Raine slept tonight from six to ten o clock. He is usually awake in the evening and ready for bed by 9:00. We didn't want to wake him tonight though because he has been sick with thrush and croup. I think his little body needed the rest. We might pay a heavy price for this. A price called Up til 2 am. We shall see. I have Raine until 11:30 tomorrow morning so I don't have to worry about getting us up and out the door early. So right now he is fed and happy, sitting in daddy's lap playing. I was able to eat dinner, talk to my mom and sister, and take a shower without acting like I was trying to break a world record. I have also been trying to write a bit all evening.
So, yes, thrush. Thrush is annoying. To specify, it is a yeast infection of the mouth for Raine and he gives it to me on my breasts by nursing. And then I give it back to him, etc., etc. In my new parent support group at New Seasons, I met a mama who had chronic thrush with her daughter. It was the first meeting and I was a little distracted but I do remember hearing how gosh darn stubborn that bacteria seemed to be. She had tried everything her doctor and her husband (a naturopath) could think of. The only thing she had NOT done yet was change her diet. She was intimidated at trying to cut out yeast/gluten and sugar. After Raine was diagnosed and we started giving him Nystatin four times a day, I started investigating what I could do to help heal my breasts and prevent passing it back and forth with him. The most popular advice I came across was changing my diet. April had a friend who kicked thrush in four days by changing her diet in addition to treating her baby and using vinegar on her breasts after feedings. I have faithfully used vinegar but have not been able to let go of sugar. The past few months I have been so addicted to sweets it is disgusting. I justified my junkie behavior at first by eating oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with flax seeds and brewer's yeast to help support my milk production. I started with great self control and enjoyed 1 cookie a day. But before I knew it, 1 was not enough. And then there was ice cream, fruit, angel food cake, whipped cream, Starbucks drinks, twinkies, Halloween candy, donuts...You name it. This past weekend, Dan baked cookies and it was OUT OF CONTROL. I couldn't stop at 1 or 2 or 3. Or 4 or 5. Tonight, I TOOK COOKIES WITH ME IN THE SHOWER. I sound like an addict, right? So I shouldn't be surprised I can't kick thrush. I have just recently cut out dairy because I wanted to see if it helped reduce Raine's gas pain and spit up. I thought it would be hard but once I found a few substitutes, it is OK. I miss milk, yes. I enjoyed tall glasses of milk with my dinners, Starbucks drinks, and ice cream. It seemed to help me keep my blood sugar stable and gave me calcium. Now I'm taking a vitamin and drinking fortified juice and alternative milks. I think cutting out sugar on top of dairy would be shocking at first (you would be surprised how sugar is present in EVERYTHING...Even my vegetable soup I had for lunch. WTF.) ...but worth it in the end. I've just got to DO it, and I can't seem to motivate myself. Tonight when we checked Raine's mouth after his feeding and giving him his medicine, there were still several very large patches on the inside of both sides of his mouth. Ugh. He has been taking Nystatin for 11 days now! I think we will give it until the 2 week mark and then I'm going to try Primadophilus powder for him and I will absolutely change my diet. And you will have to listen to me explain how the heck I am doing it. Ha! I have also started taking two tablespoons of probiotic acidophilus, a goopy gross base of pre-digested milk solids with something like 20 billion organisms that are "good" bacteria to balance things out.
Any other suggestions???
xoxo,
Leah
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