so long story short, our little girl has been extra fussy, especially during feedings. I would nurse her and she would stop around 5 - 6 minutes and then refuse to eat more. This has been going on for the past couple of weeks but has been fussy all along.
We went to the Gastroenterologist today and apparently there was a trace of blood in her stool after they did a test. It turns out that she's allergic to Milk Protein, which means that she's allergic to my milk.
That was tough to hear. So what were the options?? Put her on a very expensive formula (similac allementum) which is for babies who are allergic to Milk proteins. I told the doc that I cut out dairy and he said that it wouldn't help much and there could be a possibility that she's allergic to something entirely different than cow's milk.
So pretty much 1 option. Put her on formula. Gasp. Not what I wanted for at least 6 months. The inconvenience, the expense, the lack of bonding... They mentioned they were doing a study with infants that had the same allergy. Pretty much 1 out of 10 babies are allergic to Milk Protein and what's been done in the past was that they were put on this formula for a full year and then the child would go back to a normal formula. Well, guess how much 1 can costs? Approximately 40 bucks. And a baby goes through 16 cans a month! Cha Ching! So the study that they are attempting to do is to have the child on this formula for only 6 months and then they would return to the original type of feeding that caused the allergy, which in this case is my breast milk.
So the doctor was explaining to me that Jocelyn could be a part of this study and be monitored throughout the 6 months. At first, I was very hesitant bc I didn't want her to be part of a laboratory experiment. After hearing all what was entailed in the study, it wasn't bad at all. They would provide the formula (so no cost for us) and every week we would need to send in a stool test to see if there is any traces of blood. And of course we would go for visits every month. I called Nelson and the doctor explained it to him over the phone. And we both decided that it's best to go with the study just because she will get special treatment and be monitored closely.
In the meantime, I am going to continue to pump. I have milk in the freezer already and since I can't breastfeed her, I will pump and attempt to use it after 6 months. The study will continue after then because we will still have to see if she's allergic to Milk protein. I still will have a dairy free diet just because I feel like that may have something to do with it.
I knew something was up. Moral of this story, always trust your instinct. A mother's instinct can never be wrong :)
So far, she's had 2 bottles of the formula. It smells like dried cat food. Gross. It's tough for the first 5 minutes for her. She knows it's different so she cries. I told her that I felt the same way! After a few moments, she ended drinking the full bottles without any problem. I've already noticed a difference in her behavior. She's a lot less squirmy and a lot more comfortable and a lot more cuddly!
hugs
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