Monday, February 18, 2013

Feeding Dilemma

At first Abigail was taking the Alimentum, but now she is refusing anything but breast milk. Even when I know she is hungry, she will not eat until I nurse her. So, not sure what to do. My supply is way down. I've found an alternative to dairy milk ( Almond milk, which I often drink) and to butter ( Earth Balance buttery spread) but have no idea what to do about cheese. I couldn't find any vegan cheese at the store. It's in so many of my recipes, as is all of the cream soups, etc. And the protein bars that I live on have dairy as well and it took me months to find a protein bar without a lot of sugar that was edible. To me, this is one of the most difficult things about newborns: figuring out what to feed them. I pumped and bottle fed Olivia for 6 months because she never took to nursing. I also had to bottle feed to add in her medication. Plus, we had her on Neosure for weight gain. She projectile vomited almost every bottle ( that was fun ) and we finally ended up having her on Enfamil AR which she kept down a lot better. But trying to figure out what my babies would do best on is such a struggle for me. And this no dairy thing is harder than it sounds, especially when you have a family to feed. I find it such a coincidence that her diarrhea problems started right after I got on my antibiotic. She went from going every 3-4 days to 10-15 times per day. So I'm not completely convinced that it is a milk protein allergy. But I'm now off my antibiotic and it hasn't improved, so maybe it is. Just wish I knew what to do.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Carson is getting ready to go on a gluten and dairy free diet. We have been playing around with it and he loves Dayia cheese. You can buy it in a wedge or shredded. He loves it! I have only found this at Whole Foods or Earth Fare. He also eats dairy free yogurt. Its made with coconut milk which is a great alternative. There are a lot of things that contain dairy that I didn't even think about in the past. Like the frozen waffles we used had dairy in them. We switched to Vans and they taste the same but are dairy free. We use the almond milk that you mentioned. Some pasta sauces have dairy in them also. Good luck! I know how much protein means to you! That was what kept my blood sugars down with my pregnancies. My kids loved the Alimentum but I have heard of people putting a dash of vanilla in the bottle to sweeten it up but I would ask your Pedi first.

Anonymous said...

If the issues started when you were on an antibiotic maybe some probiotics for you and her would help?

Jodi said...

I wondered about that. The Enfamil version of Alimentum ( Nutramigen) has probiotics in it. Wonder if I should switch.

Anonymous said...

Antibiotics do sound like they may have played a role.. the probiotics sound like a good idea? How long does it take to officially get the antibiotics out of her/your systems??
Neva

Sherry said...

http://leakyboob.blogspot.com/2010/04/lactation-cookies-recipe.html?m=1 Not sure if you can subsitute the sugar but my cousin started eating these when her milk started to dry up and they worked.

Jodi said...

Anyone know with azithromycin how long it stays in your system? Last pill was two nights ago I believe? I'm tempted to eat yogurt, but again it's dairy. If I take a probiotic, would she get the full benefit too?

Jill said...

Poor baby. Zithromax half life is pretty long, so it will take a few days for it to be completely out of your system. Many studies do suggest nursing mothers taking probiotics while breastfeeding if their babies are fussy. And if I remember right, you have to be completely dairy free for two weeks before deciding if that is the root of the issue. Oh, and I do think that babies seem to like nutramigen better than alimentum. I think they are both stinky, so I can't say I blame her for turning her nose up at it :)

Anonymous said...

Babies typically like alimentum better than nutramigen because it's made with sucrose and is sweeter. I know these are all carbs, but eating bananas, onions (sautéed perhaps), artichokes, and garlic all help your milk produce more oligosaccharides, which are probiotics naturally found in breastmilk and promote intestinal health. Also foods such as almonds and oatmeal can help increase your milk supply. Also ask your doctor about fenugreek.