lactation consultants?

My sister's daughter is 8 weeks old and they are exclusively BF. The baby is VERY very gassy and very cranky. My sister doesn't use pacifiers or any type of artificial nipple at all and so it's so hard that sometimes she can't even leave the house. The baby cries in the car, in the stroller everywhere.

Basically my sister thinks that the gas/crankiness is food allergy related so she has cut out all dairy completely. She also is only eating mild foods and stays away from things with big flavors.

She was complaining to me today that she feels she can't eat anything.

I told her that I remember reading about people who worked with lactation consultants -- I think -- to do some sort of elimination diet to find out exactly what they can't eat -- since she isn't eating SO much -- and she asked if I could find out the information for her.

Does anyone remember this thread? Or maybe someone could pass on some advice/insight/phone numbers that I could relay to my sister?

TIA!
Melissa

Re: lactation consultants?

I never did an actual elimination diet per say but I just cut out "basic" dairy to see if it made a difference. I saw a drastic change within 4 days. Then after 2 weeks I reintroduced it and it was a nightmare. So I cut out all milk proteins and she was a whole new baby. Then I realized that when I didn't eat soy she was even better so I cut out soy as well. I struggled in the beginning (and still do sometimes) with the eating. I will FM you my# for your sis. Emilain is my trusted advisor so she will probably respond when she sees this.

I spoke to a couple of LCs but none of them had any real info on the topic.

Does your sis read labels for whey, casein, lactose etc?????

check out
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html#watch

Re: lactation consultants?

My mom has Crohn's Disease so we are all up on the when, casein and all the other various forms of dairy that are hidden in foods. She has been watching those as well.

She does drink soy milk now since she can't have dairy. She eats cereal with soy milk every morning for breakfast.

My Aunt is a LC for Brookhaven hospital and told her that so little of the dairy gets through that it really wouldn't matter much if she cut it down -- yet she had cream cheese the other day and the baby was miserable for days.

She's been doing this no=dairy thing for weeks though and it has gotten better but not completely. She didn't even see anyone for easter because she said the baby wouldn't handle the car ride -- she just SCREAMS in the car. She said she feels like she has no life, I feel so bad.

I feel like there just HAS to be a way to modify her diet more to help. Or maybe the baby is just colicy? I really dont know! I just feel bad for her.

Re: lactation consultants?

They say that a huge percentage of babies allergic to dairy are also allergic to soy. She should try that next. Cutting out the soy is not as hard as I thought it would be. You can actually eat soybean oil and soy lecithin (which is in almost everything) so that helps. I just avoid the soybeans and soy proteins. Just like dairy there are hidden names for soy also. I have rice milk with my cereal (mostly mini wheats) every morning.

Also, Emilain told me that Soy milk (like Silk) actually have dairy hidden in them.

BFing is hard enough in itself - throw in a food allergy or intolerence and it can get really frustrating.
to your sis.

Re: lactation consultants?

Re: lactation consultants?

Where does your sister live? If you go the Medela.com website they have a listing of LCs. She should have professional help with this type of issue.
Kellymom.com is also a great resource.

Re: lactation consultants?

I cut out dairy since my son has a milk allergy, and I needed to cut out all dairy. My Son's GI Dr said that even the smallest amount of dairy in something will cause a reaction. When I cut out dairy, within 5 days he was a different baby. It was hard to do at first, but I got used to it. I am also a vegetarian, so it was harder, but I drank soy milk, ate tofutti cream cheese, and just read every label. I thought I would be able to eat soy cheese, but it still had casein in it which is milk derived. Tofutti cheese I could have eaten, I just never tried it. IF she shops at a health food store there are tons of non dairy options available.

Good Luck to your sister.

Message edited 4/25/2006 6:59:17 AM.

Re: lactation consultants?

Oh boy, do I remember those days! Alex was the crankiest fussmonster when I was exclusively BF!! I never did an elimination diet, but gradually, I started to notice patterns. She was the absolute worst when I ate anything with dairy. Other big time offenders were beans, onions, garlic, broccoli, and the absolute WORST was tomatoes... the only suggestion I have is for her to start writing a diary of everything she eats, and her daughter's reaction that day. She'll probably start noticing patterns. Also, if she does some basic research on the internet she'll find a few sites that list the biggest offenders for gas...