Failure to Thrive or Low Breast Milk Supply?

Posted on by
Reply

Recently I’ve been in contact with friends who are very stressed out because their babies are dropping growth curves. They have all been breastfeeding and were now being encouraged to switch their babies to hypoallergenic formula.
I myself had the same thing happen when my second baby was about 4 months old. She had bovine, soy, egg, and cocoa intolerance but was growing fine on my breastmilk while I was on an elimination diet. At about 4 months old she dropped a growth curve and her weight was plateauing. On a regular follow up with our GI, the doctor freaked out and said that the elimination diet wasn’t working and that we should switch to a hypoallergenic formula.
I wasn’t comfortable giving up breastfeeding given that our baby was happy and developing in every other way. I also felt that my milk supply had dipped somewhat, particularly with the return of my first menstrual cycle. I consulted the breastfeeding clinic who followed me and they checked my prolactin levels via a blood test. We got the results the next day and my levels were extremely low (25). They highly recommended that I begin domperidone (which I had been on while breastfeeding my first baby.) Within days my baby was gaining weight again and by her 6 month checkup she had jumped from 37th % to the 75%.
So the take home message here is that sometimes we are looking for problems with a baby when in fact the problem can be as simple as the mother’s milk supply.
I really think this doctor was too quick to jump to the conclusion that my milk was harmful rather than there just wasn’t enough of it.

Breastmilk Banks May be Coming to Ontario and Quebec

Posted on by
Reply

Annika 1
Creative Commons License photo credit: [derekmswanson]

There’s an interesting post in yesterday’s Ottawa Citizen, talking about the possibility of breastmilk banks opening up in Toronto and Quebec.  Breastmilk banks, like blood banks, would store donated milk for use by those in need.  These banks were common until the 1980s, when AIDS and hepatitis began to spread rampantly.  Newer screening methods mean that the safety of donated milk can be insured.

Having an accessible milk bank means that if a mother has a medical condition, requires surgery or needs to take medication that is not compatible with breastfeeding, her baby can still get many of the benefits associated with breastmilk.

A different kind of bank

Breastfeeding and Allergies

Posted on by
1

As I am now the mom of a baby with a suspected walnut allergy can longterm breastfeeding help decrease the risk for other nut and peanut allergies?
I did some research on this and all that I found was that exclusive breastfeeding (not even one feeding of formula) for the first 4 months of baby’s life can decrease the risk of asthma and atopy. (http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/94/9/1531)  I did not find anything credible on breastfeeding over 1 year and the effects on decreasing allergies.

Baby Carriers for Colicky Milk Intolerance Kids

Posted on by
1

One of the classic symptoms of MSPI is colic.  Sometimes when the MSPI is resolved, either by Mom going on an elimination diet or by switching to hypo-allergenic formula, the colic disappears.  Sometimes not. Colicky infants need to be held and rocked or bounced constantly.  This means that your hands are always full and your back kills.  This is especially difficult if you have othher kids.  In addition, many colicky kids won’t even go in a stroller, so getting out and about is an even greater challenge than with a normal infant.

One indispensable piece of baby gear for dealing with an infant like that is a baby carrier.  There are two broad categories of carriers, the Baby Bjorn-type and the sling or traditional type.  Having tried both, I am strongly in favour of the sling/traditional type.  There are a number of reasons for this;

  • Once you know what you are doing, the slings are incredibly easy to use.  They generally consist of a long piece of cloth, sometimes with a ring or pocket.  That’s it.
  • They distribute the weight of the baby even over your shoulders and lower back.
  • They are extremely portable, just  roll it up, and washable.
  • You can use a sling immediately after birth, since the baby’s head can be supported, unlike modern carriers.
  • The baby is held right against the wearers body, it can feel your warmth and hear your heartbeat – this is extremely comforting for a colicky child.(I have often worn my kids in the sling with them in only a diaper and me shirtless).
  • The slings can be used up to 35 pounds.  I carried my two eldest children until they were more than 2 years old.
  • You can easily breastfeed while wearing the baby.

We have two slings from Maman Kangourou (the stretchy wrap) and I don’t know what I would do without them.

Check out the video below to see how to use a baby sling.

Beef Serum In RotaTeq

Posted on by
1

RotaTeq is a relatively new vaccine administered to infants in order to prevent rotavirus infections.  In general, I am strong proponent of vaccinations for children, but this one made me pause, for an MSPI specific reason.  That’s because one of the ingredients in the vaccine is fetal bovine serum (see the product monograph, p. 7).  Fetal bovine serum is frequently used in cell cultures, and since Rotateq is a live vaccine, trace amounts remain.

When it came time to vaccinate our older daughter. we chose to hold off on RotaTeq  for an extra month, since she was having reactions to so many foods in her monther’s diet.  We didn’t see any blood in her stool following any of the doses.  Our third child had menegitis at 5 day old and we were terrified of ending up back at the hospital so we decided to give it to her on schedule (at 2 months old).  Six days later we saw a single speck of blood in her diaper, and then nothing after.

I’m curious to know if anyone has seen any adverse reactions to RotaTeq.  Rotavirus is a very serious gastro-intestinal infection and can seriously harm infants and young children.  Rotavirus is an extremely common virus, with 95% of children being infected by the time they are five.  Any parent who has lived through an infant or toddler with a gastro-intestinal infections knows how awful this can be.  When our daughter was hospitalized, the newborn girl in the bed next to had contracted rotavirus, which led to severe weight loss, prolonged hospitalization and eventually a naso-gastric feeding tube.

Have you given your MSPI child RotaTeq?  Did you even know that your child had MSPI when you gave it, or that it had fetal bovine serum?  Let us know.

Guaiac Cards

Posted on by
Reply

As I mentioned in a recent forum post, a reader sent us a question about looking for blood in your child’s stool when reintroducing food.   She wanted to know if we used guaiac cards, which I had never heard of.  A quick search shows that guaiac cards are used for detecting occult fecal blood.  These cards can be used to detect blood in a stool sample that is not visible to the naked eye.

We’ve never used these cards, and they have never been mentioned to us by any health care professional.

They do bring up an interesting question though:

If your child is growing well, is happy and not vomiting up the new food, does it matter if there is a trace amount of blood in their stool?  The dietician who followed us at the Montreal Children’s Hospital told us not to worry about blood that we could not see.  Will using a sophisitcated diagnostic tool like a guaiac card create more worry than necessary?

If there are any physicians, nurses, dieticians or other health professionals who are familiar with MSPI-realted GI bleeding, your perspective on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

Amazon Book Suggestion of the Day: Green Crafts for Kids

Posted on by
Reply

What better way to encourage children to be creative than with fun ideas for traditional crafts using natural, recycled, and found materials? “Green Crafts for Children” by Emma Hardy has four chapters, each focusing on a different organic craft. The Salt Dough chapter shows how simple it is to mix flour, water and salt to design beads, decorations, and homemade colored play dough. The Paper chapter has decoupage and papier-mache ideas to make bowls, a dollhouse, and masks that kids will love to paint. Natural Treasures makes use of everyday items such as shells, pine cones, and stones, and transforms them into boats, animals, and even a board game. Finally, in the Fabric and Wool chapter, use up fabric scraps or old clothes to design glove creatures and create your own felt and friendship bracelets. With 35 projects, each with clear step-by-step instructions, kids will forget about the computer and love to play in the same way grandma and grandpa did. *A book that taps into the trend for environmentally friendly ways for children to play. *Cute and cool ideas for boys and girls–boats, beads, masks, brooches, and much more.

UNDECLARED MILK IN KRUMBLEEZ BRAND SPROUTED BUCKWHEAT, CHOC.-GINGER DAIRY-FREE COOKIES

Posted on by
1

ALLERGY ALERT – UNDECLARED MILK IN KRUMBLEEZ BRAND SPROUTED BUCKWHEAT, CHOC.-GINGER DAIRY-FREE COOKIES

OTTAWA, October 2, 2009 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Foods Alive are warning people with allergies to milk not to consume Krumbleez brand Sprouted Buckwheat, Choc.-Ginger dairy-free Cookies.  The affected product contains milk which is not declared on the label.

The affected product, Krumbleez brand Sprouted Buckwheat, Choc.-Ginger Cookies are sold in 190 g bags.  This product has been distributed in British Columbia and Alberta.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.

Consumption of this product may cause a serious or life-threatening reaction in persons with allergies to milk.

The manufacturer, Foods Alive, of Grindrod, B.C., is voluntarily recalling the affected product from the marketplace.  The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.

For more information, consumers and industry can call one of the following numbers:
Foods Alive at (250) 838-2005;

CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).

For information on milk, one of the nine most common food allergens, visit the Food Allergens web page at: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/labeti/allerg/milklaite.shtml

For information on receiving recalls by e-mail, or for other food safety facts, visit our web site at www.inspection.gc.ca.