8 mo old DS has sour breath-reflux or just from BM?

[lkmiscnet]

Just curious as to whether our DS's sour breath could be from reflux or whether it's just normal since he is breastfed. We started solids about 6 wks ago, but he had the same breath before that, and also before he got his two lower teeth last month, and had sour breath before getting his teeth.

[ErinYay]

IMO, breastfed babies have the most appealing, yummy puppybreath- it's not sour at all to me, though it might be to you! Does you kiddo have reflux, or are you wondering if his breath might be a symptom of it? I would hazard a guess that reflux would indeed cause more soury breath. Sorry I don't have any real advice!

[lkmiscnet]

It smells like sour milk (not offensive, but not odorless either), which I thought could be common since he can't rinse his mouth, and it probably is just the coating in his mouth from breastmilk. But, the thought crossed my mind that it could be a sign of reflux rather than normal breath associated with breastfeeding.

His ped thinks he has reflux, but he sleeps well, still breastfeeding every 2-3 hours round the clock and he quickly goes back to sleep after being nursed. If he had reflux, I would expect a lot of crying and screaming. He used to be quite gassy, but that seems to have gotten better.

[Luke's mama]

When my DS was that age, I didn't notice sour milk, but sometimes the area around his neck smelled really sour to me from his drooling, especially where it soaked into his outfit. Somedays it bothered me enough that I changed his clothes midday when they weren't dirty otherwise and wiped down his neck a little--but it seemed to come and go. Maybe it was correlated to some of the solids he was eating? Not sure. I still think his breath is cute, but my husband thinks his breath is stinky at night these days (he is 21 mos. and nursing plus solids).

[kristinb]

I don't have an answer for you but I've noticed that my 6 month old has sour breath as well. Actually, her's smells like what I call "sore throat breath". It's always been like that. She doesn't have any signs of reflux but sometimes I wonder because she's a frequent night waker.

[walking burp cloth]

My DS had serious reflux (hence my user name) and also often had sour breath.

If your little one has reflux, but doesn't seem bothered by it, that is great! Most doctors say little ones grow out of it. DS did for the most part. I think he still deals with it with certain foods.

[evening start]

Thanks for posting. DS also has sour breath that I notice some times. It seems worse now that he does a mix of solids and BM. He used to spit up all the time, but now he just sort of spits up into his mouth and swallows. I think he probably has reflux but since he has always gained weight well and never seemed in extreme amounts of pain, my Ped said not to worry about it, he will grow out of it. DH and I were wondering if the breath was from reflux or if we needed to start brushing his mouth (no teeth yet). It's good to hear that it is fairly common.

[Penny4Them]

This may or may not helpful to you, but both my DH and I had terrible breath which went away after we began taking Vit D3. We found out we were both severely vit d deficient. I don't know if such a deficiency could impact a LO in this way, but my Ds takes Carlson drops (even though he's EBF) and he's not had poofy breath at all. I know there's a lot of debate about the necessity of EBF babies needing vit D, but b/c I was deficient I didn't want to take any chances. Just wondered, if you are EBF, have you ever been tested for Vit D deficiency, or are you taking any supplementation?

HTH
Penny

[lkmiscnet]

Thanks for the suggestion. Interesting idea.

I do take a Vit D supplement and have for years. Also, my DS takes Polyvisol, for iron, which has Vit D in it as well, and it's the amount of Vit D recommended for babies.

[stephanie95]

In children who have teeth, stinky breath can indicate tooth decay. We learned this with my 3 yo DD. Probably not an issue for the OP, but something you wouldn't want to ignore like we did.