Colic and Thrush

4 weeks ago my son came into this world!

Yay!

My sisters and I went out for coffee. 

Our first night was so peaceful. 

We got home at 3:30am from the birthing center and just snuggled and slept together.

Then reality set in the following nights. 

He began to cry and sometimes scream especially at night.

I didn't realize how bad it was until someone at church suggested he sounded "Colicy". 

Curiously I looked it up. 

The definition for a colicy baby is:

• crying 3 hours a day
• more then 3 days a week
• for at least 1 week

My son was going on 3 weeks of scream 6-8 hours a day. 

He also had a horrible case of yeast overgrowth.

His tongue, roof of his mouth and lips were white.

He started to develop puss filled blisters on his diaper. 

First 1. Then 5. Then 20. Then 30.

We started treating him with gentian violet, which my midwife and pediatrician recommended. 

It seemed to help his diaper area and his mouth slightly, but it never fully resolved after 3-4 days of treatment. I was willing to give it a week... thankfully I didn't need to...

We stayed the night at a friends house on July 3rd so we could be with them all day on the 4th and my son cried until 4:30am! Then he had broken sleep for the next two hours or so. 

The next morning my best friend (whose house we were staying at) said the Lord had told her that my son was having an issue with dairy. 

In denial, and slightly EXTREMELY heart broken I argued with her.

As the day went on, I decided to try to slash dairy for a day or two and see if I noticed a difference. 

That night, July 4th, my son put himself to sleep at 9pm and slept through the night only waking to nurse and fall back asleep. 

He slept the whole next day and when he was awake he just sat there perfectly content. 

I couldn't believe it!

I then remembered that the night I slept over at my friends house, she served us a whole platter of cheese before we went to bed. That would explain him screaming until 4:30am!

A few nights later, I ate a salad with some ranch dressing on it and my son scremed for 5 hours after the following feeding.

I called my lactation consultant the next morning and she confirmed it was definatly a dairy issue. She also wanted Aryeh to get seen by his pediatrician for the yeast overgrowth (which at this point was actually looking like it was improving).

I took him in the next day and the lady I saw was the new N.P. at our clinic that specializes in functional medicine. I've been waiting to meet her for a long time. She confirmed to me all his issues were related to a dairy intolerance/allergy. 

• chronic congestion
• diaper rash
• mouth thrush
• screaming/crying 6-8 hours a day
• unlatching and screaming during nursing sessions
• baby facial acne so bad and spreading on his chest
• very watery stools

She suggested cutting all forms of milk out (even lactose free milks or goat products) for a month and try to introduce some of those again. Then the following month introduce dairy again and see what happens. She said there is a good chance he'll grow out of it if I give his body time.

She prescribed us some anti-fungal oral medication as well as creams, but she asked me to not pick it up for a few days since she believes his yeast overgrowth was due to the milk intolerance. 

SHE WAS RIGHT!

As of this morning, his mouth started clearing up, his diaper area looks great (besides being stained with gentian violet a little still)!!

This is the lady I've been waiting to meet since she's our next step on our journey to getting our twins healthy. Her and I got to chat a little bit about what an appointment with her would look like. 

I am a big researcher. SO naturally I looked up many recommendations and theory's behind yeast infections as well as natural remedies. I am amazed at how little the "specialists" out there actually know.

My son received NO antibiotics, NO vaccines, NO antibacterial creams, NO formula. 

I ate a VERY clean diet with mostly organic foods during his pregnancy. 

But his yeast wasn't caused from any of that.

It wasn't even caused by me eating sugar. 

It surely didn't resolve from me NOT eating sugar. 

It was simply an intolerance to dairy (which the experts will tell you is statistically, not a probable factor). 

I love when God allows me to walk through medical trials in order to learn more about things. 

So I'm passing up my addiction to cheese and the like, verbally reminding myself I love my son more then that block of sharp cheddar...

Thank You Jesus for Your Holy Spirit! 

Thank You that You care about the details of our lives and that You lead us. 

I love You so much!

What would we do without the Holy Spirit??