I am a 36-year-old first-time mother who lives in Austin, Texas with a husband and some cats. My paying job is a hybridized amalgam of marketing (preferred) and human resources (not my field but I do my best) for a mid-sized general contractor – they mostly let me do whatever I want and I try to be a valuable employee. My husband and I are currently in a salary race to see who stays home with the baby; I am winning but he is catching up really quickly. I enthuse about wine at Wine Scamp, and I also read a lot of fiction which I check out of the public library. I am the oldest of three sisters, and all of my immediate family lives in Oregon. I lived abroad (Mexico & the US Virgin Islands) for 10 years before moving to Texas 3 years ago. It’s hot here.
Careening & Gestating
In which I document my voyage through the mysterious and bizarre lands of Creating Life.
Categories
- abject terror
- an entirely new person
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- breastfeeding
- Devil hormones
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I want you to know that I really enjoy your blogs…even if I am not supposed to. I find you very inspiring. Your voice rings true…it is good to hear about you and the baby. I wish you all the best.
Hey, where is the pregnant Andrea picture? I want to see the belly.
Hi,
I was reading your blog (which I’m thoroughly enjoying) and my heart was simply aching for you and your sweet Amelia. My son (2+mths old) just in the past several weeks was having a similar problem, and I felt like sharing my son & I’s experience with you…
He had started to have nasal congestion, explosive stools, green, frothy, blood-streaked stools; sometimes yellow mucousy stools, and even more symptoms. His PED said it was “Infant milk protein allergy,” suggesting I cut out all dairy, soy, nuts, etc and only feed him a hypoallergenic formula from now til he was a year old (saying that is when the allergy mysteriously goes away). I was Breastfeeding him and didn’t want to stop abruptly stop so I called my LConsultant for advice. In the meantime I had read a lot online about this allergy and came across 2 articles that seemed to describe him to a T, but they were about 2 “situations” called breastmilk oversupply & foremilk imbalance. (I’ve included links to the articles below.) Anyway, so in talking with my LC, she agreed that there were too many variables (dairy, soy, nuts, etc + the foremilk) to really know the cause for sure. So she suggested that “before I go changing my diet (risking him not getting nutrients he needs, like calcium from the milk and protein from the soy&nuts) that I try pumping out the foremilk (2-3minutes) and feed him only the hindmilk from one breast to see if his stools improve.” Adding that “if he wants the 2nd breast, do the same.” So, if the stools improved, he’s simply getting too much foremilk. If they didn’t improve, it’s the allergy. I thought, “simple enough” and did just that, without changing my diet.
LONG story short–his stools have been normal (yellow, creamy, cottage cheesy, BFing poo) ever since! My son DID NOT have a true “lactose intolerance” which I’ve read is actually vary rare, nor some unexplained allergy. He was just getting too much lactose, which his body didn’t have enough lactase to break down and it irritated his intestinal tract. I can see why his PED didn’t identify the foremilk imbalance, but she didn’t even ask many questions about our routine and whether I ever found myself engorged or him coughing, etc. And besides, if she had known it was the oversupply or imbalance, she probably wouldn’t have known how to TREAT it and regulate my supply (and surely that isn’t any PEDs expetise.) But I will admit that I’m the type of person who gets skeptical when *any* Dr. states something like “we don’t know why it happens” and “we don’t know why it goes away all of a sudden.”
Anyway, now, with guidance from my LC, I’m beginning to balance out the imbalance and am returning to feeding him on both breasts again, without pumping. And yes, his poos have stayed completely normal!!
I don’t have a medical background, and I’m certainly not outright suggesting that your baby doesn’t have whatever “tight ass” that you described in your posts, but I would encourage you to read the articles and if you even think it MIGHT be an explanation for Amelia’s struggles, talk with a LC and give it a try and see if it makes any kind of a difference.
Sorry SOOO long…Best wishes to you and your family!
Connie
http://www.llli.org/FAQ/oversupply.html
http://www.llli.org/FAQ/foremilk.html