Help! Nursing issue.

[cellososweet]

Hi Everyone!
S is 18 weeks old now and we had a really hard time learning how to breastfeed. He latched pretty well from the get-go, but my milk too nearly a month to comein and two months for my supply to really build up.

S is having a really bad stomach issue. He has mucousy, green poos and screaming fits when he goes. I got a blood test on him (WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE! It was so sad. I cried my eyes out) to test for allergies and it came back clear. The doctor was a little stumped at that and so was I. We both thought at least something would come up. But, no.

The doctor said that the allergy panel wasn''t all-inclusive though and to see if it really was an allergy, I should stop nursing (and pump to keep up my supply) for 3-4 days and see if he still has an issue. If he''s better, then it''s definitely an allergy and then we can try to pinpoint it. If he''s not, then we''ll get a rec for a gastro specialist.

My concern is, do you think we''ll have problems with nursing after 3 days? He is so attached to nursing. We bedshare and nurses throughout the night, often during the day, and for comfort as well.

I think I''ll be more miserable than him, but I''ll be devastated if I offer him the boob on the 4th day and he rejects me. Anyone else had to do this?

Cheers!

 

[Cehrabehra]

I had to stop drinking milk when I was nursing, sounds very similar to what we went through (but more pukiness) 10 months old or so it stopped and he isn''t lactose intolerant now... it was weird.

I know the inclination is to go to the dr (and I''m not saying don''t do that) but in my experience the earthy crunchy breast nazis had a lot of really great answers for all sorts of weird things... just take it with a grain of salt.

 

[Burk]

Oh, Cello, I am so sorry. Very rarely do babies have actual *allergies* but can still not tolerate/be sensitive to a certain food and that food can cause them problems. T's allergist wouldn't even test her for allergies as a baby because of this. I've mentioned to you before that both my kids are dairy/corn intolerant. Their little bellies just can't digest dairy and corn. Tayva grew out of her intolerance around 15 months and can do dairy fine now, I'm sure K will grow out of his too. Your little guys symptoms sound like he isn't tolerating something in your milk. So, you don't necessarily need to stop nursing to figure out what it is, but eliminate some foods. The major culprits are typically diary, soy, and then wheat is next. You can google "elimination diet" if you want to try that. You could do a couple bottles of a hypoallergenic formula and pump for those feedings to try and "heal" his belly-so your doctor's idea is not all bad in my opinion. When I eat something I shouldn't and K gets bad we do a BM "cleanse" where I do about 50% BM and 50% Similac Alimentum for a couple days and it always helps. Your little guy will not forget how to nurse or reject you after a couple days.

Here's a link to some info on kellymom

 

[cellososweet]

Hey Burk. Thanks. We''re on week 4 of the elimination diet and we''re not any better. Being that I''m a vegetarian and can''t eat meat (it hurts my stomach), I''m not eating very much. I''m exhausted, he''s still sick, and its been weeks since I''ve really had a good solid meal. I haven''t had dairy in more than two months, corn, wheat and soy for about a month.

Its frustrating and I''m tired of taking him to the doctors/hospital and having him have such a nasty tummy ache 24/7.

So, the doctor suggested we do straight formula for 3-4 days and if he''s better, then its definitely something I''m eating. I''ve been religious with the friggin diet and its not really changing anything (he''s actually gotten worse).

I feel like its going to be a nightmare because he''s very, very attached. But, I''m willing to do it to see if it helps.

I just want him to feel better and since its not colic (didn''t start early and doesn''t follow the colic symptom base), I don''t think riding it out is an appropriate option. Oh well, off I go to make bottles. After all I went through to establish BF''ing and now this. I''m just really irritated.

 

[NovemberBride]

Cello - I am so sorry about what you are going through. My DD has a milk allergy, which does show up on allergy tests, but as Burk mentions, a lot of kids have an intolerance which wouldn''t show up on the test. But if you''ve been doing the elimination diet this long I would think it would have worked. Have you been to a pediatric allergist? Our pedi is great, but didn''t have a lot of specific allergy knowledge and we didn''t really get any answers until we saw the pediatric allergist.
What formula are you using - I assume it''s one of the hypoallergenic ones since you suspect a dairy intolerance? Our DD uses Alimentum and she hasn''t had any problems since we started with it. I hope you find an answer soon - I know how stressful it is to have a baby who is getting sick from eating.

 

[ChinaCat]

I have no advice, just wanted to say I''m sorry and that I hope you get some answers and soon. You''ve worked so hard, I know it''s so frustrating when we don''t know what to do for our little ones. Just wanted to say you are a great mom and it will be okay either way. I would be surprised if S rejects nursing after a few days of a bottle, he''s well established on the nursing. O easily went back and forth at that age.

Good luck and hugs to you.

 

[Jas12]

Cello--as Burk said, it''s extremely rare for a child to be allergic to BM. Intolerances occur, but those are pretty rare too. I wonder if he has some undiagnosed stomach issue (was he sick at all, does he have reflux or anything else that could signify a gastro/intestinal problem?) This happened to a friend of mine and i forget what cleared it up, but it was not easy to pinpoint & took a few tests.
If that were the case my biggest fear would be that formula would make matters worse. Is there a really good BFing consultant or pedi specialist you can see? I think quitting nursing would be my last resort, esp if you both enjoy it & you''ve tried allergy testing and elimination diets.

Also, I would email Dr. Jack Newman. He''s a pedi that deals with BFing issues only, here in canada. I emailed him with a problem and got advice within 24 hrs (so have a few other PSers).
Note, he gets hundreds of emails so he''s not all warm and fuzzy and sometimes jsut sends a link to an article he''s written, but he might help.
Send a concise, clear, email with the issue, advice from the other Dr. you saw and what steps you have taken so far (elimination diet).

Here is the LINKY to his contact info

and the HOME PAGE

Best of luck. I hope things get better for you

 

[Jas12]

cello--forgot to add, does your little guy seem in general good health besides this? Is he gaining weight and eating well? b/c i do remember my son (soley BF as well) had mucousy stools many days and the colored varied from dark green, to light green, to yellow and sometimes a brownish. I read that green and mucus meant virus or teething, but sometimes my son just had them for no apparent reason.
However, he didn't have obvious pain and they didn't smell really bad.

here are links to stool color i had bookmarked from way back
Baby stool color and THIS

 

[Burk]

Real quick before my students get here: Cello, big hugs! I''ve been where you are...HUNGRY, sad, frustrated, the list goes on. I had to do the elimination diet with T and we saw no improvements after weeks too. I second Jas12''s recommendation to get in touch with Dr. Newman. I''m lucky that we have a Dr. in my city that specializes in breastfeeding like Dr. Newman so I was able to work with her (still am with this baby). I also think you should try to get into a pedi GI now because in our experience it took us 6 weeks to get in and better to have an appt and cancel it later if he''s doing better? Also, even though you''ve been on the elimination diet for a while there could still be traces of something in your system that is getting to your little guy, especially if he''s really sensitive (both mine are). I started eliminating at 37 weeks preggo this time around to make sure everything was out of my system when I started nursing him per the advice of the Dr. who specializes in bfing. Okay, bell rang, I''ll be back!

 

[Mara]

cello, i don''t have anything to offer on the allergy issue but re: it being a total nightmare to try this for a few days, you might be surprised, babies like to shock us sometimes hehe.

it could be that he is so attached to nursing at all hours because he doesn''t feel well and it''s soothing to suck, and to have that closeness. sooo if the formula DOES work and he IS feeling better, then he might be like a whole new baby! i totally feel you on wanting to EBF as long as possible, but if the formula makes him feel better, then that would seemingly be the preferrable solution vs any extremely serious kind of gastro-issue.

fingers crossed for you guys that something is figured out soon!!

 

[Pandora II]

Cello, as someone who also bed-shares and still feeds Daisy every 3-4 hours I wish you luck for trying to drop the feeds, I wouldn''t want to try that one. I really doubt that you''ll have an issue with getting him to take the boob again though - I did mixed feeding at the beginning and now Daisy is on solids as well but boob is always top with her.

I''m wondering if it''s teething - I can tell now when D is due a new tooth as she gets diaper rash, much runnier poop, very dry skin etc. At first I thought it was allergies as she had the red ring, but when I discussed it with my dad and my GP, both said that allergies were extremely rare in babies under a year and even intolerances were uncommon. Daisy has had the same foods lots of times since but no reaction at all, so I''m reckoning that it''s the teething that does it.

Also had an issue for months with her waking every hour all night screaming with tummy pain. I tried everything I could think of: EBF for a week, cutting dairy, cutting wheat, probiotics, gripe water etc and the probiotics helped a little for a week or so and then it was just as bad. I don''t know if it''s a coincidence but since she started to walk three weeks ago she now sleeps really well all night, takes a nap during the day and no tummy pain at all.

I think that growth spurts, milestones, teeth etc all have a lot more effect on overall development and behaviour than one would imagine.

Hope you get some answers soon!

Oh, any news on the potential move to the UK?

 

[cellososweet]

You all are wonderful!

So, we tried to do the formula today and S would not have ANY of it. He absolutely refused. It was going on 6 hours without anything to eat (from a kid who usually nurses every 2-3 hours, 4 tops). He got SO angry and screamed at the top of his lungs. He took a mouthful at one point and then spit it right back out on his bib.

I called the paed and told him that he''s refusing the formula and was getting hysterical so I gave him the boob finally. We tried again later and NOPE, he wants nothing to do with the formula.

I emailed Dr. Newman this morning and he got back to me within an hour!!! Thanks for the recommendation. He emailed over some GREAT advice. Thanks Jas for the recommendation of making it clear and concise. I was able to get S''s complete issue out in 4 lines. I think it really helped.

S is the happiest baby ever. He coos, laughs, smiles, is rolling from back to side and back (trying to get all the way over), sits pretty well in a highchair or an exercauser, loves to cuddle, loves walks, loves his grandparents and parents. It''s just this pooping thing. He''s never been quite right with the poops. It''s always been one thing or the other. The paed is now thinking that maybe he got a stomach virus and then got it again, kind of back to back. I dunno though, but it made me think that it would explain things a little.

He did cut his first tooth this week and the paed said that could contribute to the green runnies, but wouldn''t explain the rancid sulfur/rotten egg smell.

Pandora: The move to the UK was a bust. The salary was ok, but it''s DH''s bonuses that really make us comfortable, so if the bonus scale isn''t good, it''s not worth it. The salary was better than here, but the bonus scale stunk, so we had to decline. I was looking forward to a change too! Oh well,on to the next thing.

P.S.- I felt almost a little proud of S for rejecting the formula. I know. I''m egocentric and want him to only want me.

 

[Jas12]

cello--i am glad Dr. Newman got back to you. He really helped me so i like to pass on that resource

If S is so happy the rest of the time that is really promising. and if it''s a stomach virus then nursing is the best thing you can do so i hope that is what they discover it to be and he gets better soon!