Hi! I'm new posting here, but I think I've read almost every message on this forum! It has taught me soooo much and has really helped me implement the BW practices with my DS. So...here's my question:
DS is 24 weeks old. He was diagnosed early on (6 weeks) with reflux. We finally put him on Zantac and then Prevacid when we was about 3 and a half months because he was squirming and arching and generally just so unhappy. (It made virtually no difference...even after two months...so we discontinued) He has been sleeping through the night since he was 9 weeks old...even though he is EBF, he is above the 50th percentile in weight. However, around 3.5 mos, DS starting waking up about every hour after midnight. He didn't need to eat...just needed me to reinsert paci and put my hand on his chest. I tried weaning him off the paci but it made no difference. Eventually, he just stopped taking the paci, but still woke up all night long, passing gas, shaking his head back and forth. I also started noticing what I thought was cradle cap on his head. Turns out...it was eczema. He also developed a few spots on his very red cheeks (which I thought was due to drooling) and on the back of his arms. He's always had green, mucousy poops on occasion...but I thought that was due to a foremilk imbalance when I switched him too early or something.
So eventually, from reading here, I put the poop, red cheeks, grumpiness (to put it lightly), reflux, eczema, and extreme gas and wind (he expels both like a middle school boy!) and asked my doctor to check for blood in the stool. Sure enough, all three diapers I brought to her had blood. (The crazy thing is...I've totally never seen it! And I looked really hard!)
So I cut out all dairy and soy (I figured it would be easier to go back and figure out if I could have soy after I got him feeling better and got some sleep...remember we've not been sleeping once an hour after midnight for about 2 months now!) 18 days ago. It seems like he's a little happier, but I'm still getting green mucousy poops, eczema flaring up, and terrible nights. (I know the nights could be part habit, but...it'd be nice if there was a little less gas! PS: I haven't started any solids yet, and he has started eating twice at night again..but he's taking full feeds..and not at the same time every night. I think he's just legitimately hungry and ready for some solid food!) I know you have to wait awhile (4 weeks) for everything to be out of your system, but I have seen flare-ups and VERY little improvement in 18 days! AND I decided to go ahead and go on a slightly modified Dr. Sears elimination diet 6 days ago. Still ...no changes! (Modified Dr. Sears diet= chicken (I'm just eating regular Perdue chicken breasts, not range fed...how important is this?), salt, pepper, olive oil, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, apples, bananas (only a few, because I did figure out this makes him a little constipated), squash and zucchini.) I feel like I'm starving though I eat all day...I'm dying for a chocolate chip cookie...I weigh less than I did before I got pregnant (which makes me worry about my supply!) AND there's no improvement!
I know I have to be patient for results...but is there something I'm missing!?!?
As an addiitonal note, I tried Alimentum on two different occasions (my mom babysat two different nights to give us a break...and all the expressed breast milk was, of course, down the drain!) and he reacted horribly to it! Nasty, mucousy brown poop and a horrible mood!
I know that's a TON of information, but I am at a loss! Do I try something else? Could it be something still in my diet? (not much to choose from!) Do I just keep eating the limited diet and hold out for improvement? I really want to continue BF'ing through the first year, but I really want my DS to feel better! What to do!?!?!
