Multiple food allergies breastfeeding.. no routine.. any chance of EASY??

[youmakemelaugh]

Hi All
My son has just turned 1 he has suffered reflux from birth and around 5 months he was diagnosed CMPSI once i cut dairy and soya out my diet he breastfed alot more comfortable and stopped vommitting, along the way we have now identified corn as something that upsets him, he has not been near eggs and i dont eat them either now, however he suffers with tummys spasms regularly especially at night, and he breastfeeds on demand (he is not a terribly good eater) but he breastfeeds alot through out the day and night and i am unsure if its habit/pain relief (possibly both) as when he is thrashing about in pain and arching his back a breastfeed is the only thing that helps and his whole body then relaxes. But i am wondering if i can have some kind of routine whether he maybe be a little happier and eat better, Any one elses little ones follow a routine? Many thanks for reading xx

[ZacsMumme]

Hi there, it sounds like your LO has a bit of discomfort ATM (as you know) and with reflux it does seem to come and go. I find at this age it flares up when my LO is teething or unwell with a cold/bug etc.

Is your LO on any medication for the reflux? If so what meds and what dose?

It is possible to be on EASY, at least loosely but while your LO is uncomfortable it will be harder. Can you possibly post a typical day for your LO in EAS format?

Hang in there, things do improve over time and it sounds like you are doing everything you can to make your little boy as happy as possible

[Buntybear]

Hi and welcome to the BW forum 

Have you had a good look around the baords and at the FAQs sections at the top of the boards - maybe start with the EASY board if you don't follow a BW routine yet.

I think that at 12 months old, yes it is possible to have a good routine but with a baby with reflux and MSPI you need to be flexible and realistic with it.

Please do post your routine as it is now with solid meals included.

Well done for breast feeding this long! Is your gut feel that his discomfort is his reflux (is it medicated properly?) or is it more intolerances? Does he have eczema or trapped wind?

[youmakemelaugh]

Thank You for your replies, we had a real good almost 4 months and medication free (still suffering some wind pains at night mind) then we slowly went down hill and we are back on meds he is on ranitdine 2ml twice a day. we have also since cut wheat and gluten which seemed to help the refluxing but he has more tummy spasms and pain, but he has had a tummy bug a stinking cold and new teeth.. so i am thinking that may have a lot to do with it.
A typical day looks like
E- 8am breakfast (most gets thrown on the floor)
A
S - 9-9.30 am until 10.30 am (this is being held/or breastfed)
E- 12pm he eats pretty well at lunch time if not tired
A
S-anywhere between 1 and 3 pm he will nap from anywhere between 45 mins and 2 hours.
E- 5-5.30 solids but only eats if napped well.
Bath at 6.45 and asleep around 7.30 (but wakes frequently with discomfort)
And he breastfeeds on and off all day... i would say he never has one good breastfeed he has a bit here and there.
Just disheartening that we were doing so well reflux wise and now we have gone backwards xx

[ZacsMumme]

(HUGS) Reflux is a bit mean like that, it goes up and down and flares at the worst times ie when your LO teethes and is poorly, going through GS etc. It does get better overall slowly over time though I can promise you that!

I think your routine looks okay considering him not being 100%, you are doing great If he does a shorter nap in the PM do you bring his BT forward? This can help prevent him from getting OT and he will hopefully sleep more soundly (if he isn't in discomfort)

When you start the day in the morning are you offering solids before milk, or BF first? Is there at time of day where he feeds really well? If you try offering a BF straight after a long nap does he feed well? - I guess I am trying to get a gauge of what works well and what doesn't. Some refluxers hate being fed before a nap, others need it IYKWIM?
Are his BM (poops) okay?
What solids for example are you feeding him today? - Some fruit can make reflux worse ie citrus and sometimes banana.
How are your nights, are you feeding through the NW?

[youmakemelaugh]

Thank you for replying i guess looking at our day it does not look too bad but i guess because he still breastfeeds on demand 5 mins here 10 mins there etc i still feel a little all over the place, what i don't get is since cutting wheat and gluten definitely refluxing less (the regurgitation and gagging he had started doing again) but he is definitely suffering tummy wise more. he has no corn based things just rice based, and the only fruit he has is a tiny bit of apple and pear puree every other day. He has cucumber and carrots and potato and rice pasta. Thats pretty much it. I was giving him chicken but dietician told me turkey or lamb and he seems to have suffered after having both of them so comtemplating giving chicken again?
Since being snotty and 2 new teeth he has been having pretty explosive runny yellow poos with undigested carrot sorry if TMI
But other wise his bm's are generally soft and yellow.
Well in the morning has has usually had milk as feeds on and off all night most nights we co-sleep and i just dose whilst trying to hold him upright and then he usually finds my boob himself.
Thank you very much for talking this over with me really appreciate it. x

[Erin M]

It might be that he's nursing more for comfort than for nutrition at this point.  (He's still getting loads of nutrition too, but it seems like he's looking for it as comfort).  From a food intake point of view, I doubt he needs to nurse on and off all day - from a comfort point of view, he probably feels like he needs to.  Are there particular times of day when you find he wants to nurse more?  He's probably never going to take full feeds if he's nursing so often.  How else is he comforted?  Does he have a lovey of any sort?  I know lots of mums have had luck snuggling the lovey while feeding the baby and then moving on to them associating the lovey with the same comfort.  Can you sleep with the lovey yourself so it gets your smell on it and then he associated it with you?

Do you think he's nursing more because of the tummy troubles?  You've got lots and lots of props going on right now - holding for sleep, frequent nursing, etc and you can do it, it will just take some time.  But it makes it hard if he's in discomfort.  If we can figure out what's causing him all the discomfort, that would make it easier. 

Have you read this:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=67676.0
It might help you figure out what you're dealing with in terms of props.

There's lots of different approaches to weaning props - you could have a look over at the props board for ideas.  I feel like I'm kind of all over the place here, I hope some of this helps!

[ZacsMumme]

I agree with Erin, do you feel that the breast is becoming something your LO needs to have to get back to sleep when he wakes? I suspect this is the case at the age of 1.

I guess one of the things you may want to think about is what do you want to have happen....are you wanting to get your LO sleeping a bit more independently without the breast through the night once you feel the discomfort is gone? If so then we need to work one 2 things. Figuring out what is causing the discomfort and weaning the breast as a prop

[Erin M]

Thanks Sara, that was what I was trying to get at! 
Let us know hun, we'll help you get there!

[youmakemelaugh]

Thank you both so much, i think i am just so exhausted and sleep deprived and so now 12 months on pretty confused about the intolerances reflux etc i just want to help his discomfort, and feel like if breast is what helps his discomfort thats what i want to be able to give him, but i also know he would perhaps eat better if he was not snacking on the breast.. i guess i want so reassurance with whether i should offer him the breast at certain points and not let him have it whenever he wants/needs it? He has a dummy when he will take it but will usually favour the boob, i just feel maybe if i am a bit more consistant feed sleep times then maybe he will be happier/sleep better... its hard though as i have a 3 year old and i also work a few evenings a week.
Hope i have made some sense...
Any thoughts? xx

[Erin M]

Well,  I think (and I know ladies around this site do as well) that babies on consistent routines tend to be happier and more content.  Most of us bfing around a year will offer it at (more or less) consistent times during the day.  The tricky thing, is if he's going to transition to that, it's going to be a tough transition.  We will be happy to help you through it, but he's been used to feeding whenever he wants for months and months now and will probably not like the change.  You might start by offering him comfort just by holding, rocking, the paci, a lovey, etc when he's fussy during his awake time and work from there.  The sleep associations will be the hardest to deal with.

At 12 months, he should be taking one or two reasonably consistent naps a day (depends on your LO, I think both of mine were on one nap at a year).  Does he fall asleep independently?

Have you checked out the reflux board?  The ladies on there are so fab as helping reflux babies and giving you suggestions for what to look for. 

[youmakemelaugh]

ok i guess my main 1st question is where do i start with offering feeds and how often? xx

[Erin M]

Check out this post
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=164031.0

It gives sample schedules from other moms, so a good place to start.  I've got to run, be back later. 

[Erin M]

OK, I'm sorry that "be back later" turned into 4 days later. 
How are things going now?  Do you feel like you're getting anywhere? 

[youmakemelaugh]

No worries have had a rough few days my daughter had a tummy bug that lasted a good 5 days and Harry is still full of cold, and today is so snotty he is gagging on everything he is trying to eat :/ and is super clingy, i did see the link to EASY examples but still a little confused at what to do re breastfeeding and how often especially as he is under the weather and teething.. grrr its tough. Thank you for getting back to me though x