So I thought Blake might have been growing out of the reflux. He had been so pleaseant and easy to put to sleep for a while. But this weekend he was clearly in a lot of pain, and Mike and I couldn't wait to talk to our doctor again this morning. And the Dr increased the dosage of the medicine we are giving him, so hopefully we will see a difference from that. (As Blake grows his dosage needs to be increased to keep up with his new body mass.)Traditionally I have been really pleased at the positive effect of this med on our little boy.
But I am increasingly suspicious that he might have a food allergy, meaning he would be allergic to something in my milk. I desperately want to continue to nurse him (I love those times with my boy!) and we believe it is best for him. Many friends have suggested I eliminate milk from my diet. About a month ago I did, but only to replace it with soy on my cereal. Turns out 30-50% of peole with milk allergies also have soy allergies, so I might have just, unknowingly, replaced one problem with another. I would say I had been about 90% faithful to the no-milk part of the deal (sometimes I allowed myself some butter, or a little cheese on my chipotle burrito), and I think I lasted about 2-3 weeks. It didn't seem to make any difference, so I wrote it off. Perhaps it wasn't effective because I was replacing with soy, or because I snuck in some milk now and again...or because he might not be allergic!
But last night, as Blake screamed desperately in our arms, Mike and I took turns researching things that ease his pain and again we are confronted with the milk allergy option. His doctor thinks it is just a "mechanical" reflux issue, (immature stomach valve), but I don't think I've done a good job describing to him all of Blake's problems. What makes me think, again, that it might be an allergy is the fact that his tummy rumbles so loudly when I feed him, and sometimes when we are holding him as he cries we can feel his little belly move as it rumbles. And at night he often wakes up...I used to think he was waking because he was hungry, but now I think more that he is waking up in gas pain or with a painful poop, and I think he just nurses because I am there and it is comforting. (Last night I tried giving him one side at each waking, and he was just as happy as when he got both sides.) This seems more like intestinal distress that could be related to food allergies/intolerance. Also, some people have attributed to an allergy a red mark around the '"poh-poh hole." His has been red ever since I can remember...it would make sense that it would get this way from a food allergy in whatever is passing through.
But the doctor encouraged us to just raise the Zantac dose without messing with my diet, so that we can isolate causes. But since it takes up to 2 (even sometimes 3 or 4) weeks for cow's milk to be eliminated and to see an improvement, I can hardly bear to wait that long (for Blake's sake) to start removing dairy again. So I have started eliminating dairy and soy as of this morning, and I think I plan to continue that for the next 2 weeks. I think.
Did I mention this is just a few days before Thanksgiving? =( So sad.
The other question is what to eliminate. I would definitely eliminate milk and soy, but the other "top" allergens are wheat, seafood, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts and eggs. The next option would be to eliminate all 8 of these "likely" allergens. The OTHER option is to do a "total elimination" diet where you eat nothing but chicken, rice, potatoes and sweet potatoes for 2 weeks. Sounds fun, huh? I am tempted to do this, since I don't want to get through 2 weeks of just eliminating milk and soy to find that it doesn't work and I should have been eliminating wheat instead. Did I mention that Thanksgiving is in just a few days? Oh, so sad.
Well, last night Mike went grocery shopping for me, and we stocked up on food so that I could do the milk/soy elimination for the next couple of weeks. That doens't sound so bad (and it is definitely the easiest of my options) but soy is in EVERYTHING. Have you read your ingredients recently? Almost everything processed has some form of soy something. So I am learning to apprecicate "organic" for the first time, and to read labels. Ick. A discipline that is good fo rme. I'm still a little undecided about how far I want to go with this - I truly want to help my little one, but it is still very possible that it is only a "mechanical" problem and completely unrelated to food! I would be grateful for wisdom, and also that the little boy experiences some relief. It is really hard to see him in pain day after day.
Life with Christ is a journey of grace. This blog captures the life "journeys" of Mike, Sarah, Blake and Baby Carter.
3 comments:
I'm so sorry you guys are having such a rough time with Blake's belly! Since you are thinking about changing your diet, there is a great blog to try looking at that Josh Harris' sister-in-law does. It's linked to my blog and called the Nourishing Gourmet. She also uses a lot of ideas from a cookbook called Nourishing Traditions, which has been life changing for me, to say the least. A lot of grain "allergies" can be fixed by simply soaking your grain products. She also does a ton of dairy free recipes, since she and her daughter don't eat dairy.
Another thought would be to get a second opinion from another doctor on Blake's issues. Maybe a second set of eyes might catch something that has been overlooked.
Hope it resolves soon!
sarah, so sorry to hear that blake is having such a hard time with his tummy. have you guys seen an allergist? before we found out about william's milk allergy, our pediatrician suspected some kind of allergy. so we tried switching to a different formula (i wasn't nursing at the time) and all this other stuff. we finally had to go see an allergist when he broke out into hives, but we still didn't know what he was allergic to. they tested him for the 4 most common food allergies (milk, soy, egg, wheat) and found he had a milk allergy. i wish we had just gone to the allergist earlier instead of spending all that time trying to "figure things out." that way, you can learn quickly if he does have a food allergy instead of spending weeks eliminating certain foods trying to figure out what he may be allergic to. josiah also has reflux and has been taking zantac. gratefully, it has been working for him.
will be praying for endurance for little blake and strength for you as you care for him through his discomfort. it can be hard caring for a little one when you don't really know what's ailing him. much grace and love to you both!
Im sorry you guys are going through this with the little guy. Matthan had a very hard time too and they thought it could be milk. Turns out it was just very bad reflux. Colic Calm- a homeopathic remedy was very helpful for us. It was given in addition to the zantac. But - I know you have lots of things you are trying now- but its something to keep in mind. Ill be praying for you guys!!!
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