Fleur,

I would find it helpful to speak with the CST and naturopath. I agree
with Del--you may have gathered much more info than we see in the mom's
email, but what is in the email raises far more questions than it
answers. 



My first response, of course, is that every single one of my babies
would have been in a GI office if this guy were correct, since none of
them were on solids at all until 9 months-- I suspect the same would be
true for many on this list. I don't know, but it has never been my
experience that any GI doc has ever helped a baby with allergies or
other similar GI problems. I hope Jen Stevens is reading this and posts.



Anyway, I do agree that one cannot fully rely on blood testing for
allergies, but the allergy tests performed by naturopaths tend to be
far more accurate than those performed by MDs in pointing out
sensitivities. I have seen oddball things like pineapple turn up on
those tests and mom might never have figured it out. 



Still, I'd want a more thorough history. Pregnancy history, birth
story, nutritional profile while pregnant and before elimination of
foods, any and all supplements or meds ingested, mom's gut health (you
need to ask probing questions, since many moms think constipation is
normal or using stool softeners is normal or dismiss symptoms of celiac
or IBS, etc). Does mom really know what it means to eliminate a food
(not reduce it) and does she know where hidden ingredients may be found
and for how long she must eliminate? Many moms who say they "eliminated
dairy" for example, just cut down on cow milk products and never really
eliminated them at all.  Also, as someone mentioned,
I see no gluten elimination which would be on top of my list BEFORE
ever feeding it to the baby. Corn is also a common allergen not
mentioned. Again, it isn't only about elimination--how healthy is her
gut? Even many naturopaths don't address healing the mother's gut,
which, IMO is essential. 



It almost sounds like the
naturopath is describing either a tongue-tie or other structural
problems and doesn't know the right context in which to put her
observations.  I would evaluate for tongue-tie first, then other mechanical problems. Look at the baby at breast,
watch for any feeding compensations. What is the history of
feeding--early difficulties, milk supply problems (too much, too fast,
too little). If baby has had bottle or pacifier, how did he react to
them? As
mentioned, sounds
like refluxing, but IMO reflux is just a symptom of poor gut function
which may be mechanical or biochemical. Was this baby always
exclusively bf? I would not give up on CST, but the person needs to
know babies and results will not be permanent if there is an untreated
tongue-tie or untreated allergies. Note mom's older child started
solids at almost a year--common in kids with sensitivities. 



A couple of points of confusion:

If this guy is an expert, how did he come to imagine that human milk is
deficient in fiber? Also, how does he not know that infants do not
naturally begin solids be eating pureed food shoveled in on a spoon?
Isn't he concerned about causing an eating disorder? Isn't he concerned
about causing premature weaning? Umm.. and am I really terribly
ignorant or am I only one who wonders why all those AF babies aren't
pooping like crazy with all the desitin constantly applied to their
bums??!!





 






Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA


Intuitive Parenting Network LLC

 

From Fleur:

"He checked her belly and told me that she has a LOT of air in there, and that the pressure in her abdomen is most likely what is causing the regurgitation (it's easier for the stomach contents to go up rather than down into the high-pressure digestive
tract). He said he's seen this many times before, and that if continue
to exclusively breastfeed her, that she'll have to go on stool softeners in her second year because the constipation will get very severe by then, and in fact that she might need softeners just the same, even if do all he tells me to.  This is all being caused by her 'lazy' digestive tract, and that she needs more fibre in her diet.  He actually told me that breastmilk is binding, and that kids with digestive systems like her's just need more fibre to get things moving well, and keep them moving.  No diagnostic tests for reflux have been done, and I'm loathe to do them any how because they are so invasive.  The Dr. was just so positive that this is a pressure issue rather than a reflux problem. His suggestions: 1.  Get her eating oat and barley cereal ASAP.  5 days (mornings) of one, then 5 days of the other, then 5 days of mixed, then switch between them every day. 2.  Once 15 days of cereal have been given, start with 5 days each of squash, beans, and peas at lunch. 3.  Get her drinking water from a bottle or cup ASAP 4.  Every diaper change, apply zincofax/desitin to her anus to help stimulate bowel movements. 5.  Limit breastfeeding to 4-5 feeds per 24 hr day, and only 10 min. at a time (this just seems crazy to me). 6.  ABSOLUTELY NO rice, sweet potato or carrots, as these are binding.  (I had mentioned that I started my son on sweet potato at 11.5 months as his first food). I have tried eliminating dairy, soy, eggs, garlic and other spices from my diet (I eat no shellfish or nuts either), with no apparent relief for baby. Our naturopath took some blood from her for allergy testing.  I've been taking
fish oil and flax seed oil to boost the fat content of my milk for her,
but haven't given her anything but breast milk directly."
________________________________________________________________________
Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
Mail all commands to [log in to unmask]
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask])
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask])
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]