Allergy Elimination Diet...Breastfeeding an Infant with GERD

Hi B.,
Sorry to hear what you are going through. I know how frustrating and overwhelming it can be when you feel you are trying anything and everything and nothing seems to be working. I to dealt with a fussy baby but guess I was lucky cause when I eliminated the dairy she was a whole new baby so that was the only culprit in my case. It wasn't as extensive as your case although it took a couple of months to figure it out and never even thought of dairy causing it but finally figured it out after speaking with a lacatation consultant. Before that the vacuum and hair dryer were our best friends cause those were the only things that seemed to sooth her. I know I'm not helping you in any way but try not to give up on nursing. It is the best thing for your baby. Maybe a lactation consultant can figure out a diet for you to try.

Best of luck to you:)

A lot of times switching to formula makes no difference...
Have you talked w/ a lactation consultant? Or the Le Leche League?
Do you drink coffee?
My DD spit up several times everyday (not violently) but I was kinda young and dumb and we just dealt w/ it.
My DS was very affected by milk and coffee. Those were the only times he spit up.

As far as food for you to eat...I am at a loss. I'm sorry. My kids run me ragged w/ their picky-ness and my brain just can't think when I plug in thoughts of food.

Negative impact: I would be worried about introducing a bottle-bottles require less work for baby. But if you work hard after the 4 days are over you should be ok.
You just have to be determined.

Here is your local LLL contact: http://lllnorcal.org/groups/SacramentoCA.html
Call them TODAY!!!

HTH! GL!!! And congrats on that new baby girl!!! :)

I really do feel your pain - but I'd get a second opinion about the reflux. The esophageal valve/sphincter into the stomach is immature and a lot of spit up is normal and expected until it matures. I went the the ER because I honestly thought something had to be wrong with my then 4 week old (he'll be 2 months next week) - as a Nurse, I felt something HAD to be wrong. He had no hard stools or blockages, esophagus and stomach were 'appropriate' for his age and the lungs were clear. We were told he simply has colic. Gas was the main issue.

I cut out most dairy, limited my broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage intake, we don't eat soy (knowingly - but could be hidden in lots of food), limit my cereals/grains and nuts and INCREASED eggs. We eat mainly jasmine rice, chicken and veggies. We also used both gripe water and gas drops... along with holding baby upright as much as possible.

It will take at least 2 weeks of eliminating those food products before it is out of your system and breastmilk - so I'd give yourself a full month with the prevacid before trying the formula.

Check out the health food stores - they have tons of easy to prepare or prepared foods that are gluten/soy/egg/etc free.

Also ***BIG DEAL*** try to feed her for 3 nursing sessions in a row from the same breast before switching. Don't nurse from both breast during a nursing session because it also sounds like shes getting more of the thirst quenching foremilk rather than the fatty rich nutritional hindmilk for weight gain.

Mama, please go see an IBCLC. Reflux in breastfed babies is often caused by the mother having an extreme letdown. Think a garden hose to the mouth. My letdown was ridiculous, it made noise it sprayed out so hard and so fast. I had to latch baby until letdown, then unlatch and let the major spray spray into a towel or a cup if I wanted to save it, and when it slowed or stopped Iwould relatch baby and let baby nurse on ONE SIDE ONLY until he was done. I never switched sides.

Your babys poop should be yellow and seedy looking, like dijon mustard. If its green, mucousy, string like wet lettuce, then your baby is getting too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk. Too much foremilk can be from an overactive letdown, switching side mid-feed instead of letting bab ynurse one breast only per feeding.

If you have an overactive letdown, you need to unlatch baby during letdown and catch the spray in a towel or cup, and then relatch baby when it slows or stops. And never switch breasts during a feeding, only one breast per feeding and let her eat until she's full, falls asleep, or pops off on her own. Just let her go until she is done, one breast only per feeding, no switching sides.

by unlatching during letdown, you are telling your body that its making way too much for baby and it will slow production. Some will tell you to pump through letdown, but that tells your body to keep producing. no stimulation during letdown tells your body to slow down a bit on the letdown and early milk production.

I really think this will help you and your baby. Please find a lactation consultant (IBCLC) to help you out. Chances are, this will solve your problem if you have someone who is trained in breastfeeding instead of medications and formula.

My 5 month old has been dealing with this since he was 2 weeks old, and my daughter 23 months dealt with it until she was 13 months. Her GERD was never diagnosed and I went through what you are. We figured out that she was allergic to milk, and used soy, but she was constipated, so we switched to a soy/alimentum mixture. She screamed 12+ hours a day. The only saving grace was Hyland's Colic tablets. I get them at Fred Meyer or Target, or Diapers.com. Neither one of my babies could handle breastmilk, and I didn't make much, so I had to supplement from the very first days in the hospital. Coming from personal experience, if the prevacid isn't making a difference after 5 days, then you need to do something else fast. I personally would switch to the formula and see what happens. I know its hard to bottle feed formula when you want to bf so much, but you are so tired (I know, I've been there twice!) and you need nourishment to care for your baby. You will know if the formula works or makes a difference within 2 days. If it does, then you can use it while you do the elimination diet. You can also use mylanta for your little one when the acid gets too bad. I use an old tylenol bottle and give one dropperful at a time, sometimes 2 to 4, but it makes a huge difference. If you need more help pm me and I will try to help. I have to say that the second time around with medicines like Zantac, prevacid, and Alimentum formula sure is SO much easier and better. Keep sleeping in the swing, or a graco sweetpeace soother. We use one everynight and day for our baby. The snugride carseat fits on it, and it is the perfect angle to keep the gerd from hurting so much. I feel for you!!

since you've been living on carbs, I can imagine how difficult the elimination process would seem!

But you clearly have no choice but to do this diet if you desire to continue breastfeeding. My heart goes out to you!

I have a friend who went thru a very similar 1st year. In order to breastfeed, she lived on chicken - cooked with zero oils/spices, only a handful of fruits & vegies, & pretty much that's it. No processed foods, no meat other than chicken, no potatoes. Water & decaf tea only, no sweeteners/sugar. She paid the price everytime she tried to sneak in an odd bite off of the taboo food list. In addition to increasing the reflux/vomiting for her child, those taboo bitefuls also ended up covering her child in a head-to-toe rash.

When it was all said & done, she asked herself if her choice had been the appropriate one. In all honesty, she decided that for herself it was the right choice.....but perhaps not for her child. In the end, she decided that her need to breastfeed put the child's "peace of mind" behind her own beliefs.

Normally, I would not share a story such as this. Breastfeeding is all-important......I personally ended up using formula. My friend ended up regretting breastfeeding under her own personal circumstances, which were extreme. If you find yourself faced with a similar experience, please know there is no judgment for switching to formula if it provides "peace of mind" for your child. I wish you Peace & an easy, viable solution to this situation. :)

I agree with BeckyW...please go see an IBCLC...not just one of the LCs at a hospital...they may have training but the IBCLCs tend to have more than the 1st line of routine steps to offer you.

I had the issue with forceful letdown/oversupply with my son who is now 11 months. He went on zantac at 3 weeks because of a 3 hour crying spell where I could hear the reflux gurgling at the back of his throat. my daughter was intense, difficult and needy...and i probably had the same breastfeeding issues with her, but I followed some bad advice and reversed the problem with her to a significant undersupply by 8 weeks. She still spit up and was difficult...but more because she was hungry (probably) and colicky. I did give up dairy with her, though.

With my son, I gave up dairy at 2 weeks.He spit up buckets! Did the zantac at 3 weeks. Switched to prevacid around 6 weeks, I think. Went to an IBCLC at 5 weeks because he screamed and fussed a lot, including at feedings. He presented with many of the symptoms that Becky mentioned. My lactation consultant did have my try a position with my son where he was upright and tummy to tummy with me. He would eventually kind of lean to my arm of whichever breast he was on, but honestly, it was amazing when he didn't scream during a feeding that day. As he got bigger things kind of adapted, but then he was also able to handle it better. Another thing that she had me try was this "V" pressure. You take your first 2 fingers and make a V and when you have a letdown you put them on your areola on the top and bottom of your nipple and then press in. Kind of like when you would try to stop your other breast from leaking all over when you have a letdown while nursing. If you're too full, then this will not work so well because it will pull your nipple out of your daughter's mouth. So, if you work on keeping your supply in balance (doing the block feeding) then this works better.

I ended up going off soy around 5 months because he was still having issues with his tummy (after going to the pediatric GI) and that did seem to improve things a little bit more.

I wanted to mention about the elimination diet that it can take more than 2 weeks. From what i was told, it can take 2 weeks to get out of your system and up to 2 more weeks to be out of your baby's system. So, you might want to give it longer. I know dairy and soy are usually the first to try. Then eggs. I'm not sure about wheat...that obviously makes your diet very difficult. Corn is another one. I wouldn't necessarily cut them all out at once. However, you could do that and then add back one at a time. Unfortunately it just takes time, especially if you're dealing with sensitivities and not allergies.

I completely understand the stress, sleep deprivation and the limited diet. Try smoothies with unsweetened almond milk. I don't think almonds are as highly allergenic. There is also oat milk (boxed at health food stores) and coconut milk.

You could try making these bars and control the ingredients that go in: http://www.wholeliving.com/recipe/breakfast-bars-recipe-2.... (You can try oats or barley flakes instead of spelt flakes.) For breakfast, I would make oatmeal with water and and add walnuts and bananas.

You could also snack on hummus (unless your baby is sensitive to the beans) or guacamole and veggies. Also, try quinoa. It's a grain like rice. Cook it in chicken stock for flavor. It is a complete protein (like eggs) so that is helpful too. If you search whole food's site (or in general online) you will find some recipes. I think there are even quinoa loaf recipes. I also found some vegan/soy free fake shredded cheese. Daiya is the brand, I think. It melts and isn't disgusting. I did it for a while and then eventually decided that I didn't care for it...but it helped get me through.

One of my cousins used colic calm with her daughter and said it helped. It does change the stool color and I didn't try it because my son had a bloody bum from diaper rash. Not fun.

I'm sorry if this is rambling and haphazard. Definitely try the lactation consultant. You need eat more, drink more water, and try to get some help. I didn't have any and it was really hard. And I wouldn't have tried the formula either...I just was so determined to breastfeed. Talking to a good IBCLC should also provide you with some good emotional support.

Good luck! You are doing a lot of right things. Hang in there. it will get better.