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a few weeks ago, ava and luke (2) both went to the doctor (my new best friend) for an ear infection. luke's ears were clear, but ta-da: miss ava marie had her very first ear infection.
we left with a prescription for amoxicillian, which never worked for luke. within 24-hours, she was acting much better. however, a few days later, she didn't sleep well. as in, she woke up. every. stinkin'. hour.
let me remind y'all that she still sleeps in our room.
based on luke's ear infection history, i called my new BFF as soon as the office opened. i was positive the antibiotic wasn't strong enough and ava was still in pain.
our fabulous doctor gave her a thorough examine and sat back, in his casual manner, on his rolly chair.
the good news, he told me, is that it's not her ears.
my thought? that's not good news. because? if it's not her ears? it's something worse.
he asked a few other questions. had she been sleeping well? yes, five to six hours each night. was she always congested? yes, my little snuffleupagus.
i think she has a cow's milk protein intolerance. he explained that sometimes this crops up around three months of age. and probably will last a year or two. it can cause serious problems (fortunately, ours are minor). it's not a full-on cow's milk allergy, and because of that, it won't show up in allergy blood tests.
our action plan? to remove all cow's milk products from her diet to see if that helps. which means removing all cow's milk from my diet.
did you realize there's cow's milk in pasta sauce? and bread? and most of my favorite food products.
so, i've given up cow's milk. at home, it's been easy. i can substitute soy milk or soy butter (and even soy sour cream) most of the time. but when we're out, it's not so easy. i was grieved this weekend to forgo a fabulous mcdonalds cheeseburger (the perfect meat to bun ratio).
at first, i wondered if this really was the solution to our problem. i mean, what if she just had a few bad nights? and so, i had a pre-thanksgiving meal, loaded with butter and milk.
our problem is definitely the cow's milk. the three of us hardly slept for four nights.
my poor baby.
and thus ends my obsession with yogurt and granola.
ooooooh, i'm so sorry! that stinks! but at least you know what's up, and your little princess can sleep better!!!
ReplyDeleteawww. i feel terrible for you. her, yes...of course. but YOU! i mean, you're used to milk. she doesn't care.
ReplyDeletehope your adjustment goes well.
I grieve for you and your dairy, really, I do.
ReplyDeletebut my favorite part of your post was that you said mcdonalds cheeseburgers have the perfect meat to bun ration, which made me smile. But then I thought, "oh my! They do!" and I wanted to tell you I agree 100%. Best. ratio. ever. :)
I don't know how I stumbled upon your blog but I have to delurk to tell you I think your doctor is awesome! When my daughter turned 2 months old, she started having tummy issues. My doctor said it was probably a virus and it would pass but she had diarrhea for almost a month. I talked with women at church and finally cut milk out of my diet at their recommendation and the difference was night and day! I LOVE milk so it's been really hard for me but she's 6 months old now and I found that I can now have a glass of milk a day! So maybe your daughter's won't last too long either! Anyway, I really enjoy your blog!
ReplyDeleteAlright, I know how much you love dairy...at least you can still do soy in your decaf coffee (funny how we take everything "good" out of products so that we can still enjoy them! ) But as you have learned, you will do anything to keep sleep going in the upward direction! So here is a toast to your Soy Latte - may it bring many full sleep nights! Love you!
ReplyDeleteKatherine,
ReplyDeleteCaleb had the same thing although a bit more serious than Miss Ava, and I had to cut out all dairy and soy from my diet. I only lasted about 3 months on that diet before I gave up breastfeeding, but I felt great during that time. And, Caleb outgrew the "allergy" around 15 months. I learned quite a lot, so feel free to ask if you have any questions about our story.