I'm taking a deep breath this morning, after a fairly wild weekend. (The first Sunday of worship at Lakeville South High School was wonderful... and absorbed most of the weekend, throwing Victor's schedule into crazy chaos. But the stalwart fellow bore up well.)
When last I wrote, I had started Zantac, twice a day. To be honest, the immediate results were disappointing. Victor was still fretful at feedings, and he was eating shorter and shorter amounts of time, fussing and shaking his head back and forth, crying when he finished, spitting up and showing discomfort. I called the lactation consultant, got lots of advice from lots of different friends, acquaintances, (and even some kind mommas I hardly know!), scrutinized my baby, and prayed, prayed, prayed.
All that has given me lots to think about.
Try a chiropractor?
Use gripe water?
Switch to a protein blocker medicine?
Give him acidophiles?
After a little more research, starting Friday afternoon I decided to avoid dairy, in case Victor was reacting to cow's milk proteins (which is somewhat common in infants).
The "praise report" of early Sunday morning seems to me perhaps related to the change in diet--at least that's my thought. Honestly, Victor has been eating significantly better. He actually ate for 30 min before I put him down for a nap this morning! He's not spitting up in the volume he did before either.
I don't think he's completely better--I've heard him coughing a couple times, and this morning twice he seemed to be gagging, although he didn't even spit up. He also has fussed at the end of a couple feedings. But it can take 10 days to 3 weeks for all the milk proteins to get out of your system.
So... I just got through to the ped nurse, who said I can quit the Zantac and see if he still seems to be doing well, and if the good streak continues... I just have a few months of dairy-free life ahead. (If you've seen the Brian Regan sketch on life without dairy, you'll understand...)
But totally worth it.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases...Psalm 103
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Praise the Lord! I know how heartbreaking it is to watch your baby suffer through these things and not know what to do, but the Lord is with you! Praying Victor continues to feel better.
ReplyDeleteYeah! Three of mine (two adopted and one bio) had zero tollerance for any dairy in their breast milk. No ice cream, cream in coffee, cheese any thing. Didn't hurt me to give it up for the 2.5 years I was nursing that set but life was better all the way around when I avoided it all! (p.s. I did see gripe water at the co-op on Central a while ago...just be sure it's not alcohol based if you choose that route!)
ReplyDeleteHi Amy,
ReplyDeleteThis is Sarah Anikpo (Simonsen) who used to attend BBC. We have a 4mth old who has had a lot of vomiting, so I thought I'd throw my two cents. We tried gripe water, Little Tummy's gas drops, Hylan's colic tablets (to fight gas) and then Ranitidine. Nothing helped. Then we got a "Sleep & Rock" from Target. It's a little cradle with an elevated head and she sleeps really well in it. Next baby (Lord willing) will sleep in it from day 1. Look into it. She still vomits, but never at night.