The Adventures of Little Griff

As a child, I remember having gas pains that sent me to bed crying, knees balled up to my chest and miserable. I had forgotten this until recently, when I saw Griff crying in pain from his gas, face screwed up in pain, and lifting his little legs. He has been doing this from anywhere around 2 to 5 in the morning and lasting until 8 or 10. We have tried massaging his tummy, lifting his legs, sitting him and rocking his body, bring his knees to his tummy, laying him on his left side, laying him on us tummy to tummy, Mylicon, Hyland's homeopathic colic remedy, and gripe water. Nothing seemed to relieve it. On top of that, he started to get eczema on his face and he was starting to learn to use his hands in order to scratch. This is not what I had in mind when I pictured him using his hands.

We had our 2-month visit to our pediatrician and she suggested that the gas and the eczema might be caused by a food allergy and I might consider cutting out the major allergens from my diet for awhile and then slowly add them back in. Imagine being a vegetarian and then cutting out wheat, dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, and fish. As I thought and several other folks I talked to about it said, what else is there to eat? So I avoided going this route, instead doing resarch on eczema in babies. It turns out that eczema can be related to things that are put on his body or food allergies. Okay, so first I did all of the things that were recommended topically for baby eczema, applying jojoba oil in the bath (tepid water) and just after, using a very light, unscented and preservative-free lotion to his face regularly, and apply some calendula ointment. That seems to have gotten it under control, he isn't itching much anymore and his skin looks clear and moist. Next we have to wash his clothing and bedding separately in a baby soap (not detergent) that is fragrance-free and then run it through again with just water to be sure the soap is removed. Okay, easy enough, if not wasteful.

But his painful gas remained. Several moms at a new mom's group I went to swore by a homeopathic remedy called Colic Calm, so I ordered some to try. It really was amazing, as soon as he swallowed it, his gas was relieved. We only used a quarter of the recommended dose. So, we did this for a few nights, but I kept thinking about something I had read in several places, that the eczema was a precursor to asthma and while the symptoms can be treated, finding the offending allergen is really the best prevention.

But Darrell and I harbored some doubts about whether the food goes directly to the baby in the breast milk, isn't it digested? We were listening an episode of "The Naked Scientist" (yes, we are dorks) and it seems that some whole molecules do pass through right to the baby in the milk, so our doubts allayed, I decided to give it a go. It has been five days and the last three mornings Griff has had little to no painful gas, without the use of Colic Calm. Maybe it is him growing into his digestive system. He has had plenty of gas, but it hasn't been causing him to cry. But it is such a dramatic difference in the space of a day. So, I am eating puffed rice cereal, quinoa (high in protein), brown rice pasta, almond or rice milk, coconut milk based yogurt (who knew?), beans, fruits, veggies, and sorbet. Overall, a rather healthy diet, if not a bit boring. In about a week, I will start adding in wheat, diary, soy, peanuts, eggs, and fish one by one to see what he reacts to. And hopefully we will be able to nail down the offender (my fingers are crossed that it isn't more than one!)