Duh! Probiotics

Update: Okay, I did find probiotics without whey, casein or soy! It seems to be helping, so if you're searching, they do exist!

I stopped at Wild Oats today to get some probiotics for Lily. She's had on and off diarrhea for so long, it's inevitable that her intestinal tract is suffering.

I stopped to buy infant probiotics, all four girls in tow. Quick trip in and out, all girls buckled in the car, when it dawned on me that I didn't check the ingredients. First ingredient: whey.

Back inside with all 4 girls to return the item. I checked all of the probiotics; there are some made with soy, but we're avoiding soy now as well. *sigh* With no alternative, I can only hope the change in diet is a huge help.

On that note, it's day 5 and she is sleeping SO WELL! Her poops are still green and mucousy, though, so it's possible I'll have to eliminate more from my diet. Next up is gluten and thank goodness my friend has much experience with this. I'm going to wait it out another 5 days before making that decision.

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Applesauce Muffins--no milk proteins or soy

PHOTO COMING SOON!

Applesauce Muffins

TOPPING:

2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 TBSP Olive Oil (more if needed)

BATTER:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup carrot puree (or butternut squash puree) (steam the veggies, then put in a blender)
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 large egg

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups

2. To make the topping, stir together the oats, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in the olive oil (or butter/margarine substitute--I couldn't use the butter substitute with soy, so I used olive oil)

3. To make the batter, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl . In a second bowl, mix the applesauce with the almond milk, vegetable puree, sugar, oil and egg. Add the flour mixture, stirring until just moistened. As in any muffin batter, do not overmix.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle with the topping. Bake until the topping is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the muffins, 18-20 minutes. Turn out the muffins to cool.

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Success! Day 3

Day 3 on the no-milk proteins and no-soy elimination diet. Already, baby Lily slept through the night! What a difference--she slept from 10:30 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. After 8 weeks (56 nights) of waking up all night, it is such a relief.

I hadn't realized how many products have milk proteins (casein, whey, milk) and soy (soy, soy lecithin, etc). It's a bit of a challenge avoiding such products, but now that I've had some sleep, I'm feeling pretty good about it!

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Wahh! No Dairy?!

I have a five month old baby. At about 8 weeks, she started sleeping 6-8 hour stretches at night. She did this for about another 8 weeks, then suddenly started waking again. I chalked it up to a growth spurt and didn't think anything of it.

Now almost eight weeks later, I'm coming to the realization that something is wrong. She is now getting up every two hours, often even every 1-1.5 hours. She's very fussy all the time and when she is calm, it's only for me. I thought perhaps it was just a personality issue.

Then I realized something: she has had a stuffy and runny nose for at least the last 8 weeks. I thought that it was a lingering virus but it seems so persistent. She also has bouts of green diarrhea and her BMs seem different than my first three. Her voice is often raspy and she sounds congested.

It hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday so I called a good friend who has a daughter with food allergies. She confirmed my fear: yep, sounds like a classic case of dairy intolerance. She told me a wealth of information so that I could make another trip to Whole Foods.

I feel like such a schmuck. I had my suspicions pretty early on that she might have some problem. She was getting really nasty gas and crying and fussing often. Not like colic--not a constant screaming--but she would definitely be in distress, upset, fussy, crying and painfully gassy. Looking back, it didn't really go away, it either just got a little better or I was used to it. [imagine a look of shame on my face right now]

It's now been 24 hours dairy free. My friend warned me that it could take awhile, or it could be very fast. She said with her daughter, it was only a day before she saw the difference and it was like she had a new baby. We seem to fall in the latter category as she already slept longer periods last night and has been napping calmly today. She hasn't been fussing and crying after eating like before (another "duh" feeling about not catching it).

I also cut out soy. It's common to have a soy allergy when there's a milk protein allergy. If things go well, I'll try adding soy and see how she reacts, but I want to wait a couple weeks.

Speaking of, I really have respect for those of you that have to cut out soy and milk products. It is really difficult to find even vegan products without soy! Luckily, we have a few great natural food stores nearby so I have a decent selection.

It's not inexpensive though!! It is harder on the budget, but imagine the expense of formula without soy or milk proteins--I've heard it's by prescription and extremely expensive.

Dairy and soy free recipes to follow! I made two today that are great.

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