Pukefest

My mother thinks my son is lactose intolerant.

I think he just enjoys puking a lot. Charles, not surprisingly, agrees with my mother. "After all, she's raised three children," he helpfully informed me.

Apparently: "Lactose Intolerance is caused by a deficiency of lactase, an enzyme needed to absorb and digest milk sugar i.e. lactose. Undigested lactose lingers in the colon and ferments, creating intestinal distress - abdominal pain, bloating, gas and diarrhea - that sometimes defies diagnosis or is misdiagnosed as serious bowel disease."

There's some pleasant Monday-morning reading. I always enjoy drinking my morning coffee and daydreaming about colons, bloating and fermentation of milk in my child's intestines.

Problem is, Drew never seems uncomfortable after he drinks formula or breastmilk. He looks happy and smiley and squealy, and then out of nowhere, this curdled-looking, white goo slides out of his mouth and all over whatever is just below his chin, which is usually my hand or my arm.

It kind of looks like that scene in the 1986 remake of The Fly, where Jeff Goldblum regurgitates on a donut. (one of the prouder moments in his cinematic career, no doubt.)

And speaking of food, I found a solid food that Drew actually seemed to enjoy - sweet potatoes. Interestingly, eating sweet potatoes did not result in a torrent of orange goo, so maybe it is just the milk.

When I was single and childless, I never imagined myself spending the better part of a day contemplating another human being's upchuck and the various causes thereof.

Comments

[ebeth]

oh yay - you're trying him on sweet potatoes. :) they were/are MC's favourite!

[Amy]

You are so thoroughly Briticized that you're spelling favorite with a U now...
that's so precious.
When are you going to tell us your big news by the way? :)

[1gloriousconundrum]

Completely unsolicited professional opinon (I know it's annoying, but, oh well - why else did I go to all those years of school??)- Drew is not lactose intolerant. He's a spitter - active boys are notorious for becoming "late" spitters. If it were lactose intol, he would be guarding his abdomen, fussy, and have lots of diarrhea.

Have you tried mixing baby foods w/ breastmilk? It sweetens them up and improves the texture a bit.

I swear, that's it. If you have questions, you are welcome to contact me. Otherwise, I will leave you alone to mother your child. :)

[ebeth]

today i will share the news, i promise. :) i'm not pregnant, if that is what you're thinking! i can't help the U thing anymore, i also use 's's for z's now.. in words like utilise, for example. weird, i know. heck, i've been known to say toh-mah-toe instead of toe-may-toe because the one time i said no toe-may-toe they left the MAYO off my sammich. not worth it! :)

i agree with gloriousc, i do not think drew is lacto-intolerant. apparently, it's pretty rare in babies. this article may help - i know he's not colicky, but is still an interesting read. http://www.drgreene.com/21_836.html

not trying to tell you how to mommy - just interested in the topic. xx

[Kira]

just wait for the REAL puking - it's not that cute spituppy stuff, its really projectile and scary and comes with a lot of crying! ugh

[Mom]

Well, I guess I got shot down on the lactose idea!!!! Just know that you have a problem with milk and that Jenn had a problem and that soy milk might be an answer. The active boy idea is a good one though!

[Amy]

Awww Mom - you're right 99 percent of the time, so you were due for one wrong answer.
:)

[Mom]

I still think the soy formula might be a good try!