So many issues - Don't know where to start

[chelle85]

DS is 5weeks old.

From early on we have had issues with feeding however no one I have spoken to (midwife/HV/breastfeeding support) has been concerned because he is putting on weight and I didn't have any nipple pain so they have shrugged off my issues.

After persisting they finally got the infant feeding nurse to visit me and she has diagnosed a posterior tongue tie which I am now waiting for an appt for (also upper lip tie but they won't treat that)

DS has always had a shallow latch and seemed to struggle with a fast let down, gulping in lots of air and choking off the breast. He sicks up an awful lot any time he is on his back (even an hour after feeding) and is difficult to burp. But we have had periods where for a couple of days he can feed really calmly and slept 3-4 and even one 5 hour stretch but we are now back to sputtering and feeding every 1.5hrs at night (by the time he is winded he is back up for his next feed) and I can't get any sleep at all

Dr prescribed gaviscon but this made matters worse as he really stuggled to pass wind after this. We have now been given ranitidine instead but I am struggling to get it in him as he just spits out anything I give in a syringe

We have tried him with a bottle and whilst he has previously taken EBM he is refusing that now. We tried a bottle with formula and he took two ounce but then 2 hours later projectile vomited the entire feed

He also has bad skin which I had put down to baby acne but it is all over his arms (forearms aswell as shoulders) and now has spots appearing on his legs, chest and back and I'm wondering if it is actually an allergic rash

I am so confused as to where to start -
Are the problems caused by the tongue tie (and if so why would we have intermittent issues?)

Is it just a case of reflux (but a lot of the time he doesn't seem in pain when he brings the milk up only when he is trying to pass a bowel movement or it comes out so forcefully that it comes out his nose)

Could he have a cows milk intolerance? He seems to sick up more frequently on days I have had more dairy and reacted so badly to the formula. And I'm wondering if the spots are actually eczema.

I just don't know what to do for the best but can't manage any more nights like the last two without a reprieve. It is seriously making me want to give up breastfeeding but I feel trapped now given his reaction to formula. It upsets me as he is just not a content baby when he is awake.

Sorry for the long post but we have had a lot going on. Just looking for a but of moral support really

Hi OP, it all sounds very familiar.

My DS is 6 weeks old and was found to have a posterior tongue tie at 7 days old and had it snipped at 9 days old.

He also has baby acne on his face, his scalp, his neck and upper torso and I went through a phase of being convinced he had a milk allergy.

He is also on Ranitidine because his silent reflux was awful - he also takes in a lot of air whilst feeding.

Some nights he would be horrendous, screaming with trapped wind that I just couldn't get up and then when eventually he fell asleep he'd be up again just over an hour later for another feed. It was just exhausting!!!

You definitely have moral support from me

Hi OP, that sounds very familiar to me too. What are his bowel movements like? DSs nappies were almost completely liquid, mucous-streaked and also very green. I struggled to get anyone to listen to me that something wasn’t ‘right’ about it, eventually threatened to show the GP a soiled nappy and that helped!

I cut all dairy out of my diet and that helped. The first few days were worse as I switched to soya and he seemed to hate that even more. After that I switched to oat milk and he was transformed. He still spit up LOADS, but was t unhappy about it.

I had a fast let down too, eventually DS figured out to let go for a little bit to let the milk squirt out and slow down before doing his long feed. Be very prepared with muslins / breast pads for this though!

Oh my sympathies . Really tough.

Have you tried eliminating cows milk protein ? Our ds had silent reflux , skin issues and fed lots but was sad with it. Had a receding jaw and shallow latch until
He got bigger .

Saw a private paediatric dr and he diagnosed cmp allergy. I quit dairy and he was also prescribed special formula as was combi fed. Sorted us out :)

Something to consider perhaps.

So soya is the also eliminated under the cmpa approach . Like the PP noticed.

Another hand hold here, my LB is 5 months now and I was convinced I had the most miserable baby on the face of the Earth. TT Snip at 8 Weeks, followed by Cranial Osteopathy and Gaviscon. He’s been off the Gaviscon now for 3 weeks, I was giving 2 pouches a day: it was the balance between no projectile vomiting/bunged up downstairs! I also had a night of tears where he screamed with wind for 2 hours, before falling into an exhausted sleep in my arms. He has a really high ‘bubble palette’, quite common with TT I think. Means every mouthful of milk, he’s swallowing air. With tummy time and building his ‘core’, burping is much easier. His funny palette also means he hates dummies, even the Nuk ones we tried, he just looks at me like I’m daft! It does get better, Osteo helped him a lot, he was a bit squished in me as well, so he got all straightened out! Make sure the TT has been successful, it can reattach. Wishing you best of luck, soon you will have a smiley, happy baby!

Try to follow ranitidine with a dummy. It helped me. Also I put it in a bottle teat and he sucks it wonderfully. Ranitidine helped my boy with a reflux. Discuss cow milk allergy or intolerance as well as tong tie concern with the HV. They can help you in dealing with the GP. I have been through it all with the bottle fed baby. He was dribbling all the milk out. I was so desperate. I wished I was breastfeeding him as I bought 10 different bottles in an attempt to find one that works. I had the same diagnostic dilemmas. At the end it is a simple reflux and responded well to ranitidine. A dose had to be upped to 2mg per kilo though.