lactose overload??

[PinkPalace]

i have been reading about lactose ovreload and wondering if any one elses baby has experienced this?

DD exhibits all the symptoms (explosive watery stools - 6ish times a day, excessive gas and wind, screaming after feeds, bloating, grimacing etc) and i do too (in my oversupply issues).

Did expressing first to reduce the foremilk and 3hrly feed periods on he same breast help?

Any other hints?

I know she isnt intolerant of lactose as her weight gain has be approx 300gm/week and her stools are not greeny. So perhaps this is the answer?

Luckily from what i have read this intolerance reduces after 3- 5 months as the gut matures (yay)....

[BellyBelly]

Your Baby & Lactose

[Phoenix]

I haven't heard this described as a lactose overload. I know it is often caused by oversupply and or fast flow of milk and is usually diagnosed as colic. Expressing first and then allowing bub to feed off the one breast until finished may help on its own or you may need to also extend feeds. Sometimes posture feeding helps (like feeding bub while you lie on your back). And yep I have heard it usually settles around 3-5mths but perhaps ring an ABA counsellor and discuss it as they have some really good suggestions for this sort of thing. You don't want to put up with it for another couple of mths if it can be helped.

[peekay]

Hi there

I'm just bumping this up to see if you had any success with your little one- although it was a while ago now!

I'm suspecting that my DS (who is 4 weeks old) may have this too- not too sure though.

Can lactose overload be definitively diagnosed by a paed? Or is it (like so much else!) a guessing game?

[~clover~]

My DS had the green watery poo & I wasn't sure what to think, but I'm pretty sure now it was due to over supply & fast let down.
It settled down at around 3 months. I still think my let down is quite strong/fast as it feels like it to me, but he seems fine now.

[peekay]

Hmm... his poo isn't green- definitely yellow but very very runny and only comes out with an explosion. There's no way I wouldn't know he's done a poo!

He also has bad wind pains that often wake him from sleep- it's heartbreaking. He grunts and groans all the time, goes red in the face from what seems like trying to push, he stretches his body out and goes rigid sometimes, while other times pulls his knees up. It bothers me most when the grunts and groans turn into a high pitched cry/squeal .

He has lots of wet nappies a day- but I generally only change it when feeding, which is only approx 8 times a day. Sometimes though the nappies are totally saturated- the entire nappy not just the front part and his clothes/wrap gets wet too.

My 6 week paed appt is next week so I'm going to ask him about it then. My CHN said it was normal baby behaviour, but I'm not convinced- yet!

[~clover~]

DS's poos were the same. Every time he farted he pooed.
It's always been watery too. I asked the gp about it, but he said as long as he had plenty of wet nappies it was fine.

I think 8 wet nappies a 24 hour period is the minimum they look for in a sick bub. If its less than that its not really enough, but that really means only 8 wee's. If your little man's nappies are that wet, then there's definetely more than 1 wee in each nappy.

The wind problems could be colic. It usually happens later in the afternoon/evening though, but not all the time.
You could try some Infacol C, Bauers Colic relief or Infants Friend & see if it relieves the wind pain.

I also used to lay down with bubs on his/her belly on my chest, or belly down along my arm to help relieve wind.
You can also look up how to massage to relieve wind pain.
Or lay him down & move his legs like he's riding a bike can help.

Hope that helps. Give them a go & see what happens.