My daughter has severe oral aversion which started at the age of three weeks old with what I know are symptoms of cows milk allergy.
Despite me taking her to the Dr's constantly and having had numerous visits from the health visitor, this was not diagnosed until she was four months old and after five hospital stays due to her poor feeding and lack of weight gain.
She would scream when presented with a bottle, arch her back and she had diorrhea, severe vomiting, stomach aches, colic and was covered in excema. She was put onto a hydrolysed formula but still the stomach aches and vomiting continued. Due to the amount of hospital stays she had she was discharged with an ng tube to be used only during an episode of refusal.
In January I was desperate and managed to persuade her dietician it wasn't reflux to put her onto an amino acid based formula. The physical symptoms disappeared instantly but to my horror she appeared to dislike the taste and would scream and fight me if I put it anywhere near her. She also stopped showing any sign of hunger and would rather starve than drink.
Eventually after months of struggling a speech therapist came to see us in March and told us to stop trying to bottle feed and to put all milk down her tube and to concentrate on weaning her. They then discharged us.
I have been trying since she's been 4 months to wean her. She will mouth toys but when presented with food she is reluctant to pick it up let alone put it in her mouth. In the last week I have managed to get a spoon of purée to her mouth but this relies heavily on the TV for distraction and her toys.
We saw her peadiatrician last week. He spoke to us about a g tube insertion straight into her tummy I feel this is moving the problem rather than addressing it and solving her aversion.
He has also re referred us to speech and language as he felt we shouldn't have been discharged. This is likely to take another few months to come through like the original all the while when I have a baby who refuses to eat. I feel a bit desperate for her I eat and really isolated as I don't know anyone experiencing anything similar to me. Is there anyone out there who understands?