Posting here for traffic - DS allergy/reflux help

[TaliZorah]

DS is 10 weeks old. He was born blue (possible medical negligence issue here which I'm exploring) and in NICU on a ventilator with suspected sepsis. He recovered and was fine. Very "colicky" bringing knees up, windy, screaming, going red and constipated and screaming with farting. Found out he had a milk allergy and we were given Alimentum. We were also given baby gaviscon as they suspect reflux. He improved massively but it wasn't completely gone. He was so much calmer, slept 6 hours a night, and was pain free apart from a few occasions.

After his 8 week jabs ALL the symptoms came back. Inconsolable screaming, screaming farts, refusing feeds, watering eyes, vomiting, funny poos, and he seems generally upset. I thought it was the rotavirus jab but they said he might still be reacting to the Alimentum. He's now on neocate and it's even worse! He is crying in the middle of feeds, pulling off the bottle, has excessive wind, won't finish a feed, is waking himself up with wind, is doing a piercing scream...

I have no idea where to go from here. What could be causing this? Adverse vaccine reaction? Reflux that needs ranitidine? IBS, not sure if babies can get that maybe

He's been checked for tongue tie, it's not that. Other than his allergy and possible mild neurological damage due to the birth DS has no known conditions.

I'm literally feeling shit. I'm dreading feeds and feel like a crap parent because I can't console DS and don't know what to do. Advice please

Has your poor ds been checked for a tongue tie?

My dd had one so bad, she really struggled to feed until it was cut. Awful wind and cramps.

It might be slower and messier, but if he refuses a bottle, can you spoon feed him?

Good luck for you and him.

cake I have had food issues since childhood because I had severe sickness from age 1 onwards which made me associate eating with vomiting. I'm very keen for this not to happen to DS.

Thank you for all the advice

DD has reflux too but she is now 6 months old and it has improved so much! I know this probably won't make you feel better now because I remember how crap I felt back then being covered in sick with a miserable baby, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. I found dentinox colic drops worked really well for the wind (infacol was useless) and keeping her upright as much as possible. She also sleeps on her side or tummy and that makes a big difference too.

Hope it gets better for you and DS soon.

We've been there too. It really is hell on earth. We ended up in A&E for the 3rd night on the trot after DS had projectile vomited every bottle. I was a sobbing, hysterical mess. They admitted DS for 3 days while they got him sorted out. He was on neocate, ranitidine and Omeprozole which apparently is the golden formula for reflux. DS improved no end and, although he was never really a comfortable baby, I no longer had thoughts of hurling him out the window. I was told to wean at 4 months and we never looked back. He still won't touch milk.

We also thickened his milk with carobel by cow and gate which you can get over the counter. Stops the milk coming back up so easily

You've got a lot of good advice here. I posted briefly earlier but to expand, DS was a changed child on the ranitidine. Gaviscon gave him constipation and he was sick more from the straining to poo. On ranitidine he was still sick but he was a happy chucker. Didn't hurt and he didn't mind. He was sorted by about 13 months and is fine now.
We also bought a breathing monitor and let him sleep on his front which helped a lot. Our HV and GP were OK with that approach.

I had similar OP. Two out of my three babies had reflux. First one puked everywhere until he was mostly upright and walking, around 15 months.
Second baby was fine. Third had silent reflux and was also diagnosed with lactose intolerance. I saw a cranio-osteopath with my third. It was her that suggested lactose-free formula after DD started refusing all feeds - screaming at the sight of a bottle or boob.

Drugs helped but not Gaviscon. I think the cranial-osteopathy helped. Neonate helped too but it is revolting stuff. We progressed onto Aptimel Pepti which is a bit better but not as broken down. I tried unsuccessfully to wean early. She wouldn't let me spoon feed her so getting solids down her was tricky until she was able to feed herself. We had a few awful months when feeding her anything was very difficult and she barely gained weight. I think she associated being fed with pain.

She grew out of it, as did my son. But honestly not until they were mostly upright.

We bought a Sleepyhead thing - she seemed to take comfort from being 'surrounded'.

You will get through it. If your partner / Mum / friends can take him off you for a while, grab the chance.

Good luck

When my DS had a feeding aversion I used to syringe feed him or feed him lying completely flat(I have no idea why that helped?!) but then I discovered I could feed him if I rocked him almost to sleep and then quickly put the bottle in he would drink the whole lot! I did that until he got Omeprazole at 11 months and then all of a sudden he loved his bottle again.

Sounds like your going through a tough time

Ds is cmpa. He was put on gaviscon for reflux but this just made him very constipated and caused more pain. My gp surgery were absolutely useless too, I kept taking him in and was repeatedly told 'it's just colic/ you just have an unhappy baby'. He then started pooing bits of blood and I was told 'he's just straining too much'. I then took him to a&e and was told 'your over feeding' I took him back the next day when he started pooing pure blood and he was diagnosed.

Are you bottle feeding? I found ds was like yours, not finishing bottles, screaming through etc and I put him on the next size teats which helped slightly.

Are you under a dietitian?

Sorry if you have answered that already. Am off to read the full post now

Oh gosh yes, I forgot about that bishbashbosh

That's exactly what we used to do - wait until she was asleep! She would feed in her sleep for some reason!

Great tip.

We had the exact same issue. The screaming, refusing to eat, sickness etc. Took 5 months to sort and was only dealt with as we demanded to be sent to hospital. He was diagnosed with cows milk protein allergy and was given neutramigen puramino, ranitidine and Gaviscon. Within 48 hours he changed. Now at 8 months he is a joy to be around

zombiemeow they said he was over fed the first time it happened he wasn't at all.

Yes he's bottle fed, he used to scream at my boobs and cut me somehow. No idea why I thought it was a tongue tie but it's not. He's already on fast flow teats because he gets frustrated with slow ones.

Thanks for all the advice everyone