Need advice regarding lactose interolerance in babies.

[wannabemum]

I need some advice in regards to babies with lactose intolerance allergies. Mainly symptoms.

Our son (13 weeks old) suffers bad tummy problems, has done since birth. He had bad colic and acid reflux, he now is on zantac for the reflux and we have seen an improvement, however nights are still really bad. He wakes every 2 hours screaming in pain. He will only sleep on his tummy because he is in too much pain on his back and he continually brings up milk (he is a breastfed baby), even 3 hours after feeds. He has trouble farting (sorry tmi) and cries all the time from his sore tummy. Do you think it could be a lactose intolerance?

Its horrible seeing him so upset all the time and in pain, we are desperate. :(

[3kidz]

um its not necessarily a lactose intolerance it could be from what you have eaten for dinner.

broccoli, cabbage, spinach, onions, tomatoes, etc can all effect bubs. Its a process of elimination. With all 3 of mine i couldnt eat tomatoes or mayonaise. Then each of them tolerated other things ie DS#1 didnt sleep well if i had anything remotely spicey, DS#2 was fine with spicey but i couldnt eat brocolli, DD well i couldnt have chocolate in the early stages of breast feeding.

I can only suggest what you eat for dinner you write down. Then if bub is disturbed through the night you can look back at what you had eaten and maybe eliminate it from your diet.

I would have thought if it was lactose intolerance (which my DS#1 has) that it would effect bub during the day aswell as night.

sorry for the ramble

HTH

[reAllytee]

It could be but its hard to say.

The main key issue for us was because Squeak kept pulling off the boob screaming in agony. It was originally put down to reflux but infact it was the intolerance that was setting his reflux off in this case.

I also decided it was best to cut myself down to a bland diet then add things back in slowly so we could see what it was he reacted to.

For us we found milk & milk products, orange & mango mineral water, milo & something else cant think of it at this point :o

Most refluxers sleep better on their tummy or sides. Squeak now sleeps on either his right side or tummy on advice from the doctor & CHN. He is much happier this way.

Have you checked out the RISA website ?

I would also really be pushing your g.p for help otherwise if he/she doesnt know what to do then a referral the a paed will be your best bet.

Sorry im not much help there will be more mummy's who will be around soon enough with great advice im sure !

[wannabemum]

um its not necessarily a lactose intolerance it could be from what you have eaten for dinner.

broccoli, cabbage, spinach, onions, tomatoes, etc can all effect bubs. Its a process of elimination. With all 3 of mine i couldnt eat tomatoes or mayonaise. Then each of them tolerated other things ie DS#1 didnt sleep well if i had anything remotely spicey, DS#2 was fine with spicey but i couldnt eat brocolli, DD well i couldnt have chocolate in the early stages of breast feeding.

I can only suggest what you eat for dinner you write down. Then if bub is disturbed through the night you can look back at what you had eaten and maybe eliminate it from your diet.

I would have thought if it was lactose intolerance (which my DS#1 has) that it would effect bub during the day aswell as night.

sorry for the ramble

HTH

Hi thanks for the reply, it is during the day too, there has been an improvement during the day though since he has been on zantac (which is strange). It is every night and day, so I think it would have to be something more than just what Ive eaten for dinner:confused:

[wannabemum]

It could be but its hard to say.

The main key issue for us was because Squeak kept pulling off the boob screaming in agony. It was originally put down to reflux but infact it was the intolerance that was setting his reflux off in this case.

I also decided it was best to cut myself down to a bland diet then add things back in slowly so we could see what it was he reacted to.

For us we found milk & milk products, orange & mango mineral water, milo & something else cant think of it at this point :o

Most refluxers sleep better on their tummy or sides. Squeak now sleeps on either his right side or tummy on advice from the doctor & CHN. He is much happier this way.

Have you checked out the RISA website ?

I would also really be pushing your g.p for help otherwise if he/she doesnt know what to do then a referral the a paed will be your best bet.

Sorry im not much help there will be more mummy's who will be around soon enough with great advice im sure !

Thanks darlin, have an app with the CHN now, honestly Ive found docs, middies and everyone else Ive seen to be quite hopeless with helping us, its been me going to them and saying could it be this, not the other way around. Will change my diet and try that I think, ta hun x

[AM]

Genuine Lactose Intolerance is pretty rare in babies, and quite often requires hospitalisation for failure to thrive, as they actually simply cannot live on breastmilk, and need to be fed a special formula.

There is another thing which presents similarly and is called "Lactose Overload" which is what I am pretty sure my son had for the first 6 months of his life. My GP diagnosed it as Lactose Intolerance, but with further reading and talking to breastfeeding councellors etc, I think she was wrong.

Have a read of these articles and see what you think.

www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/lactose-intolerance.html

www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/lactose.html


I really really feel your pain, it is the hardest thing in the world to listen to your baby cry in pain when nothing you do seems to help...arrgghhh...just reading your post took me back to those times, really tough.:hugs:

The only things which helped my son through it all were Dill water given frequently during the day, and homoeopathics given as a preventative helped somewhat too...but he was a pretty unhappy guy for a long time. And he spent A LOT of time in the sling, the more upright position seemed to give him a bit of relief.

[reAllytee]

Genuine Lactose Intolerance is pretty rare in babies, and quite often requires hospitalisation for failure to thrive, as they actually simply cannot live on breastmilk, and need to be fed a special formula.

There is another thing which presents similarly and is called "Lactose Overload" which is what I am pretty sure my son had for the first 6 months of his life. My GP diagnosed it as Lactose Intolerance, but with further reading and talking to breastfeeding councellors etc, I think she was wrong.

Have a read of these articles and see what you think.

www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/lactose-intolerance.html

www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/lactose.html


I really really feel your pain, it is the hardest thing in the world to listen to your baby cry in pain when nothing you do seems to help...arrgghhh...just reading your post took me back to those times, really tough.:hugs:

This is the problem with Squeak he became a failure to thrive baby because he just refused to feed.

We are now looking into a specialised formula which makes me incredibly sad.

[AM]

If you are wanting to try a breastfeeding friendly diet, here is one a friend of mine provided.


Finally! For those that are interested, this list was given to me by a friend who studied naturopathy for breastfeeding Mums - particularly the first 6-8 weeks (although I have found it beneficial way beyond that).

It could be particularly helpful with babies who have 'colic' and 'reflux'. I have found it fantastic with both Gabrielle and Benjamin ( I didn't know about it with Anna. I wish I had). Any time I ate something that they couldn't cope with, they'd let me know! Unfortunately, even the tiniest amount of chocolate used to upset Ben and so I have only recently be able to indulge a little. He is now 5 months old.

Now, even though I swear by this diet, I know that not all babies are affected detrimentally by foods their Mums eat. However, for those with babies who have reflux and/or colic, I think it is definately worth trying it out!

If anyone needs more specific information, please contact your naturopath or dietician (preferably one that has studied naturopathy and/or TCM).

Here we go:

FOODS TO BE EATEN DURING LACTATION

Fruits

apples

custard apples

paw-paw

pears

bananas

avocados

Vegetables

sprouts (esp alfalfa)

asparagus

beetroot

carrots

celery (esp steamed)

eggplant

pumpkin

potato (esp baked)

root vegetables

zucchini

corn

mushrooms

onions (well cooked)

Whole Grains

rice

buckwheat

rye

rolled oats

barley

millet

Nuts/Seeds

nuts

sunflower seeds

pumpkin seeds

sesame seeds

nut milk (made from ¼ cup seed/nuts, 1 cup water, honey to taste, blend & strain through cheesecloth)

Dairy Products (obviously don't consume if allergy prone)

cottage cheese

ricotta cheese

milk

cream

yoghurt

Miscellaneous

tofu

dried fruit (preferably soaked)

honey

cold pressed oil

parsley

miso

tamari

mochi

chamomile tea

dandelion tea

fennel tea

cardamon tea

FOODS TO BE AVOIDED - ESPECIALLY FIRST 6-8 WEEKS

Fruits

mangoes

berries

melons

grapes

oranges

stone fruits

pineapple

strawberries

lemon juice

tomato

Vegetables

broccoli

cabbage

brussels sprouts

peas

cucumber

capsicum

lettuce

radishes

turnips

cauliflower

raw onion

Miscellaneous

lentils

garlic

strong herbs and spices (eg cayenne, oregano, marjoram, chilli, thyme, sage, rosemary)

powdered yeast (brewers, lacto etc)

tea

coffee

chocolate

alcohol

[AM]

This is the problem with Squeak he became a failure to thrive baby because he just refused to feed.

We are now looking into a specialised formula which makes me incredibly sad.

O Ally, that must be really really hard.:hugs:

[Noah_and_Elijah]

As you know Noah is lactose intollerant and we knew there was something wrong because he had a horrible rash (sort of like hives) all over his body, mainly his mouth and neck area and he would projectile vomit after every feed.

We switched him to Infasoy formula and saw a HUGE improvement.

Take Malik to the GP and ask for an allergy test that will rule out any food allergies that he may have. :)

[ziggy29]

This is the advice my paed gave me when my bub was diagnosed with reflux. She is breastfed.

He said that breast milk is made up of foremilk and hindmilk - the formilk is more watery and contains more lactose and the hindmilk is fatty and contains less lactose. The formilk is also more acidic so can increase the relux. Baby then wants to feed more regular to calm things down in the tummy but the cycle just gets worse.

This is what he wanted me to do to increase the amount of hindmilk to foremilk:
1. Feed no more frequently than every 3 hours
2. Only feed one side per feed OR make sure that side is fully empty before swapping sides.

He said that all breast milk starts off as the watery stuff and after it has been in the breast for 4 hours it has changes to the fatty hindmilk stuff.

It was hell for about a week (trying to stretch her feeds out to 3 hourly) but then she settled down heaps and definatly wasnt in as much pain.

Best of luck