Cranky Breastfed 2 Month Old

if it's a dairy allergy, lactaid has nothing to do with it. Lactaid reacts with the lactose (milk sugar) and allergies are usually reactions to the milk proteins.
My son is dairy allergic (diagnsed at 6 months) and he was horrible and irritable when i drank milk. Once I stopped eating/drinking all milk products, all was better. You actually have to read ingredients and stay away from any and all dairy, butters, whey, casein, etc. to be able to see if it's really dairy.

try taking out more of the top 8 allergens? ask if you can take her to an allergist. does she have eczema? that was another indicator of allergies for us.

good luck.

Most parents are overly concerned with gas and usually, it's not gas. Some of this is just the age- 8 weeks is about peak for colicky behavior and most kids are fussy around this age even if they don't have colic. Everyone searches for the magic bullet and really, there isn't one. You just have to wait it out until about 3 or 4 months and they will get better by themselves.
If she truly has a problem with milk, then it is called a milk protein allergy. Taking lactaid would not help. If it was truly a milk protein allergy, she would have a constant red diaper rash and lots of diarrhea, sometimes with a green color, and sometimes with blood in the stool, in addition to being extremely irritable- lots of crying all the time. My son has a mild milk protein allergy and he was miserable until I got the milk out of my system (which takes 2 weeks from the time you stop eating dairy!!!)

I have a 10-month old baby girl who was also very cranky and gassy the first 3-4 mos. of her life. She was also breastfed. I never had these issues with my son (also 3-years old now). I had asked the pediatrician if it could be something that I was eating and he said that it might be, but not to bother trying to figure it out because by the time I would have it pinned down to a couple of foods, it would all be over. He said that some babies just have a harder time getting their digestive system regulated and it should work itself out by the time she reached 3 mos. He was right!! I did try "gripe water" that I found at a healthfood store, recommended by an acquaintance who had the same issue with one of her children. I tried a couple of different brands that I found and added it to her bottles (I pumped and also supplemented with formula). The gripe water seemed to help her get the air out and would frequently have loud burps or gas with little to no fussing. It's worth a try! If your daughter isn't taking bottles yet, you could try putting it in a dropper and giving it to her straight up. I also tried the Mylicon drops which helped during times when she wasn't feeding. Good luck!!

K. Q.

Hi V.,

My daughter is the same way (she is 7 mos. now). I eat no dairy (also nothing with milk derivatives), no gassy veggies (broccoli etc.) and no onions, or anything acidic. So no OJ, tomatoes, pineapple, etc.; as well as the standard no caffiene. Although I have had the occasional cup of coffee (no milk) without a problem. I just need to drink a lot of water after.

I will say that it is a tough diet. If you are a chocoholic like me it get a little difficult, but there is a dark chocolate out there (I forget what brand) that has no milk in it.

My daughter also has acid reflux and is on medication for that. Some of the signs were how much she was spitting up. Also, if I lay her down after she ate I could actually hear the milk trying to come back up. SHe also would cough a lot. I would talk to your child's pediatrician. Mine was very helpful.

One last thought - Although I primariliy breast feed my daughter, I have always had to supplement with formula. I was using normal similac, but when I changed to SImilac Isomil which has no milk, the gas problem after the formula went away as well. It is a lot less expensive than the ALimentum, which is supposedly hypoallergenic, so you might want to try that first if you use formula at all.

Good luck!

I would be very cautious about attributing her behavior to foods you eat unless it happens REPEATEDLY. Young babies have very immature digestive systems and it could be ANYTHING. So try to eat suspicious foods again before drawing conclusions. If a food does cause gas in the baby, it may also be an issue of quantity in your diet. (For ex. you may be able to eat small amounts of butter, but may need to avoid milk, cheese etc...). TRUE food intolerance will be marked by poor weight gain and blood in the stool (not necessarily blood you can see, but your PED could test for it). BUT please, please, don't limit yourself until you are sure. Baby could be going through a growth spurt or may be tired or may just be fussy that day. Also, we were helped my mylecon drops. My son is 2 months old and was VERY fussy. I stopped dairy and tomatoes. In the end, he just grew out of it, so it had nothing to do with anything except the immature neurons in his gut. GL to you.

My food no-nos were broccoli, cauliflower and spinach. I then avoided cabbage and brussel sprouts, since they're in the broccoli family. Any time I ate those items, baby would be very unhappy with her intestines.

I would massage her tummy area to help any gas move along using massage method of small clockwise circles going clockwise around the belly (in the same direction as the large colon operates). That technique worked for baby (I could feel the gas bubbles starting to move along, relieving the pain) and it still works for me.

I just want to say that I am no expert because I did not breastfeed my first child. I am pregnant with number two now and I am thinking of breastfeeding this time around. I just went to a breastfeeding class Thursday night that was given by one of the leading lactation experts in our state. One of her biggest claims for the evening was that Moms are scared off by breastfeeding because they are worried that what they EAT or DRINK effects the baby. She said this is a #1 MISCONCEPTION. She said the food we eat does not make the milk. It is simply made by the breasts and very, very, VERY little of what we eat or drink goes into that producton. Even less, if any, reaches the baby at all. She said women all over the world, like in India, Africa etc. breasftfeed exclusively and their diets are either malnourished or full of spices etc. They breastfeed and produce milk regardless and most often their babies are fed and sustained beautifully. We watched two popular videos that confirmed the LC's claim that women should eat what they want, it does not effect the baby. She qulified this by saying with jest, "I'd certainly suggest if you want to drink alcohol have a glass of wine over a 5th of vodka." But nonetheless, moms are too concerned that food and milk production are linked and they are not. Hmmm??? It surprises me, but I am sure she would not steer us wrong. Maybe your baby is suffering because she has acid reflux, isn't digesting properly. I'm not sure, but if you buy into the theory I just described, your eating habits don't have much to do with it. What does your doctor say???? Good luck!!!!!!!!

It might be acid reflux. We had that with our son, too. I would actually lay him on his tummy during the day after eating, as that seemed to help. He spit up after every single nursing - like 20 minutes later. Once he stared on solid food (which was heavier), it went away, and he's had no issues since. BTW - because he was gaining weight, and was what my MD called a "happy spitter", he never went on meds for the acid reflux, we just dealt with it, and kept lots of burp cloths handy!

Your pediatrician should be able to provide you with a whole list of things to avoid for extra gassy babies (like mine!). I remember dairy and broccoli and cauliflower were on the list. Tomatoes might be too, but I think they're more acidic than gassy.

i went through the same thing with my daughter seven years ago. same symptoms your baby is going through- she eventually had to have a lower endoscopy which showed swollen and bleeding lymph nodes in her lower intestines that were caused by dairy. since i also breastfed her exclusively I had to stop all dairy and soy. people who are allergic to dairy are usually allergic to soy too and soy is in EVERYTHING! it took about a month or so before there was an improvement in her symptoms and she also ended up growing out of it. hang in there and be diligent about reading the ingredients. if she is really sensitive to the dairy Lactaid will still cause her pain. Rice or almond drinks are good and do not cause any pain. my son had acid reflux as a baby and one of the signs was he would have thick mouth secretions and gag on them all the time. babies with reflux are usually not gassy.

HI V.,

They say to consider what you ate about 8-12 hours ago, right? Seems that that's what I heard. BUT (and this is just my personal experience/belief) don't let people guilt you into avoiding foods. If you see a connection, okay; but I was told not to eat: dairy, soy, green vegetables, fish, nuts, sugar... and that was half of the list. Basically, I could have Burger King. So -- remember that Mom's have been breastfeeding babies for thousands of years, without all of this pressure! (Besides, if you get gas, do you wonder what that dairy cow ate (the one that made the milk you drank)?!?)

That said, I found a book called Itsy Bitsy Yoga at our local library, and it had some great movements to help digestion, plus some "magic" movements that still work to calm our son into a place where he can accept care (pacifier, diaper change, whatever). The book goes by age, starting with newborn. The "Happiest Baby on the Block" DVD also helped us to find movements that calmed the baby -- got that at the library too.

Hello V.,

My daughter is 3 months today and had the same problem!! I was up all night sometimes just trying to calm her down or stop crying. Yes feeding did help sometimes...but then it got worse the next time she cried. Now that I have more experience in understanding the type of cries, I would say just try to hold her in such a way to put a little pressure on her tummy. Also stroking gently downwards and patting on her back also helped. The key was that it took some time...sometimes even 20 mins of continuous holding her in a front seat position with her back against my tummy and sometimes stroking and patting continously for 20mins or more...(if you are not doing it continuously it could take longer, maybe an hour or so by experience!!). Then EVENTUALLY she would burp or pass gas.
I know it gets frustrating but she is in a lot of pain at that time and all she needs is her loving mama :)
Diet-wise I stopped tea, chocolate and cauliflower which was helpful. I have also heard that avoiding cabbage, brocolli and onions helps.
Best of luck, anythign else just ask me. I would love to help.
bY THE WAY You will start understanding what exactly she is crying each time for pretty soon.

Hi V.,
Try Gripe Water (it worked wonders when I ate too many onions!), and continue to monitor your diet. If you can live without the dairy, I would; though I wouldn't worry about acid reflux yet.

Best,
S.

It might not be gas it may be a growth spurt & she just wants to eat more. Try putting her on the breast again. Good luck.

She could just be hungry again. Sometimes babies just need more milk (my youngest nursed every hour for a few months). Or she could just want to comfort suck.

If it is gas, help her work it out by bicycling her legs. That always relieved my girls' gas.

Good luck.

-A.

Hi V.,
It may be the salad. I could not eat any veggies while I nursed because of the gas it gave my kids. All Green veggies, also cauliflower. Very gassy. They did grow out of it and around 6 months in I could eat the stuff again. Try using mylecon drops too. It helps.
J.

I JUST went through this with my 14 week old! I feel "her" pain". My son has mild reflux...intially it was just fussy/crying after eating, then it turned into spitting up after EVERY meal. My son is on formula, so he was switched to one with rice starch (easier to keep down). I would definitely recommend gripe water (don't buy the Little Tummies one...go to a natural food store...my son did great with Baby's Bliss Gripe Water). We eventually put him on Zantac which has worked wonders. Talk to your pediatrician for their suggestions too, thats what I did! Good luck!

V.,
Garlic and/or Onion - both set off my DS at any age - I think it is hereditary. Some people are fine with them, others extremely sensitive. DS while tiny couldn't handle ANY - even if it was the last ingredient on the list.

Chocolate. Sad to say, I had to give this up the first few months, and after that, strictly in the AM (so the gas didn't keep his papa awake - DS was fine if he was awake with a gas bubble.

I'm not sure Lactaid would help - or if you would know that that was what was helping. If you $ isn't a problem, it might not hurt.

Constipation - if constipated, it's gonna hurt too. Do things look proper? or pasty? If the latter, she might need more liquid - just short nips, maybe a minute or two here and there. Or water in a bottle if she'll tolerate it.

Most likely, I would say that garlic/onion might be it.

Other gassy things are: broccoli/cauliflower (ENTIRE cruciferous, which includes artichoke hearts I found out the hard way), peppers - all varieties (although skinless might help). There are other veggies but they are further down the list - and I don't remember them :(

Good luck,
M.

I had the same issues with my baby. I would be careful of any tomato product, because they are acidic. I had to stay away from onions, tomatoes, dairy and much more. I used the following website for help. It is a great website for nursing moms.

www.kellymom.com

It did get better when he got older. I would say I noticed less sensitivity after 4-5 months.

Best of luck,
N.

I will add:
Cabbage (in Chinese food--- so avoid)! Avoiding all fast food, restaurant food, and pre-packaged food is not a bad idea. That stuff is full of salt and sugar. Eating a simple healthy diet is best. Introduce the spices you like and the baby will get used to them gradually.

Also, I really think organic, especially milk if you are drinking milk--- is important.

Bablies this young are just getting used to digestion, so they are going to be grumpy. Avoiding trouble foods and then slowly reintroducing them to your diet is the way to go.

Consider yellow fruits as an alternative- peaches, cantalope, etc.

I think that nurse (mentioned by another writer) who said that trouble foods are a myth because "women throughout time have been nursing" has accepted an oversimplified solution. I had read nursing books (which is accumulated knowledge) and that is how I found out about trouble foods and it did help to avoid those foods for a few months and then slowly reintroduce them. Women have been passing down this info for ages.

Hi, Vicki.

Did your pediatrician give the baby Tri-Vi-Sol? If he/she did try stopping it for a day or two to see if the baby is still having the same issues. If so, you need to speak with the pediatrician. My daughter ulitmately needed another children's vitamin due to an allergy to one of the ingredents that they use(the coloring). Have you tried to use Mylcon? I was told to give it to my daughter about a half hour before she nursed. If it's acid reflux, listen to her carefully. You can hear her trying to swallow what comes back up, if she isn't spitting it up. Have the pediatrician check her nose when you take her in for her 3 month well visit. The doctor diagnosed my daughter that way. If you think it may be lactose interance, try a Lactose free diet for a couple of days. She may have a milk allergy rather than a problem with lactose. Yes, they can develop a milk allergy even though your breastfeeding.

Good luck. It takes a lot of patience and preserverance when they have those issues. This too shall pass.

Susan