Okay I had no idea where to post this because I want to say too many things.

I got a call back from the GI specialists nurse who we will see April 7th. I was asking about the waiting list she wanted to know his story. So I told her his whole story. She asked me if I had any food allergies in the family. My husband and his sisters had milk intolerances. She said she was thinking it may be that and asked what kind of formula he was on. I said he is breastfed she said to her it sounds like it could be a food allergy hence the constipation and vomitting. She said the only way to tell for sure would be to do a scope which might be something they may do in April. So she told me I may want to try him on Soy Formula, I said I was nursing. She said well I am sure you won't want to cut ALL dairy out of your diet. I was like so I'd have to quit breastfeeding :smt022 :smt022 ?? She said she didn't really know what else advice to give me but said since he is gaining and doing well even though he cries and trashes half of the night we won't probably see him until April UNLESS he loses weight. I am glad he is gaining weight for now but kind of sad that's all the base it on :banghead: . I am sure there are kids out there worse then Jackson but I would think we could see someone before April.

Before all of this today I talked to his pedi yesterday and asked her about food allergies. She said she didn't think so that it didn't seem like it to her. Her new answer was not to overfeed him at night. She doubted the food allergy. I don't know personally I am going crazy trying to figure everything out. Now I am torn because I don't want to quit breastfeeding but I am not sure I could cut out ALL dairy. Also Jackson is not a good bottle feeder. Tonight I finally decided I was going to try and give him soy formula and pump for 2 or 3 days and see if anything changes, as from the professionals I am getting two different answers. One telling me to keep nursing the other to try soy formula.

I can't get him to take a bottle :smt022 , when I work 2 or 3 days a week he usually only take at most 6 oz the whole day and that is battle for my grandma. Now I am trying the soy formula and today he has had 4 oz from dh while I worked today and I did nurse him when I got home before I decided to stick with trying soy. He won't take the bottle he freaks out and arches his back and screams :hairpull: . So he has maybe 8-10oz total today plus his solids, but not enough. What do I do now?? Just wait until he gets good and hungry?? He has always nursed like a champ and use to good with a bottle until a few months ago. I am going to try to not break down and nurse him even he won't eat at all, just so I can see if the soy makes a difference. Is soy way worse tasting?? Maybe if he won't eat he will lose weight and they will maybe start to worry, which I don't want to happen. I just don't know how to get him to like the bottle.

AHHHHHHHHH, I hate this rollercoaster!!!! Sorry this is so long and if you made it to the end I am sorry lol. I just feel like I am driving myself nutso over this stuff. I could sit here all night and try to figure everything out!!! Thanks for letting me vent :iconbigg:

Okay well guys I had to nurse him. He had only nursed once and had 4 oz and WOULDN'T have anything to do with the bottle. He arched and screamed and screamed until I finally nursed him. My dh said we can't take him away from the boob "cold turkey" lol. I am at a loss with rather have him not eat near enough or just nurse him :dontknow:.....anyway just wanted to update.

I see 4 people have read and not responded I hope I am not sounding to whinney :smt047

Meagan...if I were you, I would not stop nursing if he doesn't take the bottle well. Jackson is gaining. I would hate to see him start to lose weight if he doesn't take enough oz.

That's just my opinion, though.

I would start cutting out some dairy - like straight milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream and see if you see even a bit of difference in his overall nighttime sleep patterns. If you do, then you know that's what it is.

Plus, she is a nurse (not to downplay her expertise or experience) and not Jackson's GI.

Someone will probably disagree with me, but when I read your post a red flag went up when you said he doesn't take a bottle well. I only switched from nursing to formula b/c Emma preferred the bottle over me and she wasn't gaining on my breastmilk.

:hug:

I know you will make the right decision, and we will support whatever decision that may be.

Sorry I kept rambling. I only breastfed for a month so I feel like I'm not really "qualified" to answer. Hopefully you get more responses. :oops:

Oh - and you're not whiney! ;)

Hi Meagan just wanted to say I was sorry you are going through this and the GI won't get you in sooner! So frustrating!! If Jackson isn't taking the bottle well I would probably continue to bf until you can see the GI. Maybe you can slowly work with him on getting him to take a bottle. Have you tried different kinds of bottles? I know when my SIL tried to bottle feed after breast feeding she went through a ton of bottles before she found one that her daughter would take. I think she ended up with Avent. I wish I had an answer for you I feel so bad your going through this! Hang in there and don't feel bad about venting! That's what we are all here for!

I am so sorry. I pump my breast milk and give it to her by bottle( she wouldn't take my breast). If they have an intolerance to milk/soy it can have different symptoms than a true allergy. I have cut out all dairy and soy from my diet to see if it will help her reflux. It is hard but it is possible. My OT talked with on of the best feeding clinics- Toomey (sp) in Denver. She said that she sees alot of milk/soy protein intolerances and that a infant who doesn't improve on reflux meds could have an intolerance. She said it can take up to a month to see the effects of the elimination diet. But she has seen 80% of kids improve on the no soy/dairy protein diet.

If you want to continue to BF then there is no reason for you to stop it. You CAN eliminate many sources of dairy from your diet and see if it does make a difference. I know how hard it is to do, it takes a huge amount of willpower but it is possible to do it. Just even go for 4 days rotation where you have no dairy and then eat it on the 4 th day. After a few times of doing this I am positive you will have your answer for any reaction for him. Think about it as it is a big decision and you should do whatever YOU feel is best. Do not let anyone bully you to do what you do not feel is right, ok? You have support here for whatever you decide.

As far as waiting for the weight loss I am so completely with you for the frustration. Iain was born at 95 th percentile and when intro to solids went so far south he lost significant weight. For many months he bounced between the 3rd 5th and 8 percentiles, but was not low enough to warrant any investigation apparently. He would eat when he was hungry and eventually would outgrow his strong gag reflux I was told.:censored: Anyway, it was not until he finally plunged off the charts from his wonderous perch for months on the 3rd percentile rung. Then suddenly I had a whole whack of appointments. It is ridiculous that they wait for that sometimes. My middle son has to wait longer than he should to see a GI because he is such a good weight. :banghead: Look at it this way, April is better than May and it is an eternity away it seems but it is approaching fast.

By the way, I am moving you into the breastfeeding forum ok? I know this is a vent but I think you need some BF help first and will happily return you to the vent later on. No one thinks you are whinney. Some people click onto a thread and then do not respond because they have nothing to offer or they want to think about their response before posting. Do not worry about it.:iconbigg:

Meagan,
boy what a raw deal. But at least you have an appt! Thats good news. I went through this with mine so I understand. I heard it all at that point in time I had the most evil GI I think in the whole entire USA. But this is what I learned from her and the breast feeding clinics. To elminate dairy it can take up to 2 weeks to get all the proteins out of your system they said. Also depending how hard core you get read labels for casein and all the tricky labeling. I was nursing and took it all out and then we went to soy and she was on prosobee and the GI insteed that she didnt like it form the taste to try Isomil. She said that it was sweeter tasting to the palete. I didnt like her but she was right it tasted ALOT better than prosobee. Yes soy also is different than BM. We also waited until Emily was 6 months old and then had her allergy tested (blood) They said after 6 months that the body works out everything and then after that is when they can test. So you could always try that also. I hope this can help you a little. Such a crazy time with young ones and figuring out there bellies. I wish you luck!

:doh: I came back to this thread when I realized I was wrong about the rotation diet. Beth is right, it can take awhile to eliminate dairy from your system. I am still in multiple elimination diet mode here for our kids. Once you eliminate or "clean" your system you can rotate foods every four days. Not for BF though. Sorry. It is late.

Hopefully more people who are on the ball will post since I sure am not!:coffee:

Meagan,

:hairpull: This is so frustrating!!

I am currently b'feeding Bethany and have totally eliminated all sources of dairy/soy from my diet because she doesn't tolerate them. It is hard, but it can be done.

I agree with what Amanda said--start with obvious sources, like milk, yogurt, etc. and go from there. We had to take it all the way to all sources of dairy (like casein, etc.); however, there are some kids who do just fine as long as you just cut out the main sources.

Look, I don't mean to sound like the nursing nazi; but if he nurses well, you enjoy nursing and you're willing to give going dairy free a try, I say go for it.
Just because a nurse assumes you won't want to do this doesn't mean you can't.

It's really tough when the professionals don't agree. :banghead: I'm so sorry you have to deal with all of this. :-( :smt056

I would not stop nursing!!! I would continue until you can get him in and find out more information. Especially if he is not taking the bottle, I would just continue on while you wait, and maybe try to cut out as much as you possible can just to see if it makes a difference. I have been told if they are having trouble with breastmilk than they will most likely have trouble with all of them since they are prone to allergies and breast would still be best. If the soy seemed to make him happier and healthier and he was willing to take the bottle I might think differently a little. But, for now, why not let him nurse like he has been until you get in and find out more.

Sorry, for going on and saying the same thing over and over!

Thank you everyone for your info and support.

I think I will not quit breastfeeding just yet. I have tried all day to get him to take a bottle and he will not have anything to do with it. He was at my grandmas today for 3 hours while I went to the doctor and ran a few errands and he wouldn't take an oz of my pumped milk. It is almost 6 and he has only nursed twice today, which is way less then usual. I hope he is not finding out that when he nurses he pukes. Since he isn't nursing during the day maybe I should let him nurse more when he wakes up all night :dontknow: b/c of course I don't want him to lose weight. He does best sleep eating and we spend at least half of our night cosleeping so maybe I will just see if he will nurse more at night.

I think I am not ready to quit nursing and am going to try to cut the basic dairy in my diet and see if it makes a difference. I am going to see a lactation consultant on Monday, so hopefully she will be able to help me more, she is actually a doctor in charge of this lactation clinic.

Leigh, thanks for moving this I should of thought to post it here. I knew vent wasn't exactly the best place for it. Thanks :smt047

Hi.. I have cut out all dairy from my diet and it is alot easier than it sounds. The only thing i miss is yogourt. I take some soy now- for two weeks i cut everything and i slowly introduced soy and saw no difference. I use it on my cereal, to make milkshakes with strawberries, etc. I was a huge milk drinker and honnestly, after this, i might not go back.

Just eliminate all soy, milk, and nuts for 2 weeks to see if it makes a difference. Then, very slowly , introduce them back (i would keep milk last considering the family history). It sounds much worse than it is. Private message me and i will give you some tricks.


The only thing that is hard is prepackage foods: casein, whey, caseinate , modified milk ingredients, etc. But alternatives are easy to find. Soy ice cream is to die for!!!


Good luck

Try diffrent nipples with the bottles. As far as the cutting dary out if you really dont think it is neccary dont do it. I love milk and I have heard that cutting it out is best. But this is the way I see it Izaviaha had reflux when he was inside me and my diet was and is the same. So if it was ok while I was pregnant it should be ok while BF. I also agree with what Amanda emmas mommy said about her only being the nurse.

I just wanted to let you know that I went through something similar with my son. I breastfed him for six and a half months. Six weeks into nursing him, I had to cut out all dairy, citrus, peanuts, and broccoli because he was intolerant to it all. He would scream for hours on end and his pour little system was so messed up. A lactation consultant is the one that clued me in on his sensitivities. People often asked me what I actually ate because I had cut so much out... I lived on vanilla soy milk, cereal, plain sandwiches, plain pasta... I had to read every label because the slightest bit of dairy would mess my poor guy up something horrible.

James weaned himself cold turkey at six and a half months and has been on soy formula since. I wish I had known to cut these things out my diet earlier... that was a very long six weeks. I also wish James would have nursed longer because his reflux seemed to get so much worse once he went on formula. He also gained weight so much better when I was nursing him. I wasn't ready for him to wean, but he had other plans...

I would encourage you to keep nursing especially since he isn't taking to the bottle. Eliminating things worked great for us... hard to do, but so well worth it. Hope this helps.

Oh, wow . . . I sure wish I could give you more advice, but I would say do whatever it takes to keep him eating right now! I agree, if it is breastfeeding, do it and just eliminate as much dairy as you can. My son didn't lose weight at first either. For a long time he was on the charts, but kept sliding down and down . . . until he finally fell off the chart. Then everybody who was saying "he's fine" started freaking! Sucks it has to be like that, but you do whatever you can to continue his eating, because I pray it's not the pattern your little one takes :) Hang in there, believe me I know April seems like forever right now! (You can try crying, that has worked before for me !) The good news is some babies outgrow it before they ever get to the point of losing weight. Hang in there.