Dirty Nappies and Cheese

by Veronica on March 25, 2009

in Life

When Amy was a baby she screamed.

and screamed

and screamed

andscreamedandscreamedandscreamed.

She wanted to be UP! And DOING! and being HELD! while SCREAMING!

It was hard. It was so very very hard to get through her first 6 months. Because yes, she screamed to be UP and DOING until she was able to crawl and make mischief on her own.

It was colic, it was a tummy ache, it was general grumpiness, it was a high maintenance baby, needing to be held.

Until she started solids though, I didn’t notice that she was allergic to milk protein. Actually, I didn’t notice for a while after she started solids. For a new mother who had been told ‘introduce foods one at a time and wait for any reactions’ I was remarkably blind to the fact that SHE WAS ALLERGIC TO MILK. Her allergy wasn’t severe, just diarrhoea and eczema. She was breastfed though, so I didn’t expect her poo to be any different and eczema? Well that runs in the family. Hereditary. Nothing to worry about.

However, one day it clicked. ‘Wait! Her diarrhoea went away when I forgot to buy yogurt! Geez, has she had any dairy this week? Hmmm, didn’t a friend have a boy with a milk allergy? Well shit, maybe I am just the worst mother in the world.’

Once we cut out dairy, she was pretty okay. Her skin cleared up mostly and her diarrhoea went away. Because she was breastfed, it wasn’t hard to keep dairy out of her diet. She didn’t react badly when I had dairy, so I never bothered going dairy free myself. After her second birthday, we started letting her have a little bit of

milk with cereal, etc etc. We lightened up on the whole dairy-free thing and generally stopped thinking about it.

Enter Isaac.

Isaac doesn’t scream. He also doesn’t sleep, but he doesn’t scream.

However.

At nine weeks old, he is still pooey at every nappy change and I am needing to change his bum once an hour. Dude? That’s not completely normal.

Then, his bum breaks out in a rash. Sure we’ve got/had the whole thrush thing happening, but I’ve got that mostly under control, so blisters? bleeding? Not in my current repertoire.

Also, his gas smells BAD. His poo smells like normal breastfed poo, but this boy could out fart my brother. True.

So, I drew some conclusions (and some cats and dogs and a plane, because Amy had the paper) and decided that maybe, just maybe, he might be allergic to milk protein too.

Cue me going dairy free.

And whinging about it every step of the way.

I like dairy. I like dairy A LOT. A  freaking lot, okay?

I supermarketed today and didn’t buy any yogurt. No cream. No bocconcini.

I figure Amy has been looking a little blotchy lately and Nathan tells me her nappies have been bad, a little dairy free won’t hurt her either.

Still.

I’m not looking forward to this.

[Isaac’s bum has cleared up now, thanks to a nearly nappy free day yesterday and a good dose of zinc cream. Thank goodness!]

Sunset

Our sunset this evening.

Isaac - 9w3d

9 weeks and 3 days.

Jenni March 26, 2009 at 12:17 am

sorry to hear about the milk allergy. i’m kind of wondering if we don’t have that issue as well. Miles is 3 months and still blows out his diapers at least once, sometimes twice a day. They are still that runny. It’s hard to judge against Oscar since he stopped pooping almost entirely at 2 months (we had to give him suppositories to get him to even go once a week.)

Glad the bum is better – hope you may get some shut eye now.

Jennis last blog post..Random Tuesday Thoughts: Zombies and Other Anxieties

CK March 26, 2009 at 12:25 am

The good news is that it’s temporary. The other good news is that while the days (often) drag, the weeks and months with the second child FLY.

True, those piddly little attempts to cheer you up don’t hold anything on cutting dairy, but TEMPORARY. Remember TEMPORARY.

CKs last blog post..what did i do today?

Marie March 26, 2009 at 12:36 am

I’m with ya man. Sort of. I LOVE my dairy, and am going without at present. *sigh* Shall we dream of cheese together?

But hey… maybe if his tummy’s happier, he’ll sleep better?

Awesome pics by the way. Awesome.

frogpondsrock March 26, 2009 at 6:26 am

Well if you are off Dairy I will be as well for solidarity.. umm except for yoghourt.. So does semi-solidarity work for you???

lovely sunset, my girl lovely..

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Mrs. C March 26, 2009 at 6:37 am

CHUNK! That boy just puffed! :]

If the zinc cream continues to not work, did you know boys can get yeast infections, too? Some of our boys would get them in the folds of their legs when they had a poo-spell before they were potty trained. Clears up with the same stuff ladies use. :]

Chocolate doesn’t count as dairy, does it? I couldn’t eat chocolate and breastfeed, I think the caffeine in it made the children VERY upset. I love chocolate, but one piece of happiness is not worth several hours of screaming.

Hope you get some good rest in soon. And Isaac, too. Maybe he will work night shift when he is all grown up and you can show him these posts LOL!

Mrs. Cs last blog post..You Thought It Was Over…

Mistress B March 26, 2009 at 7:54 am

ugh.

been there, done that, wasn’t pretty.

You are much more patient than I – when I realised that the younger two had the same intolerance as the oldest one they were straight onto lactose free formula.

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Xbox4NappyRash March 26, 2009 at 8:01 am

9 weeks my arse!

Xbox4NappyRashs last blog post..Someone’s been sleeping in my bed

Talina March 26, 2009 at 8:45 am

A dairy allergy? Hm, I am sure it will be great to get to the bottom of it all though. Am curious to see if cutting the dairy helps. Keep us posted!

Now what causes the allergy?

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Ree March 26, 2009 at 12:07 pm

He is so beautiful.

Rees last blog post..Days of Future Passed

Jayne March 26, 2009 at 12:40 pm

You might find it’s the protein in the milk, casein.
There’s a milk called A2 with the casein removed, don’t know how widely available it is though.

Jaynes last blog post..I’m Late, I’m Trivial Late For A Very Important History Date March 26

Sharon March 26, 2009 at 1:37 pm

Jayne’s idea sounds well worth a try Veronica. If you are going to eliminate dairy from your diet I hope you’re making up for the lack of calcium, and other nutrients, which you need for yourself. Also, for what it’s worth, my younger son developed a ‘glowing’ bum at a couple of weeks old and turned out to be extremely sensitive/allergic to every nappy cream and baby wash we could find. Ended up using plain water and Vaseline only. No more ‘glowing’ bum and there was the additional virtue of it being a much cheaper option 😉

Kat March 26, 2009 at 3:50 pm

Title of this post? Kinda disgusting! lol!

Dairy free = sad. But a pooey diaper every hour on that boy??? Way too much! Hope this helps it.

xoxoxoxooxo

Kats last blog post..The Increasing Vocabulary of my Child and How He is Using it to Drive Me Completely Insane

Janet B March 26, 2009 at 5:22 pm

Crumbs! I think I would rather go without cheese than have those dirty diapers all day! What a magnificent sunset!

Janet Bs last blog post..It’s not over yet!

river March 26, 2009 at 5:42 pm

Eczema runs in the family? I’d say you’re all suffering some degree of dairy allergy. Does your skin improve when you’re off dairy? Yoghurt isn’t usually a problem because of the enzymes used to produce it, it’s a “pre-digested” food. Plain milk, cream, icecream and butter are usually the biggest dairy culprits. You can buy an icecream substitute called ice confection (read the lid or label), this is what we ate when the kids were little, it was cheaper, still is, and for years I actually didn’t realise it wasn’t real icecream, just didn’t bother reading the labels. When there’s 4 little ones all you read is the price tags…….

nikki March 26, 2009 at 11:46 pm

Wait…are we writing the same damn posts? Fuck, I miss my ice cream.

nikkis last blog post..From the depths of screaming hell

lceel March 26, 2009 at 11:48 pm

I hope young Isaac is ready to spend the rest of his life in front of a camera. Nice shot of him, though – and a beautiful sunset. Just lovely.

lceels last blog post..100 Word Challenge – Myself – and a Photo

Tara March 27, 2009 at 12:08 am

Oh I feel your pain! I was dairy free for over a year with Delaney – she was intolerant. We are now about a 75% dairy free house, with the occasional cheese and yogurt. Ugh!

Isaac is SO CUTE! OMG he looks so adorable! Those eyes. That hair! What a heartbreaker 🙂

Taras last blog post..Colin’s MM Player

Taz March 27, 2009 at 11:52 am

hmm

i hope the no dairy helps..

fortunatly my kids never had any allergies..

i hope this helps with getting more shut eye..

Taz March 27, 2009 at 12:12 pm

he is totally adorable..

beautiful sunset..

myst March 27, 2009 at 9:02 pm

I hope this works for you.

How frustrating it must be.

Lots of pooey nappies probably explains why he is awake so much, his little tummy is probably emptying before it’s ready ~ and/or emptying too much so he’s hungry before he would normally be.

G
xxx

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C March 28, 2009 at 6:46 am

The dairy sensitivity seems to be more prevalent these days. Quite a few of my mommy friends have had to go dairy free while breastfeeding their babies.

Speaking of poo, Little One had an explosion in her diaper today! (I love how you say “nappies”! Love it!) Little One was COVERED in poo. ICK! It went all down her backside and even her little belly button had poo in it. What the…??? LOL!

Gorgeous photo of your gorgeous boy! XO

P.S. You had me cracking up with your comment on my last post!

Tanya March 28, 2009 at 10:24 am

Ohh Isaac looks like a mini Nathan with a hint of a mini David. Why did that just sound like I was referring to making a cake?

Bowel problems run in my family, and mine are usually set off by dairy. I haven’t ate cream for years and nothing creamy either. Makes me so sick. I make up for it with yoghurt because that doesn’t upset it as much and for some reason very cold milk with topping added isn’t too bad if I eat something with it.

Everyone else is right, there are lots of alternatives you can try and research as well.

Tanyas last blog post..Kicking Peanut

Tanya March 28, 2009 at 10:27 am

Oh cheese…I forgot cheese!!! Hard cheese is good with a salad or something! Lots of melted cheese makes me sick though…

Are you going to introduce dairy slowly back in?

Tanyas last blog post..Kicking Peanut

Hyphen Mama April 2, 2009 at 12:58 pm

LOOK AT THAT BABY!!!! I know, you do all day long, but he’s just freakin’ gorgeous. nom nom nom those cheeks.

Wynnie was lactose intolerant. When I spoke to her pediatrician, I was told that it’s extremely rare for a child to have milk issues and that I shouldn’t even consider her screaming and SCREAMING 20 minutes after she’d eat, a food allergy. Um, yeah.

Hyphen Mamas last blog post..Queue Nuclear Meltdown in 3…2..1…

Barbara April 2, 2009 at 10:06 pm

You having to cut out dairy is just not fair. Bothersome children! Still, hopefully he’ll get some sleep now and so might you. How are the handstands going?

Barbaras last blog post..91/365 – Feeling Better

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