Reflux, Pumping, and a Dairy Allergy - Answers and the turning point

When my little one was around 3 months old our pediatrician started him on baby Zantac. For about a month this was a GAME CHANGER. He went from constantly upset, hungry, and pooping/puking to just pooping/puking. It doesn't sound like much of an improvement but it is HUGE when you want more than 2 hours of sleep at a time. So as things improved and he went from being up every 2 hours to every 4-6 hours we found a better rhythm as a family.

I was back to work right around  this time so I was pumping as much as I could but my supply was plummeting. Can we side note for a minute?



Pumping at work is a nightmare. You start your day like the crazy bag lady as you carry in your pump, parts, bottles, cooler bag, etc. Then if your experience is anything like mine (Read: no private office) you end up carrying your stuff down to a "Mother's Room" or a "Lactation Room" or a "Pumping Room". (I work in a school so "Mother's Room" is the chosen title) This room was a hell-hole. Listen I am grateful that there are new laws requiring employers to designate these spaces BUT the requirement is very bare-bones. They must provide seating, a fridge, and lockable door. Aaaaand that's about it. My place of employment took what used to be a closet (Yes it was a walk-in closet...they didn't even take the shelves down) and found some old chairs from sitting areas. Then they added a mini fridge. And that's it. It is in the basement and has no cell reception. It is cold, uncomfortable, and feels dirty. Plus it is really only set up for one mom at a time. My friend and I asked for an old divider from the school nurse so that we could pump at the same time without having to be all in each other's business. 

I tried to bring in some homey touches but adding a basket full of supplies like extra milk bags, saniwipes, snacks, and an extra phone charger. We added a white board so we could leave messages for the other moms. No matter what we did (unless I was willing to shell out some major bucks) it was just an uncomfortable situation. There was the added challenge of not having a sink or microwave (two ways to sanitize pump parts). Sure you can seal them in a container and pop it in the fridge but who wants to hold cold flanges to their nipples....not I. So I ended up bringing TWO sets. What a mess.

So as you can imagine, with my supply tanking and my willingness to sit in the closet also tanking, I was ready to start giving more formula. I was combo feeding but until this point I was going about 75% breastmilk and 25% formula. So first I went to 50/50 and then it became more like 60/40 with nights bring entirely formula. Then it happened. Bloody Diaper. It was after Christmas and we had family with us. I called his doctor and they told us to either go to CHOP or Lehigh Children's. City Driving is about my least favorite thing so we went to Lehigh Valley instead.

After a traumatizing ER wait (That's a different story for a different day) we have two different doctors FIGHTING in front of us about what was causing the bleeding. They eventually send us home with no real answers. One doctor strongly believed that it probably just a Diary Allergy and advised me to stop formula and cut dairy from my diet completely... or buy this very fancy very expensive dairy-free and soy-free formula called Nutramigen.


Well...I can tell you. This was the turning point. I dropped Breastfeeding and pumping and we started him on Nutramigen (which warning...smells like hot garbage). Holy life change. He started only waking once at night. He wasnt pooping/puking like before. I was actually happy and enjoying feedings. My PPD faded away and I finally was the Mom I wanted to be.

Praise to you Nutramigen and Zantac!