Not colic...lactose intolerant, and OPEN FORUM

[blondie03]

Hi!  I wrote last week about my 4 month old fussy baby girl.  The doctor thought she was just colicky, but since I've taken the lactose out of my diet, she's like a different baby.  It's only been a week since I've given up all dairy products and they say that it really takes about two weeks to get it all out of your system, but my husband and I can already tell a huge difference.  I was about to give up on breast feeding and switch to formula because I thought there was something wrong with my milk.  I'm so glad that we found the answer.  THanks for all the advise.    

The other thing that has changed her, is we starting giving her some solids.  She seemed to be wanting to nurse more often the last several weeks and has been really interested in our food when we eat.  We gave it a try and she LOVES it!!!!  We stared with some cereal, then some fruit, and yesterday she had sweet potatoes.  She is like a little bird when she's eating.  Anyone else out there start their baby on solids before the 4 month mark?  She was actually only 3 1/2 months when we started.  We've only been fedding her 1/2 a jar once a day, until today, I fed her a 1/2 jar this morning, and will feed her the other half tonight.  Did we start too early?

Amanda :)

[bmidge]

I'm a grandmother.  When our babies were little we began them on cereal when they were 10 days old.  I always thought the child was more satisfied and slept better at night.  We kept them on cereal for quite some time and it was watered down with their milk. They strongly disapprove of that now.  I think the biggest concern would be not to start your child off on too may different foods at one time.  Their little systems don't adjust well to change.  Also, by starting your child out slowly on different foods, you are able to see if one food upsets your child (causes tummy aches, diarrhea, constipation, etc).  Also, sometimes by starting a baby on the sweet foods like fruit and custards, they prefer that over the veggies and often won't take the veggies after exposed to the fruits.  Like I said, I'm not a new mother.  I'm mother to four and granny to three and one on the way!

[Kassimom]

I don't think you have done anything wrong by starting her out at 3.5 months. You have to listen to your babies cues and it seems that she was giving you all the clues you needed to make an informed decision on starting her on solids.

Just remember when she is full she is full, and don't try to make her eat more than she wants. I was just reading a magazine article about this very issue and it said that starting out, you should only give your baby about a tablespoon of food per meal. That doesn't seem like much but you haev to remember that until now, her little tummy has ONLY had breastmilk in it.

Also, I wanted to commend you for sticking to breastfeeding!! Good for you for perservering even with such difficlut obstacles!

[Niki73]

As I commented before that was what was wrong with my daughter too and yes they are like night and day after figuring out they were lactose intolerant...I started my daughter on solids at 3 1/2 months also...rice cereal first and then some fruits and vegetables. You will have to be a label reader too since your daughter is lactose intolerant. At one years old my daughter developed a milk allergy so the lactose free milk no longer worked we had to switch to soy....I know what you mean about them wanting to eat our food...I have a tough time now because a lot of the foods my husband and I eat have the milk protein in it and she can't have it.....good luck.