How far to push with doc?

[omelette]

My son is 7.5mos.
From the get go he's had major discomfort b/c of gas and at 7.5 mos it seems to be getting worse not better. I've cut out gluten and dairy and soy.
He was bf only till 6.5 months, I then tried a few different foods and it seemed to make his gas worse so I'm back to bf'ing only.
We were at a specialist when he was 2 months old b/c of reflux and digestion (after 3-4 hrs, he'd spit up undigested milk). She was not worried b/c he's growing very well (97th percentile all around) and looks very healthy. My family doc is not worried b/c he is growing well. He claims it's colic and his nephew had colic til 18mos???? It's not colic; it's a very uncomfortable baby who tries to poop/fart and screams and can't get anything out. He pushes so hard he spits up, he wriggles about in pain, he barely sleeps b/c he wakes up in discomfort trying to fart.
We then saw another doc who is a bf specialists but she was pushing me to give him more food and after 4 visits said she could not do anymore for us.

So as of now he is still spiting up huge quantities, not as regularly as before but still quite often. His poops are orange, frothy and watery with some mucous. Yesterday he had 2 poops that were the colour of yellow wax beans with the consistency of soft beeswax. They were chunks the size of squished peas. I've never seen a poop like that before. He screams for 40 min to several hours in discomfort. The other day it was 4 hours and I called dh to come home b/c I didn't know what to do.
I feel like my milk is bothering him so much but so is real food. I'm at a complete loss as to what I should be doing and I'm getting no support from my doc.
So what I'm wondering is:
-has anybody had a baby like this (maybe it's common and I'm not aware of it)
- should I be pushing for a certain test that might help me figure out why he's so uncomfortable?
- is the yellow, waxy poop a concern?
- should I continue just bf'ing or should I try food again?

I'm getting no help from the docs so I'm hoping somebody here might have some info or ideas for me.
Thanks

[pbjmama]

I would get a referral (if you need one) to a ped gastro doc.

[naupakamama]

I would look into chiropractic care too. It has help my kids a lot.

[omelette]

We've taken him to a chiro and did not see any improvements.

I should ad to that the ongoing crying is in my arms or dh's.

[firewoman]

Oh mama! I'm so sorry. I know this must be so hard and you sound as though you are at a complete loss. I don't know what this could be but if I were your baby's mam I would eat a very boring diet making sure to cut out known allergic foods opting for just brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, lots of fruits and veggies. I would start giving baby cultured veggies and cultured coconut water. I buy coco-biotic from Body Ecology. He needs to be taking a couple of teaspoons of the coco-biotic three times a day. The first one should be first thing in the morning before he eats and hopefully he can avoid eating for a little while after he takes it. If not, no biggie. I think if you can get his digestive tract cultured it would help. I'd also start taking a digestive enzyme or two with each main meal. I like Garden of Life's Ultra Omega-zyme. Do this regimen for at least 4 weeks before you decide it isn't working.

As an aside, did you have antibiotics during labor or has he ever had to take them in his life? I hope that helps him and I'm so sorry the both of you are having this trouble.

[omelette]

I've given him probiotics a week or 2 after he was born in hopes that it would help with his tummy then and I've given them to him on and off since then.

He did have antibiotics when he was 2 months old, he had pneumonia. I gave him probiotics at the time. Interestingly, the only time he's had the mustardy coloured grainy poops was when he was on antibiotics, otherwise they've always been very orange.

firewoman - is the coco-biotic a probiotic for balancing the gut?
and what are baby cultured veggies?

[firewoman]

Yes, coco-biotic is cultured young coconut water. Cultured veggies aren't just for babies, but if you are going to be giving him any solids, that is what I would stick with for now, although exclusively breastfeeding him is great, too. Some health food stores carry cultured veggies in the refrigerator section or you can buy veggie culture starters and make them yourself. They aren't difficult and you can use whatever veggies you prefer that way. I prefer cultured foods over taking probiotic powders/capsules because I feel they work better. Since dairy is an allergen, plain kefir and yogurt are not options, so the coco-biotic would work well. It is very hydrating which would be good for him, too.

As far as his poops go...my baby is the same age and she hasn't had the mustardy seedy poops since she was about 2 months. She poops twice every three to four days. They are usually in quick succession so she poops once and then within hours poops again. They she is done for another three days. She doesn't have gas or seem to struggle with it like you're describing but her poops have become thick and dark orange and usually have a lot of solid pieces when I spray off her cloth diaper. I would describe the poop as sticky. Just letting you know that what you described in your earlier post doesn't seem too off the mark, but certainly the discomfort he is feeling is.

The fact that he had antibiotics makes me think that those could have contributed to the digestive issues he is having now, even if he seemed to have digestive woes before he took them. Many young babies have gassiness and other digestive problems early in life, but antibiotics even though he needed them could have exacerbated them. I would spend 30 days making sure you eat a really beautiful, clean diet and give him the cultured foods I mentioned in lieu of the probiotic powders. I really suggest you take the enzymes as well. I think they may help, too. If it really helps, I would stick with it for awhile after the thirty days. He may just be sensitive little guy!

[annarose999]

I agree with firewoman though I am able to get by on the probiotic powders. My dd started having digestive issues like your lo almost from birth. I started an elimination diet and added probiotics to both her and my diets. It's done wonders. There was a period when dd was about three months old that I forgot to give her the probiotics because she had been doing so well. After two weeks without pooping I realized what I has done. I started her right back up again and now she's on a two to three day pooping schedule just like firewoman's lo.
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[pumpkinhead]

What is your letdown like? When you nurse him on one breast, does the other one leak? Does he come on and off the breast during a feed? Does milk ever leak out of the sides of his mouth while he nurses or spray if he comes off the breast?

Sorry for the 20 questions, but was he ever treated for reflux? Is he fussy at the breast ever and/or is he fussy right after the feed? Does he ever make chewing motions with his gums after nursing?

[omelette]

He's quite happy nursing, no milk leaks out the sides or I don't spray or leak out the other breast while nursing.
He was not treated for his reflux. He's labeled a happy spitter, he spits up huge amounts but doesn't really fuss before or after a spit up.

I'm not concerned about the amount or how often he is pooping but more what it looks like and the fact that he is so uncomfortable. When he's only bf he goes 1-2 times/day, when I tried him on food he went every 2-3 days.

[pumpkinhead]

It's pretty normal for a baby to start stooling less when you introduce solids. It's not normal for them to make him super uncomfortable.

There's a huge range of what consititutes normal poo colour and consistency in a baby. I had OALD and OS issues and until I got them under control, DS1's poo was really orange, watery and frothy. I also had to do a complete dairy elimination with him (including hidden dairy like whey and casien).

There are a lot of really common allergens like soy, corn, gluten etc. that are found in cereals. Have you thought about doing a complete elimination diet? I know it's a huge PITA, but it might give you some more definite answers.

[kristinas8]

[QUOTE=pumpkinhead;15446813]What is your letdown like? When you nurse him on one breast, does the other one leak? Does he come on and off the breast during a feed? Does milk ever leak out of the sides of his mouth while he nurses or spray if he comes off the breast?



My dd, does this, do you know what causes it?

I'm not trying to steal this thread, but that describes my dd perfectly!

[omelette]

[QUOTE=kristinas8;15451396]

Originally Posted by pumpkinhead

What is your letdown like? When you nurse him on one breast, does the other one leak? Does he come on and off the breast during a feed? Does milk ever leak out of the sides of his mouth while he nurses or spray if he comes off the breast?



My dd, does this, do you know what causes it?

I'm not trying to steal this thread, but that describes my dd perfectly!

My first son did this and I was told is was on overactive letdown. I used to latch him, as soon as I felt my letdown I'd pop him off or he'd pop himself off and I'd hold a cloth until it stop leaking and then I'd latch him back on. It helped in our situation.

[LadyCatherine185]

mama, sounds like you are going through a LOT! And your poor baby!

A few things: You said he is a "happy spitter" yet he screams for hours a day? Just because he is not screaming while he is spitting up does not mean he isn't in pain from his reflux. My DS NEVER spit up, but he had really bad silent reflux that was only "fixed" by putting him on Prevacid. He also had some allergy issues, which worked themselves out for the most part now, although he is still intolerant to most dairy.

Most doctors do not know anything about allergies or food intolerances. Especially in breastfed babies. I would take him to a GI specialist of some sort. You could also take him to an allergist, but the tests they do are only 50% accurate at such a young age so that's pretty much a waste of time. I would to a Total Elimination Diet that Dr Sears talks about. Another thing you could look into is the GAPS diet. Both you can google. There is also a lot of info and knowledgable mamas in the Allergy forum on MDC. I would also do some probiotics again. You need to try one with many different strains of bacteria in them. All probiotics are NOT created equal. I don't know a whole lot about them, but again, a lot of mamas in the Allergy forum could probably help you if you started a thread over there.

I hope you find some answers soon!