Apparently, Eliza may be suffering from a rare allergy to my breastmilk. Does anyone else think this is strange? Breastfeeding is supposed to be the healthiest, most natural thing in the world- not the cause of months of colic. Although Nathan and I have somewhat conquered Eliza's case of colic, meaning we don't completely shut down if she cries all day and have actually found a way to get her to sleep at night (those precious 5 to 6 hours are amazing), we know something is still not right. We've taken her to the pediatrician five times in the last two months, but our doctor is never available...meaning we see a doctor who doesn't really care to help us. I'm sure he thinks I am crazy.
I explain: "She screamed for eight hours straight today."
His response: "Well I checked her ears and she's fine. No fever, either. You've got a healthy baby here."
It has been frustrating to say the least. After immense pressure to at least try formula, Nathan and I caved. We were told that if she was having a reaction to my diet or milk itself, we would know if we gave her formula for a solid two days. However, two feedings into the experiment, I had massive guilt about giving her formula and ended that trial. I know- lots of mothers use formula and have healthy babies, but Eliza was so fussy that I convinced myself the formula was aggravating the problem.
After our appointment with the pediatrician, though, he again recommended formula. He speculates Eliza is allergic to ALL forms of milk, including my breastmilk and most formulas. The only formula babies with this condition can drink is called Similac Alimentium (which I want to add is ridiculously expensive...figures).
However, I am not convinced this is the solution. How can breastmilk be bad? Surely, it must be something else. My brother apparently had the same problem as a baby, so maybe's it's a genetic thing. I'm not throwing in the towel just yet, though. Perhaps, the internet gods (AKA fellow mothers and bloggers) hold the answer.
London: A Year in Review
10 months ago
i had a friend whos baby had a milk allergy they switched to some formuala and it worked wonders....try it for 2 days it cant do much harm! Just pump to keep your supply up in case it makes no difference :) I can understand how hard that would be! when Jackie was first born i did not have enough milk and had to suplement for like a month until my supply was enough...good luck! I hope you figure something out!
ReplyDeleteoh ps WIC will give you what ever formuala you need you just got to have a note from the doc :)
ReplyDeleteHow crazy.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds absolutely horrible. I don't know anything about babies completely allergic to milk, including breastmilk, but my babies (Megan and Gavin) were incredibly colicky because I had too MUCH milk, or hyperlactation. Don't know if you have this problem but here's a link: http://breastfeeding.hypermart.net/toomuchmilk.html
ReplyDeleteHave you tried the total elimination diet? Sucks, I know, but I did it with Megan. Seemed that anything spicy, citrus, dairy, etc. made her scream.
Hang in there. I didn't know what it was like to have a normal baby until Ben. Every single day we just were in awe because he WASN'T crying. It was incredible. We kept waiting for him to start screaming like our other babies and he never did.
Lauren- I totally do have hyperlactation. I pump before every feeding, but it still hasn't helped. I'm really at a loss. I did the total elimination diet too. For three weeks. Nothing. The only thing that helps whatsoever is letting her sleep on her stomach, which I know is a big no-no. She always wants to bounce and be on her belly. She has all of the symptoms related to hyperlactation, and I've tried all the tips to correct the problem, but things are still pretty bad these days.
ReplyDeleteAnd Jessica- thanks for the tip and that story of hope! I needed to hear that!
ReplyDeleteOh Celia, I am so sorry. What a major trial. I know that milk is supposed to be the best thing for all babies, but every baby is different, and everyone's milk is, too. I understand how you would be heartbroken if you can't give your baby your own milk. So sad. Unfortunately, as soon as I had Noah, because of my GD his blood sugar was low, which is dangerous, so they had to give him formula right after he was born. :( I was sad, but I still got to nurse him right away after that. We've still had to supplement a little bit with formula, because I don't have quite enough milk yet, and it's really kind of upsetting and irritating. I know you want to be able to give her that one special thing only a mommy can. I want to just give you a hug!! Hang in there. I am thankful you two can get a tiny bit of sleep sometimes. Hang in there, and give me a call any time.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could offer some advice, but I have zero experience on the subject. Hopefully soon, something will come about and the world will be right again. Love you!
ReplyDeletehey i know we don't know each other that well so it may be weird i'm commenting but i feel like i had to! so i'm a (really nerdy) anthropology student and we study a lot about breastfeeding - in fact i'm in a class called "women, food and the body" right now and my reading last night was on breastfeeding and touched on some of these problems you're having! so if you want, i can email you the two articles and see if they help any? let me know!
ReplyDeleteAriana! I would love those articles. please! Thanks for thinking of me! My email address is celia1317@gmail.com.
ReplyDeleteThanks a ton, everyone!
Wes was on Alimentum for a long while. It's expensive and really smelly but ya know? He was so. much. happier. It was worth it to me (but also, the prematurity kind of screwed nursing from the start so I had no guilt over that)
ReplyDelete