Is my milk harming DS?

[Writerwannabe83]

I'm all over the place at the moment so sorry if I ramble. DS is almost 5 weeks and is EBF.

He's currently in a phase of screaming for hours on end throughout the evening which I assumed to just be normal colic but my friend in a roundabout way said it was my milk that was causing him hard and suggested an allergy.

Last night was horrendous - I was up probably every hour with DS, he'd suddenly wake up and just start screaming. I put it down to trapped wind as he suffers from that a lot but now I'm wondering if it's something more.

His poos have generally been normal, initially having the seedy bits in them but that stopped a few weeks ago (ish) and now they are just yellow/brown and watery. Sometimes they are watery enough to soak into the nappy but I was told this can be normal. I have just changed his nappy now and although there is yellow/brown poo in it, there is also a light green, mucousy and stringy patch.

He's got a lot of spots on his face and chest which I assumed to be milk spots but what if they're actually due to an allergy?

I'm just feeling so confused.

He's generally pretty good at night, last night was like nothing we've had before. We tried Gripe Water for the first time last night so I don't know if that upset his stomach?

He's generally quite a grizzly baby - my DH jokes that DS is either asleep or crying. He's not that bad though and has periods in the day there he's happy and settled and when he sleeps in the day he can do for hours.

I think he has reflux too.

We have issues with his attachment as he had a severe tongue tie and despite it being cut 3 weeks ago we are still having some problems.

I just don't know if he's just suffering from reflux, he's got normal colic or if he's got an allergy or an intolerance.

I'm stressed and crying over it a lot. I really want to BF him and I can't bear the thought of my milk causing him problems and pain

Thanks if you made it to the end if this - I just needed to get it off my chest.

sorry to hear that you are struggling.

you can try to cut out common allergens from your diet to see if ds improves. like dairy.
also worth going to gp. to rule out reflux.

Maybe see a GP and see if you can get a dietitian appointment. While it's possible he has allergies doing an elimination diet is hard and you need to make sure you do it properly.

It sounds really tough though. You could call one of the breastfeeding helplines too as they'll be about to discuss what's going on

It's so hard your absolutely right to consider it could be colic or reflux. See if you can see your Gp or health visitor, they can check the rash and see if it is milk intolerance or look into other problems. Cows milk protein might be a factor but I wouldn't cut anything out of your diet without a diagnosis and support as pp have said eliminating things from your diet should be done with advice as it's hard!

Whatever the problem you can still breastfeed and you are doing your best for him so please don't feel bad (I know that's easier said than done)!

Just because someone with presumably no medical qualification (although that's often no use for breastfeeding advice!) suggests an allergy, please don't take this too seriously. In fact, I would ignore it. I see this sort of baseless opinion ending up putting people off breastfeeding.

I really recommend chatting to someone from the La Leche League or the Breastfeeding Network helplines, if you are worried about feeding issues. Google the numbers. They are so helpful. Really brilliant

When he's crying, does giving him the boob not settle him?

Thank you everyone for your replies

When he is upset I do put him to the breast to try and settle him but he'll have a few sucks, his stomach gurgles and he pulls off and starts crying. I always assumed this was due to pain with reflux but sometimes after a good burp he'd then latch on so then I would put it down to wind. It's just such a guessing game.

I hadn't considered lip tie - when he had his TT repair done the Lactation Consultant didn't mention it but whether she checked for it I don't know. DS's attachment is still poor at times in that I will hear clicking or he will seem to be attached well and then he'll just lose it. He also dribbles milk out the side of his mouth even he feeds in the right breast and he really gulps when he feeds for the first few minutes but I do have a fast letdown on that side. His feeding is much better on the left breast and he's able to maintain his latch well which is ironic as prior to his TT division that was the side where he struggled and caused lots of nipple trauma. He's always gained weight really well and has been on the 91st percentile since birth and so at least I know the feeding issues aren't affecting his weight but they are still worrisome.

My friend who passed comment about the allergy is quite anti-BF as she believes when she was giving her own baby expressed milk (which she did for four months) it was her milk that caused his colic. She has made comments a few times about me breast feeding and how I'm not doing the best for my son by choosing to breast feed. The other night before mentioning allergies she basically told me it's my fault my DS has these symptoms so I should stop breast feeding him and put him on formula. She had told me numerous times about how guilty she feels for "making" her son have her expressed breast milk.

I've changed DS's happy three times since the dodgy poo he had earlier and they've all been normal.

He was very difficult to settle again tonight due to intermittent screaming (took 2.5 hours) and in the end I had him in bed with me and we both got about 2.5 hours sleep. He's just had a feed now and after lots of trumping and a good burp he's actually gone to sleep in his Moses basket with no fuss.

It's just all so confusing, I just don't know what to think and my friend's comments have got to me because I'm in a vulnerable state at the moment when it comes to BF'ing due to all the problems I've had with it.

My first son suffered horrendously with silent reflux and was on Ranitidine from 8 weeks old and now currbt baby is exhibiting a lot of similar behaviours so I think I will speak to the GP and see if he thinks it might be worth trialling DS on it too.

I have a 7 week old who has been just like this. He's just starting to go longer periods without screaming, and I have started to use colic drops. I think they do something, but I think it's also probably age-related.

He feeds little and often, and also seems to be putting on weight ok. He has silent reflux, is very rarely sick but screams in pain when milk regurgitates. He also definitely has colic symptoms, especially in the evening. Using a sling is definitely helping; there are some times when being upright and close are the only thing that works.

I've also considered dairy allergy/sensitivity, but I think that's desperation rather than anything I have substantial evidence for. I hope this is roughest patch for you, and that things improve soon.

Oh that's a big lot to deal with.

Clicking, dribbling etc can be signs of poor attachment which might mean that the revision wasn't successful. Reflux can also be a symptom of tongue tie.

Is it possible to see the lactation consultant again?

In the meantime the straddle hold might help. Do do think have you baby sitting upright facing you, with one leg either side of one of your legs. Your sons belly will be against your baby. You might need to support his head lightly. It looks a bit like a cuddle.

It sounds like your friend is trying to be helpful but might not understand that she's bringing her own negative experience in. There real is no evidence that formula will
Improve reflux symptoms.

Your friend has an agenda, you can't trust her opinion. Evening crying is awful but normal and even though the symptoms look gastro related they're often caused by the crying (gulping air etc).

My 6 week old is the same, as were my other two. By 3 months I know all will be well.

No advice but you are not alone! I'm in the exact same situation!

So far I'm on day one of cutting out dairy. I'll let you know in a week or so if it worked (I'm hoping so as it is such an easy fix!)

Dd fed at 7pm, screamed inconsolably from 8-10, fell asleep (probably from exhaustion) on dad and slept until 1:30, fed again and is now asleep on me. I keep trying to put her in her Moses basket every half an hour, but so far I've had no luck.

You have my sympathy I hope you manage to sort the problem.

Agree with outputgap, your friend has no qualifications to be making such a comment. There are a lot more potential allergens in commercial baby formula anyway, cow's milk/dairy lactose being a big one.

DD was similar, had a lot of colic and gas in the first few months. I cut dairy, onions, garlic, broccoli, etc. from my diet and that helped a but. But honestly around 3.5/4 months it all just stopped completely. I have friends who switched for formula in response to the same behavior from their kids and also experienced similar, pretty much by 4 months regardless of what any of us had done, the babies settled down.

Please don't listen to your friend. Everyone has an opinion, which will be influenced by their own experience. People who don't even have children tell me that I should ff as then I'll know how much we is getting. She's putting on weight beautifully so we're fine!
I agree with pp to get some advice. My local sure start centre has a bf group, which is great. Lots of experienced people there who have really helped and reassured us.
What does your instinct say? Often, mummy know best.

Mine had allergies and we noticed quickly, but it can manifest over time apparently. I did loads of reading around allergies and reflux etc , the general consensus was reduction in dairy can help ease reflux and settle tummies. That's why the 'comfort' formulas contain less dairy.

I would try out dairy for a week and see if that helps? I know it's a pain but it's not forever and I actually felt loads better myself giving up dairy (apparently only 25% of the population can really tolerate it)

Also babies cry, they don't sleep loads, they want cuddles,milk etc non stop. It's exhausting but it's normal and it does ease... eventually!

Wow, I could have written your post! My nearly 5 week old baby is exactly the same. My older boy suffered with reflux terribly and was on ranitidine from 2 months, but my GP here won't see my baby until his 6 week check to discuss reflux, dairy intolerance etc. as he's putting on weight, so apparently it can't be that bad (despite the hours of crying). Incidentally, my older son has a true, IgE-mediated milk allergy and cannot have dairy from any other mammal at all, but was fine with breastmilk for over 2 years and I didn't have to cut dairy from my diet. I wish I had more constructive advice for you, but I just wanted you to know you are not alone.

I feel like I could have written this most, will comment more in the morning when more coherent.

It does sound like fairly classic cow's milk protein intolerance/allergy to me. Many of the same signs and symptoms that DD had. I cut all dairy and soy strictly from my diet and I had a different baby within days. Sure it was a sacrifice to go dairy free for many months, but it was worth it to me as I was very committed to BF and didn't want to give any of the hypoallergenic formulas (although if it is an allergy and you do choose to go down that route, that is a totally valid choice too).

Here is the best site I found helpful for breastfeeding kellymom.com/category/bf/
Depending your baby's age, his poop sounds normal but I have to see it for sure as we all know watery poop can be a sign of dehydration (another sign is a sunken soft spot on his head) If that's the case, you may have to breastfeed more

You can usually tell if he had food allergy if his poop have bloody mucus in it. If you think he have food allergy, eliminates some food from your diet (it can go through your milk) and see if it improves. Food like broccoli can make some babies gassy

Really? I've breastfed three kids and never heard that watery poos mean dehydration. You are feeding that baby really well by the sounds of it so I wouldn't be adding dehydration to the list of bullshit things to worry about.

(Blueberry pie, I think you might be getting your causation muddled up. A baby with diarrhoea is at risk of dehydration, but dehydration doesn't cause diarrhoea. Anyway, babies have normal watery poos. If they shit solid at 5 weeks then you do have something to worry about!)

OP, listen to all the mums of 5 week olds here. You are doing amazing! It's normal. You are feeding that baby really well. Going into winter it would be great to keep breastfeeding to pass on your immunity when all the colds start doing the rounds. And you will soon hit the sunny uplands when breastfeeding becomes much easier. Keep going!

Sorry, having had two babies with bloody mucus poos and seeing a paed about it, it's not a sign of allergy. Just very forceful pooing.

She also said every colour of poo is normal and not to be worried about except black (excepting post blueberries, when it will go black!), red jelly poo or completely completely white. Do not worry about frothy green poo. Its completely normal.

m.newkidscenter.com/Newborn-Watery-Poop.html I am not entirely wrong

I wouldn't be too quick to change your diet. Little babies crying in the evening is very normal indeed. The baby I know who definitely has diagnosed digestive problems is like this all day, not just in the evening.

One thing that very noticeably helped here is when I started feeding baby a bit more frequently as the day wore on to be absolutely sure baby isn't hungry, so I increased frequency of feeding from around 4pm onwards.

Formulas have far more in them with the capacity to cause an allergic response than breast milk.

I've learned to filter advice from friends. I've never had so many well meaning people trying to tell me what to do as since having my baby!

Blueberry, that link says exactly what I said: diarrhoea can lead to dehydration. Dehydration does not cause watery poos/diarrhoea. You have the causation wrong.

OP's baby doesn't have diarrhoea so it's all irrelevant.

(Maybe there is some misunderstanding, I didn't say it causes watery stools, I said it can be a sign of it. More like hand-in-hand type of thing. Her baby is upset so I don't want to dismiss her concerns, that is how I post... she is doing a wonderful job)