Reaction to white flour in breastmilk?

[Librarian of Doom]

I've been severely curtailing my intake of products with white flour in the past four weeks or so, only eating my homemade whole wheat bread products except for the occasional fast food backslide. But this Friday and Saturday I had to travel with the academic team I sponsor/coach, so I was restaurant and hotel eating. This was not my most nutritious time (although I am proud of snacking on nuts and cheese instead of all the grain-laden convenience store fare). I left my 10-month-old at home with my husband, since 10-month-olds who dislike the car and 4-hour drives do not mix. Today I've been at my wits' end. She's been almost inconsolably fussy, even while nursing, and now I discovered that she has a rash on her scalp, neck, on the face around the hairline, on the cheeks, and on her trunk as well. She's shown what seemed like food sensitivities before, but I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the white flour, since everything else I ate this weekend has been eaten before without a noticeable reaction. Could she have been sensitized to it after me going so long with little in my diet? Opinions? Anyone? Bueller?

[dshale]

I talked to my wife about that and she said it shouldn't. She is a labor and delivery nurse and a huge breast feeding advocate which may sway her opinion. She said if it something you hadn't eaten while pregnant or nursing then it could possibly but still seem to have her doubts.

[morethanjustamom]

I do wonder about the correlation with colic though. I was a very colicky baby and I'm gluten intolerant.

My first and middle children were colicky, and they benefit from a GF diet as well.

Food for thought.

[spatzcat]

is she running a fever or anything? it could be something else entirely, like roseola.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001963/

[Good Row G]

I agree with dshale in being suspicious about BM being the problem. I was super careful about not eating beans or spicy food or this or that at first and then realized it did not have a good correlation to fussiness. But we're a pretty allergy free family.

it's something to consider and try to change, but look for other causes too.

Hope your babe gets better soon!

[Librarian of Doom]

Just a note to say that we found out that following Monday that a virus has been going around that causes rash. We are blessed that our daughters stay home with my husband, but one of the girls at the playgroup they participate in goes to daycare, and the virus had been in her daycare.

I'm just glad we were able to figure out what it was, because I was seriously racking my brains, as evidenced by this post. I would have assumed it was a virus, but she had no fever. I'm just glad it got better.

[dshale]

Just a note to say that we found out that following Monday that a virus has been going around that causes rash. We are blessed that our daughters stay home with my husband, but one of the girls at the playgroup they participate in goes to daycare, and the virus had been in her daycare.

I'm just glad we were able to figure out what it was, because I was seriously racking my brains, as evidenced by this post. I would have assumed it was a virus, but she had no fever. I'm just glad it got better.

Good to hear the mystery is solved. I am always disturbed when neither my wife nor I know where a cut, bruise, rash, etc. came from. Of course kids are like the monkey from Outbreak. Full of disease and ready to spread it to anything close. I have almost come to accept the fact that they are going to catch anything and everything at preschool and actually increased my health savings account contribution because of it.

[oystergirl]

I was gonna say Fifths disease but you beat me to it. I do hope she is feeling better. Babies do respond to what we eat when we breastfeed but generally they do not react to things we take out and put back in unless they already reacted to it in the first place.

[Rivanariko]

I do wonder about the correlation with colic though. I was a very colicky baby and I'm gluten intolerant.

My first and middle children were colicky, and they benefit from a GF diet as well.

Food for thought.

I was super colicky as a baby and have no issue with gluten, and actually had a very adverse reaction to trying to eat primally. Just for a different point of view.

I'll get my childfree self out of the thread now Glad you were able to figure out what was wrong with your baby though.

[Archer]

My kid #2 would scream if my wife had any dairy while breastfeeding. It was causing some kind of acid reflux problem and his voice would sound raspy. Food intolerance/allergies are definitely an issue and are different for everyone. Our doctor told us he thinks at least half of "colic" cases are due to this, but he can't officially say anything like "don't drink cow milk or eat bread while breastfeeding" because of the industry. And this was at a major San Diego hospital, not some 'alternative medicine' tent.