Hello!

My daughter is 9 months old, still ONLY breastfed and it is exhausting me.
Some back story … She was introduced to solids at 6 months old when she started showing signs of being ready (baby number 5 so I knew what to look for). However, she had a nasty reaction to the baby food and I was told by the doctor to remove the solids from her diet while we tested for allergies/intolerances. Fast forward a couple of months, we know she is lactose intolerant (I give her lacteez drops to ease the discomfort caused by breastfeeding) fructose intolerant and we are waiting on her next allergy clinic appointment to see where we go about the wheat, dairy, soy protein allergy testing.
She has aversions to ALL foods, because the times she has eaten, she has been violently sick and now associates food with pain. She is slightly tongue tied and slightly lip tied but I have been told that when he tongue muscles strengthen she should be okay with not getting them clipped. She has a small mouth. She gags on any food you put in her mouth.

I don’t know if this is so much a question, or more of a get it off my chest thing… but I sleep in 30 minute intervals, I breastfeed her ALL. NIGHT. LONG. I am physically exhausted, emotionally exhausted and it’s taking it’s toll on my other 4 children. And to top it off, despite having to travel 6 hours each way, every couple of weeks to the allergy clinic and to see paediatricians, Centrelink have told me that she doesn’t require any extra care that a normal baby needs, so I am not entitled to any carer’s allowance. So the financial strain on my single mother bank balance is exhausting all on it’s own.

My GP likes to joke that my baby should just be put in the “too hard” basket… I sometimes agree, except I’m not joking :/


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  • I see this is an old question and wonder how you have survived 4,5yrs later. Hope you and your kids are doing well. Juggling single motherhood with 5 kids can be a tough one !


  • I’m.sorry to hear of your struggles. But surely the Dr has to have a plan if you were no longer able to breast feed so couldn’t that be an option?


  • Here’s hoping you finally found a solution to your problems. It sound like it was really tough


  • If possible I would find another GP. Perhaps if your current GP was more cooperative instead of rude and contacted the clinics you are taking your baby to, stressing the urgency of the situation. It may because you have has a small mouth that she is having problems swallowing as well. Your baby may also be having some problems sucking, causing her to have frequent short feeds.
    Your baby is ingesting lactose from your milk. I suppose it is hard to know whether it would stop that problem if you changed to dairy free products….but it will strain the budget. If you eventually change to formula Lactose Free is expensive too – about double the others in many places. If she is allergic to soy, your next option may be goats formula. A friend of mine had to swap to it. Depending on where you live you may have problems getting it too. Waiting for the muscles to strengthen may not work if they are too tight. My bother didn’t talk properly and the Dr. dicovered he was slightly tongue tied. Dr. was able to stretch it but Mum had a screaming baby for a couple of minutes.


  • As a mum to a disabled child all i can say is try to hurry them up, as in keep on their cases, ring and ask for results and explain that it’s important because it puts so much pressure on you and what if for instance you ended up with cracked nipples from feeding so much and were unable to, what would you do then? They see so many people and at times it feels like you have been ‘forgotten’ so if you ‘hassle’ them enough they will have no choice but to move faster. That’s what i have found anyway :) Goodluck, your doing amazing Mum!!


  • I am shocked and a little disgusted that you are struggling so much and not getting any help. I would be inclined to either somehow force your Dr to help more or go to another GP for a second opinion. You can’t keep going the way you are, 9 months and still completely breastfed, not good for you or bub :/


  • wow the gp shouldn’t say that! maybe try google and get some support.


  • Oh my! That’s terrible. What a difficult situation. I hope that going to the Allergy clinic will help you in dealing with this problem.
    I’m sorry I don’t have any advise though! :-(
    Except that time ago I saw something on “Today Tonight” that was quite interesting. Let me see if I can find it in Internet. It was about a girl that hadn’t eaten any solid food for years and she had to be re-trained to eat and love her food. To do that, the parents were trying to raise money to bring her to a special clinic, maybe in Adelaide, that has been very successful in this sort of situations.
    Oh! Found it! http://www.todaytonightadelaide.com.au/stories/eleanor-holland
    I hope that somehow it’s relevant to you.


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