Lactose Intolerance? Who knows...

[MantaRay]

Hun, I'm glad you have read the articles. It's great that you have a better idea of what might be happening. You must be feeling better about it all now.

If it is oversupply, then expressing frequently well could delay your milk from settling down. If you need the EBM then you don't want to stop expressing totally, so perhaps it might be helpful to express either less often, or not empty your breast each time. Otherwise if you are just stocking up "in case", it might be an idea to stop for a few days to see if that helps.

You are doing all the right things hun, keep up the great work. I hope it settles down for you quickly.

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

Why don't you join the Australian Breastfeeding Association? They run great groups for mums in all areas. Through your group you have access to your local Breastfeeding counsellors. When you join ABA you get a free book - "Breastfeeding Naturally" which is absolutely one of the best breastfeeding/parenting books around.
Try to slow down the expressing unless you feel very full and uncomfortable, then just express enough to relieve the discomfort. It sounds like you are doing a great job - the first 6 weeks or so can be tough going - it gets better

[Fleur]

Great advice
Just thought I'd add my experience.

DS2 was about 8 weeks old when I started noticing blood in his poo. Took him to the ED & they told me it was cracked nipples (which it most definitely was NOT, I had BTDT & knew what that felt like!)
Got a referral to a peadiatrician who said it was most likely like Kelly suggested a reaction to the protein in cow's milk. I cut all dairy out of my diet for a couple of months and it stopped. After about 8 - 10 weeks I started to ease back into a little bit of dairy & it was fine.

It might be something to try if it continues?

Good luck

[entreat]

I want to stop cows milk to test it out - but I love it so much!! Ok - I will do it... but it will be hard.

I know it's not cracked nipples, or anything. It's fresh red blood in mucus (would you get as much mucus if it were an anal fissure?).

We have an ABA branch in town, I think. I'll join next week. It's been on the list of things I've been meaning to do. I'm sure you all understand.

[onthefly]

I understand Entreat, I think DS was 10 weeks old before I finally got round to joining! It's definitely worth it though.

If you do decide to try cutting out dairy, be aware that it'll take a couple of weeks to get out of your system completely. I think also speaking to a pead or someone like that to guide you through the process is probably a good idea. Personally I'd wait and see if his system settles down post-ABs first.

[MantaRay]

Hun, if you do decide to cut out dairy, you also need to cut out all foods that contain milk solids and you'd be surprised how many there are (even some potato chip flavours!). The best way to do it is an elimination diet under the supervision of a dietician who specialises in food allergies and sensitivities. This way you can avoid all the foods you need to, and still maintain a balanced diet. The elimination diet also consists of adding things back in too, once everything is out of your system so that you can identify exactly what the problem is and not restrict your diet any more than necessary - eg there are two proteins in cows' milk and many people are only allergic to one, so foods like cheese or A2 milk can be ok for some people with cows' milk issues. This is a lengthy process so you might like to follow Marcellus' suggestion and give it another couple of weeks first just in case it just from the abs.

[BellyBelly]

Ricemilk is actually nice, I like it more than soy, which I avoid anyways. But my son has problem with dairy and A2 milk is fine for his tummy - he can drink milk now with no reactions whatsoever, no tummyache, probs with his bowel movements etc., whereas when he was younger and tried whatever, he'd get a really bad tummyache and green poo everytime Poor thing would be so upset.