What On Earth is a Soy Decaf Latte and Why Are You Drinking It???

When I started nursing my son, the whole process went pretty well, considering. I was recovering from a c-section, but I was fortunate enough to heal pretty well. I got a ridiculous case of mastitis, which healed after a few different approaches. However, the most challenging part was his spitting up.

The night we brought him home, he didn't sleep and he threw up so much milk that at 6 or 7 that morning, we called our pediatrician's office and left a message asking what to do. Someone called back in about 30 minutes and asked what he was doing now. What was he doing? He'd fallen asleep. "He's sleeping." What kind of response does a trained medical person give you? "Sounds like he's doing fine, then." The doctor went on to explain that babies will spit up and as long as they continue to gain weight, there isn't much to worry about. Our son was born at 7.11 lbs, and when we left the hospital 4 days later, he was already back to his birth weight (usually takes 2 weeks). At 2 weeks, he was approaching 10 lbs. He was NOT losing weight, so we just tried to deal with the spitting up. After doing some research and asking the doctor again, it seemed like changing MY diet could have a positive impact. So I tried eliminating chocolate. Nothing...except a little sadness from me. I tried a few more things. Nothing. Eventually, hoping that it wouldn't work but knowing it probably would, I gave up dairy. And wouldn't you know it, he stopped spitting up. It was great, and yet, so very depressing. I've never craved dairy more in my life than those first few months after he was born. So, I replaced milk with soy milk, and stopped eating any foods that had milk or cream as a big and/or uncooked ingredient (e.g., quiche, custard, ice cream). Cheese, butter, yogurt, and other foods low in lactose were not a problem. His feedings used to be followed by a messy amount of spit up, but they virtually stopped once my new diet kicked in.

Today, since I'm still nursing him, I usually abstain from dairy. Every now and then I might have a little bit, but he doesn't react unless I consume a certain amount. And if I do ever have any non-dairy desserts, they're usually accompanied by a soy decaf latte.

The joys of motherhood :-D