We had a really rough weekend but Jade is doing MUCH better.
Sunday she hardly nursed at all, and when she finally did nurse fully, that evening, she ended up throwing it all up, which lead to me finally breaking down and crying about all of this (which was probably long overdue, and a good thing).
So I put another call in to her doctor, and meanwhile, went back to the original full 1mL dose of Zantac, figuring when I talked to the doctor, we’d either change her dosage or switch meds, and figure out what to do for the evening, if she needed any more medication.
Well, upping the dosage back up to 1mL seemed to do the trick. She was like a new baby! Not only that, but I’m very much starting to suspect a milk protein allergy – due to the vomiting and the fact that her diapers had been on the greener side (sorry if that’s TMI). While I had been cutting out almost all dairy for the anti-Candida diet, I did have a little lapse when we went out to eat Saturday, and I’d been eating butter pretty much daily, as that was allowed on the diet. It didn’t occur to me that she might actually be allergic to dairy, and that *any* amount would actually make her sick.
It makes sense because I didn’t happen to have butter any this week, and she started to get better. I’m also considering a possible wheat allergy, because the only other thing that’s changed this week has been not eating my yeast-free bread, which has spelt (a form of wheat) in it. Once again, I was ok with the spelt because some anti-Candida diets allow it in moderation, but if she’s possibly allergic or sensitive to it, I am going to have to be more strict in the “no wheat” rule, and stick more to things like millet, buckwheat and other alternative grains/flours.
When I talked to the doctor, she said Jade can have a full 1mL dose of Zantac and then another .5mL in the evening, and to call her at the end of the week to let her know how she’s doing weight-wise.
Well, she’s been doing great since Monday! She still has a couple fussy times a day, but nothing anywhere close to when she was screaming and refusing to eat every time I tried to nurse. She’s nursing MUCH better, and consequently gaining weight. Previously, she had stayed at 10 pounds for over a week, which really had us worried, but since Monday, she’s gained over 2 oz! Not a huge amount, but much better than no weight gain.
I really, really think it’s a combination of food sensitivities and reflux (actually the food sensitivies could be causing the reflux), so I’m going to be even more strict about what I eat, especially when dining out, and then when I’m sure she’s totally passed the episode, I can begin to slowly add a little dairy to see if that’s it. Then I’ll wait another couple weeks and try a little wheat and see if she reacts to that.
Both foods being a possible issue makes perfect sense as I had a rather bad dairy allergy as an infant/child and I have a brother who was allergic to wheat.
Praise God that she’s feeling and eating better and I have a good idea what may be the issue.
Now if we could just get rid of this silly old thrush we’d be golden.
Please pray that her good humor and eating continue.
