>"We had so many food intolerance issues, which I thought I had finally
>worked out over the time period 3 - 8 weeks. She's definitely
>sensitive to any dairy, nuts, peanuts, or gluten (wheat, oats, etc) in
>my diet,

Has this mum been trying to do this alone, or has she a *good*
allergist/dietitian working with her? This is too hard to try to do
it all herself.

I agree with others that ruling out CF is a good idea first, but if
it truly is severe food allergies, she needs an expert in this field
and a plan to do a complete elimination diet. This is where she
eliminates all known allergenic foods *plus* any for which there is a
suggestion of problems in her family. Then she challenges with each.
This is a laborious process and, especially where a baby is involved,
she needs good advice as to balancing her nutritional needs during
this process.

It is not easy, but the long-term prospects for this baby are much
better if she can find out what are the problem foods are and
eliminate them and keep breastfeeding than taking the quick-fix of
weaning to hypoallergenic formula. In some cases, where the mother is
also showing symptoms of allergy or intolerance, one option is to
*temporarily* use hypoallergenic formula (partially or fully) while
the mother undergoes dietary investigation. In this way, the baby's
system may get a chance to recover more quickly, eg if the allergic
reaction is causing secondary lactose intolerance. (This sounds quite
likely if this baby is having frequent green, gassy, mucousy
diarrhoea.)
>
>She's also had 2 nasty 1 month long colds, I think, largely courtesy of
>her sister. Whenever she gets a cold, she also gets the green mucusy
>diarrhea.

The 'colds' may also be symptoms of allergy/intolerance and/or a sign
that the immune system is being overwhelmed and is struggling to
fight off infections.

> As of her 4mo visit, she still had
>the diarrhea, but seemed happy and well. I was concerned, though,
>because from 3mo to 4mo she gained no weight at all --- went from 13
>lbs 7 oz clothed to 13 lbs 4oz unclothed. During the worst of the food
>strike, she was 13 lbs 4 oz clothed.

This can be typical for severe food allergy. The number of nappies
can be normal or more, yet no weight gain. The gut is so damaged and
stressed that it can't absorb nutrients properly.

Best of luck to this mum in finding someone who can truly help her
work all this out.
******************************************************************
Joy Anderson B.Sc. Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. IBCLC
Nursing Mothers' Association of Australia Breastfeeding Counsellor
Perth, Western Australia.   mailto:[log in to unmask]
******************************************************************

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