Thanks Barb. I don't have a problem feeding him more often but I know I have a pestering potential as I get anxious about weight and feed volumes. I will try and listen more carefully to my son and be guided by him during the day about how many feeds he wants.
One more query - if my milk is making his stomach sensitive is BM still best for him, is it giving him something worthwhile or is this a case where I should look into the allergy formula? Moving to formula hasn't sat easy with me (particularly the soy and allergy ones, please don't be offended if you are FF users. I respect your decision and totally understand why you make the FF decision because EE isn't for everyone) which is why I find myself EE and restricting my diet by cutting milk out.
Hi Lisa Barb has given great advice. My DD is intolerant to dairy and I have found by eliminating it from my diet has helped considerably not sure whether you have done this all ready but if you haven't this may help. Just want to say you are doing a great job EE!
Dear Lisa,
I didn't say your milk is making his stomach sensitive. It sounds like your little one has a range of food intolerances and allergies. His tummy probably is sensitive - many babies like this do better on smaller more frequent feeds of breastmilk. Breastmilk is VITAL for babies like this. Elemental formulas are an absolutely last ditch option for when breastfeeding can't be sustained. I can't tell you how often I have seen mothers of sensitive babies coerced into stopping breastfeeding, only to see them on the treadmill of one formula after another. Breastfeeding protects your baby from the worst effects of allergies. Breastmilk has anti-inflammatory properties and so protects from allergies. it also prevents infection. Generally symptoms are much worse once a baby stops breastfeeding.
I wonder, what are your baby's weightgains like? He seems to be getting adequate amounts of milk. You know the weight charts are charts for normal babies - if they are on the chart they are in the normal range. If you are cutting out dairy, you have to also become a label reader and cut out all forms of cow milk and possibly soy (a large proportion of those allergic to dairy are also allergic to soy) You need to cut out whey and casein as well
Thanks Barb. I don't want to stop BM feeding if it is in my son's interest. My son's weight a couple of weeks ago was just under the 50th percentile. It consistently drops in relation to the curve. It was holding better on the last weigh in which was positive. I had cut out all dairy but the dietician has asked me to reintroduce some now to test given I had been off it for around 6 weeks. He seems to tolerate 1-2 serves of dairy but not more than this. She has told me that there can be a dose type response to dairy. If I take more I get more fussy behaviour at the bottle. This is how he has been labelled as having a milk protein issue, or a likely issue. He seems to cope okay with my soy intake - no fuss at the bottle (fussy behaviour and low volumes were the original issues).
Em - thanks, as mentioned yes i have been on an elimination process and now trying to reintroduce under the dietician supervision to check if diary is indeed an issue and how much of an issue it is. Thanks for the support.
it is really common and normal for babies to swap percentiles after the birth. In utero a baby's weight reflects the mothers nutrition and effectiveness of the placenta. After birth they move towards their genetic potential and are affected by factors in the environment (ie their diet etc) The fact that he has dropped compared to his original percentile doesn't mean he is *underweight* (anymore than if he increased his weight in comparison to that original percentile would mean he was *overweight*) In the first 3 mnths it would be normal for babies to put on 150 g per week, and then over 3 mnths you would expect weight gains in the order of 70-100g per week.
Often family history can give you a really good starting point. Are their people in either side of your families who have intolerances or allergies? Eczema? Asthma? Coeliacs? Are you and your partner big people/small/average?
Yes I'm coeliac and his dad is lactose intolerant, there are also family members on my side with lactose intolerance. I also get eczema but that is from dry skin. We are both fairly small builds. I'm waiting on the result of his buccal swab to see if he carries the genetic mutation for coeliac disease. I'm on the GF diet so he should be right even if he carries that mutation.
Over the last couple of days DS has drank between 650-680mls a day. This doesn't include the 60mls I put in his rice/veggie mix - I'm not sure if I'm supposed to count that towards his milk consumption. I've gone back to offering the bottle every 3-4 hours to try and help keep up his volumes so this works out to be about 7 a day.
You count the amount of milk in his food in his total milk intake - that's fine, milk is milk. 7 per day is great, I think you are doing the right thing. He needs milk at this age. He sounds like he is *your child*. Has your paed dietician given you information for introducing solids with a family history of coeliacs? Have you had a look on the ABA website at Joy Anderson's fabulous paper on lactose intolerance? (go to the "breastfeeding information tab at the top of the home page - the artical is under "speical situations"
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