Thats what I was told yesterday. If I want to continue pumping breast milk for Cole to eat..I need to stop eating soy, and stop eating straight eggs (meaning i can still have products with egg baked in as an ingredient for now). I almost freaked out a bit. I mean, three weeks ago when i checked through a ton of labels to make sure nothing had milk in it...EVERYTHING had soy in it. I stopped at Lori's Natural Foods to get some bread on the way home from the hospital...just knowing that my bread at home was dairy free but not soy free.....and this little loaf was $6.22. They didn't have any soy free butter either...which kinda made me insane. (I mean, I at least like to know that I can grab some rice and something to put on it.....which normally would be teriyaki or earth balance...but...couldn't have those now). My mom found a soy free earth balance at wegmans and got some for me though, which is awesome. I have yet to taste it...but i'm sure it will be fine.
There are problems with this diet though.
First, is the money. In order to find dairy free, and especially soy free, you need to go organic. Organic costs twice as much. I am on food stamps at the moment, and I don't even think that the only store that has soy free dairy free bread takes them.
Second, I enjoy quick and easy foods. I am sleep deprived beyond belief. The last thing I want to do is spend hours in the kitchen, when I have a baby who wakes up every 2 to 3 hours....or a lot of the time when he is awake, because of the issues he is having, he is NOT happy. Keep in mind also, that I am pumping breast milk. 3 hours out of every single day, is spent with a breast pump. This does not include time feeding my son.
At the same time, I am starting to feel kind of selfish. I have already put him though getting dairy out of my system to try to see if thats the issue. Three weeks later, no change. Now, hes still going to have to wait to get better, until I get soy out of my system. If I just gave him the crazy expensive neocate formula, he would feel better a lot quicker...but...its not breast milk. I also, selfishly, enjoy loosing at least 800 calories a day (with my pump output), when I am way to tired to actually work out at this point. I need to loose this weight...its insanity. Because of medicine I have taken, milk banks are not going to want my milk.
And then I think...what if. What if, its not a food allergy at all. What if, all of his issues, were because I was on three rounds of antibiotics since he has been born. Those can have side effects. What if THAT is why he wasn't feeling good. What if, I have an oversupply issue, from having 50-70 ounces of breast milk pumped a day. Even though it all mixes in a bottle...and I cannot find any oversupply information for women who exclusively pump. What if THAT is the issue instead? How can I try to figure out what it is...without hurting him more?
Oh mommy I understand how you feel. Did they test for GI? Do they think your little man has trapped gas or colic? Perhaps he is sensitive to garlic--I hear some babies are super sensitive to garlic and onions...I think the allergy thing is extremely rare (though very possibly the culprit, anything can happen)...From about 1 1/2 months to 5 1/2 months Dalia screamed often and almost always at night. It was awful, tiring, frustrating, and everything in between. Doing it alone--I can't imagine. It could have been an allergy and it could have been colic (though she didn't cry for 3 hours straight, 3 days a week, for 3 weeks)...either way, it went away on its own.
ReplyDeleteYou are such a champion mommy for giving your little man the best food possible--breast milk. Despite being tired and everything else you are providing so much for him. One day he will thank you for being so strong and loving. You are amazing.
I think about you often...love you lots and let me know how everything is going when you find something out. The breast milk is worth all the hassle--I truly believe that. You are amazing.