Is my milk nutritious enough?

[dache]

My 2 month old cries all the time. She cries maybe 80% of the day. Nights are fine, she does not cry and wakes for feed usually at midnight, 3.30am and 5-6am.
During the day the only time when she is not crying is when she is feeding (sometimes even then) and when she is taking her short naps (she does not sleep for longer then half an hour)
She goes 2 hours without feed and sometimes even that is difficult.
I`ve tried giving her formula after I breastfeed her she does not want it.
She is not colicky, I dont believe that it is because she is tiered because she cries from the moment when she opens her yes in the morning.
I change her dippers often...
I just dont know what else can it be. She had a growth sprout until four days a go, then she woke up even at night for every hour.
She had 2 good days and now Im going crazy.
I have no clue what can it be. In my mind Im going over everything and now Im thinking maybe my milk is not nutritious enough so she goes hungry very fast.
I am a vegetarian. And I noticed that she gets a rush on her face and tummy when  I eat deary products so the doctor suggested to get rid of them for a while.
So now Im thinking that my milk is  not nutritious enough, because I have almost gone vegan (not by choice!) Is it possible that that is the problem?

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

Yes dairy can for sure be a problem (& for a lot of dairy intolerant babies soy is an issue too). So far all of my kids have had issues with dairy as babies (only one with soy intolerance though).

Does my LO have food intolerances?

[*Ali*]

Have a look here to make sure you are not eating hidden dairy without realising it. Ingredients to avoid for food allergies - Milk, Soy, Eggs, Peanuts, Gluten

I doubt it is that your milk is not nutritious but likely it has foods in that are upsetting her digestive system.

Are you eating alternative foods to replace the nutrients such as fat, calcium and fat soluble vitamins that you are losing from dairy?

[malenka]

I'm a vegetarian and never had problems with my milk not being nutritious enough. It would be a good idea for you to take some vitamin and calcium supplements though.

Do you think it could be reflux? It wouldn't explain the rash, but my DS had reflux and he cried all the time and wanted to feed often. Rashes can be caused by a lot of things, so if eliminating dairy doesn't help, take a look at your laundry soap, your LOs soap and cream, and also your own soap and cream.

[weaver]

I'm veggie (20 years at least) and before I got pg with LO1 I discovered I was dairy intolerant too.  So I've BFd both babies (over three years in total) while being veggie and dairy-free.  They have had no nutritional problems, so I suggest you look into the issues raised above re: hidden dairy or other possible causes of the rash.  Might be good to keep a diary of when the rash comes up. 

I'd be pretty sure there are no nutritional issues with your milk, but ((HUGS)) not nice for you to think it.

The only issue I have had as a dairy-free BFing veggie was getting enough calories for me.  If ever you find you're feeling extra tired, try to get more protein and carbs in.  Eggs are good, and nut butters.  Avocados are also brilliant for those 'good fats'.  There are now excellent non-dairy yoghurts made from soy and from coconut which are really tasty!

[Bestbees]

I think you have had good advice about intolerances etc.

But to be clear breast milk digests very fast, about 1-2 hours so actually it is pretty normal for a baby to feed this often, especially in the the early days. Your babe may be setting your supply or need the comfort. Breastfeeding is not just about nutrition. Check out Kelly mom website and the milk meg.

I hope things get a bit easier
B

[cath~]

When my dd1 was a newborn she cried LOADS and we couldn't work out why.  With hindsight it was just her temperament (sensitive spirited) and the world was too stimulating and scary for her, nothing 'physical' at all iyswim.

Just saying that temperament could also be a possibility.

[*Ali*]

Actually Cathn just reminded me that my Ds2 cried loads as a baby. I put it down to him being touchy and just held him while he cried. Have you done the baby type quiz? The BW "Know Your Baby Quiz"

[M and N's Mom]

Sounds exactly like my DD was as a baby. She cried all day for the first 3 mos of her life. In hindsight, she liked to eat a lot (still does), was very stimulated easily (grew into a bright, observant child who needs time away from stimulation), and needed routine. When we put her on a strict EAS things really improved. Later she could be more flexible, but not as an infant. Naps had to be in a dark crib.

So...I thought it was my milk too, but looking back I think it was a combination of things.

Hang in there, it does improve!

[weaver]

Yes, if baby is touchy or sensitive, they need lots of calm and lots and lots of reassuring physical contact with mama. Do you use a sling with LO at all? Might help calm her, and might help her sleep better. My LO yelled his head off if we put him in the buggy, but he was fine snuggled up in a carrier. A lot of people believe that babies have a 'fourth trimester' from 0-3 mos when they still need to be physically close to their parents.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

DD2 was touchy/spirited and needed a reallly strict routine and a fully dark room with loud white noise to get good sleep. During A time we had to be really low key to avoid over stimulation as well. 

[dache]

Oh man, where do I start...
The first 2 weeks were fine, we started EAS routine but did not had schedule. Then she started screaming hysterically for hours at a time, take a five minute nap and then scream again and she started vomiting more then usual. We went to the hospital and we were admitted, she was dehydrated, almost collapsed on me. They started doing tests which all came negative. They could not tell me why she is like that and after 3 weeks in the hospital they told me that they have eliminated congenital anomalies, she has reflux so I should go home and see how she`ll do. And actually the screaming/crying stopped. She started crying like a normal baby. And when I changed my diet the vomiting got better. But she still vomits and now she is crying a lot again. A lot. She just spent 2 hours of screaming not-stop and it brakes my heart that I cant do anything about it.
She had a few good days. She would stay on her own, she even smiled. But other then that its crying all the time. . And nothing can calm her down. Not even holding her in my arms (I dont use a sling, I hold her in my arms all the time), no music, no putting her down to sleep...nothing. I feel so helpless. All my life I am surrounded by babies, and even if they are upset I can calm them down in 5-10 minutes but I cant do that for my little one.
I have done the test and she is a spirited/touchy baby but I cant say for sure, I feel like Im guessing when I am answering the questions.
Im not able to put her on a EAS because E changes all the time depending on whether she vomits after her meal or not. S is also difficult because she takes short naps, she`ll (almost) fall asleep in my arms and when I put her down she is awake within minutes.
So, I dont know what to do. I am searching for reasons why she might cry so much hence my question about whether my milk is nutritious enough, I was thinking maybe she is hungry.  I know that babies cry, I know that some babies cry more then others. But I also know that her cry is not normal.If another person (especially a doctor) tells me that crying is normal Im going to go crazy.
I apologize for the long post, I guess I needed to vent

[weaver]

I apologize for the long post, I guess I needed to vent

Don't apologise.  You poor thing.  My heart goes out to you and your baby.  You're right, obviously there's something not right and baby, bless her, is trying to tell you the only way she knows how.

((Hugs))

This is a longshot but I'm trying to think of anything that might help - my spirited/touchy baby had real difficulty feeding in his first few days, and he was *very* angry about it.  My MW suggested cranio-sacral osteopathy for him, as he was a forceps delivery and she thought maybe he had a pain in his jaw or head that was preventing him from feeding.  Well, he was just a different baby after the first treatment.  We had two just to be sure! But it really helped him to settle down and start feeding.  I'm pretty sure a 'conventional' doctor would not have spotted that (not something they're looking for I suppose).

Big hugs for you both.  And feel free to vent, we're here for you.

 

[malenka]

You poor thing, and your poor wee baby too!

You said the doctor diagnosed reflux? Is she on meds? Sometimes it takes a while for the meds to start working, and you constantly have to readjust the dosage as the LO grows. Also, some meds don't work for some LOs so they need to be on something stronger. If you've had her on the meds for a while, I would go back to the Dr for a reassessment. How is her weight gain?

She sounds a lot like my DS was at that age, before we got his reflux under control. Is she happier when you're holding her in an upright position? Have you tried a sling?

((((hugs))))

[cath~]

(((Hugs))) sweetie that sounds incredibly tough

I second PPs suggestion to go back to dr and see if reflux meds need increasing/changing.

Have you seen this?

Might have some more ideas for you:
Sleep and the reflux baby.
tips for calming my refluxing LO

Also, fwiw, I could never calm dd1 by just holding her. She needed a walk in pram or pop her in sling/baby carrier. Although white noise helped a lot
(Hugs)