I’m going dairy and soy free for 21 days to determine if my breastfeeding son has a sensitivity that is contributing to or causing his acid reflux. Jasmine Jafferali, MPH, a lifestyle and wellness consultant, is helping me navigate this adventure.
What I ate/drank: I ate a bowl of cereal with unsweetened almond milk and loved it! Now I’m not particular about milk (although I am about cream, half and half and ice cream). I can drink skim one day and whole milk the next. Almond milk reminded me of the consistency of skim milk so it might not be for everyone. Taste? Just fine although I was afraid to taste it by itself.
What I missed/craved: Can’t I just have one scoop of rich, creamy Ben & Jerry’s ice cream? Just one?
How I’m feeling: I had a migraine yesterday (probably hormonal) and I’m so exhausted from getting up every two hours with sick or hungry babies. None of this is dairy related, of course. I will say that my digestive system is, ahem, getting used to coconut and almond products. I won’t go into more detail….unless you want me to? No? This could also be because I’m not particularly taking care of myself. I’m not sleeping enough and I’m definitely not eating enough because I’m examining every label for any hint of dairy. I should probably plan out my meals next week. I also need to drink more water.
How Tristan is feeling: Each day is blurring into the next. He had several fussy periods today. The worst was this morning at about 6:30 am. After feeding him I gave him his dose of Zantac and he immediately settled down. Spit up: pretty normal today. It occurred to me that Tristan will be having some pumped milk tomorrow from my dairy days because I have a meeting to attend. If I’m not too tired in the middle of the night (Tristan is usually up between 2-4 am) I may pump. If not, I’ll have to extend my non-dairy adventure by another three or four days. I may just go a whole month anyway.
Conversation with my doctor: Tristan’s 8 week appointment was today. I’ll blog more about this tomorrow but I will say that I had an interesting conversation with my doctor who believes that infant reflux is overdiagnosed and that reflux medication is overprescribed. Some babies (about 20%) are just fussy, high-need babies that “grow out of it” by 12-14 weeks. I’m willing to accept this but I also think Tristan has some form of reflux — even if it’s just a mild case. We decided to move onto Prevacid since I believe the Zantac is only working 50% of the time. I told my doc that I was giving up dairy and his response won’t surprise you: He only recommends moms give up dairy if there’s an obvious milk protein allergy with symptoms of bloody stools and eczema. Tristan has neither but I’m still trying the non-dairy thing anyway.
Jasmine is traveling for the next few days so when she returns to Chicago I’ll post some more resources and answers to my questions from her.
Past Posts:
I’m going dairy free.
Dairy Free — Day 1
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Very interesting. I wanted to tell you that since you’ve gone dairy free, I’ve decided to support you by doing the same. I wanted to tell you this, but it would be a big fat lie. Still, the want is there. This must count for something.
I do think it’s really incredible that despite having several pieces of advice you could use as excuses to make a decision that would result in more DQ and other dairy goodness for you, your sticking to this plan for the good of your son. I love this very much.
Hey hungry mama,
I have VATS of beef stew from my crockpot extravaganza the other day! Want lunch? Dinner? Both? (Nolan, too.) I can bring some over late this afternoon if you want. Contains: beef, celery, carrots, kale, tomatoes, onions, salt and pepper. No dairy. Warm and delicious and uber-healthy. I can throw in some Ritz, too, but would have to check for dairy products. Let me know. You have to eat!
Julie
I was wondering how you decided to eliminate dairy from your diet. I am new mom and new to breastfeeding and find this all really interesting.
Good luck going dairy-free.
I’m so glad I stumbled upon your blog. I have an 8-week old boy who appears to have reflux. So far, I have avoided meds and am just trying different feeding positions, keeping him upright, etc. I’ve read about dairy-free diets but I’m concerned about not getting enough calcium (and honestly, I hate to give up my milk and cheese!) Reading your posts and the comments makes me seriously consider giving it a try. I saw Jasmine speak at an event here in Chicago and she shared so much useful information, so I look forward to following you both. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Lidia, do not worry about getting enough calcium. All non-dairy milks are fortified to be equal to cow’s milk so no nutrients are lost, the only thing you have to add is protein since non dairy milks have not protein or enough protein. I know I always talk about probiotics, and is a must for all new moms. Go back to one of those handouts, it is part of the postpartum plan. Good luck!
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