Saturday, June 16, 2012
Mystery Baby Problem...Help, Please!
I am desperate for help with this issue, so I appreciate any moms or dads who can read through this quickly and let me know if they've experienced anything similar with any of their children and can guide me with what to do.
BabyG has been a spitter-upper from day one, but was not anywhere as bad as her reflux-ed older brother. She's also been notorious for not having the greatest latch during nursing and often sputters/sucks in air while nursing (I'm hoping to talk to my aunt, who's a lactation consultant, at my awesome cousin Amy's bridal shower next Saturday).
However, last Thursday or Friday(so when she turned five weeks old, basically) there was a sudden change in BabyG and I just can't figure out why. Symptoms that all began simultaneously and continue now include the following:
1. She went from pooping regularly (several times a day) to going a day or two in between.
2. She started being extremely gassy. I don't recall her having gas at all before but now she has it all the time, sometimes almost explosively.
3. Her spitting up increased (I would venture to say it doubled or even tripled) in both frequency and quantity. It also can be very explosive and projectile in nature. She now rivals LG in his spitting-up glory days.
4. From number 2 and 3, she seems extremely uncomfortable a lot of the time. Sometimes during nursing, sometimes afterward, sometimes in between feedings.
5. I don't think this one started at the same time as numbers 1-3 but is likely a result of them - she hesitates to nurse and sometimes won't start for a full minute or more. She obviously will WANT to nurse but will resist latching on.
This doesn't seem like reflux to me - I don't see a ton of tongue-thrusting or back-arching (though she has done a bit of each in the past). I've been able to put my finger on dairy, chocolate, and raw tomato bothering her, so I already avoid those. I thought initially that all of this behavior change was due to my having hummus a couple of times (and her reacting badly to trying to digest beans), but I haven't had hummus since Monday.
I think it's chiefly a gassiness issue - she sucks in air all the time. When she spits up, she gags and sucks LOTS of air in.
I think that covers everything. I'd really like to get this solved so she's not miserable so much of the time. I guess it could all come down to that poor latch that I hope to fix, but it's just weird to me that this all came on at once. I will likely take her to the pediatrician next week if I can't figure anything out.
Thanks for any help or wisdom you can provide in advance!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Annibelle was GREAT until around a month old when she suddenly became very sensitive to certain foods. Chocolate was one, but broccoli was the worst of them all! I couldn't even dream about eating it (fully cooked) or she'd get so gassy and just scream like she was dying. Pooping changed around then too, but the pediatrician said it was perfectly normal. Beans were a hard one for her to have me eat too. You're on the right track cutting foods out one at a time. And definitely talk to Alena (or someone) about the latch. (has she had trouble from the start??) Best of luck! Love you!!
Gretel, I'm so sorry to hear about the problems. Some things that come to mind--first, between 4 and 6 weeks old it is common for babies to start going longer, often several days between having stools. As long as when she does have one, it is plentiful, yellow and loose it is probably ok.
Try to look at the baby's tongue and see if when she sticks it out it looks heart shaped. If she can't stick it out very far she may be having problems maintaining the latch.
If you have plentiful milk supply sometimes you may have a strong letdown that overwhelms the baby at the first. You could try pumping or hand expressing just enough milk to initiate the letdown and once the initial spray is over, latch baby on.
Also if you have lots of milk baby may be getting more fore milk than hind milk which can cause some gassiness and fussiness.
If the baby has an ear infection she may be hungry and latch, but it could hurt to suck so she lets go and fusses but is still hungry so latches on again only to be in pain again. If you haven't seen the Ped lately, you may want to get her ears looked at.
I can't see what you wrote when I am on the comment part, so I'll end here. Just some thoughts. Feel free to call me.
My daughter who is Alena's age only had a bowel movemeny every five days. We stayed home on that day because it was down her legs up her back you get the picture. When babies have a growth spert you start making more milk it takes your body sometime to adjust. Some times you make to much and the pooe baby can't keep up with the amount coming out. My kids just swallowed fast and got a lot of air. This will pass. If you started pumping milk so you could go back to work that could have incresed your supply. Don't give up.
Post a Comment