If you’ve been reading my blog for the last couple of weeks, you know we’ve not been sleeping much. My infant has a dairy intolerance, and now possibly a soy intolerance as well. Ailey wakes up every 1.5 – 2 hours and I average about 4 hours of shut-eye myself. The lack of sleep has made me forgetful, cranky, moody, and miserable. Ailey doesn’t seem bothered by it much during the day, only at night does her constant smile turn upside down.
She sometimes cries inconsolably as if in pain and other wake ups she just wants to be held. I’ve tried Colic Calm and Gripe Water for her belly, Tylenol for teething, and stick to a routine bedtime schedule. She hasn’t had solids in over a week, for the fear that maybe her belly isn’t ready. We have done a bottle of breastmilk at night in case she is just hungry and I’m not producing enough filling milk. We’ve ruled out reflux and have Zantac just in case. Nothing has worked.
SO, I broke down and took her to the doctor’s yesterday to rule out a second ear infection … and ask for help. The pediatrician examined our little cherub and said she looks perfect – but went through a series of possible reasons for sleeplessness. The extent of her gassiness and slimy diaper explosion every morning at 9 am seemed to trigger an idea: what if Ailey is dairy AND soy intolerant? What if her eczema and itchy eyes are a sign that something else I’m eating is bothering her belly?
So here we are, Day 1, of dairy free soy free living. I discovered I can’t eat half of my pantry already and will be going to Sprouts this afternoon. My friends say the Whole 30/Paleo diets are dairy free and soy free, but unfortunately, a lot of vegetables make my IBS worse. This will be an adventure… all in the name of the cutest baby around: Ailey.
If doesn’t tolerate dairy stay away from soy! Pretty much the same thing. I work as an MA in a peds office and we always tell our parents if they suspect dairy, stay away from soy!! Hopefully this is the issue and she’s feeling better soon. Have you ruled out reflux? Any spit ups after eating? Arching her back in pain?
Ashley @ A Cute Angle // acutelifestyle.bligsoit,cin
You poor thing and poor Ailey! When my daughter was around 4 months old she began experiencing pretty horrible diarrhea. After an angonizing process of ruling out other possibilities we eliminated diary and it got deceptively better but she would still have flair up. So I then eliminated soy from my diet and on advice from a friend gluten. It was hard for sure but I guess the good news is that my band of options was so narrow I didn’t need to spend a lot of time debating what to have for dinner, haha! Thankfully, my daughter had completely outgrown both intolerances by 6 months old. Good luck to you!!
Ugh. My daughter hasn’t slept in months and is up every 1.5/2 hours all night too. I am beyond tired. She won’t eat solid food though and won’t drink from a cup/bottle so I have to take her to a therapist. I’m desperate for her to sleep (and eat real food). I hope this soy-free discovery works for you guys!
Good luck eliminating all that you need to and finding food to eat! You’re a rockstar mama!
Wow, that sounds so hard! Good luck with it. Hopefully it solves baby A’s problems.
Ugh, I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this. I had to cut soy out in 2015 because it irritates my arthritis (aka makes my immune system attack me more). If you ever want to talk about the soy-free life, I have a lot of experience with it!
I love your blog and read it often! I love the cook book Veganomicon, which has so many great recipes, many of which are soy free. The authors say it is an all purpose cook book with recipes they wish they had grown up with, and I would agree with this description!! It also, for the most part, has normal ingredients that are easy to find in any grocery store. The recipes are just amazing (my non-vegan friends and family all agree), and so if you have the time to cook at all (tough I am sure), I would highly recommend this book. Even though I am no longer a vegan (or even a vegetarian) this is still my favorite cook book, and I hope you might find some helpful options there. Good luck!