Intro/Reflux

August 7, 2008

Welcome! You have come to the right place.

This sounds more like colic, and he should start growing out of it. When my

daughter was colicky (from 4 weeks to 4 month) she would scream every night from

6 until 11. She would stop screaming when I fed her (breastfed), and sometimes

when we massaged her tummy. Weak chamomile tea helped some, sometimes. I also

did the elimination diet; for a couple of weeks I ate rice and apples; diet did

not seem to be help or hurt. Hylands colic drops help some (not mine, though I

swear by the teething tabs).

This really will pass!

Robin

“I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food.” –W. C. Fields

--- On Thu, 8/7/08, Elena <elena.forums wrote:

Elena <elena.forums

Intro/Reflux

Thursday, August 7, 2008, 5:00 AM

Hi,

I'm new here and I wanted to do a quick intro and ask a question.

We are a family of 3 from Austin, TX. Our son Zaya is 4 months old, home-born,

exclusively breastfed, hopefully vegetarian to be. It's up for him to decide. My

husband is

a vegertarian (lacto ovo) and I used to be a vegetarian before I got pregnant,

but couldn't

maintain a healthy diet without eating meat once I got pregnant. I was so hungry

all the

time and too tired to cook anything. And I'm not the one who lives on pastas and

frozen

dinners.

Anyway, I have a couple of questions.

Zaya has got an awful reflux (silent, doesn't spit up much, but is in a lot of

pain from acid),

so far we've tried everything to try to fix it. From the basics (proper

positioning, burping

etc) to the more obscure like chiropractic and cranio-sacral adjustments and

many in

between. Of course I've tried the elim diet - eating nothing but chicken, rice

and veggies

for a few weeks to eliminate any kind of food sensitivities. So far it hadn't

made a tiniest

bit of difference. I was wondering if there any babies out there who are/were

breasfed by

veg moms and still had reflux?

I would be willing to go back to the veg diet at this point, but I just have no

idea what I

would eat and where I would ever get my protein from. I try to stay away from

dairy and

gluten, beans make him gassy (even properly soaked and prepared), I don't eat

soy or soy

products or anything processed/fake/ packaged/ frozen. That leaves me with

fruits,

veggies, nuts, mushrooms, some grains like rice and buckwheat etc. What else???

Any

suggestions? ?? Can you sustain a baby on diet like that?

Thanks,

Elena

August 8, 2008

Hi Elena,

Welcome! I think you and your family will love this list! I have two

bits of good news for you!! (1) Yes your baby can be healthy, healthy,

healthy on a vegetarian diet - and with you being a nursing vegetarian

mommy! And (2) you may not have to avoid beans for protein since that

may not be what's making your baby gassy! Both of these bits negate

myths that modern, western medicine tells us and which most of our

society believes. :-)

I've been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for almost 20 years now, and had a very

healthy pregnancy on a vegetarian diet and still nurse our

3-3/4-year-old, who is also vegetarian. We're both very healthy. It's

not hard at all to be healthy on a vegetarian/vegan diet - pregnant, not

pregnant, nursing, child, adult, etc. Our family doc even says that our

family is healthier than hers since we are vegetarians and they aren't.

If you're really concerned, you can take prenatal vitamins while you

nurse, and make sure you eat a balanced diet - but the baby will get

what it needs from the milk, and you will get what's left, from my

understanding. What I've read is that the baby won't suffer even if

your diet is abhorrent (think starving, no nutritional foods, etc.),

your body is the one that will suffer, but a good balanced diet with

vitamin supplements if you feel necessary, should keep you both

healthier than most meat eaters - no suffering necessary. :-)

Another thing I just recently learned is that the food you eat can't

make your baby gassy - if you eat gassy foods, it's handled by your

digestive system, and if the baby gets gassy, it's due to something

going on in their digestive system, not yours. The exception is if the

baby is intolerant of something that does go through breastmilk like

lactose or highly allergenic foods - then it's an allergenic response

and not a gassy food response. So, maybe your baby is allergic to

beans, or maybe it's a coincidence - like maybe you ate an allergenic

food the same day as the beans, and that's what bothered him? I haven't

checked it out, but hear that kellymom.com has info on this.

As far as protein - we eat beans, lentils, split peas, nuts, seeds, nut

butters, soy milk, tofu, edamame, eggs, dairy, grains and some processed

proteins (veggie burgers and dogs, veggie bacon, etc. - I know, they're

not ideal, but we still eat them sometimes). Also, if you're avoiding

soy because of any of the recent stories about soy dangers, you could

check the archives on this list for info on why soy is not dangerous

afterall. A doctor on another list I'm on posted a study about how flax

seeds actually have more phytoestrogens than soy does - the big thing

we've been warned about (by anti-vegetarian groups). But whatever your

reasons, by all means, go with what feels right for you! Another thing

you can do is get a vegan protein powder and make smoothies or mix into

oatmeal or something. We really don't need as much protein as the USDA

recommends - and Americans eat far too much protein anyway. You'd be

surprised at how little we need.

And by the way, I think you're doing a lovely job with your alternative

treatments, too - I don't think chiropractic or cranio-sacral are at all

obscure (at least not here in CA). We use chiro as our primary medical

intervention, and very rarely go to our family doc - though do believe

there is a time and place for an MD.

Best of luck with your son! The reflux must just be so hard to deal

with! Take care and relax - it'll help you both! :-) Keep us updated

- I'm sure lots of folks will have wonderful advice for you here!

Lorraine

On

Behalf Of Elena

Thursday, August 07, 2008 3:01 AM

Intro/Reflux

Hi,

I'm new here and I wanted to do a quick intro and ask a question.

We are a family of 3 from Austin, TX. Our son Zaya is 4 months old,

home-born,

exclusively breastfed, hopefully vegetarian to be. It's up for him to

decide. My husband is

a vegertarian (lacto ovo) and I used to be a vegetarian before I got

pregnant, but couldn't

maintain a healthy diet without eating meat once I got pregnant. I was

so hungry all the

time and too tired to cook anything. And I'm not the one who lives on

pastas and frozen

dinners.

Anyway, I have a couple of questions.

Zaya has got an awful reflux (silent, doesn't spit up much, but is in a

lot of pain from acid),

so far we've tried everything to try to fix it. From the basics (proper

positioning, burping

etc) to the more obscure like chiropractic and cranio-sacral adjustments

and many in

between. Of course I've tried the elim diet - eating nothing but

chicken, rice and veggies

for a few weeks to eliminate any kind of food sensitivities. So far it

hadn't made a tiniest

bit of difference. I was wondering if there any babies out there who

are/were breasfed by

veg moms and still had reflux?

I would be willing to go back to the veg diet at this point, but I just

have no idea what I

would eat and where I would ever get my protein from. I try to stay away

from dairy and

gluten, beans make him gassy (even properly soaked and prepared), I

don't eat soy or soy

products or anything processed/fake/packaged/frozen. That leaves me with

fruits,

veggies, nuts, mushrooms, some grains like rice and buckwheat etc. What

else??? Any

suggestions??? Can you sustain a baby on diet like that?

Thanks,

Elena

August 8, 2008

I second the mommy who said to put the baby to sleep on his tummy. I am an

" older " mommy. I had my first baby at 20, and my last at 48. When I raised my

older ones, ALL babies slept on their tummies. I bought into the " back to

sleep " thing when I started my " second family " in 1998, and the first two kids

from this marriage slept on their backs mostly, without incident. But when I

gave birth to my last child, the midwife actually put her down on her tummy

after her birth, to rest while she was taking care of me. I noticed this, and

something " clicked " , and from then on, Abby slept on her tummy, peacefully, as

her older siblings had done years ago.

I personally don't buy into tummy sleeping as a cause of SIDS, obviously.

And it can help soothe a fussy little one.

As to the beans issue, if you feel they do bother your baby, take a Beano

capsule with your meal. This helps break down the enzymes or something. If the

beans are broken down better in your system, they will (I think) bother the

baby less.

And remember--even fruits and veggies have protein. As long as you are NOT

consuming dairy, and using plant based sources for calcium, you will have more

than adequate calcium AND protein levels, without even trying. Marilyn

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Read reviews on AOL Autos.

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August 8, 2008

If you are not ready or willing to do the stomach, just putting the mattress at

an incline can help. The problem can be similar to problems adults have with

acid reflux.

Laura Ballinger Morales

Jacqueline Bodnar <jb

Thursday, August 7, 2008 1:11:03 PM

RE: Intro/Reflux

Elena,

My son also had reflux. I can tell you that babies with reflux can't

sleep well on their backs. I know all the " scientific evidence " at this

point says to put babies on their backs (and prior to that it was always

put them on their stomachs and prior to that it made no difference). For

the first couple of months I followed the " back " sleeping advice to his

and my misery. At the urging of my sister (who has 6 kids and started

having them 18 years ago when the advice was to put them to sleep on

their belly) to put him on his belly to sleep I finally gave in and

listened to her. All children had always slept on their stomach's, even

when the medical community changed it's recommendation. I hesitated

because " all the experts " said otherwise. But I was up night after night

with a miserable baby. One night I could take no more and I put him to

sleep on his stomach. He slept through that night for the first time

ever, all the way until morning (with me frequently checking on him

because I wanted to make sure he was okay) and he has slept through the

night ever since. Since the condition was the worst at night (because

when a baby lays on it's back it makes the acid rush to their throat,

causing a burning sensation), it was mostly taken care of. Beyond that I

would not lay him down right after eating, rather I'd sit him in the

bouncer or something like that.

By the way, I also didn't use blankets in the baby crib, only sleep

sacks - so no worries of blanket problems.

I was not able to breastfeed, so I don't know that what you are eating

is actually to blame for his reflux. Now he just turned two in June and

is a happy healthy vegetarian kid since conception. :-)

Jacqueline

August 8, 2008

I don't have a lot of info about this, since we thankfully didn't have any

reflux issues, but there is some talk " out there " about the back to sleep

campaign being a cover up for vaccine accidents - that the incidence of SIDS has

increased with the rise in the number of recommended vaccines beofre the age of

2. We have always co-slept and my daughter slept (sleeps) mostly on her side,

with her head in my armpit. James Mc Kenna, prominent Mother-Baby sleep

researcher, suggests that baby's breathing and sleep cycles are regulated by

sleeping right next to mama. Maybe you could try letting baby sleep on their

belly next to you? (Usual disclaimer about not being overtired or

intoxicated). It is also worth saying that some babies' digestion just takes

longer to mature. As long as baby's only symptom is reflux, and there are no

signs of an allergic reaction to something in your diet (foul smelling, green or

mucousy stools), your BM is the best

food for baby. Offering smaller feedings more frequently may help, as well as

making sure one breast is completely drained, so that baby gets the high-fat

hind milk, before offering the other breast. You can offer one breast for each

feeding in a 3 or 4 hour period to maximize the high fat milk (which stays down

easier), but if you feel more than one letdown in this time, it may help to pump

the watery foremilk for a few minutes to get to the creamy stuff that might

settle better. Cranio sacral therapy is a great " alternative " for a variety of

things, and has helped my daughter with sleep and digestive issues. I'm sure I

don't have to tell you, but the pediatrician may not be the best source of info

in this situation. If breasfeeding is important to you, maybe a lactation

consult or a LLL meeting will help reassure you that you most certainly can

raise a happy healthy vegetarian baby, and your milk is the best source of

nutrition for at

least the first year! I hope you find something that works for you!

Liz

" sahmomof8 " <sahmomof8

Friday, August 8, 2008 8:09:45 AM

Re: Intro/Reflux