Update: 1st week dairy free is done

[joannqn]

Last Saturday was my first day going dairy free to see if it helps Madelynn's reflux. Prior to Saturday we were only reducing our consumption of dairy because the doctor thought the Zantac would help regardless of my diet. Then on Friday I had a small Blizzard at Dairy Queen. She spit up more than usual the rest of the day and had a hard night with the inconsolable crying so we decided I needed to at least try the elimination.

 

Madelynn's been on Zantac twice a day for about two weeks. It's not helping as much as it should so I got an RX for Prevacid. Well, the insurance said it wasn't covered because it isn't the "preferred drug". The preferred drug is Zantac so that doesn't help us and Prevacid is $200+ per month. While the doctor and pharmacist is working on that problem, the pharmacist suggested upping the Zantac to three times a day to see if that helps. We've been working on that suggestion the last two days. The doses have to be timed right...approximately every 8 hours with one a couple of hours before she usually cries, an hour after meals, and half an hour before meals. Try timing that with a nursing infant.

 

So, with Zantac and a dairy free diet, she's still spitting up probably half a dozen times a day. That's half of what it was. We're also trying to keep her head elevated at all times so that might be helping too. She's still needing Mylanta half the time. We'll have two days where she's feeling good enough that we can keep her content with just distraction and then we'll have two days where she needs the Mylanta. It's an improvement.

 

As far as me and the dairy free diet. I'm handling it ok. I've discovered that Duncan Hines and Oroweat are my friends. The former has dairy free brownies and cake mix. I don't remember which brand has frosting. The latter has bread and english muffins. Safeway bagels, while not that good, are diary free also. The only dairy free margarine my Safeway carries is Nucoa so that's what I'm using. I'm only using the milk substitutes (Blue Diamond Almond milk and Rice Dream) in baking because they taste awful. How long do they last once they are open anyway? I've only been able to use a cup of it in a week's time.

 

I lost 2-3 pounds this week due to the diet change. That's fine; I need to lose weight anyway. I'm craving milk/cheese big time. I usually only crave milk as a beverage when I'm pregnant but I feel like I could down half a gallon at any time. The hardest thing is that I'm constantly hungry...both physically and appetite-wise.

 

So, all of that to say it's going ok. We've seen some improvement and hopefully she'll keep getting better.

Edited September 6, 2009 by joannqn

[Harriet Vane]

Good for you for doing this. I encourage you to keep going. There are many who find it takes a good 4-6 weeks for their to be major improvement. You've already seen some good results--you should continue to see a positive trend as you continue to fast from dairy.

 

I know it's hard to do--it was hard on me when I did it for ds. Good for you for putting little Madelynn's needs first.

[cjzimmer1]

I applaud your efforts. My daughter has excema and her doctor wants me to go dairy free and see if that clears it up for her. I've been trying for 6 days and I don't think I have successfully gotten through any of those days completely dairy free. But I've cut my consumption enough that I can already see an improvement so I have to find a way to stick with it.

 

I tried the Chocolate Almond milk and I liked it but then I also like the generic rice milk I bought too. I know our store also had hemp milk. No idea what it tastes like but maybe that is something else you could try. Hopefully you will find something that works for you.

[Ellie]

Good for you. So many people won't even give it a try.

 

You should know that it can take *up to a month* for all the dairy to be completely out of your (and her) system. I forget why that is, but it is so. I know it took that long when I quit having cold cereal for my baby to quit spitting up (yes, the only milk I was consuming was with my cereal in the morning).

 

Hang in there.

[gevs4him]

:hurray: Keep it up - you can do it! from what I have heard it takes aleast 1 month to adjust :)

Lisa

[lighthouseacademy]

Keep it up! Also, in terms of spitting up and being crabby, sometimes there is something misaligned in baby from the birth process. My middle child spit more in her first week of life than her brother did EVER... that said, her cranial bones were not quite where they were supposed to be and she HURT and CRIED a lot. A cranial sacral adjustment did the trick to fix her.

[mominbc]

I am so glad to hear things are impoving. :thumbup: Keep up the no dairy, many specialists have told me there is a definite link between reflux and allergies. One thing to keep in mind, medication dose goes by weight so because babies gain weight so rapidly, one day the meds can work and the next day they won't. We have to constantly adjust my little ones meds. He is on Prevacid and still spits up at times but I know its time for a dose increase when his mood changes and he spits up more.

[ElizabethB]

Good Job!

 

Trader Joe's has some yummy dairy free breads and chocolates.

 

Also, if you go to a real bakery, they will have even better breads.

 

Coconut oil is good instead of butter, and spectrum organic shortening is milk free and good for baking. Fred Meyer should have it, I think I bought some there while visiting my parents. Sometimes it's in a different place than the other oils.

 

Eat more olive oil, that'll make you feel fuller. It shouldn't effect the weight any, either. When I was at my smallest on my most restrictive diet, I was having a lot of olive oil.

[TraceyS/FL]

I was wondering how it was going. Thanks for the update.

 

I have a friend that has walked this road with all her kids, including fighting getting the med that actually works. I can't remember what one does, let me see if I can get ahold of her.

 

:grouphug:

[EthiopianFood]

Good for you! :) It is very hard to do. My dd had a dairy allergy, and it took several weeks for me to get used to what I could and could not eat. Make sure everything has no dairy ingredients WHATSOEVER, not even being processed in a plant that also processed dairy. I had Junior Mints, which said they "may have been processed blah blah blah." I thought, seriously, this can't possibly matter. She reacted that very night. I have read that many babies with a dairy allergy are also allergic to soy, fwiw. You might already know all of this though. :) I just wish someone had told me at the beginning, so it's become my personal crusade with moms of newborns. LOL Hang in there, it really does get better!

[LaxMom]

Oh, I remember going through that when DD8 was wee. It was rough. (Especially timing medication while nursing on demand - and our ped prescribed something that tasted like floor stripper and wasn't one of the "regulars" so that upped the ante a bit in the difficulty department)

 

Almond Breeze makes excellent chai, and I live the vanilla kind on cereal. Earth Balance is vegan and cooks/tastes pretty much like actual butter (I hate margarine).

 

I hope she outgrows it soon!

[gingersmom]

Have you tried Goat milk cheese or Sheep's milk cheese?

 

I have serious lactose issues and have no problem with either one of those. Apparently they are missing whatever triggers issues with cows milk.

 

If you have a Whole Foods nearby you can find a wide selection and there is even a company that sells sheeps milk yogurt that is really good.

[Harriet Vane]

Have you tried Goat milk cheese or Sheep's milk cheese?

 

I have serious lactose issues and have no problem with either one of those. Apparently they are missing whatever triggers issues with cows milk.

 

If you have a Whole Foods nearby you can find a wide selection and there is even a company that sells sheeps milk yogurt that is really good.

 

I would actually strongly advise against this at this stage. ALL mammalian milk has some level of lactose. You can google this--at one point my doctor showed me a chart that rated different mammals' milk according to lactose. (My dr is also lactose intolerant, so he has been wonderful advising us about ds.)

 

I do understand that some people can tolerate other mammal's milk but not cow's milk. My ds cannot--we tried him with goat's milk at one point and he was still in pain, poor guy. My dr also cannot--he's terribly sensitive and cannot have any animal milk at all.

 

Since the baby is so tiny and you are not totally sure about her sensitivities or whether there may be more than one, I would strongly advise avoiding ALL mammal's milk for 4-6 weeks. You just will not have a good idea of what is causing the problem if there is continued lactose exposure at any level.

[LizzyBee]

One of my nephews had very severe dairy allergies - lots of blood in his diaper @ 2 wks old, etc. His dr told my sister to basically eat a piece of grilled meat, plain potato, and lots of veggies for each meal. No butter, no milk, no eggs, etc. Lots of things labeled dairy-free are not, so she had to become an expert at reading labels. She was on that diet and nursing her son for over 3 years because of the severity of his allergies. She knew it was working because he would have cramps and cry every time she cheated a little bit. He's 15 now, and over time, his allergies became less severe and he can have dairy in small amounts now.

 

You are a good mom. Best wishes while you continue to figure this out. :grouphug:

[sarahf.]

I'm also currently dairy free for my nursling...going on week three! His symptoms are nearly gone so it really helps motivate me! I've switched to Silk Soy for my cereal and coffee and olive oil in place of butter. I have not tried to bake anything yet....Good Luck and great job!

[joannqn]

Thanks for all of your encouragement. I hate dairy free diets but it is better than letting Madelynn continue to be in pain.

 

Tonight is day 4 in a row that we haven't needed to give Madelynn Mylanta in addition to the Zantac. She gets fussy but can be calmed with some effort. She seems to be getting better pain-wise. She is still spitting up...just sprayed the bottom 4 inches of my hair with it in fact.

[Catherine]

In recipes that call for vegetable oil, it's indistinguishable flavor-wise and texture-wise. I've not tried it for recipes that call for butter.