bf a colicky miserable soul- is there a point going lactose or dairy free?

[treedelivery]

I ask because even if I live on cows milk alone, won't my own human milk be it's usual self? Will the 'dairy' in my diet leach into my own milk?

I ask as my 6 week baby just seems dairy or lactose or gluten intolerant, stinky poo, gripes, unsettled, pukey and so on. Having loads of fun here.....

I have read that babies can have transient lactose intolerance, but I guess lactose forms a large part of human breast milk and can't be avoided? Clutching at straws, but my poor wee lamb makes evil poo that gives her a good 12 hours of strife prior to it's arrival. And it arrives by the tonne load every 3 days.

It was mentioned on another plea-for-help-post of mine by a poster who went dairy free. Any advice out there?

Hiya - as far as I am aware human milk is incredibly low in lactose naturally - humans adults are not supposed to eat / drink dairy it is not "natural" for us to do it, after all before we tamed cows etc we would not have had it as part of our diet... Any milk etc that you consume will cause lactose to be passed on to your baby. I know several women who have had this problem. Some have found that after a few months they were able to reintroduce dairy others weren't but it did help to cut out the dairy.

good luck.

Go for it. Having colicky baby is miserable. For you both. Its worth a try.

My baby was really colicky - up at night crying with pain, lots of wind and blow out nappies. I cut out dairy a few weeks ago and it certainly has made a difference, she is much happier and not in as much pain (though she still has gas and grunts with every poo). If you are at your wit's end, then give it a shot it might work for you too.

Um. Human milk has lots of lactose in it. Lactose = milk sugar. All milk has lactose in it. Humans are built to process lactose until the age of 7, then it gets dodgy for some of us.

I've heard dropping caffeine is a really common fix for colic - so coffee, tea, chocolate. After that, yeah, it's worth trying dairy.

It's worth remembering, though, babies are sometimes contrary little buggers, and colic may just be one of those things that has to pass, eventually.

Cow milk protein is the most common cause of allergies in very small babies. I was recommened to cut out, or at least cut down on dairy produce while breastfeeding my ds as he has eczema and was bringing back lots of milk.

I've cut down on dairy - still have milk chocolate and milk in my coffee, but no cheese, no yoghurts, no milky drinks and I try not to eat too much butter. It seems to have helped with ds.

yes caffiene could also be a cause.

What NQC said re lactose.

It's the cows milk protein that usually causes the problem for babies, and yes, it is the only substance proven to pass into breast milk if you eat it (many other things might pass, but haven't been researched/proven).

I have had to go dairy free with both of mine, and it made a huge difference both times. With dd I was able to reintroduce dairy around 20 months, but ds is only 5 months at present, so I'm still off it.

You need to cut it out completely, so lots of label checking, but if it is the problem then you should see a diff within a couple of weeks.

also have you tried cranio osteopathy ? That can help with babies who have colic.

But this baby doesn't sound allergic, it sounds like a gut intolerance thing.

I hadn't known that re: proof of what passes through. A friend of mine has a DD who was (is!) severely intolerant to wheat, dairy, soya, potato, tomato and aubergine. And she was sensitive to these things in breastmilk, in a 'puking up blood' sort of way.

Thank you one and all for your contributions.

I think my mind [such as it is] is made up and I will do a dairy free trial. In fact, as I don't eat much dairy it shouldn't be too major. My only dairy is choc and milk in tea [on a regular basis that is],and marg on toast. So I can do it ......repeats 20 times every hour.

Had chiro today, she did an 'abdominal release'. Hatts had done one of her twice weekly poo's that am, but following the 'release' she passed this poo type thing that really looked like cooked spinach. So am hoping that this may also be a treatment route as that had to be better out than in!

Her regular, pre treatment poo today was chicken korma, but this time foamy. Am I right in thinking this also backs up the intolerance theory? It stank of acid again too, and there was a good half pint. Burnt her skin on contact, she did it ont he changing table nappy off, but even that led to a red bum. Poor lamb.

haven't been able to check in earlier as today has been mega in the unsettled baby stakes. Am dribbling wreck.

Thanks again for these posts, please continue to share any wisdom!!?? Bless all mumsnetters.