Cranky McPhersen--update post #6

This is Oakley's nickname. I feel so bad because I don't know what is up with him. We are starting to suspect a food allergy? So I posted on the allergy board, and I'll copy that here--it was long. We are starting to get worried because he cries so much and is not gaining weight, maybe a food allergy is doing serious damage to his intestines...Here is the post...Anyone have any ideas?? I just had my 4th child in January--he is 2 months old. My older 3 kids have no food allergies but ds1 does have some hayfever and itchy eye stuff (like me) in the spring--some clariten and eye drops help tons. With #4, he has been super fussy since day 1, after the meconium poops left, he had normal looking orange, seedy poop for about a week. After that, it turned green and runny--almost watery. I kept asking the ped when we went in if green poo was ok, and she kept saying it was. But now I'm wondering if he has an allergy? He cries A LOT and has up to 10 very runny, watery green poops in a day. But he doesn't have exema or anything like that--just crying and the diarreah and some raspy breathing that never goes away. At his last visit, his weight percentage dropped way down. He did gain a little from 1-2 months, but not much. And when I compare him to my other kids, he is way smaller--they have all followed a very similar growth pattern except him, so that now, at 2 months, he is 2-3 lbs behind where they were yet he was the 2nd biggest at birth. I eliminated milk last week, and since the appt this past tuesday, I eliminated ALL dairy. He does not seem to be improving at all, so now we are trying an elimination diet to see if we can get him to be a happier baby. Basically all I have had to eat for 2 days is rice chex and soy milk. (as long as rice or soy are not the allergens, maybe this will help?) I guess my question is, would a food allergy be just fussy, low weight gain, raspy breathing and diarreah (he has had nothing but breastmilk) Or is skin rashes another definite sign of food allergies? My MIL has crohns disease, so we worried about that or celiac, but I have no experience with either one. All I know is that he is not like my other 3 kids and something is up with him.ETA--the ped put him on prevacid thinking maybe he has silent reflux (the raspy breathing) but it doesn't seem to help the fussiness at all, and does nothing for the green runs. She said the next step would be do do a super expensive formula, which i want to avoid--all my others were exclusively bf. :(

My SIL went through an allergy phase with her son. He had several allergies, so she had a very limited diet. I think I would stay away from soy and stick to meat, rice, green veggies, bananas and apples. Those are all unlikely to be allergens. The most common allergens are nuts, berries, wheat, dairy, eggs and soy. So I'd try to avoid those. Maybe try to avoid corn too. I know a few people who are allergic to corn.

I'd say if you see no improvement after a week on that diet, it may be something else going on.

Sorry you are dealing with this.

Just gleaning information from other threads, iy may take 2 weeks to get allergens out of the system. Also, soy is a common allergy, so it may be good stick to the basics. Be careful if you eat any processed foods because thy love to stick random things everywhere... I am allergic to onions and it's amazing what things have onions in them that you never would have thought of. Best advice is to stay away from the processed as much as possible and eat whole foods. If you can, get organic or wild meat too to avoid chemicals in your meat - I know a few people who've found that has helped with sickness and digestive problems.

my son was fussy and "colicky" and always had upset stomach. We muddled through until he was a year and we went from breast milk to starting to introduce whole cows milk...well his digestive system went wild. He started getting explosive poops and was very bad. We changed to soy....same thing. We went to lactaid and it stopped. He definitely has an allergy to the milk (lactose intolerant) and soy products. I did not make solid changes to my diet while breastfeeding enough to help him when he was younger....and I feel really bad about that now. The doctor just kept saying it was colic and it would go away...all the while I was torturing the poor kid! :) Anyways...he is no worse for the wear now...he is doing great...and he actually tolerates yogurt and cheese...but its the straight milk and soy milk that is a problem. I would see if you can figure out the allergy thing first...my other son had severe reflux. He was diagnosed young (2 months)...and at the age of 6 they did a ph probe and he was diagnosed with severe reflux even then. He is 12 now and has FINALLY outgrown it...but not all kids spit up with reflux...so its another very real possibility...especially if he is not gaining properly. Good luck finding answers...but be careful not to "correct" both things at once...or you wont know which the problem was.....or maybe it will end up being both! kup!

I have one friend of a friend who's baby was allergic to her breast milk. I don't know what the exact symptoms were, but once they switched to formula, the baby was healthy. I really really hope this isn't the case since breastfeeding is so wonderful for babies, but just thought I'd mention it as a possibility if cutting out all allergens in your diet doesn't make an improvement.

Hope you figure it out quickly,

Heather

Update:

Went back for a weight check today. Oakley hasn't gained anything in an entire week. He is cranky and fussy all the time still and has nasty wet, mucousy green diarrhea still. I even took a pic with my phone this morning of his diaper and showed the dr. She said it looked to her more liquidy than solid and asked if it was always that mucous filled. She recommended putting him on Alimentum formula for one week and pump the entire time to keep my milk up. See if he improves. So I'm going to keep with my allergen free diet and if he improves, try nursing again and see what happens. I am off gluten, soy, diary, eggs, citrus, chocolate, all nuts and peanuts. Basically I eat rice chex and rice milk for most meals, some grilled meat and rice or potatoes and collard greens or kale for dinner. Pretty boring, but worth it if we figure it out.

If for some reason the formula doesn't take care of it, then we need to dig deeper and we'll be sent to Children's for some testing on why he is not absorbing nutrients. Ay yi yi..... :( Makes me cry because none of my kids ever had formula--I guess my dd had a little supplement of formula at almost a year, but that it.

Hugs Holly. I know I would be so sad to hear I could not bf, but I am sure it is also heartbreaking seeing your little guy so unhappy and not gaining. I hope you can get things figured out!

((HUGS)) I hope the switch helps-- I would be heartbroken, too.

Your elimination diet sounds incredible-- I hope it works! KUP and we'll be hoping that Oakley is happier soon. More ((HUGS))

Thanks ladies. I just can't stop crying about it today. It doesn't help that every time I pump I'm getting less and less. And that my sister keeps reminding me that it is fine, she couldn't nurse her babies either and they were just fine on formula.

But Oakley is happier today without tummy aches and this morning had a normal poopy diaper--orange and had some substance to it rather than liquid. And only one so far today instead of 6+. Normally he would nurse and get nice and full and within a half hour be screaming in pain and nothing would stop him--he wouldn't nurse or sleep. He would finally pass out and then wake up, poo green and be starving again.

Hugs Holly. It is tough. But yay for a happier baby today! So can you slowly add things into your diet to figure out his allergies, if you get him back to nursing? Poor little guy!