During this time I maintained a food diary to help determine what foods were bothering my third son. I also tracked his spitups, poops (with description), naps, nighttime sleep, crying and any medications/supplements that myself or my son was taking. At 4 months old he started taking a multivitamin with Iron to help combat any blood-loss in the stool. Also, I started him on 1/8 tsp. probiotics twice a day to help heal his digestive tract.
At 5 months old I stopped the zantac for the reflux, he was still having some reflux but I had done some research that indicated acid blocking medicines can worsen food intolerances, because they block stomach acid production which is the first tool in digesting food. Ironically after stopping the zantac his reflux cleared up completely!
There were several times in the process that I reached the point that I just couldn’t do it anymore. I was struggling to maintain my home (dirty dishes, dirty floors, piles & piles of laundry). We tried him on several formula tests, all of which he failed. We tried Neocate (6 wks. old), soy formula (4 months old), Alimentum ready-to-feed (5 months old), Elecare (6 months old). After failing all of these formulas I knew that breastfeeding was my only choice. This helped to boost me up and even though it was difficult I had the inner strength to maintain it.
When he turned six months old, I tried him on rice cereal. He did not tolerate this well, he became very fussy and his stools increased and turned runny & stinky. From there we moved on to several new foods. He seemed to tolerate squash, pears, bananas & apples. He didn’t tolerate carrots, sweet potatoes, millet or peaches (fussy, stools very acidic & full of mucous).
I had heard some studies of digestive enzyme use for the breastfeeding mother to be beneficial. I was afraid to try anything too "strong" since my baby was apparently extremely sensitive, so I tried papaya enzymes for about a month without noticing any benefits.
When he was eight months old, he seemed to have a relapse of reflux. He started fussing a lot and became quite inconsolable. We weren’t sure if he was teething, or reacting to the new foods he was eating. We started giving him 1/8 – 1/4 tsp. Mylanta in the evenings for a few weeks to help.
During this time, we travelled to a family wedding for 3 weeks. This was a rough trip for our third son, he failed many new food trials and seemed to scream & not sleep well for much of the trip. Plus he had blood in his stool numerous times (something we hadn’t seen for a few months). Obviously this was also a rough trip for me, very little rest & relaxation. The only side benefit is that my family was able to see first-hand what I was actually experiencing. There’s something about looking at a bloody diaper that tends to help people understand the seriousness of the situation. Plus others were able to see just how difficult it was to shop & prepare my food for my restricted diet while trying to still care for 3 children.
At 5 months old I stopped the zantac for the reflux, he was still having some reflux but I had done some research that indicated acid blocking medicines can worsen food intolerances, because they block stomach acid production which is the first tool in digesting food. Ironically after stopping the zantac his reflux cleared up completely!
There were several times in the process that I reached the point that I just couldn’t do it anymore. I was struggling to maintain my home (dirty dishes, dirty floors, piles & piles of laundry). We tried him on several formula tests, all of which he failed. We tried Neocate (6 wks. old), soy formula (4 months old), Alimentum ready-to-feed (5 months old), Elecare (6 months old). After failing all of these formulas I knew that breastfeeding was my only choice. This helped to boost me up and even though it was difficult I had the inner strength to maintain it.
When he turned six months old, I tried him on rice cereal. He did not tolerate this well, he became very fussy and his stools increased and turned runny & stinky. From there we moved on to several new foods. He seemed to tolerate squash, pears, bananas & apples. He didn’t tolerate carrots, sweet potatoes, millet or peaches (fussy, stools very acidic & full of mucous).
I had heard some studies of digestive enzyme use for the breastfeeding mother to be beneficial. I was afraid to try anything too "strong" since my baby was apparently extremely sensitive, so I tried papaya enzymes for about a month without noticing any benefits.
When he was eight months old, he seemed to have a relapse of reflux. He started fussing a lot and became quite inconsolable. We weren’t sure if he was teething, or reacting to the new foods he was eating. We started giving him 1/8 – 1/4 tsp. Mylanta in the evenings for a few weeks to help.
During this time, we travelled to a family wedding for 3 weeks. This was a rough trip for our third son, he failed many new food trials and seemed to scream & not sleep well for much of the trip. Plus he had blood in his stool numerous times (something we hadn’t seen for a few months). Obviously this was also a rough trip for me, very little rest & relaxation. The only side benefit is that my family was able to see first-hand what I was actually experiencing. There’s something about looking at a bloody diaper that tends to help people understand the seriousness of the situation. Plus others were able to see just how difficult it was to shop & prepare my food for my restricted diet while trying to still care for 3 children.
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