Very smelly 14 wk old

[Vinnyinny]

Hi. Just as the title says really. My 14 wk old DS has very smelly wind, and has had for a few weeks now. The GP didn't seem bothered, the HV has filled in an allergy/food questionnaire and told me she will pass it on to the dietician. She said she didn't think it was necessarily allergies.

I have cut back on dairy to no effect, don't really drink alcohol, have 3 cups of tea a day.

Mostly they don't bother him. He is a fussy feeder and pulls off a lot, crying and fussing. He is EBF. Any advice? Should I worry? He could clear a room :-)

[mawbroon]

Fussy feeding, pulling off a lot and wind problems could be because of a tongue tie.

have a read here especially the symptoms list further down

[Vinnyinny]

Thanks. I don't think he's tongue tied, but I'll definitely ask the HV to have a look. I'm just concerned that there could be something wrong with his tummy to be producing such horrible smells!

[crazypaving]

do you have a fast let-down or a big supply of milk? think those can affect the gut.

[Seriouslysleepdeprived]

When you say cut out dairy how long for? It takes four weeks to see a difference, two for it to leave your body & two weeks to leave theirs. You need to be pretty strict with it tbh & cut out soya too as the proteins are similar.

[Seriouslysleepdeprived]

We also gave the weekly poonarmi along with evil farts. Have to check his nappy each time as I'm sure he's followed through!

[Vinnyinny]

Thanks for the advice. He tends to poo every couple of days- but not big ones. I admit I haven't cut dairy out completely- I still have milk in my tea and butter on my toast. I was under the impression that if it was a dairy allergy he would have other symptoms such as vomiting?

I do have a strong let-down and a fair amount of milk. He takes on a lot of air while he's gulping. I do wind him but he doesn't always burp. He is a completely different feeder to DS1 and I've lost all my confidence feeding him. It's so fussy.

[Happygirl77]

Has anyone suggested your ds might have silent reflux? Some symptoms here www.justmommies.com/babies/silent-reflux-in-infants-laryngopharyngeal-reflux My ds suffers with this and several things you said (fussy feeder, pulls off breast, gulps air) are the same symptoms he had. (Other symptoms: arching back and pulling away while feeding, unsettled during/after feeds, not wanting to lie flat esp after feeds, v sneezy and hiccuppy, noisy feeds (can hear gurgling and milk hitting stomach), noisy sleeper.)

They say that half the cases of reflux/silent reflux are caused or exacerbated by dairy intolerance/allergy. My ds is allergic, it transpires, to both dairy and soya. Along with the reflux, his other dairy-related symptoms were: he was congested from around 6 weeks old (blocked nose, tartly/wheezy chest which returns even now -9m - if I ingest dairy); his skin was blotchy and spotty; he would scream hysterically (like colic) for hours

You would need to cut out ALL dairy for 2-4 weeks to really see if it made a difference. Tedious but at least then you'll know one way or the other. My son now reacts to me eating a single dairy chocolate and bf him hours later!

[Vinnyinny]

Thanks. I'm going to cut out dairy completely and see if that makes a difference. The doctor has told me she doesn't think he has silent reflux. He never vomits. He's not happy though and it's worrying me. He's also overtired which isn't helping - I have a 2.8 yr old DS who is so energetic and loud that the poor baby doesn't get much sleep. I'm tired and emotional myself and I think that's clouding the issue also. Every feed feels like a challenge

[Happygirl77]

It's good news the GP thinks it's not silent reflux - but I would just point out that babies with silent reflux DON'T vomit, as a rule (this is why it's hard to diagnose - stomach acid bubbles back up the oesophagus / throat but is not vomited up so causes pain and burning without obvious external symptoms!)

My ds also finds it hard to nap (2 older dds). I have found white noise to be the answer!

[thezoobmeister]

Could be oversupply/overactive letdown? kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/fast-letdown/

I've been having trouble with this, definitely the cause of fussy feeding, pulling off, gulping air etc over here.