6.5wk old, BF, mucusy nappies and now blood

[hobnob57]

DD2 has had mucusy poos all her little life. Even her meconium was slippery and not sticky! She also has very sore tummies, bloating, colic and periods of reflux. HV is aware.

I've been off dairy since Boxing Day, with a notable exception on 31st Dec when I caved in in a big way at a family dinner, and on Tuesday night when DH made a mild curried mince which had a bit of yogurt in it (I'm really annoyed at this since he's always harping on at me about what I can't eat, but hey).

She was more settled than usual on the 29th & 30th, and again from Sunday afternoon (3rd) until Tue night. Her nappies, however, have been consistently mucusy. She's had a really rough time since tues night with really hard, relentless screaming in pain and unsettling reflux and the usual gurgling tummy. Tonight she did a really explosive poo which then leaked out down her leg, out of her tights, down my leg and left a trail on the carpet all the way up the stairs and into her room where the changing mat is! It was very watery mucus with some quite big black bits in it which I assume is blood from an irritated bowel. She has been very sleepy all day, which is unusual for her, especially in the evenings (usually colic o'clock )

I've left a message for the HV to pick up in the morning. She is very understanding, but tends to let me dictate events/self-diagnose since I've been here before with DD1. We also have the 6wk paed appointment on Monday, if snow allows.

I'm just not sure what is going on here. Would a little bit of yoghurt cause such a marked reaction? If so, why was it worse than before I gave up dairy at 5 weeks? Why, if her settled periods are indicating that dairy is an issue, are her nappies still so mucusy? DD1 was sensitive to dairy and gluten which we finally worked out at 5 months, but she had much more severe reflux. It was mucusy vinegary-smelling poos that eventually led me to try eliminating gluten and they soon cleared up. Is it too early in the dairy trial to start thinking about gluten?

I get really frustrated working all this out. I'm a science teacher and find it hard never knowing 100% that x behaviour/symptom was caused by y when so many other things could have similar effects (bugs, fore/hind milk imbalance, other allergens, etc.).

BTW weight gain isn't an issue - she comfort feeds all the time!

With these symptoms I would be taking her to see the GP tomorrow. My ds2 had a problem with his bowel which I sort of knew about because his poo wasn't right, but I kept telling myself bf babies poo varies loads. However he had not been right for about a week when I finally asked someone whether his tummy looked big.

I've always felt dreadful for not taking him sooner (not saying there is anything wrong with your dd but I think you should get it checked out).

I had to cut out dairy whilst bf ds2 whilst they decided if he had an allergy. I was told that if he did we would quickly see an improvement. Also I was told that once I started to try dairy again if he was allergic we would know very quickly.

The consultant told me that gluten cannot affect the bowel through breastmilk. It has to be ingested through food by the child to have an affect on the bowel.

Sorry have waffled on and not really helped but think you should see your GP asap.

Get to GP. HV can be rubbish (sorry sure dome are good but I was given bad - life threatening info by not one, but two HVs and lost belief!).
Regardless of BF tolerances for food types, what you descibe is not normal IME.
Good luck xx

See the GP

Been to GP this morning. She tested the black bits with a dip stick thingy and it wasn't blood. She has no idea what the black bits are, but since DD is well otherwise she is happy to leave it and offered me ranitidine for the reflux. DD is on peptac at the moment and I'm wondering if the black bits might be due to that. Any experiences?

My DD2 had the same symptoms you describe, with dry skin as well. I was dairy free for 18months, then her sensitivity lessened and I was able to eat cheese in small amounts and now she is 3½ my diet is not restricted at all (and yes, she does still nurse 2 or 3 times a day) but she is still not able to tolerate unprocessed cows milk. She is ok with cheese in small amounts, and butter, but not yoghurt, cooked milk (ie sauces) or cream cheese like philly.

I found it took a good two weeks for the dairy to clear out of my system completely and her symptoms to go, but once they did she was totally fine, a little refluxy, but nothing that carrying in the sling and raising her head to sleep didn't fix. My GP/HV and local A&E were clueless, so she was never on any reflux meds, so I don't know if those black bits are from that or not, sorry!

Does this help you at all?