The mother started eliminating dairy before she
>called me.   She was using some cream cheese on a bagel for breaskfast or
milk
>in cereal, an occasional yoghurt. Not a lot of cheese.  Bland diet.

Mardrey, I was thinking food sensitivities as I read this post.  When you
said she "started eliminating dairy before she called me," did you mean
that the foods in the next sentence were in her diet *before* she began the
elimination?  Has she totally eliminated the dairy--reading labels?  For
how long?  It has been my experience that what you are describing reflects
a desire to feed but baby can smell or taste that "something in here is not
good for me." And even a "bit" of dairy (or other offending food) can
perpetuate the reaction.

Does baby exhibit colic symptoms, painful gas?

There could be other food sensitivies.  One mom whom I worked with totally
eliminated dairy and there was improvement, but not full. She was
substituting a lot of soy in the absence of the dairy.  When she eliminated
it too, baby stopped the behavior.

With food eliminations, they have to be complete and be given at least a
week, sometimes longer, to show effect.  Often moms will tell me that they
have eliminated dairy, but on closer examination they are still putting
cream in their coffee, or just a little on their cereal, or their salad
dressing has a bit of cheese, etc.

Certainly, not all babies reject the breast when there is a food
sensitivity.  Some want to be on the breast all of the time.  But I see a
lot of babies who react as you have described.

Patricia Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee
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