Mother’s diet can mean a lot to a breastfeeding baby. Though normally what the mother has or takes is not in anyway related to the baby’s symptoms, it is not the same always. Mother’s feed has a significant influence on a baby’s indigestion or food allergy or gastrointestinal symptoms. This is because the allergens are passed on through the mother’s milk and the baby is just at the receptive end. This sets off a series of symptoms including eczema, rashes and diarrhea. The only cure out of this rut is to cleanse the mother’s diet off allergens.
Fussiness in babies: Fussiness is common in babies. Almost all normal babies are fussy at some point of feeding. But constant fussiness can indicate a problem like a gastrointestinal disorder or a food allergy like lactose intolerance. However, mothers will mostly likely notice other symptoms in case of such kind of conditions and this article will detail you on the same:
1. Abnormal fussiness: If your baby is abnormally fussy, it will resort to constant spitting, vomiting, colic or rashes or persistent congestion. If fussiness can be calmed with nursing or adequate care, then it is probably not food-related.
2. Problem-foods: If your baby is allergic to particular foods (like cow’s milk), it will be unnatural in its behavior. It will express constant discomfort, will cry inconsolably, throw up everything fed, wake up suddenly from sleep, will never sleep etc. These symptoms indicate that the problem is with the food and particularly, the mother’s diet. If you suspect it is food allergy, proceed to the next step.
3. Food allergy symptoms: Another way to confirm that it is lactose intolerance or food allergy is to check the history of allergies in your family. If one of the parents is allergic to milk or some other food, it is likely that the baby too is allergic. If, on the other hand, there is no one who is allergic to milk or dairy products, it is possible that the baby is experiencing lactose malabsorption/overload or maybe, some other serious problem. In case of food allergies that have a family history, you need to watch out for signs like these – rashes, hives, eczema, sore bottom, dry skin,wheezing, congestion, cold-like symptoms, red eyes, itchiness in eyes, ear infections, irritability, excessive fussiness, colic, intestinal upsets, vomiting, constipation and diarrhea.
4. Cow’s milk allergy: One of the most common cases of food allergy in babies is caused by lactose intolerance. The mother may not be lactose intolerant, but the baby could be. Lactose intolerance can actually be a case of lactose malabsorption too. In the latter, the baby may not produce enough lactase to digest all the ingested lactose. The mother’s milk contains the maximum lactose and hence, an imbalanced way of feeding (foremilk/hindmilk imbalance) can lead to lactose intolerance/overload/malabsorption in babies. Gassiness or fussiness is especially a sign of cow’s milk allergy.
5. Check for lactose intolerance: Say you have diagnosed that it is the excessive amount of dairy in your food that is causing the symptoms in your baby. What do you do next? Check if the baby is reacting because of the lactose in the milk. If the baby is lactose intolerant, symptoms will only be gastrointestinal and will be characterized by green stools, acute diarrhea, vomiting, excessive burps etc. If it is milk protein allergy, the symptoms will skin related and gastrointestinal.
How to reduce fussiness? Eliminate milk and dairy products from your diet for at least 2 to 3 weeks. It will take about 10 days for your body to cleanse the dairy in breast milk and another 10 days for the baby be cleared off dairy or milk elements. When dairy is off both your systems, you can see relief in the symptoms. If the symptoms subside, then be assured that it is lactose intolerance or milk allergy. If the symptoms don’t subside, then it can be a case of something else. Contact your doctor immediately.
