"your breastmilk is making her sick - stop"

[mollysmum82]

My daughter has just turned a year old and we're still going strong with the feeds. My friends and family all think its weird/unnecessary... but we are kindly ignoring their comments!

However, recently she has been sick after feeds which has fanned the flames of pressure, particularly from my DH. She had a brief spell where she slept through the night but then she started to wake at 5am. I "happily" fed her at this time and she went back down to sleep till 7ish. For the last week or so though she has been violently sick immediately after this feed. She projectile vomits five or six times, getting rid of the entire feed. She is lethargic and floppy afterwards, sometimes going back to bed and sometimes staying awake, only to be really grumpy for the rest of the day. I am drained and emotional seeing my little girl so ill because of me, particularly having been woken up so early and seeing all the precious milk been thrown away.

Has anyone else been through this? I have been given a mixed bag of advice - anything from "just do controlled crying from 5am till 7" or "your milk is clearly making her ill now, its time to stop".

I just wanted to know if anyone had any ideas on dealing with this in a softer way? I really had hoped to feed her till she was 2 years old or at least self-weaning. Maybe this really is her telling me she's ready to stop?

Many thanks

Have you changed your diet in any way that could be affecting her?
Is it just that feed which she throws up, and then the rest are fine?
if so then dropping that feed could work, if not then I'd look at your diet and maybe into the possibility of her having developed a dairy allergy?

?????

Your baby sounds poorly.

She needs to see a doctor or health visitor. It would be unkind, and a bit daft, to withhold breastmilk from a baby who is poorly. It would also be unkind to leave a sick baby to cry without comfort.

Breastmilk does not make babies ill.

How on earth would that happen (apart from rare cases of allergy which would have shown itself long before now)? It turns to poison after a date on the calendar??

If the doctor or HV confirms a virus/gastro, then they would normally encourage you to continue breastfeeding.

Your milk by the way is good stuff but not especially 'precious' and it doesn't matter it's being chucked up! It's not something in short supply :) You have plenty more :) :)

Hiya - my DS did do the projectile thing a couple of times, but only when it turned out he had some other bug (once it was chickenpox, but before he had the spots). Agree (like I'd disagree with tiktok) that a GP/HV discussion is what's needed. I've never been so grateful for BFing as when DS has been ill as a toddler. At times when he was ill it's been all the nourishment he's wanted, and even when it was hard to get water into him he would bf. Hope DD is feeling better soon.

Could it be that she's taking in too much milk for a previously empty stomach to handle?

I'd definitely see a health professional about it though.

Think your brilliant for carrying on despite the opinions of others. Maybe she is coming down with something. Bm does wonders for poorly kids, keep going.

Sounds like a gastro bug. DD had one at 12 months and vomitted up her milk feeds. It was because she'd latch on for comfort, take more than her poorly stomach could cope with and then bring it back up again. I had to try and limit the amount she had so that she wasn't irritating a struggling gut. She seemed quite well otherwise and could keep down water for example.

It's NOT your milk making her ill.

See your GP.

Just to clarify. It's still fine to feed to requirement when they're poorly, they do keep some down even if it seems like they don't. I only limited it because dd was upset about vomitting. I gave her shorter but more frequent feeds instead.

It's possible it could be an allergy. DS was 13 months when he was diagnosed with a dairy allergy, so not sure I agree with an allergy having to show up before then.

If it's a bug, then b/fing is going to help.

Thanks so much for your replies everyone.

She has been diagnosed as being allergic to dairy so I've been careful with both our diets for the last 5 months. I've recently-ish introduced some soya though (on the advice of my daughter's dietician) so maybe this is the problem?

Good idea on the gastro-bug, I'll take her to the GP just in case. The funny thing is though her other feeds are fine (she feeds about 4 times further throughout the day). This feed is a big one though, I guess she's extra hungry and in need of comfort after the night sleeping but maybe her eyes are bigger than her belly?

It was the HV who said just to do controlled crying from 5-7am! And a GP told me previous to this incident that my breastfeeding her at ten months was "unnecessary"! Obviously I ignored that comment but it doesn't fill me with hope for any advice over this one!

Thanks again x

What brilliant advice your HV and GP have been giving out. FFS why would you want to make a sick child cry for 2 hours and your GP is lucky you haven't reported them for giving out info that doesn't comply with the WHO recommendation of bfing for a minimum of 2 years.

Hope this resolves itself soon.

I'd try taking out soya. DS is dairy and soya allergic, but didn't realize about the soya allergy for over 6 months. He has since had a few more allergies identified, but apparently it's quite common to also be allergic to soya if one is cow milk protein intolerant, and in fact can be worse!

You may find the Allergies board quite helpful. A lot have managed to continue b/fing despite having CMP babies/children.

FGS some HCP are just great aren't they? Can you see a different HV/GP? Either that or wheel out the 'I am following WHO recommendations' as Ineedsomesleep suggests. They're pretty unlikely argue... Also, when I needed some help with BFing I asked if there was a 'specialist' HV - at the time we did. (Unfortunately she's left the NHS now...) Hope your little one is feeling a bit better...