to cut out dairy because DS seems to have a milk allergy. Am finding it very tough though, cause it seems to cover so much

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IlanaK · 10/09/2008 21:49

It is shocking how many things contain skim milk powder. And whey powder too. But I have managed to cut it out ok. And egg too. I just don't want to have to cut out too many things.

I am pretty certain that he reacted to something today rather than just being grumpy. I can read his moods pretty well now and this was screaming in pain rather than just grumpiness.

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pamplemousse · 10/09/2008 21:54

I cut our dairy, caffeine and wheat. Dairy as intolerance runs on both sides, wheat because it upsets me and thought I'd avoid gluten for her first year of life.
It is a pain, I remember somethings affecting her quite badly. Chickpeas for example! Its only a short time in the scheme of things but tedious when you can't find what the problem is.
I did find that she tolerated things more as she got older.
A useful book with possible trigger suggestions is what do i feed my baby by suzannah olivier. It suggests one does an exclusion diet and reintroduce things one by one.
Sorry am really tired and probably not making any sense, ask if you are interested in nything i've mentioned and I#ll clarify when more awake

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thisisyesterday · 10/09/2008 21:56

fadingfast, I am veggie too! well, vegan now there is no dairy or egg allowed.
you do get used to it though

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IlanaK · 10/09/2008 21:57

I actually have that book! I used it with my first when we started solids. Unfortunately, it is in storage at the moment (we are refurbishing our flat) so I can't read it.

I sooooo don't want it to be wheat as that would be so hard to cut out. But I don't think that is it as I have been eating pitta breads most days and he has not had a specific reaction.

Its weird today as literally the only thing different that I ate was this chutney (apple, mango and date - from my local farmer's market).

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Pendulum · 10/09/2008 21:57

My money is on the orange juice- I couldn't go near it with either of my (colicky) DDs. Also cut out brassicas and beans. A real pain in the bum but just not worth the hassle.

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IlanaK · 10/09/2008 22:01

What is a brassica?

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pamplemousse · 10/09/2008 22:01

Ooh sorry thats annoying not to be able to read it!
Why not exclude oj and chutney for a week, then have one or the other and see what happens...?
I think wheat is more unusual than dairy so don't panic! Its a pita but i did lose 3 stone that i needed to lose as it cuts out cake biscuits pasta and stuff I tend to crave! Stopped bf'ing about 6 months ago and am slowly piling it back on though It was a reason as I was doing it for dd, now its just for me I have no motivation, silly I know.
Good luck

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Madlentileater · 10/09/2008 22:11

brassicas=cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, sprouts etc. Think you can do fine without them, but after 6 mths you CRAVE broccoli

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fromheretomaternity · 10/09/2008 22:13

My DS seemed to react badly whenever I had strawberries or chocolate :-(

Grew out of it though at about 4 months.

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gingerolivia · 10/09/2008 22:13

I had to cut out Alpen/orange juice and Vimto!!? my DH still drinking loads of it which is cruel and not supportive I kept trying a sneaky glass but she would react at the next feed so just not worth the upset. Hope you get sorted

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GreenMonkies · 10/09/2008 22:15

Why not keep a food diary and see if you can narrow it down that way?

You have my sympathies, I was dairy free for 18 months.

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IlanaK · 13/09/2008 19:37

Well, I cut out the orange juice and by the second day it made a huge difference. He had his best day ever! However, today he was a little more sicky again and more unsettled. The only thing I can think of is that I had something that contained some lemon juice. Could this do it?

Another question: how far do you go? I mean, my diet is far from perfect. I have wo cans of diet coke (caffiene free) everyday. I have no idea if this upsets him or not as I have always had them. A friend thinks I should cut them out. I would find that sooooo hard. So how much do you cut out? Do you go to a purely all natural diet? I of course want to do what's best for him, but I like my little treats too!

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StormInanEcup · 13/09/2008 19:46

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IlanaK · 13/09/2008 19:51

I only drink caffiene free.

I guess what I am asking is how far do you go to modify your diet?

DO you just accept some degree of imperfection (periods of being unsettled) or do you keep tweaking it?

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StormInanEcup · 13/09/2008 20:11

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IlanaK · 13/09/2008 20:17

Very true. I really don't want to have to tweak it anymore, but I feel guilty as surely there is no sacrifice too much for your own baby.

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foxytocin · 13/09/2008 20:26

Only read your opener Ilana and can empathise. Dd is allergic to egg and dairy. Unfortunately, when she was tested for dairy allergy she was having no dairy so it didn't come up as an allergen.

Then I only found out about the egg thing after MIL commented that she had 2 egg refusers. Ding! by this time dd was well over 2 before she got tested for egg and milk. Only after I took egg out of my diet her bad eczema which was now also accompanied by asthma started to clear up.

Have you considered what else is in the chutney besides the fruit?

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IlanaK · 13/09/2008 20:38

Such as what? The only other thing I thought might be a problem was vinager. The rest was fruit and sugar and spices.

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Umlellala · 13/09/2008 20:56

How do you know it is the food that is affecting them? Ds sometimes fusses at breast and is v sicky but how would you work out what/if anything was causing it? I mean, I am about to have a curry with a can of coke - how would I know if it was spices/a particular spice, caffeine, onions - or nothing to do with diet? Not being arsey, I am genuinely baffled. I hardly ever know what my ds is crying about

I have switched to caffeine-free tea, cos I might as well but I don't know if I can be bothered should keep a food diary to try to eliminate some fussiness.

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IlanaK · 13/09/2008 21:22

Well, I only knew about the dairyaffecting him as he became so colicy that I started looking into what could be causing it. When I cut out dairy, the change was dramatic. The egg I knew because he had been so settled and calm then I ate egg and he started screaming in pain.

The rest is guess work really. He is pretty happy and settled now, but has periods of being quite sicky. I am trying to work out what I am eating that causes it. Not sure if it is possible really.

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