Anyone breastfeeding a baby with reflux and cut out dairy?

JenX · Jul 14th, 2013, 14:55 PM

So I've just learned that my baby has silent reflux. She was 'diagnosed' by the lactation consultant who leads the breastfeeding group we go to after she observed a lot of the signs of it right there in the meeting. She offered some suggestions of things we can do to ease the pain position-wise (many we had been doing already, because they were just the things we found that worked for us).

I did some reading and decided it would be a good idea to cut out dairy from my diet in case the milk proteins were leading to her problem. She has also developed some eczema and an itchy nose- she rubs her face on me a lot. I read these can also be helped by removing dairy. I'm already gluten and soy free, so eliminating dairy is hard- it was a big part of my diet. Was just wondering if anyone here had good results with reflux from going dairy free, and if so, how long did it take you to see the effects?

CupcakeBaby · Jul 14th, 2013, 15:18 PM

Yep I've gone dairy and soy free (50% of babies who have dairy intolerance have soy intolerance too)

Makes a HUGE difference for us.

I know this because I stopped dairy around 6 weeks ago. And then on Thursday I had a small piece of cake as our paediatrician said there was a chance DD could handle a little dairy.

He was wrong. We'd not smelt acid on DDs breath for a while and she was much happier.

But after that cake on Thursday she was not happy on Friday at all.

Vomited strong acid up twice bless her.

Now back to dairy free and she's not been acidy today.

At first I think it took about 3-4 weeks to make a big difference but its so worth it!

JenX · Jul 14th, 2013, 17:49 PM

Thanks for the reply. I'm glad to hear you've had good results- really hoping we will too!

greenlady · Jul 15th, 2013, 01:53 AM

Can I ask what the 'signs' were that the LC observed? I am wondering if my baby has a little bit of reflux and just wondered what the obvious signs were. Sorry its a bit off topic

Fortune Cooki · Jul 15th, 2013, 15:10 PM

I asked my pediatrician about silent reflux today. She said most babies have reflux of a sort and it is not a big deal. It will not destroy the esophagus. Cutting out dairy is beneficial for so many reasons. It's good that you are doing that regardless.

CupcakeBaby · Jul 15th, 2013, 15:33 PM

It's a big deal for my baby. She lives in agony.

Yes, most babies do have a small amount of reflux.

But there are degrees of it, and my daughter is in pain multiple times a day and has stomach acid come out her mouth and nose and burn her if we don't keep her medicated and I watch my diet.

Also we can't lay her flat at all or she chokes.

Reflux isn't just something that some people get dramatic about.

For us it's a huge, horrible problem that effects everything we do with and for our baby.

babicyntaf · Jul 15th, 2013, 15:34 PM

I looked up the symptoms of silent reflux as I thought my lo had it. I cut out dairy in obvious forms such as milk, cheese etc. I haven't cut out gluten and I didn't go too mad on ingredients in dishes - didn't read packs etc. My lo has had less problems with the reflux type symptoms and certainly seems to be getting better. It could be because she's getting a bit bigger. It could be that symptoms were due to me producing too much milk too quickly and that she can now deal with that. I've also raised her mattress a little to help at night. I don't know what has made the difference. I just know that she is getting better and seems to have less problems thankfully.

ladybug1023 · Jul 15th, 2013, 15:35 PM

I have been dairy free for almost 6 months old and my DD is 9 months old. It really does seem to help us. I have tried some things with dairy in them off and on and she still reacts to them.

JenX · Jul 15th, 2013, 18:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenlady

Can I ask what the 'signs' were that the LC observed? I am wondering if my baby has a little bit of reflux and just wondered what the obvious signs were. Sorry its a bit off topic

The signs the lactation consultant saw were her screaming and arching her back, stiffening her whole body. Also she observed coughing and hoarse voice. We have always noticed that when she gets fussy it would calm her to sit upright. The arching back and extreme fussiness started recently, indicating that it has gotten worse. She has nearly doubled her birthweight in only 11 weeks and rarely spits up, so we didn't suspect a problem, but apparently some kids feed more frequently to soothe the burn (breastmilk apparently acts as somewhat of an antacid) and therefore gain weight well or even quickly.

The good news is that we are only on day 3 of no dairy and already seeing improvement. I have high hopes that this will be the answer for us.

JenX · Jul 15th, 2013, 20:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fortune Cooki

I asked my pediatrician about silent reflux today. She said most babies have reflux of a sort and it is not a big deal. It will not destroy the esophagus. Cutting out dairy is beneficial for so many reasons. It's good that you are doing that regardless.

The lactation consultant also said that most babies reflux to some degree and it isn't a problem. But for some it causes severe pain and great distress, and that's what we were seeing. It was bad enough that if cutting out dairy didn't help we would probably need to medicate her.

I agree that cutting out dairy can be beneficial for other reasons, but when I'm already forced to be gluten-free for my own health, it really limits my food options. Of course I'll gladly do anything to keep my baby from being in pain, though.

Jul 14th, 2013, 14:55 PM	1
JenX Pregnant (Expecting) Active BnB Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: USA Posts: 806	Anyone breastfeeding a baby with reflux and cut out dairy? So I've just learned that my baby has silent reflux. She was 'diagnosed' by the lactation consultant who leads the breastfeeding group we go to after she observed a lot of the signs of it right there in the meeting. She offered some suggestions of things we can do to ease the pain position-wise (many we had been doing already, because they were just the things we found that worked for us). I did some reading and decided it would be a good idea to cut out dairy from my diet in case the milk proteins were leading to her problem. She has also developed some eczema and an itchy nose- she rubs her face on me a lot. I read these can also be helped by removing dairy. I'm already gluten and soy free, so eliminating dairy is hard- it was a big part of my diet. Was just wondering if anyone here had good results with reflux from going dairy free, and if so, how long did it take you to see the effects?

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Jul 14th, 2013, 15:18 PM	2
CupcakeBaby Pregnant (Expecting) BnB Addict Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 2,823	Yep I've gone dairy and soy free (50% of babies who have dairy intolerance have soy intolerance too) Makes a HUGE difference for us. I know this because I stopped dairy around 6 weeks ago. And then on Thursday I had a small piece of cake as our paediatrician said there was a chance DD could handle a little dairy. He was wrong. We'd not smelt acid on DDs breath for a while and she was much happier. But after that cake on Thursday she was not happy on Friday at all. Vomited strong acid up twice bless her. Now back to dairy free and she's not been acidy today. At first I think it took about 3-4 weeks to make a big difference but its so worth it!

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Jul 14th, 2013, 17:49 PM	3
JenX Pregnant (Expecting) Active BnB Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: USA Posts: 806	Thanks for the reply. I'm glad to hear you've had good results- really hoping we will too!

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Jul 15th, 2013, 01:53 AM	4
greenlady Mum (Mom) Chat Happy BnB Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 2,428	Can I ask what the 'signs' were that the LC observed? I am wondering if my baby has a little bit of reflux and just wondered what the obvious signs were. Sorry its a bit off topic

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Jul 15th, 2013, 15:10 PM	5
Fortune Cooki Mum (Mom) Active BnB Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: East Bay, CA Posts: 770	I asked my pediatrician about silent reflux today. She said most babies have reflux of a sort and it is not a big deal. It will not destroy the esophagus. Cutting out dairy is beneficial for so many reasons. It's good that you are doing that regardless.

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Jul 15th, 2013, 15:33 PM	6
CupcakeBaby Pregnant (Expecting) BnB Addict Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 2,823	It's a big deal for my baby. She lives in agony. Yes, most babies do have a small amount of reflux. But there are degrees of it, and my daughter is in pain multiple times a day and has stomach acid come out her mouth and nose and burn her if we don't keep her medicated and I watch my diet. Also we can't lay her flat at all or she chokes. Reflux isn't just something that some people get dramatic about. For us it's a huge, horrible problem that effects everything we do with and for our baby.

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Jul 15th, 2013, 15:34 PM	7
babicyntaf Mum (Mom) Active BnB Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Wales Posts: 55	I looked up the symptoms of silent reflux as I thought my lo had it. I cut out dairy in obvious forms such as milk, cheese etc. I haven't cut out gluten and I didn't go too mad on ingredients in dishes - didn't read packs etc. My lo has had less problems with the reflux type symptoms and certainly seems to be getting better. It could be because she's getting a bit bigger. It could be that symptoms were due to me producing too much milk too quickly and that she can now deal with that. I've also raised her mattress a little to help at night. I don't know what has made the difference. I just know that she is getting better and seems to have less problems thankfully.

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Jul 15th, 2013, 15:35 PM	8
ladybug1023 Pregnant (Expecting) Active BnB Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 39	I have been dairy free for almost 6 months old and my DD is 9 months old. It really does seem to help us. I have tried some things with dairy in them off and on and she still reacts to them.

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Anyone breastfeeding a baby with reflux and cut out dairy?

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