Feeling Crushed

[Erin M]

Glad things are looking better!  Are you doing probiotics for him to help heal his gut?

[kim&savannah]

Deb--Those were the grains I was thinking of.  They aren't allowed on the GAPS diet, and Rebecca had symptoms show up after eating quinoa, so I'm a little hesitant, but I may try it.  I think for now I'll add sweet potatoes back in, and I've been eating lots of carrots and squashes.  I had a lot of fruit the other day and we had a mucus flair up last night, so I'm thinking I need to cut that back.  The problem is, I think he might also be reacting to nuts, but if I cut out the nuts and most of the fruit, I'm really left with veggies, meat, eggs, and coconut, which is great and all, but I just can't maintain my weight eating only that.  I can only force myself to eat so much of it.  But I'm worried that losing weight isn't in my best interest right now (even though I love it, for my body's sake!) 

Erin--Yes--we got the Baby Gaia ones that didn't have anything else in them.  they aren't as strong of a concentration, but I think that may be better for starting out anyway.  From what I've read, you can get pretty strong reactions if you kill off too much of the bad bacteria at once.

I just wish that he would actually gain weight.  In the last 2 weeks, he's weighed 11.12 on 3 different scales.  I know that means that he could have gone up a little and we haven't seen it because we haven't been back to the same scale yet (and his last weight was before feeding, so I suppose that means he'd have weighed 4 oz more if I had already fed him, which I had for the other 2 weights.)  But they want him gaining 2 pounds a month if possible, which means I need to see some obvious weight gain each week.

[deb]

Are coconut oil and avocado GAPS-compliant? Those are awesome good fats.

[EloysH]

So the updated recommendations are to keep feeding him as often as possible, breast compressions at the end of feeds to squeeze out as much of the fatty milk that I can there at the end, and if I want to pump, then skim the fat off of that milk and feed it to him.

I forgot to tell you this, I went through this with Kai when he was around 4 months,  as you know i was breastfeeding pon the RPAH diet for a year. He slipped from the 50% to the 25% and dropping. percentile for weight. I consulted everyone and anyone, including two paeds, lactation consultants and early childhood nurses.  Some said put on formula -    But the main concensus was feed more often.  And that is what I did.  I fed him every opportunity and he was waking 3 times a night so I fed him every time.  Within 3 weeks he had gained a record amount and he started climing the percentiles again.   His weight did drop off later a little  and it wasn't until he was 13 months old that he got back to the 50th percentile. But by the time he was about 6-7 months old I had stopped worrying and weighing him  

[kim&savannah]

Eloise--Thank you, thank you, thank you.  That is the type of story I am desperate to hear right now!  I keep just hoping that he's going to have a growth spurt or at least start gaining enough that he doesn't drop any lower and can maintain this % until we start solids (and I'm pretty sure avocado will be his first solid--gotta give him something with enough calories to make it worth it!).  I don't expect him to be 50% until he's a lot older, none of my kids have as babies, but it would be nice to get the drs off my case with the formula.  It's just really nice to hear that it worked out for you.  Do you think the gut healing to a certain degree had anything to do with the shift in weight gain?  I am feeding constantly--gone back to doing a DF even though he was sleeping from 8/8:30 until 3 most nights, but now I feed him around 10 or so, and then whenever he wakes up (which is still by 3 or 3:30).  Last night he actually DF from 10:15 until 11, woke at 12 and I just brought him to bed (I was SO tired) and he stayed there, snacking, sometimes really eating, for 6 hours.  I figure that has got to be good for his weight gain.  I just wish I could get him to eat more of his calories in the day because our nights were actually feeling pretty decent!  But I'll do this over having to supplement.  Oh, and one more question for you--did you lose weight on the diet?  Do you think that affected it?  Do you remember as he started gaining more what your weight was doing?  I'm just trying to get a feel for how concerned I need to be over my diet, beyond the limitations and trying to eat a balance of good foods.  I am having a hard time maintaining with all the limitations, and everything I've read says that I can't really change my supply by what I eat, so I'd rather just stop worrying about that angle and feed lots and enjoy the fact that I am losing the extra weight for once.

Deb--yep, coconut oil and avocados are okay and I'm eating both.   Although everything I eat cooked in the coconut oil tends to make me feel a little sick afterwards.  I've never liked oily or greasy foods.

[EloysH]

Yes I steadily but slowly lost weight on the diet.  It is normal to loose weight because there is absolutely no junk in the diet, every meal is caculated and well planned.   Most people I met onlione who have done this diet slowy and steadily loose weight. It didn't ecome obvious until about 5-6 months, then I started falling below my natural size.  I am usually a size 10, I went from size 12 to size 8-9 by the time I had been on the diet 12 months.  I ate alot of protein and fat but i guess the diet really isn't ideal, one is only doing these things because we have to.  As soon as I stopped breastfeeding I rapidly put weight back on, I think it took 3 months to go back to being size 10, which I am now but less muscle and more fat   

As he started gaining weight by weight loss pretty much remained constant throughout the 13 months i was breastfeeding.

Be careful with avocado. If he does have a salicylate sensitivity, he will react badly as this is a very high salicylate food.  My lO is sals sensitive and is just been enjpying avocado at 18 months old for the first time!

As far is gut healing is concerned and weight gain... hmm let me think.  The weight gain slwpoed down from 3.5  - 5 motnhs old.  Then at 5-6 months that's when he had the big gains.  At 5 months old I had been on the diet about 6-8 weeks so yes it did co-incide with his mucus poos settling.  it took about 6-8 weeks for his poos to go back to being no mucus 100% of the time.  I would say that yes, it is a valid point, if your gut is inflamed it will be harder to make good use of the nutrients that are coming in. 

  Having said that, many babies still thrive with an inflamed gut.  I feel that the frequent feeding was important.  And I also made sure that my boobs were completely drained before switching to the next side so he was getting all the fatty milk - although he was pretty much a one sided feeder from the very start.

HTH x

[Buntybear]

Hi, I also lost weight on our ED. I think that is mainly due to the dairy and convenience foods. I also just ate less as it was a hassle to find meals. 

We had night feeds until he was at least 1 then he weaned himself. I never tried to stop them myself as both our diets were so restricted I wasn't going to restrict him BFs too!

[kim&savannah]

It's been over a month, and things seemed like they were going well.  We had a weight check at 5 months and he'd gained 3/4 of a pound--just enough to make the dr. happy and to keep him on his % line.  But now he just turned 6 months, and it doesn't seem like he's gained hardly anything in the last 2 or 3 weeks.  He was almost to 13 pounds a couple weeks ago--the scale actually did show 13 pounds twice, but tonight I weighed him and he came in at 12.4 or 12.6 (this is all with our bathroom scale which only goes to .2 of a pound).  He has been sick the last week, and spitting up/gagging/throwing up a lot more than normal, but I'm so worried.  We go back in Monday for his 6 mo. check up and I'm afraid he's not going to show a gain at all in the last month!

I keep hoping that we have a growth spurt just around the corner, but so far its just been VERY slow, somewhat steady gains.  I am still feeding him a couple extra times in the day.  I'd feed more, but he doesn't ever seem to care, and I have a hard time believing he's getting much if he just fed an hour before. 

We also still have mucus in the diapers (esp. the last week, but he's been so snotty, that I'm really hoping its from it draining from his head.)  But even before he got sick, it wasn't totally better.  LIghter for the most part, but still there.  So I feel like I haven't really fixed anything.  And yet both the allergist and the gastro I saw told me that there was no reason to stay on a restrictive diet other than the dairy/soy that I have seen improvement with. So if I followed their advice, I really can't imagine that his intestines would heal.  I'm just so lost as to what to do.

[EloysH]

both the allergist and the gastro I saw told me that there was no reason to stay on a restrictive diet other than the dairy/soy that I have seen improvement with

Did they give you their reasoning as to why?

[kim&savannah]

Since he has no symptoms of an allergy or intollerance other than the mucus, they think there's no point.  Except he's not gaining weight.  I don't know if they think that I may be suffering from being on a restrictive diet so they are trying to give me the greenlight to help ME out, or if they think it might help my milk supply, but they can't give me an explanation as to why he has mucus, but tell me its not anything I'm eating.

[EloysH]

Well the other food intolerant symptoms are and you don't need all of them... unsettled, night waking in pain, sore tummy, bloated tummy, wind, unable to resettle without lots of APOP. Does he have persistent red rash bottom, red dry cheeks?  My LO never had much wind, but he used to wake a fair bit at night and his poos would go to mucus at times. He does get a bright red spot on his cheeks when he is teething or having too many salicylates.


Are you interested in finding out about specifc tests on the health of his gut?  most our outside the medical system ( some stoll analysis are wtinh the system so are cheaper) but can give alot of info as to what is going on  (parasites, bacterial over growth, leaky gut etc). Ones outside the medical system are expensive though and you  would be required to find alternative medical practioner trained in nutritional science and biomedicene. Alot of these tests will become mainstream one day and funded by the health care system, but not at the moment.

He could have a parasite, they are easy to be picked up and can pass down from parents. Blastocystis comes to mind. I thought of this because if his slow weight gain. Parasites can cause food intolerance let alone other gut issues. 

 

[kim&savannah]

I've wondered about a parasite.  He had stool tests run with the GI dr.  I don't know exactly what they tested for, though.  I never received a copy of the results, just was told that they were all ok.  I'll ask for sure at his appt. Mon.

He really doesn't have much of any of the symptoms--wind amount seems normal, no persistant rashes--just very occasional diaper rash, doesn't seem to be in pain, NWings are for eating and then he goes back to sleep fairly easily most of the time (this last week, he's been sick, so that's changed up everything).  I guess the only other possible symptom is his cradle cap, but does that always mean something or can it just be a normal baby skin thing?

[*jazzberry*]

Oh so sorry you are still having such a hard time Kim. No advice but many ((((hugs)))))

[Erin M]

Yes, ((((hugs)))) from me too, I wish things were better.

[EloysH]

Eat proteins several times to day to stop your own weight loss - see if that helps.  The problem with rapid weight loss is that it adds keytones to your breastmilk, and as we loose fat we also loose any stored toxins.  I think its ok to loose bits steadily but not rapidly KWIM?

Its worth following up parasites esp if you have travelled to third world countries or Asia. Huge % pof the population are infected with thme and many people can be asymptomatc carriers.

We have just ordered a 3 day stool sample test for parasites for my son.  It will be a few weeks before we get some answers, but working on the premise to rule it out as he still has food intolerances and reflux at nearly 20 months.