Follow our dairy free journey (.)(.)

Just over one week in, on our dairy free journey. When Winn was just over 3 weeks old I went to the doctor and told him, I thought she had a cows milk protein allergy (CMPA) ....she was referred to Alder Hey as she had, poor weight gain, blood in her stools constant crying and back arching. 

When we arrived at Alder Hey I explained to the doctor that this is what I thought she had he disagreed. He said he thought she had reflux apparently CMPA is really rare in breastfed babies & she didn’t have “all the signs”. 

Anyway all the symptoms persisted and the crying the constant crying and no sleep for me or Winn ( we are very lucky Doll loves her sleep at night & in the afternoons). 

To cut a very long story short just shy of 15 weeks later we returned after weeks of poor weight gain, blood investigations (as in the earlier blogs I have mentioned about her siblings having congenital problems - which we were assured this baby would not have any) and visits to Alder Hey. 

With tears in my eyes I sat in the waiting room (waiting for the dreaded weigh in as we had be classed as failing to thrive).
But this time I was armed with a dirty nappy (because of the bloody stools & the fear of not being believed) and determined to get some answers.

There is no diagnostic test for CMPA it’s like a process of elimination so the doctor said try going dairy free. (Which is what I said when she was 3 weeks old .... I should of listened to my heart instead of causing her 15 weeks of agonising pain #guiltymama).

The journey begins ... doctor said I have to take calcium tablets as your requirements go up during breastfeeding around 1000mg is recommended! So the tablets are massive (chewable & they taste like chalk) but they are necessary to that is that!

I basically thought it will be easy just cutting milk, butter, cheese & chocolate out but actually dairy is in so many things it’s unture!! 

I started on the Friday night (had tea in my mums & went home... when I got up the next morning there was nothing I could eat!!) I am always starving in the morning after all the night feeds! 

My mum rang and said she was already in ASDA shopping for me.... she brought loads of food which was great but when I looked loads of the food was just gluten free - which is fab for people who have celiac disease (I don’t I’m just dairy free but you have to extra vigilant in the “free from isle” because not everything is what it looks).

After around 3 days of the dairy free diet I began to see a massive improvement in Winn << she has become a happy baby and she is sleeping well, in fact amazingly threw the night (to which one health visitor told me to wake her during in the night ... I haven’t followed that advice though, I will not be waking a 4.5 month old baby in the night).

Everything was going great she literally seemed like a different baby so chilled an happy ... in the first weigh in she put on 5oz, although still below the 0.4 percentile. Then I ordered chips an gravy from the chippy (who would think gravy has dairy products in it -I didn’t know this at the time)... that was a bad move! 

The old Winn was back screaming not sleeping not settling at all I though, the blood was back in her poop!! & back to feeling like a bad mama!! 

A few days on an we are back on track with another 4oz weight gain an just on the 0.4 percentile!!! 

I am obviously still a beginner in the dairy free game but here are my tips! It’s only been a week ... there will be more to come! 

Food places to eat:

Nando’s (Queens Square Liverpool)- they literally can’t be helpful enough they said there maybe a little delay in your food as we have to clean the grill before putting your food on!!

Revolution de Cuba (Albert Dock Liverpool) - really yummy food an wonderfully helpful to cater for my needs loads of dairy free choices too!!

Mc Donald’s (Switch Island)- maccies is maccies really!!

Places to avoid:

The local chippy -unless they know the exact ingredients that go into each meal.

KFC - I haven’t been but seen on forums that nearly everything has milk/dairy in.


For more on our dairy free journey follow us on instagram @thedrapergirls -#followourdairyfreejourney

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