Hi to everyone,

     I just wanted to respond to the reference to a sensitivity that a baby
has to mom's dairy intake as being "trendy", implying that somehow it is being
overused as an excuse.  I know it has been much more widely addressed in
recent years but, I feel, for good reason.  I have been in this field for a
lot of years, first as a LLLL for 12 years in Paducah, KY (which you in the
States may have heard mentioned in the news lately), then as an RN and IBCLC.
I have since moved and I have sure seen this field "grow up" and am very proud
of the blossoming respect and acknowledgment we are getting.  When I had my
four children (who are 20,18,14, and 12) we heard nothing of this sensitivity
to dairy and I had 3 fussy babies.  But, then no. 4 came along and she cried
for 2 and a half months straight.  She had a stuffy nose all the time (which
reminded me of my own allergies at the time), lots of gastric pain, facial
"acne" as well as other symptoms, just generally a miserable little girl!  She
and I slept in a rocker/recliner for most of that time so that we wouldn't
disturb anyone else and the movement seemed to soothe her.  I also used a
swing sometimes at night-which I normally wouldn't do-  because it calmed her
down and let me get snatches of sleep for 15-20 minutes at a time.  I learned
to be creative in calming her and was grateful when my husband came home and
could take her and walk her for awhile.   It made me very upset because, as my
sister aptly put it when she came to visit, "you can tell she doesn't WANT to
cry" and whatever I did could only help temporarily.  She hurt.  That was
obvious.  I had a friend who worked at the hospital and was a newly certified
IBCLC and she told me she thought it was a dairy allergy.  My doctor, who is
truly very supportive of bf and remains a friend, didn't believe it could
happen, so though we tried cutting out dairy, we gave up on the idea due to
his influence.  We went back to trying because we had to do something!  I want
you to know that it took 2 full weeks for every one of her symptoms to
disappear, but they ALL did!  She became the smiliest of all my children!  In
fact people often commented on this!  I always said it was because she had
known such pain the first few months that she was happy to just feel pain-
free.   You have to watch everything in such cases.  I had Ranch-Style Doritos
and I will attest to the fact that they have REAL sour cream in them!!!   When
she was about 11 months or so, she could tolerate dairy in my diet again and
has had it without difficulty until she was 11 yo.  She is now lactose
intolerant.  I have since discovered that I do have a family hx of milk
allergy that wasn't recognized at the time.
     IMHO, I think we can chalk some of  the "colic" we all hear so much
about, up to too much dairy in mom's diet and I caution mom's about this.
Please don't blow off this explanation but offer it as a possibility and tell
moms that it takes up to 2 full weeks for all symptoms to disappear.  Remember
"cows don't have to drink milk to make milk and people don't either!" Calcium
supplements are a fine way to obtain the needed calcium.

Here's to believing we can all benefit from our collective experience and
wisdom:)
Marsha Puckett RN IBCLC
Indpls, IN