Dairy Sensitivity

Let me begin by telling you, this topic has consumed my brain for the past few months. Is he intolerant to dairy or am I being a hypochondriac? Do I stop every single product with milk in it(which is almost everything) or just the big things like yogurt, cheese, and ice cream? Does he seem to act differently or is he just having a good/bad day?? I am telling you, I have OBSESSED over this. I will admit it, I drove myself and my husband crazy with my wishy washy thinking. After a very "preggo brain" moment, it hit me, my poor little guy is not tolerating the dairy that gets transmitted to him through my breast milk. Here's the story..

At the beginning of August, when Cole was about a month and a half old, I started noticing his poops were very slimy and mucousy. Well I jumped on Google and the first thing that popped up was Dairy Sensitivity . I thought, no way, I don't eat that much dairy, my greek yogurt everyday, but that's all. I only drink almond milk, don't eat much cheese, and rarely have ice cream.How could there be that much in my breast milk that it would be affecting him? Then I read on, other symptoms include increased fussiness, especially before having a bowel movement, frequent spitting up, and frequent irritability. HE HAS ALL THAT.  Well, at the same time, those are also normal baby traits. After all the research and over analyzing every little thing he did, I decided to go off dairy for 2 weeks(that's how long it takes it to be out of my system) and see if I see any difference. I didn't really notice much  change. OK, now my brain and hormones were going crazy, is he just a really fussy baby??? Back to dairy I went.

Fast forward to the first week of September and I noticed his poops getting even more mucousy than usual. I haven't been around many babies or evaluated their poop, but this was not normal breast fed poop. So I called the doctor and they said it sounded like classic Dairy Sensitivity. Pretty much his little gut wasn't mature enough to breakdown the proteins found in cows milk and their by products. This does not mean he is lactose intolerant. So, I went off the dairy again. Did I not go off it long enough last time? Did I need to cut our every product with dairy, is he that sensitive?

Well after about a 10 days, I hadn't noticed any change. ENTER MY AHHH HAAA MOMENT. I was standing at my fridge getting ice, totally spacing off, and I happened to look up at the protein canisters sitting on top of the fridge. Whey Protein, a milk by-product. ARE YOU KIDDING ME, why did I not think of that. FML. A little tid bit of info about me. I love to workout. I love strength training. I have at least one serving of whey protein a day. I am obsessed with Quest bars which are loaded with that delicious whey.

My poor son cannot breakdown all the whey protein I take in on a daily basis. Oh my gosh, it all started back in August when I started back at the gym and increased my protein intake.

So, after stopping all whey protein, I noticed a night and day difference in my sons fussiness and irritability after just 5 days. His poops aren't as mucousy and he just  seems so happy. OK, now I can finally relax, we found the culprit.

Eating dairy free is a challenge, everything from granola bars to some cereals have milk products in them. I am always checking labels. I have found a list of products that are milk free and have switched to egg white protein for my afterworkout shakes. I now eat coconut milk yogurt and have discovered Luna fiber bars are non dairy and freakin good. Low sugar, high fiber and a touch of protein. And I have discovered a few Starbucks located inside grocery stores that carry almond milk to make my much needed latte's!!

It's been a very trying few months, but I am so happy we figured out what was making my little guy so unhappy. The doctor said some babies grow out of it starting at 6 months, so I may try re introducing some products into my diet in a few months. Like I said, eating dairy free can be quite challenging, but its worth it. I would do anything I had to do to see this smile.