Reaction to nuts in BF 10 week old

[AngelDog]

Does this sound like it could be a reaction to nuts?

The day after I ate a whole load of cashew nuts, 10 week old DS2 was generally miserable, really windy, produced loads of skid marks in nappies but didn't really poo. He had a very fussy evening and couldn't sleep due to the eventual arrival of a poo just as he was going to sleep. Today has been the same, but his poo smelt strong and unpleasant. He has been weeing more than usual. He has been frequently choking and gagging when feeding, which he used to do a lot before he had his tongue tie revised, but which he rarely does now.

He also has a bit of a gunky eye (may not be related) and a little red patch on his head where the cradle-cap type skin has flaked off. (He doesn't really have cradle cap, just a few flakes of skin).

The only thing I ate which was different from my usual food was the cashew nuts. I already avoid dairy, wheat, soya, dried fruit, hazelnuts, peanuts, sesame, sunflower seeds, coconut, egg, melon, cucumber, squash, kiwi and banana. I ate cashew nuts most days during pregnancy.

I think DS2 is also dairy-intolerant because as he has similar symptoms when I'm eating dairy, but they're greatly reduced when I'm dairy-free. I'm confident I didn't eat any dairy by accident on this occasion as I'm lactose intolerant so I'd definitely have noticed it!

Could be I ate peanuts when dd1 was 5 weeks old and she was covered in a red rash by that night.

I solved it by waiting until rash disappeared then gradually introducing one peanut m&m more each day to my diet eg. Day one eat one peanut, day two eat two etc... She tolerated it without return of rash. She has since eaten peanuts and did not have a severe reaction, but I still don't generally give her then just in case she develops a more marked response to them due to increased exposure.

If you leave it say a week before you eat cashews then eat some you can test it.

There are also a lots of bugs doing the rounds at the moment, so he could just be unwell.

Am I right in thinking that this not your first baby and that you already have a child with allergies?

I really, really don't want to sound as if I am not taking you seriously (!) but the symptoms you describe all sound to me as if they could be normal baby stuff, apart from the unpleasant smelling poo (what did it smell like? and what did it look like?) Lots of babies are fussy and windy in the evenings, especially under 3 months old. Breastfed babies who are 10 weeks old can be fairly erratic with their poos, and some go for a week or more without producing anything.

I have a 4 year old with severe multiple allergies and a baby who is 5 weeks old. I am already avoiding loads of foods, and am watching that baby like a hawk for any signs of allergy Every mark on his skin is scrutinised, every poo is inspected closely... he has had a snuffly cold which gave him some mucousy poos, and that has worried me so much. Like your little one, he also has a tongue tie which makes him gag and pull away from the breast. I have an oversupply of milk which occasionally gives my baby green poos when he gets too much 'foremilk' - but his poos are okay when I am careful to feed only from one side for a few hours at a time. I always have the possibility of allergy in my mind, but I keep on telling myself not to get too panicky.

I do hope everything is okay with your baby. Like Christingle says, maybe you could wait a week and then eat a few more cashew nuts?

Yes, greenbananas, this is my second and DS1 does have lots of allergies, though thankfully only one has provoked a more serious reaction (unfortunately we don't know what substance caused it ).

You are so right about watching like a hawk for signs of allergy, and yes, it could just be normal baby stuff. All the things I avoid are due to my intolerances or DS1's allergies (I'm tandem feeding) rather than DS2.

It's hard to describe the poo smell, though he has once had even worse-smelling poo (no idea why). It had more bits in than usual - darker coloured almost clots (usually it's yellow liquidy or orangey toothpaste type). The poo on its own wouldn't have worried me though - there is a reasonable variation in what he produces.

I'll give the cashews a try again in a week or so, and I'm probably going to try dairy at some point, though I need to time it with DS1 as I'm

We've seen so much improvement in feeding since we had the TT snipped and then had osteopathy afterwards - the snip by itself helped but not loads. I'd def recommend getting it done if you can. :)

Very much know what you both mean about the struggle between watching the second one like a hawk and not wanting to believe that we'd be unlucky again... hope all is well with your littlest ones (though whatever happens, as you know, one adjusts really quickly!) We're on the allergy rollercoaster second time round :-S

Angeldog how is your little one now? Hope everything's okay.

My DS2 has had a few poos like the one you describe, although I realise that's not much help as we are both in the same position regarding potential allergies. Let's hope it's normal! I'm part-trained as a breastfeeding supporter, and I do know there is a huge variation in the kinds of poos that breastfed babies produce.

What kind of a difference did you notice when you had your baby's tongue tie snipped? DS2's tongue tie is only slight, and I've more-or-less decided not to get it done, as he seems to be gaining weight okay despite the hassle it is to feed him. I'm a bit worried that he will have to learn to latch all over again, and that it could actually interfere with his feeding now he is already 5 weeks old.

I'm tandem feeding too, despite DS1's advanced age and I think that's why my supply has been all over the place. Now that there is a new baby, DS1 has started feeding loads again - and I'm glad about that because breastmilk is wonderfully nutritious stuff, especially for a child with so many dietary restrictions.

Maz so that your second child has allergies too. You're right about adjusting really quickly, but still such a shame that you are going through this for a second time.

He was back to 'normal' the next day which is good.

There is an idea that lots of aspects of baby poo which are considered normal are actually signs of digestive problems, which are linked to allergies. It's seen as 'normal' because so many of us in the western world have poor gut function. There's an interesting post about it here. The lactation consultant who wrote it teaches on gut health & healing.

When DS2 had his TT cut he could straight away open his mouth better. It wasn't consistently better though and was still uncomfortable a lot of the time. The TT was done at 4 weeks. I took him to the osteopath (one who has lots of experience with post-TT babies) at 8 weeks and after only one treatment he was coughing/choking/gagging a lot less, producing more poo, slightly fewer skid marks, less general fartiness & discomfort. Poo also went from being a uniform toothpastey consistency to being generally wetter, more yellow and more often having 'seeds'/curds in - I suspect all are indecations of better milk transfer. His latch has also been better - he's been opening his mouth wider and able to cope with it better.

DS1 had a TT which wasn't diagnosed till age 2.10 though I'd suspected that he had one for at least a year previously. It was affecting speech & dribble, and we had it revised, which was pretty traumatic for him. DS2 OTOH seemed unfazed by having it done and only cried for about 1 second.