We think we have solved Andrew’s fussiness, at least for now! Soy seems to be the answer!We have switched Andrew to soy formula and I am trying to cut all or at least most dairy out of my diet so that he can still have breast milk. He seems to have made an instant turn around in his personality and it’s almost a miracle.
I was at my wits end, and so was Zac dealing with Andrew. He is a great kid and we love him so much but we could not stand the constant screaming anymore. Everyday seemed to get worse and worse. I honestly needed a break from him because it was so stressful dealing day in and day out with him. He wasn’t sleeping, he wouldn’t take a bottle and cried all of the time at home.
Andrew has always been fussy, but I thought it was getting better when we got his reflux diagnosed and he was put on medication. He seemed to be doing so much better taking bottles, sleeping more and had a more pleasant disposition. This all took a turn for the worse around 5 months.
In the end of January things began to get worse for us. For weeks, none of us got any sleep at all, as Andrew was up all night, every hour. He also was not drinking much of his bottles anymore; he would cry and push them away. He would still be crying after he had been changed, fed and even after napping. It didn’t matter what anyone did, he was upset. We knew that something had to be wrong, but we didn’t know what.
When Andrew’s 6 month appointment came around we asked about his medicine to make sure it was still working for him. The doctor adjusted his dosage for his weight and said that it should work better for him and needed to be adjusted as he got bigger. We didn’t think that the new dosage was doing anything for him, so we knew we still needed to do something else.
So, I decided to describe all of Andrew’s current problems in a post on an August 2008 Baby board on BabyCenter. I love BabyCenter because there are so many other mothers out there who are willing to give suggestions to any question that you could ever have. I immediately got responses from mothers who had similar problems with their children. I also asked friends of mine who had babies and found out a few of them had similar issues. Everyone was suggesting that Andrew may have a milk intolerance or sensitivity. Apparently these issues can peak around 5-6 months, which puts us in the right time frame. The main suggestion is to eliminate all dairy from my diet if I’m going to continue to pump and to switch him to soy formula.
We gave the soy formula a try 2 nights ago and he has made a huge turn around. I have read a lot of stories that babies who have dairy issues change almost instantly once they are given soy, but I did not believe it till I saw it! Zac and I are both amazed. We are going to continue giving soy and talk to the doctor about it, and see when we should start to introduce milk again. I have read that it is suggested to try again after a year. So, that is our plan for now! We have not had him tested yet for an allergy, but we are thinking that it’s not an allergy, just intolerance at this point.
On another note, here are some V-day pics for all to enjoy!
"In my special Mickey V-Day outfit!"
"What, I thought these were for me?"
"Look, I'm standing with no help!!!"
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