I need help!

Donna · 10-19-2007, 10:00 PM

Today was day 4 of Jayden's constant screaming bloody murder for hours on end so by this afternoon I was about to loose it. I put a call into the office and after discussing whats been going on the last several days they wanted us to bring him in. After talking to the nurse in detail I started to wonder if we weren't dealing with some reflux problems or something of that nature.

- He wakes up congested every morning (this is the only time I notice it and its gone after he is up a few minutes)
- He sometimes stiffens his legs while nursing - although he doesn't pop off or seem in pain to me
- I have noticed him gagging during the day occasionally
- His constant vomiting followed by smaller "spit-ups"
- He will only lay on his tummy and thats only to sleep, he will NOT tolerate being put down at all. He can be in a dead of sleep and we lay him down (or put him in the bouncy/swing/etc) and he is up whaling in a matter of minutes. He does the whole clenching of the fists, arching his back, flailing his legs, crying so hard he stops breathing and so on.
- He frequently gets the hiccups which bring on more vomiting
- His wanting to constantly nurse
- His BM issues

We have literally carried him around in the sling all day long since this started. He will still have meltdowns in there but it is way less. If he is out of the sling he must be held and its either over the shoulder or on the chest (no cradling). The only way I can get him to sleep for any extended amount of time is to nurse him laying down in my bed and roll him onto his belly when he pops off. He is producing at least 4 usually 5 full diapers a day and he is gaining weight good (up to 7lbs 8oz today).

So my pedi's diagnosis..... colic brought on by a breastmilk sensitivity. He's thinking that Jayden can not properly digest (the lactose, protein, etc.) my breastmilk which is causing him to be colicky. He said it is very rare but does happen, an since the other kids had/have lactose issues. Again he had good bowel sounds and couldn't feel any stool present although this is day 3 with no BM. So between all the symptoms and the clear x-ray he believes this to be a metabolic issue.

Heres my problem... He would like us to take him off breastmilk for the weekend and give him Nutramigen (because it is basically pre-digested) to see if his symptoms improve any. If they don't then he wants us to see a GI specialist and if they do then we'll go from there. I'm terrified to take him off the breast, especially when things are going so well (latch wise).

I don't know what to do

?!?!?!?!?!

Karen · 10-19-2007, 10:12 PM

First

you could be totally describing Tyler-especially in the early days. I haven't given up nursing yet and things eased up ALOT with me giving up dairy, so I would ty that . Personally I would only do the formula if you need the break-like from the screaming. Breastmilk is still best for reflux since it is digested so quickly but hey having been there, the formula if it makes him feel better then go for it. WIth Tyler I stopped milk and he got progressively better each day. Tyler has ALL the symptoms you are describing including the constipation. Mylanta or Maalox inthe original formula 1/2 teaspoon after all feeds-up to 4x/day per my pedi although he wsan't feeling completely better until the prevacid. Check out www.reflux.org there is good info and message board that you can search for info that I found to be really helpful.

I would look into the reflux and milk/soy protein sensitivity stuff and see if that doesn't help. If he does have reflux from everything I have read formula or breastmilk he will still have reflux.

Lisa · 10-19-2007, 10:27 PM

I agree with Karen....everything you describe was Kaitlyn with the Reflux......I also stopped dairy, started the zantac, she was always congested which is common with reflux babies.....would arch her back and pull up her legs but continue to nurse through it all. She would projectile vomit all over and spit up constant, when that started we would do a weight check, up the meds and it would go away. My ped was of the mindset that bm is better than forumla for babies and urged me to keep it up, since it is easier to digest, he just made me do a step by step stopping of certain food till the problem got better. I wouldnt stop nursing if I were you, I would start with stopping ALL dairy, any gassy veggies, and make sure you stay away from greasy and high acid foods(especially anything tomato based) and no coffee....see if that helps, if not I would put him on acid medication ASAP. If that helps then slowly add in a food and see if it causes a reaction, if so stop it again, and switch to a different food. My friend at work stopped bf her son because he was refluxing and started formula and made it 2x worse.

I declined the GI specialist because I have had the scope myself and after all Kate went through wasnt gonna put her through that as well...I believe Bel had it done with Austin, so maybe she can shed some light there.

Check this out...it is a new product released to help with infant soothing....

http://mysweetpeace.com/?uID=ped46#

Next child I have I will be purchasing this for becuase it was rated so highly for babies with reflux....and can be setup and moved around....
http://www.ambybaby.com/?gclid=CN6Ct...FSCTWAodNCr7ew

Koloe · 10-20-2007, 01:15 PM

I would work on the elimination diet. The problems you discribe are often related to what you are eating. Dairy and Wheat are major contributors to this kind of problem. And dairy is in a LOT of products. It can also take up to 2 weeks for a food you have eaten to competly get out of your system.

If you do get to a point were you want to try the formula, make sure you keep pumping, because often the formula doesn't help.

Amanda05 · 10-20-2007, 02:39 PM

So far you have got really good info. I just wanted to add that Brayden has really bad dairy allergies. I stopped BFing him and it didn't help a whole lot at all. Eliminating it out of your diet would probably work the best. Sorry Donna

Emma · 10-20-2007, 08:17 PM

Lauryn was soooo colicky and I just had to walk outside to get away from the constant screaming. No one could soothe her and it was unbearable. We didn't have the constipation issue, but we had a little bit of reflux. At the suggestion of the nurse at the peds office, I tried soy formula for a week (pumping the whole time just in case the formula didn't work). The formula made no difference and we went back to breast. I also tried eliminating things from my diet, but I wasn't really good at that and only eliminated the "gassy foods" plus dairy for like a week. Again, there was no change. She was just awful until we hit the 3 month/100 day mark and then she got so much better. Hang in there Donna, I know how bad it can get.

gooberette · 10-21-2007, 02:22 PM

I raelly don't know but I wanted to give you a big

I hope they can help you figure out what the problem is soon and fix it!!