As many of you know, my dearest baby son has never been what you would call a good sleeper. At best, he wakes up 1-3 times a night. Then, the weekend after we returned to the coast, he slept through the night twice in a row. HOLY CRAP! This has never ever happened his entire life. Giddy on sleep, I start searching for the reason he was doing so amazingly well!! His naps were good and long those days, we didn't do much different though. And then, in the middle of the dairy section of the grocery store it hit me all at once. We have been out of Whole Milk for the past two days!! The same days he was sleeping through!
I immediately left the store, and got on Google. It seems that if your child has never slept through the night, no matter what weaning, training, etc. that you have been doing, a food allergy is often to blame. Wow. You mean for the past 18 months my baby has been suffering while I have been frustrated and cranky and angry with him for waking up? Thank god that we decided not to let him "cry it out" like everyone suggested, in this situation, that would have been akin to abuse.
Apparently, dairy allergies can manifest themselves in several different ways. Rashes, vomiting and loose stools are the most common, but there can also be emotional, behavioral and sleep issues! So, Oliver is now completely dairy free (with the exception of casein and whey) he no longer eats milk, cheese, sour cream, etc. We have replaced cow milk with soy milk - which has the same amount of calcium btw - and he took right to it!
As Oliver is still nursing, I am trying to cut milk out of my diet as well, but it proves to be a bit harder for me. UGH! I want to be completely dairy free in a few weeks because I do not want to go through this with another child.
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