Re: Infant reflux

[Guest guest]

Which probiotic are you on? They are not all the same. Some don't work

at all.

The ones I recommend are Biokult (http://www.nutrivene.com) and Three

Lac or Five Lac. Those are the only ones that have ever worked for me.

Please do not give your baby rice cereal. Babies cannot digest grains.

I suspect that would make things much worse.

Here's a PDF summary of Dr. -McBride's book, " Gut and

Psychology Syndrome " .

http://mindd.org/serendipity/uploads/pdf/GAPSArticle-McBride.pdf

She postulates that reflux/colic in babies is caused by abnormal gut

flora (inadequate beneficial bacteria). People with abnormal gut flora

cannot digest complex sugars (disaccharides and polysaccharides).

So it's not just dairy or gluten -- it's ALL complex sugars.

You could try doing the GAPS diet to see if it will help your baby. I

bet it would.

Eliminate all grains and starches (all potatoes, sugars -- except

honey -- honey is legal) from your diet, stay off of dairy for a while

too. Consume as much bone broth as you can -- at least a cup with

every meal. And eat plenty of eggs, fish, meats, and non-starchy

veggies (cooked or fermented), and take your cod liver oil.

The idea is to eliminate all complex sugars and to only eat things

that are easy to digest, like eggs and meats and cooked and fermented

vegetables (you can slowly introduce raw veggies as you heal). Bone

broth is also crucial to help heal the gut.

I would start taking Biokult. Dr. CMB also recommends sprinkling the

Biokult powder on the breasts before feeding.

There are a few lists for help with the GAPS diet -- email me offlist

and I will direct you.

Ann Marie

On Aug 7, 2008, at 12:23 PM, Elena wrote:

> Dear all,

>

> I'm really hoping someone can help us or at least point us to the

> right direction.

[Guest guest]

You poor dear...It sounds like you've been trying all you can above

and beyond. You are right to continue nursing. My brother and his

wife have a 2 month old, and are going through a similar situation -

elimination diet for mom, drugs for infant (they now suspect a

sensitivity to casein).

I found this on the Internet for her and send it to you in hopes that

you might find something useful in this information...

***

*Babies who react to breastmilk are usually reacting to cow's milk

protein in their mother's diet, protein which migrates from the

mother's gut to her breastmilk.

(So it's not the lactose, which is the sugar in milk, but the casein,

which is the protein in milk.)

*When breast feeding, small amounts of proteins from your diet appear

in your breast milk. While milk proteins are the number one suspects,

wheat, meat and egg proteins are also high risk.

Found this site which may help a lot:

http://www.nursingmomrecipes.com/

....and this:

http://nursingmomrecipes.blogspot.com/2007/01/link-to-eating-without-

casein.html

....which has this very informative link:

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html

***

Beyond a food allergy/sensitivity, again you are right to do what

works. If carrying baby around constantly works then it might just

be a solution. Sorry, I know it's difficult. I developed tendonitis

in both arms with my youngest.

Have you tried a baby swing?

Best of luck to you.

Be nice to yourself, too.

-Patty

--- In , " Elena " <elena.forums@...>

wrote:

>

> Dear all,

>

> I'm really hoping someone can help us or at least point us to the

right direction.

>

> Our 4 months old son has a reflux and we've been fighting it for

the last 3.5 months. Here

> is a list of what we've done so far:

> -The basics: proper positioning, not laying him down flat, smaller

and more frequent

> feedings, burping and holding him upright for 30 minutes or more

after feedings, sleeping

> upright etc.

> -Elim diet. I've spent few weeks on chicken (all organic from the

local farm), rice and

> occasional veg. Including eliminating all supplements, vitamins and

anything else I put in

> my mouth. Didn't change a tiny thing. I'm off diary and gluten for

now, but I really don't

> see it making any difference. He never had a single sign of allergy

for anything, so it's very

> highly unlikely that it's my food intake related. No food allergies

on either side of the

> family either.

> -Colic Calm (surprisingly, it used to work pretty well, but not

lately)

> -Ayurvedic doctor

> -Cranio-Sacral adjustments

> -Chiropractic adjustments

> -Formula (yeah, I don't believe I let my husband to talk me into

it, thinking that there is

> something wrong with the breast milk. I hated it, baby hated it, so

finally he gave up after

> couple of nights of hungry screaming)

> -Probiotics. I'm taking them and we've been trying to give it to

him too.

> -Drugs. Yeah, yeah, I know they are probably doing more harm then

good, but I can't take

> it my baby being so miserable anymore. He is not a " happy spitter " ,

it's a silent reflux and

> he is absolutely miserable. He wakes up every 30 minutes in

agonizing pain, arching his

> back, kicking his legs etc. You can hear acid coming up his throat

and him going nuts as

> soon as that happens. So I figured we would give it a try. So far

we've tried Zantac for

> about 10 days (didn't work at all), Prilosec (too bitter, he kept

spitting it out) and now we

> are on Prevacid for the last 2 days. I hate, hate, hate the idea of

using drugs, but I just

> don't see what else I can do. Am I missing something? Is there

anything else we should be

> doing?

>

> I'm reluctant to try rice cereal, but they say it helps. Can't be

worse than giving drugs can

> it?

>

> My GE flap valve doesn't close completely (I can never remember

what's the condition is

> called), so there is a good chance that he has the same thing. My

mom said it never

> bothered me when I was a baby. The only time I had problems with

hearburn is when I try

> to lay down after a huge meal. But I'm sure I'm not the only one

>

> Little bit more info. Our baby was home born, of course without

drugs. Delivery wasn't

> that long (as someone suggested earlier that might be a problem),

about 10 hours. He is

> not vaxed, I don't have leaky gut (again, per previous posts). I

eat healthy diet - good fats,

> all whole foods, nothing processed, no sugars, no diary, no gluten.

We all get plenty of

> sunshine and fresh air (again, as previously mentioned by some of

the messages in the

> archive).

>

> I'm pretty sure once he gets older it would go away, but he is so

miserable right now, I'm

> tearing my hair out seeing him screaming in pain. The only thing

that sometimes helps is

> me carrying him around upright and that's what I've been doing for

hours at a time. He is

> a big baby and my back is killing me. Sling makes it worse and he

doesn't like other

> carriers.

>

> Any other ideas/suggestions?

>

> Thanks,

> Elena

>

[Guest guest]

Elena wrote:

> -Drugs. Yeah, yeah, I know they are probably doing more harm then good, but I

can't take

> it my baby being so miserable anymore. He is not a " happy spitter " , it's a

silent reflux and

> he is absolutely miserable. He wakes up every 30 minutes in agonizing pain,

arching his

> back, kicking his legs etc.

>

Just throwing out an anecdotal data point...this sounds exactly like my

oldest child. When he was four yo, we discovered that he was gluten

intolerant. I got off of all dairy while I nursed my babies, but never

suspected the gluten issue. My oldest, as an infant, was colicky and

would scream for hours inconsolably, fall asleep after he'd worn himself

out, sleep for a while, only to start the cycle all over again. This

went on for six months. By the time I had my third child, we knew (the

whole family went gf together) and she was a much happier baby than her

older brother.

Just something to consider. Hugs!

--s

[Guest guest]

Thanks all for your kind words and advice. I will try the GAPS diet (I'm still

not sure if it's

safe for breastfeeding moms though...). I'm already off gluten and diary, I can

easily elim

sugars, no problems.

We do have a swing, he doesn't really like it that much, except for when he is

sleeping...

Thanks,

Elena

> > -Drugs. Yeah, yeah, I know they are probably doing more harm then good, but

I can't

take

> > it my baby being so miserable anymore. He is not a " happy spitter " , it's a

silent reflux

and

> > he is absolutely miserable. He wakes up every 30 minutes in agonizing pain,

arching

his

> > back, kicking his legs etc.

> >

> Just throwing out an anecdotal data point...this sounds exactly like my

> oldest child. When he was four yo, we discovered that he was gluten

> intolerant. I got off of all dairy while I nursed my babies, but never

> suspected the gluten issue. My oldest, as an infant, was colicky and

> would scream for hours inconsolably, fall asleep after he'd worn himself

> out, sleep for a while, only to start the cycle all over again. This

> went on for six months. By the time I had my third child, we knew (the

> whole family went gf together) and she was a much happier baby than her

> older brother.

>

> Just something to consider. Hugs!

>

> --s

>

[Guest guest]

You poor things! That must be awful to live through! And you must

be so exhausted! I did come across an article by a fellow on the

Shirley's Wellness Cafe site about salt and I looked up the author

and he said he gave some salt to his grandbaby for colic and it

cleared it right up. I realize the reflux is a different thing, but

since it's really pretty nontoxic and all, it might be worth giving a

try (not a lot of salt, a little bit). I wish I'd known about it

back when my kids were little because they both suffered terribly

with GI pain, especially at night when I wanted to lay them down.

I'm pretty sure mine's came from the vaccines - pertussis is my guess

since I've heard that one causes food sensitivities.

--- In , " Elena " <elena.forums@...>

wrote:

>

> Dear all,

>

> I'm really hoping someone can help us or at least point us to the

right direction.

>

> Our 4 months old son has a reflux and we've been fighting it for

the last 3.5 months. Here

> is a list of what we've done so far:

> -The basics: proper positioning, not laying him down flat, smaller

and more frequent

> feedings, burping and holding him upright for 30 minutes or more

after feedings, sleeping

> upright etc.

> -Elim diet. I've spent few weeks on chicken (all organic from the

local farm), rice and

> occasional veg. Including eliminating all supplements, vitamins and

anything else I put in

> my mouth. Didn't change a tiny thing. I'm off diary and gluten for

now, but I really don't

> see it making any difference. He never had a single sign of allergy

for anything, so it's very

> highly unlikely that it's my food intake related. No food allergies

on either side of the

> family either.

> -Colic Calm (surprisingly, it used to work pretty well, but not

lately)

> -Ayurvedic doctor

> -Cranio-Sacral adjustments

> -Chiropractic adjustments

> -Formula (yeah, I don't believe I let my husband to talk me into

it, thinking that there is

> something wrong with the breast milk. I hated it, baby hated it, so

finally he gave up after

> couple of nights of hungry screaming)

> -Probiotics. I'm taking them and we've been trying to give it to

him too.

> -Drugs. Yeah, yeah, I know they are probably doing more harm then

good, but I can't take

> it my baby being so miserable anymore. He is not a " happy spitter " ,

it's a silent reflux and

> he is absolutely miserable. He wakes up every 30 minutes in

agonizing pain, arching his

> back, kicking his legs etc. You can hear acid coming up his throat

and him going nuts as

> soon as that happens. So I figured we would give it a try. So far

we've tried Zantac for

> about 10 days (didn't work at all), Prilosec (too bitter, he kept

spitting it out) and now we

> are on Prevacid for the last 2 days. I hate, hate, hate the idea of

using drugs, but I just

> don't see what else I can do. Am I missing something? Is there

anything else we should be

> doing?

>

> I'm reluctant to try rice cereal, but they say it helps. Can't be

worse than giving drugs can

> it?

>

> My GE flap valve doesn't close completely (I can never remember

what's the condition is

> called), so there is a good chance that he has the same thing. My

mom said it never

> bothered me when I was a baby. The only time I had problems with

hearburn is when I try

> to lay down after a huge meal. But I'm sure I'm not the only one

>

> Little bit more info. Our baby was home born, of course without

drugs. Delivery wasn't

> that long (as someone suggested earlier that might be a problem),

about 10 hours. He is

> not vaxed, I don't have leaky gut (again, per previous posts). I

eat healthy diet - good fats,

> all whole foods, nothing processed, no sugars, no diary, no gluten.

We all get plenty of

> sunshine and fresh air (again, as previously mentioned by some of

the messages in the

> archive).

>

> I'm pretty sure once he gets older it would go away, but he is so

miserable right now, I'm

> tearing my hair out seeing him screaming in pain. The only thing

that sometimes helps is

> me carrying him around upright and that's what I've been doing for

hours at a time. He is

> a big baby and my back is killing me. Sling makes it worse and he

doesn't like other

> carriers.

>

> Any other ideas/suggestions?

>

> Thanks,

> Elena

>

[Guest guest]

Hi, Elena,

Yes it is absolutely safe (and recommended) for breastfeeding moms.

Here are some resources:

http://www.gapsdiet.com/

(This site lists all the allowed and not allowed foods -- it's not

just sugars, it's all starches. Honey is allowed.)

Here are 2 to discuss the GAPS diet:

GAPS Help:

GAPShelp/

Healing Leaky Gut:

leaky gut syndrome/

Please feel free to email me offlist if you have any questions. We've

been following the GAPS diet for 3 months now for my DH; he is doing

much, much better on this diet.

Ann Marie

On Aug 7, 2008, at 7:47 PM, Elena wrote:

> Thanks all for your kind words and advice. I will try the GAPS diet

> (I'm still not sure if it's

> safe for breastfeeding moms though...). I'm already off gluten and

> diary, I can easily elim

> sugars, no problems.

>

> We do have a swing, he doesn't really like it that much, except for

> when he is sleeping...

>

> Thanks,

> Elena