I will not take a bottle however my mother may take to the bottle

Wednesday 8 August 2001

Good sleep really pays off.   I was in such a good mood today and I had oodles of fun.  I am smiling and grinning all the time now and mum says that I can charm the hind legs off a donkey.

What did I say about sleep?

My sleep has returned to its terrible state and tonight was especially bad because mummy was very anxious.  Dr T had phoned her to say that my poo sample was full of excess fats and sugars.  Now I am sure that there is nothing terribly wrong but mum is a wreck.  Thank Goodness we have an appointment to see him tomorrow morning because dad is taking me to have my immunisations.

Thursday 9 August 2001

What a terribly traumatic day!  We went to Dr T this morning as we had planned.  I was in a really good mood and laughing out loud in the waiting room as we sat for an hour and a half and waited for my appointment.  When we eventually went in Dr T explained that the tests had come back with some very strange results for a little baby of my age.  He phoned my paediatrician to discuss the results and then said to my mum that I had to start drinking from a bottle immediately as I was getting too much lactose through the breast milk.  He explained that the lactose was irritating my tummy (that is why I do so many explosive poos all the time) and as the food passes through my system so quickly I do not absorb the fat and all the nutrients.  This explained the reason for my continuing problems with weight gain at long last.  Dr T was very melodramatic and said that if I don’t stop drinking lactose I will get malnutrition.  Mummy tried to argue on my side and she told Dr T that there was no way I would take a bottle.  He said I had to!  He even said that he would not give me my immunisations as ceasing breastfeeding and having immunisations on the same day would be way to stressful.

Well my poor mummy fell apart.  She said that she felt that someone had ripped me out of her arms.  She did not want to stop breastfeeding me just like that and I was not going to let her.  When we got home and I woke up, dad tried to give me a bottle, he had stayed home from work for the day just to help mum get me to take a bottle.  I screamed and screamed like I have never screamed before.  I did not want the bottle but I was very hungry.  Mum and dad fell to pieces and resorted to breastfeeding me to quieten me.  Things were not happy in my house. 

Then Dr C phoned.  When mummy got off the phone from Dr C it was like somebody had turned a light on in her head, she was beaming so brightly!  Dr C had told mummy that I could carry on breastfeeding but I was to try and take a bottle.  He explained that I was not lactose intolerant but rather had a lactose overload.  If I stayed off lactose for a week my whole tummy would recover and I would be fine.  If however I continued to drink breastmilk I would remain thin but I would not get malnutrition and I would not do any harm to my body.  Mum and Dr C agreed that it could wait till next Wednesday when we go to the feeding clinic and when they try to teach me to take a bottle.  What a relief.

Mummy and I went to the chemist to get polyjoule.  The dietician had told mummy on the phone that I was to take this polyjoule stuff at every feed.  The polyjoule is pure carbohydrate so I should start to put on some weight real soon.  The liquid is syringed into my mouth and it is not too bad although very sticky.  I started today so let us see how it goes.

I had a great rest of the day.  Mum was celebrating me all over again and I just basked in the glory.  I smiled and smiled – I was happy to have my breast back (even though I never really lost it.)