Julia's Elimination Journey

I’m no stranger to screaming babies. All four of my children are sensitive to common elements of the standard American diet.  So much of what brought me to the world of dietary elimination while breastfeeding and specifically the development of this Elimination group was my third baby, Elizabeth.  From birth, things were different.  Her latch was awful.  She screamed around the clock.  Even while sleeping, she would fuss and make awful faces.  Everyone assured me that she was fine.  She was gaining weight.  She was just fussy.  Having dealt with two previous “fussy” babies, I knew that this baby was different.  At seven weeks, things went from bad to worse.  Elizabeth contracted RSV and pneumonia.  She was hospitalized for a week.  The pneumonia was a double strain and required intense antibiotics that I was told might make her tummy “a little off” for a few days after we got home.  She was also unable to nurse for more than a few moments due to her labored breathing for over a week. 

We brought our baby home and expected things to go back to normal.  We hit a new normal of shrieking screaming, bad, BAD diapers when she would have a bowel movement, less sleep and further nursing problems.  I didn’t even know where to begin.  My pediatrician offered formula after I mentioned that my older kids seemed to have dairy issues.  One night, when Elizabeth was 15 weeks, I almost gave up.  I was having vasospasms.  She hadn’t pooped in three days and her last diaper was pure mucous.  My husband just cried with me.  He told me he’d support whatever I needed to do. 

I decided to try a full elimination diet.  I was already dairy and mostly soy free.  I went to our local health food market and talked to the nutritionist there.  We came up with a game plan based on Elizabeth’s very specific issues: Eczema, inflamed bowels and extreme colic.  Let me be clear here:  I had no other options.  This was extreme.  Nothing was working.  My baby was broken.  I started off with bone broth, steamed carrots, grass fed beef and free range chicken, steamed pears and apples. I took a high powered probiotic and gave Elizabeth one, as well. I added fruit juice sweetened gelatin after a week.  That was it.  It wasn’t overnight.  It wasn’t even over a week.  After two months of a very extreme diet, we had a somewhat normal diaper.  (I totally took a picture and sent it to my husband at work.)

I called it a success, but we weren’t done yet.  At seven months, our nursing issues came back with teething.  So did extreme mucous.   I knew I couldn’t eliminate anything else from my diet.  I had just added raw fruit and vegetables back in.  A fellow admin had just had her daughter’s lip and tongue ties revised.  I sent her a picture of Elizabeth’s mouth.  She was MAJORLY tied.  I made an appointment for the following week.  Post revision, she spit up twice.  And never again.  Our nursing issues ended and we had much better diapers. 

In the end, I learned that elimination isn’t a one size fits all shirt.  We had combined extreme issues with Elizabeth.  As a whole, our kids are allergic to diary and cannot digest eggs.  Our girls can’t handle wheat.  Elizabeth has an anaphylactic allergy to peanuts.  While nursing Elizabeth’s baby sister, I have to remain free of soy, dairy, corn, peanuts, wheat, eggs, and pecans.  We’ve done extensive testing.  We work with a fantastic team of doctors to maintain Elizabeth’s health and wellbeing and that of her siblings. 

This can be done.  It’s never easy.  It is seldom fun.  We’re all a team and here for each other.  Ask me anything, ladies!  

Does My Baby Have A Sensitivity?

Getting Started:
Elimination can easily go overboard when we expect immediate results. Many times, one bad day leads us to believe that WE are doing something to harm our babies through our breastmilk.  Babies, like their mommas, are entitled to feeling off and cranky.  Let’s explore some reasons to eliminate foods while breastfeeding.  

·         Consistent fussiness or colicky behavior:  This means several days – sometimes growth spurts or teething can really look like a major issue when they are a normal part of infancy.

·         Eczema:  While it can be managed or treated with creams or lotions, often times, eczema is a result of a food sensitivity. 

·         Blood/Mucous diapers:  Mucous is a sign of inflammation.  If it happens one day and not for another month – it’s not an issue.  If it’s an everyday thing, there is likely an issue that needs uncovered.  Blood is always alarming and I take it very seriously.

·         Reflux/spit up: You’d be surprised what a little elimination in your diet can do for your wardrobe, ladies. 

·         Sibling history:  You have had a baby with reactions to something in the past and suspect it may happen again.

And here are some reasons NOT to eliminate:

·         Baby is not sleeping through the night:  Some babies do.  Some babies don’t.  It’s not a food sensitivity if your baby is having normal night waking.

·         Occasional spit up:  Again, sometimes, this just happens.

·         Baby wants to nurse frequently:  This is very normal infant behavior. Growth spurts, developmental leaps or comfort nursing are a huge deal for infants. Also, I don’t like to eat on a schedule and some days I’m hungrier than others.

·         Occasional mucous in an older, previously unbothered baby:  Usually a result of teething or maybe a little post nasal drip.

Believe it or not, there are some other issues that could LOOK very much like food issues.  Before you start living on unicorn tears, double check the following:

·         Do you have oversupply?  Oversupply can cause all KINDS of funky diapers.  Lime green, frothy poops are a hallmark of oversupply.  Oh, and a VERY fussy baby.

·         Has your baby been evaluated for a lip and/or tongue tie?  Unfortunately, so many health care providers are only familiar with an anterior tongue tie.  Spit up, mucous and green poop can all be signs.  Poor weight gain is a big one, too. 

·         Are you taking supply boosting herbs, such as fenugreek?  They are notorious belly achers!  

We really strive to make elimination diets user friendly.  Make sure to check out our “First Steps to Elimination Survival!”

First Steps to a Successful Elimination Diet and Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is natural.  It’s beautiful.  It’s also hard work.  Add in suspected food sensitivities and you’ve got double the work and often times, none of the pizza!

Here are a few tips to get you started and make it a bit more streamlined:

·         START SMALL:  We usually advise dairy and soy elimination first.  By far and away, these are the MOST common offenders.  They can take a while to clear out, so we like to start there for that reason, also.

·         KEEP A FOOD JOURNAL:  I can’t stress the importance of this enough.  We like to start small with eliminations here – but a food journal can be so helpful if we need to dive deeper into elimination land! Be exacting.  Brands, times, everything!  Make sure to add any vitamins or drinks, also. 

·         CHECK EVERYTHING:  Vitamins.  Gum.  Candy. Bread. Soap.  Lotion.  It’s everywhere, friends.  If your baby is sensitive to it, you’ll find it even more places than you imagined. 

·         PINTEREST AND GOOGLE ARE YOUR NEW BFFS:  Need a recipe that’s dairy free?  Need a substitution for eggs?  Fire up those search engines!

·         IF YOU THINK YOUR BABY IS SENSITIVE, DON’T PARTIALLY ELIMINATE IT:  Here’s why  -it takes twice as long to figure out.  If you think your baby can’t handle dairy, don’t play around.  Just eliminate it.  You can always trial it in baked goods later!

·         DON’T GET CAUGHT UP:  Slow and steady will win this race.  You may have to eliminate a ton of food.  You may have to eliminate one food.  But don’t jump in headfirst.  Your baby deserves a sane mother! 

·         IF YOU NEED HELP, ASK:  We’ve been there.  We’ve done that.  We’re still alive.  We’re here for you! 

·         IS IT WORSE?  IS IT THE SAME? IS IT BETTER?  This goes with the food journal – keep track of perceived reactions and what they are.  It’ will help down the road.

·         STAY STRONG!  It’s really not worth the pizza.