Is your baby having issues with gas, acid reflux, or super fussy after eating? Is your baby not sleeping well or waking up crying? Does your baby spit up right after eating several times? Or even hours after eating? These are all things I started noticing with my son that made me wonder if it was just a part of normal baby development or if there was something to be causing all these symptoms.

When you are a first time mom, it is so hard to know what is normal especially for a newborn baby. You know that their digestive system is still developing so having a gassy baby can be completely common. Even having a baby with acid reflux is also common. But knowing whether it is an actual issue can be difficult.

About a month in of breastfeeding my son, I started questioning whether his increased gas and acid reflux was caused by something I was eating. When I brought it up to his pediatrician, he didn’t seem concerned. He told me that it was something he will out grow. He told me to continue doing what I was doing and not to worry since my son was growing and gaining weight at a normal rate for him (even though he was in the lower percentile for weight). I trusted his doctor and just kept doing what I was doing.

But as time went on, I still felt something was not right. We were still having issues. Well eventually I figured out that my son did have a sensitivity to dairy. Once I took dairy out of my diet, all the symptoms he was having massively improved. It was like day and night difference.

So if you are in a similar position and strongly feel that something is off, listen to your gut.

I am NO expert whatsoever but below are the symptoms that my son had that led me to believe he had a dairy sensitivity. The reasons that I decided to remove dairy from my diet.

Please do not take this as medical advice as I am not a medical professional. Please consult your baby’s pediatrician if you have ANY concerns regarding your baby’s health before trying anything.

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Symptoms That Could Indicate A Dairy Sensitivity

Mucous in stool: 

This was one of the first symptoms that I noticed my son was having. I had googled what breastfed newborn poop was supposed to look like so I knew something wasn’t right. There were some diapers where it was all mucous. I mentioned it to his pediatrician but he said it could be a virus and that it should resolve. However, his poop consistently had mucous in it so I knew it couldn’t have been just a virus. 

When I finally cut dairy out of my diet, his poop no longer had mucous in it. There were times where I would add some dairy back into my diet just to see and when I did my son would have mucous in his stool again.

Excessive Gas: 

Gas is a pretty common issue for babies so this symptom alone isn’t enough to warrant a dairy allergy. However, with combination of other symptoms then a dairy sensitivity or allergy can definitely make gas worse. 

My little man had gas all the time coming out of both ends. He would wake up from gas in the middle of the night often. It broke my heart. Gas drops and gripe water were our best friends for a while. We would give our little man gripe water at night before bed and it definitely helped him sleep better and longer. Then we would use the gas drops through out the day that worked instantly.

Spitting up A LOT with frequent wet burps:

Another symptom of a dairy allergy is spitting up more than usual. I’m not talking about the usual spit up that babies have. I am talking about constant spitting up right after feedings and even hours after feedings. 

As soon as I was done breastfeeding and I would go to burp him, he’d spit up right away like at least an ounce of breast milk. It was a lot. I felt like he’d spit up half his feeding. Then there were times where it’d be a couple hours since he ate and he would spit up. It was exhausting and I was so worried. 

Tips to help reduce acid reflux in babies:

• Keep baby in a sit up position 30 minutes after eating
• Don’t overfeed. I nursed my little man more frequently so he would have smaller meals.
• We put books under his bassinet so he could sleep at an angle. This made a huge difference for his sleep.
• Burp in between switching breasts.
• Feed baby in an upright position.

If this doesn’t improve baby’s frequent spitting up, then a dairy sensitivity could very well be the issue. Despite my efforts of trying to reduce his reflux, he was still spitting up a lot. That’s when I knew there was something else.

Blood in stool:

If your baby has blood in stool then this is a definite symptom of a dairy sensitivity. Not all babies who have a dairy sensitivity will have this symptom. It wasn’t until my son was three-four months old when he started having blood in his stool. It was probably one of the scariest things to see blood in your baby’s stool. 

I, of course, let his pediatrician know right away and he finally told me to cut dairy out and see if that was the issue. There can be other causes like from breastfeeding (if you have cuts on your nipples) or small cuts around the baby’s anus caused from acidic poop so make sure you consult with your baby’s pediatrician before cutting dairy out.

Vaseline is a great product for baby if they do indeed have any anal fissures or tears which can be evaluated and diagnosed from a physician.

Fussy after feedings:

My son is a pretty easy going baby and he didn’t fuss too much. So when he was fussy, I knew something was wrong. There were times where he was in a lot of discomfort after eating. There were also times where he would wake up in the middle of the night screaming like his tummy was hurting. He wouldn’t breastfeed and it took him awhile to calm down. 

This product below can help with fussiness and can help restore good gut bacteria which is beneficial for baby’s developing digestive system. Always check with your baby’s physician before giving them something new.

Skin Issues:

My son developed eczema pretty bad behind his arms, legs, and all over his back. This was the last symptom where I finally caved in and decided to cut dairy out to see if the eczema would improve. But his skin was so bad that with his doctor’s recommendation we started using Aveeno Baby Gentle Wash & Shampoo and Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream specifically made for eczema which helped a ton.

So it was hard to know for sure if the eczema was caused from dairy or something else. But considering that the above symptoms disappeared once I eliminated dairy from my diet, I’m thinking it was the cause of my son’s eczema. 

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Some Important Things To Know

It can take up to two weeks to eliminate dairy completely from your’s and baby’s body. So you may not see an improvement until after a couple of weeks. For me however, I notice improvements a few days after I completely cut dairy out.

I would recommend having your baby’s pediatrician rule everything else out before removing dairy from your diet as it is not easy.  There are so many hidden dairies in many processed foods. Keep in mind as well that some babies who have a sensitivity to dairy may also have a sensitivity to soy. 

Most pediatricians say that only about 2-3% babies have a dairy allergy/sensitivity but I firmly believe it is a lot more common than they realize. I have talked to so many mamas who went through what I did and noticed a huge difference in their babies when they removed dairy. 

It’s WORTH a try.

As much as I love my dairy, seeing my little man in discomfort was heartbreaking. I decided that making the sacrifice was well worth it. So mama, if you and your baby are struggling. And, you are scratching your head as to why your baby is so fussy or having these issues then give it a go.

If it is indeed a dairy intolerance, then you will see a major improvement with symptoms. It is a process and it does take time but knowing for sure is half the battle. If you have ANY questions at all, I’m all ears and will do my best to help.

Let me know how it goes below. I’d love to hear.